Glastonbury Tor is a hill at Glastonbury, Somerset, England, which features the roofless St. Michael's Tower. The site is managed by the National Trust. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument (No: 196702).
Tor is a local word of Celtic origin meaning "rock outcropping" or "hill". The Tor has a striking location in the middle of a plain called the
Summerland Meadows, part of the Somerset Levels. The plain is actually reclaimed fenland out of which the Tor once rose like an island, but now, with the surrounding flats, is a peninsula washed on three sides by the River Brue. The remains of Glastonbury Lake Village nearby were identified in 1892, showing that there was an Iron Age settlement about 300–200 BC on what was an easily defended island in the fens. Earthworks and Roman remains prove later occupation. The spot seems to have been called Ynys yr Afalon (meaning "The Isle of Avalon") by the Britons, and it is believed by some to be the Avalon of Arthurian legend.
With the 19th-century resurgence of interest in Celtic mythology, the Tor became associated with Gwyn ap Nudd, who was first Lord of the Underworld, and later King of the Fairies. The Tor came to be represented as an entrance to Annwn or Avalon, the land of the fairies.
Our symbolic representation of this sacred mound is dedicated to the Celtic God of Light - Belenos. The traditional Celtic ribbonworking links the Power of the Land with that of the Sky, looped in the everlasting cycle of "as above, so below" and is worn to increase Magical Powers and Divination Skills. Produced in .925 Sterling Silver and supplied in a plastic bag with an illustrated leaflet. Approximate size: ⅞" x ⅝".
REFERENCESEarthworks Glastonbury Tor. National Monuments Record. English Heritage. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
Glastonbury Lake Village. Somerset Historic Environment Record. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
Adkins, L., & Adkins, R. (1992).
A field guide to Somerset archaeology. Wimborne: Dovecote Press.