Tintagel

Villages by the Sea • Season 3 • Episode 6

About this episode

Archaeologist Ben Robinson uncovers the secrets of Cornwall’s Tintagel, famed as the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. Ben discovers Tintagel was potentially more important than London a thousand years ago, based on recent evidence unearthed at an archaeological dig overseen by English Heritage. It was found that over 2,000 people were living here which, at the time, which would have made it the largest settlement anywhere of its kind in Britain. In a 14th century house, Ben discovers the origins of a saying that’s still in use today with the help of Joanne McGillivray of the National Trust. Joanne explains unmarried woman would sleep on a platform accessed by a ladder, which would be drawn up at night to keep the woman away from men. But if they stayed up there and never married, they would be ‘left on the shelf’.