I am intrigued by the ancient markings in the hills of the Milfield Plain, in Northumberland. I understand that there was a palace in the area belonging to King Arthur. Can you give any information on its site? - Bill Hutchinson, Chester-le-Street.

THE Milfield Plain has one of the highest clusters of ancient sites in the North-East. It is a fertile plain, surrounded by hills and is roughly square in shape, approximately four miles across. There is a stunning view of the plain from Doddington Moor on its eastern flank looking across to the Cheviots on its western side. Doddington Moor has one of the highest concentrations of mysterious cup and ring marks. These are found on dozens of rocks in the area and consist of small cup-like pits carved out of the rocks. They are usually surrounded by a series of concentric rings, although occasionally the cups appear alone. Another group of these carvings can be found on the north eastern side of the plain near the Routing Linn waterfall, between the villages of Doddington and Ford. The cup and ring marks are thought to have been made by the Beaker people of the Bronze Age around 4,000 years ago. Many suggestions have been made regarding their meaning and purpose, but nobody knows what they are. Northumberland, Scotland and Ireland have the highest concentrations of cup and ring marks, but a number can be found on Barningham Moor in Teesdale and near Witton Gilbert and Consett, in County Durham. Strangely, the heavy concetration of cup and ring marks in the hills to the east of Milfield Plain contrast with their virtual absence in the hills to the west. Here, however, we find a string of Celtic, Iron Age hill forts and the site of an Anglo-Saxon palace called Ad Gefrin or Yeavering. This belonged to the Northumbrian King, Edwin (AD 616-633). The palace remained in use until the reign of King Oswald (AD 634-642), who moved it to a new site called Melmin (or Maelmin) near the village of Milfield. Neither palace site is, as far as I know, associated with King Arthur, who, if he existed at all, lived in the Dark Ages between the end of the Roman occupation in AD 410 and the foundation of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria around 547 AD. Milfield Plain was, however, reputedly the site of a battle between King Arthur and the invading Anglo-Saxons.

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