In the Arthurian legend a kingly sword has been thrust into a stone and it has been prophesized that only the true ruler of Britain will be able to remove it. Many try and fail to draw the sword from the stone until the youthful Arthur proves his right to rule as king by succeeding where all others have failed.  Interestingly, this unlikely-sounding story could have been based on an historical event.

Members of the Dark Age recreation society Britannia dressed as fifth-century British warriors

Fifth-century scholars record that leadership disputes between rival British warriors were often resolved in single combat, the victor drawing a “sword of office” from a stone altar; a practice that may have given rise to the legend of the sword and the stone.

As the ancient Britons are known to have used megalithic circles for tribal rites - and it is likely that pre-Christian customs resumed after the Romans left - kingship duels were often fought at stone circles.

Britain has hundreds of ancient stone circles - or Megalithic circles, as they are called – erected in prehistoric times for unknown ritual purposes.  The most famous of which is Stonehenge, but most are smaller and far less elaborate.  One such stone circle is Mitchell’s Fold in Shropshire.  Here local folklore relates that the Arthurian sword and stone event occurred.

One of Mitchell’s Fold’s stones has a strange hole in it where folklore says that King Arthur’s sword was once set. Was it here that the historical Arthur, whose stronghold was at nearby Viroconium, drew his sword of office from the stone after defeating a rival warrior in a duel?

Set on dramatic moorland, cloaked in an air of mystery, Mitchell's Fold Stone Circle was erected over 3500 years ago by the people of the Bronze Age. Around 80 feet in diameter, this ancient ring is believed to have had some religious or ceremonial purpose. Indeed many legends are connected with the site.  It lies 15 miles southwest of Shrewsbury, along the A488 and A490 roads.