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109-479: Glastonbury is a town in Somerset, England. Glastonbury or Glastenbury may also refer to: Glastonbury Glastonbury ( / ˈ ɡ l æ s t ən b ər i / GLAST -ən-bər-ee , UK also / ˈ ɡ l ɑː s t -/ GLAHST - ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels , 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol . The town had

218-487: A Celtic personal name or from Old English (either from a name or otherwise). It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast. The name however is likely related to an Irish individual named Glas mac Caise 'Glas son of Cas'. Glas is an ancient Irish personal name meaning 'green, grey/green'. It is stated in the Life of St Patrick that he resurrected a swineherder by that name and he went to Glastonbury, to an area of

327-615: A lance 's width, about three metres, which the landholders through which the Hellweg passed were required to maintain. The Kulmer Steig is a byword for transport links from the Elbe valley over the eastern part of the Eastern Ore Mountains to Bohemian Chlumec u Chabařovic ( German : Kulm ). Archaeological finds suggest that this route existed in the Bronze ( c.  1800–750 BC ) and

436-506: A 200 mm (8-inch) thick pavement of sandstone blocks bound with clay - gypsum mortar , covered by a layer of basaltic flagstones and had separate shoulders . This road could be considered superior to any Roman road . The Via Pythia (or Pythian road) was the route to Delphi . It was revered throughout the Ancient Greek world as the site of the Omphalos stone (the centre of

545-417: A child, Jesus had visited Glastonbury along with Joseph. The legend probably was encouraged during the medieval period when religious relics and pilgrimages were profitable business for abbeys. William Blake mentioned the legend in a poem that became a popular hymn, " Jerusalem ". In 1934 artist Katherine Maltwood suggested a landscape zodiac , a map of the stars on a gigantic scale, formed by features in

654-563: A lake just south of the hilly ground on which Glastonbury stands. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake . Pomparles Bridge stood at the western end of this lake, guarding Glastonbury from the south, and it is suggested that it was here that Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the waters after King Arthur fell at the Battle of Camlann . The old bridge

763-603: A museum containing possessions and works of art from the Glastonbury Lake Village which were preserved in almost perfect condition in the peat after the village was abandoned. The museum is run by the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. The building also houses the tourist information centre . The octagonal Market Cross was built in 1846 by Benjamin Ferrey . Timber trackway The Post Track ,

872-633: A population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street , which is now larger than Glastonbury. Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town has been inhabited since Neolithic times. Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue and Sharpham Park approximately 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, that dates back to

981-701: A prehistoric causeway in the valley of the River Brue in the Somerset Levels , England, is one of the oldest known constructed trackways and dates from around 3800 BCE. The world's oldest known paved road was constructed in Egypt some time between 2600 and 2200 BC. The Romans were the most significant road builders of the ancient world. At the peak of the Roman Empire there were more than 400,000 kilometres (250,000 miles) of roads, of which over 80,000 kilometres (50,000 mi) were stone-paved. Another empire, that of

1090-730: A reliable trading route running along chalk hills from the Dorset coast to the Wash in Norfolk . The high dry ground made travel easy and provided a measure of protection by giving traders a commanding view, warning against potential attacks. The Icknield Way follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills , in southern and eastern England, from Norfolk to Wiltshire . Other examples of historic roads in England include

1199-407: A series of glacial eskers formed at the end of the last Ice Age , formed an elevated pathway from east to west, connecting Galway to Dublin . The Siberian Route ( Russian : Сибирский тракт , Sibirsky trakt ), also known as the "Moscow Highway" and "Great Highway", was a historic route that connected European Russia to Siberia and China . The construction of the road was decreed by

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1308-694: A target on the skyline. Examples include the Harrow Way and the Pilgrims' Way , running along the North Downs in southern England. The Harrow Way (also spelled as "Harroway") is another name for the "Old Way", an ancient trackway in the south of England, dated by archaeological finds to 600–450 BC, but probably in existence since the Stone Age . The "Old Way" ran from Seaton in Devon to Dover , Kent . Later

1417-446: A throne of gold; holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, which were supposed to depart from the summit of the Tor. This was the chief reason why the chapel, and later the church, of St. Michael were built on the high hill; St. Michael being the chief patron against diabolic attacks which

1526-427: A wooden palisade . The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period (around AD 100) when it was abandoned, possibly due to a rise in the water level. It was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay. Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (120-hectare) historic park, 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, which dates back to

1635-622: Is a conservation project managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust and nearby is the Ham Wall National Nature Reserve . Glastonbury has been described as having a New Age community , and possibly being where New Age beliefs originated at the turn of the twentieth century. It is notable for myths and legends often related to Glastonbury Tor , concerning Joseph of Arimathea , the Holy Grail and King Arthur . Joseph

1744-495: Is an agricultural region typically with open fields of permanent grass, surrounded by ditches with willow trees. Access to the moors and Levels is by "droves" , i.e., green lanes. The Levels and inland moors can be 6 metres (20 ft) below peak tides and have large areas of peat . The low-lying areas are underlain by much older Triassic age formations of Upper Lias sand that protrude to form what would once have been islands and include Glastonbury Tor . The lowland landscape

1853-530: Is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects

1962-558: Is based at the site of a 14th-century abbey manor barn, often referred to as a tithe barn , are associated with the abbey. The Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century. The town became a centre for commerce, which led to the construction of the market cross , Glastonbury Canal and the Glastonbury and Street railway station , the largest station on the original Somerset and Dorset Railway . The Brue Valley Living Landscape

2071-484: Is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction

2180-501: Is derived from the name of Morgan le Fay , who was alternatively known as Morgane, Morgain, Morgana and other variants. Morgan le Fay was described as a powerful sorceress and antagonist of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in the Arthurian legend . Glastonbury is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from the village of Street . At the time of King Arthur the Brue formed

2289-424: Is from the south-west. Glastonbury is a centre for religious tourism and pilgrimage . As with many towns of similar size, the centre is not as thriving as it once was but Glastonbury supports a large number of alternative shops. The outskirts of the town contain a DIY shop, a former sheepskin and slipper factory site, once owned by Morlands , which is slowly being redeveloped. The 31-acre (13 ha) site of

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2398-499: Is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay , and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick , a distance close to 2,000 metres (1.2 mi). The track is one of a network of tracks that once crossed the Somerset Levels . Built in the 39th century BC, during the Neolithic period, the track consisted of crossed poles of ash , oak and lime ( Tilia ) which were driven into

2507-410: Is now part of the suburbs. Around the 7th and 8th centuries it was occupied by a small monastic community associated with a cemetery. Archaeological excavations in 2016 uncovered 50 to 60 skeletons thought to be those of monks from Beckery Chapel during the 5th or early 6th century. Sharpham Park was granted by King Eadwig to the then abbot Æthelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was gifted by

2616-547: Is operated by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service . Police and ambulance services are provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service . There are two doctors' surgeries in Glastonbury, and a National Health Service community hospital operated by Somerset Primary Care Trust which opened in 2005. There are 4 electoral wards within Glastonbury having in total

2725-463: Is said to have arrived in Glastonbury and stuck his staff into the ground, when it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn . The presence of a landscape zodiac around the town has been suggested but no evidence has been discovered. The Glastonbury Festival , held in the nearby village of Pilton , takes its name from the town. During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded

2834-636: Is the earliest source for the name Glastonbury. The modern Irish form for Glastonbury is Glaistimbir. Hugh Ross Williamson cites a tale about St. Collen, one of the earliest hermits to inhabit the Tor before the Abbey was built by St. Patrick, which has the Saint summoned by the King of the Fairies, Gwyn, to the summit of the Tor. Upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on

2943-616: Is today south-west Poland . See also the Via Regia Lusatiae Superioris . An important medieval German pilgrim route was the Via Tolosana (because the most important town along the way is Toulouse , France). This is one of the four medieval pilgrim routes described by Aimery Picaud in his 12th-century Pilgrim's Guide , used by pilgrims from southern and eastern Europe on the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela . See also

3052-504: The Bronze Age . The name Glastonbury is derived from Old English : Glæstyngabyrig . When the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg . The burg element is Old English and could refer either to a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure; however the Glestinga element is obscure, and may derive from

3161-576: The Bronze Age . Centwine was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey , which dominated the town for the next 700 years. One of the most important abbeys in England, it was the site of Edmund Ironside 's coronation as King of England in 1016. Many of the oldest surviving buildings in the town, including the Tribunal , George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn and the Somerset Rural Life Museum , which

3270-561: The Incas of pre-Columbian South America , also built an extensive and advanced transportation system. Much later historic roads include the Red River Trails between Canada and the US, from the 19th century. Such pioneer trails often made use of ancient routes created by indigenous people . The Silk Road was a major trade route between China and India, Europe, and Arabia. It derives its name from

3379-626: The Iron Age (750 BC – early AD) and even in the Neolithic ( Stone Age c.  4500–1800 BC ) The Post Track and Sweet Track , causeways or timber trackways, in the Somerset levels , near Glastonbury , are believed to be the oldest known purpose built roads in the world and have been dated to the 3800s BC . The tracks were walkways consisting mainly of planks of oak laid end-to-end, supported by crossed pegs of ash , oak, and lime , driven into

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3488-606: The Long Causeway , a Medieval packhorse route that ran from Sheffield to Hathersage and The Mariners' Way in Devon. The latter was created by sailors in the eighteenth century, or earlier, travelling between the ports of Bideford and Dartmouth, Devon , who linked existing lanes, tracks and footpaths to form a direct route. In Aberdeenshire , Scotland , ancient tracks include the Causey Mounth , an ancient drovers' road over

3597-646: The Maurya Empire in 300 BC. Soon after, the Greek diplomat Megasthenes (c. 350 – c. 290 BC) wrote of his travels along the road to reach Hindu kingdoms in the 3rd century BC After invading India over 1,500 years later, Mughals extended the Grand Trunk Road westwards from Lahore to Kabul (the capital of Afghanistan) crossing the Khyber Pass . The road was later improved and extended from Calcutta to Peshawar by

3706-722: The Palatine Ways of St. James . The Wittemoor timber trackway is a log causeway or corduroy road across a bog at Neuenhuntdorf, part of the Berne in the district of Wesermarsch in Lower Saxony , Germany. Originating in the pre-Roman Iron Age , it is one of several such causeways which have been found in the North German Plain, particularly in the Weser-Ems region. It has been dated by dendrochronology to 135  BCE . It ran across

3815-490: The Reformation . Many scholars suspect that this discovery was a pious forgery to substantiate the antiquity of Glastonbury's foundation, and increase its renown. An early Welsh poem links Arthur to the Tor in an account of a confrontation between Arthur and Melwas, who had kidnapped Queen Guinevere. Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury by boat over the flooded Somerset Levels. On disembarking he stuck his staff into

3924-494: The Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust . The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat , ensuring that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change , while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape-scale conservation projects in

4033-521: The Tor to the distinctive tower at the summit (the partially restored remains of an old church) is rewarded by vistas of the mid-Somerset area, including the Levels which are drained marshland. From there, on a dry point , 158 metres (518 ft) above sea level, it is easy to appreciate how Glastonbury was once an island and, in the winter, the surrounding moors are often flooded, giving that appearance once more. It

4142-480: The University of Reading , who, amongst other findings, speculated that the connection with King Arthur and his Queen, Guinevere , was created deliberately by the monks in 1184 to meet a financial crisis caused by a devastating fire. Other myths examined include the visit by Jesus, the building of the oldest church in England, and the flowering of the walking stick. Roberta Gilchrist stated, "We didn't claim to disprove

4251-468: The gallery roads , consisting of wooden planks erected on wooden or stone beams slotted into holes cut into the sides of cliffs. The roads join three adjacent basins separated and surrounded by high mountains. Like many ancient road systems, the Shu Roads formed a network of major and minor roads with different roads being used at different historical times. However, a number of roads are commonly identified as

4360-644: The geography of the region. In the early Middle Ages , people often preferred to travel along elevated drainage divides or ridgeways rather than in the valleys. This was due to thick forests and other natural obstacles in valleys. The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea . Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by

4469-411: The ridgeways in England. By using this route rivers were avoided, or fords used, close to the rivers sources. Over time by this route was improved with paved fords, embankments and bridges. Concentrations of mounds, defensive ditches, settlements and other historic landmarks can be found along the road and sections of it can be traced back to 4000 BC. Roman roads were physical infrastructure vital to

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4578-565: The British rulers of colonial India . For many centuries, the road has acted as a major trade route and facilitated travel and postal communication. The Grand Trunk Road remains under use for transportation in India. The Khyber Pass was an all-season mountain pass connecting Afghanistan to western Pakistan . Brick-paved streets appeared in India as early as 3000 BC. Except for Roman roads , European pathways were rarely in good shape and depended on

4687-497: The Glastonbury Abbey Web site, and were to be incorporated into the Abbey's guidebook; however, the leader of the study, who became a trustee of Glastonbury, said "We are not in the business of destroying people's beliefs ... A thousand years of beliefs and legends are part of the intangible history of this remarkable place". Gilchrist went on to say, "archaeology can help us to understand how legends evolve and what people in

4796-569: The Glastonbury Conservation Area Appraisal of July 2010, there are approximately 170 listed buildings or structures in the town's designated conservation area, of which eight are listed grade I, six are listed grade II* and the remainder are listed grade II. The Tribunal was a medieval merchant's house, used as the Abbey courthouse and, during the Monmouth Rebellion trials , by Judge Jeffreys . It now serves as

4905-594: The Grail keeper. The earliest versions of the grail romance, however, do not call the grail "holy" or mention anything about blood, Joseph or Glastonbury. In 1191, monks at the abbey claimed to have found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere to the south of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey Church, which was visited by a number of contemporary historians including Giraldus Cambrensis . The remains were later moved and were lost during

5014-471: The Great (Darius I) of the first ( Achaemenid ) Persian Empire in the 5th century BCE. Darius built the road to facilitate rapid communication throughout his very large empire from Susa , Syria to Sardis , Turkey . It is claimed that some of the earliest roads were created by humans who followed already existing paths made by animals, and, in particular, that trails created by the herds of buffalo shaped

5123-746: The Levant and the Ancient Near East. From the Black Sea , trade could continue to Asia along the Silk Road . Hærvejen (Danish, meaning "the army road") ran from Viborg, Denmark through Flensburg (in the present northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein ) to Hamburg . The road runs more or less along the watershed of the Jutland Peninsula, known as the Jyske Højderyg (Jutland Ridge), similar to

5232-789: The Queen. The original Holy Thorn was a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages but was chopped down during the English Civil War . A replacement thorn was planted in the 20th century on Wearyall hill (originally in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain , but the thorn had to be replanted the following year as the first attempt did not take). The Wearyall Hill Holy Thorn was vandalised in 2010 and all its branches were chopped off. It initially showed signs of recovery but now (2014) appears to be dead. A new sapling has been planted nearby. Many other examples of

5341-429: The Tsar two months after the conclusion of the Treaty of Nerchinsk , on 22 November 1689, but it did not start until 1730 and was not finished until the mid-19th century. Previously, Siberian transport had been mostly by river via Siberian River Routes . First Russian settlers arrived in Siberia by the Cherdyn river route which was superseded by the Babinov overland route in the late 1590s. The town of Verkhoturye in

5450-488: The UK. The Ham Wall National Nature Reserve , 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Glastonbury, is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds . This new wetland habitat has been established from out peat diggings and now consists of areas of reedbed, wet scrub, open water and peripheral grassland and woodland. Bird species living on the site include the bearded tit and the Eurasian bittern . The Whitelake River rises between two low limestone ridges to

5559-431: The Urals was the most eastern point of the Babinov Road. The much longer Siberian route started in Moscow as the Vladimir Highway (a medieval road) and passed through Murom , Kozmodemyansk , Kazan , Perm , Kungur , Yekaterinburg , Tyumen , Tobolsk , Tara , Kainsk , Tomsk , Yeniseysk and Irkutsk . After crossing Lake Baikal the road split near Verkhneudinsk . One branch continued east to Nerchinsk while

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5668-419: The Wittemoor bog, connecting the more elevated geest at Hude with the River Hunte . An Iron Age settlement near a spring in the Lintel section of Hude was at the southern end. A section of the trackway has been reconstructed. Built somewhat later, the Wittmoor Bog Trackways are two historic trackways discovered in Wittmoor in northern Hamburg . The trackways date to the 4th and 7th century AD, both linked

5777-452: The amber trade. As an important commodity, sometimes dubbed "the gold of the north", amber was transported overland by way of the Vistula and Dnieper rivers to the Mediterranean area from at least the 16th century BC. The breast ornament of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen (ca. 1333–1324 BC) contains large Baltic amber beads. The quantity of amber in the Royal Tomb of Qatna, Syria, is unparalleled for known second millennium BC sites in

5886-403: The building was demolished in the 1960s. It is Grade II* listed , and a scheduled monument . Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Glastonbury in 2010 plans were announced to restore the building. During the Middle Ages the town largely depended on the abbey but was also a centre for the wool trade until the 18th century. A Saxon-era canal connected the abbey to the River Brue. Richard Whiting ,

5995-416: The capital at Nara or Kyoto . Later, Edo was the reference, and even today Japan reckons directions and measures distances along its highways from Nihonbashi in Chūō, Tokyo . The Grand Trunk Road in the Indian subcontinent was the main road from modern day Bangladesh , through what is now India , Pakistan and Afghanistan . A route since antiquity, it was constructed into a coherent highway by

6104-413: The coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains and Elsick Mounth , which was one of the few means of traversing the Grampian Mounth area in prehistoric and medieval times. Roman legions marched along the Elsick Mounth. In Roman Britain , many trackways were built upon by the Romans to form the foundations for their roads . Prior to this, people used trackways to travel between settlements but this

6213-434: The conventional date for the origins of the Silk Road by at least two millennia. See also the Northern Silk Road , the Southern Silk Road: Through Khotan , Tea Horse Road . The Shudao ( Chinese : 蜀道 ; pinyin : Shǔdào ), or the "Road(s) to Shu", is a system of mountain roads linking the Chinese province of Shaanxi with Sichuan (Shu), built and maintained since the 4th century BC. Technical highlights were

6322-402: The earth and universe). The Sacred Way ( Ancient Greek : Ἱερὰ Ὁδός , Hierá Hodós ), in ancient Greece , was the road from Athens to Eleusis . It was so called because it was the route taken by a procession celebrating the Eleusinian Mysteries . The procession to Eleusis began at the Sacred Gate in the Kerameikos (the Athenian cemetery) on the 19th Boedromion . In the present day,

6431-427: The eastern and western shores of the formerly inaccessible, swampy bog. A part of the older trackway No. II dating to the period of the Roman Empire is on display at the permanent exhibition of the Archaeological Museum Hamburg in Harburg, Hamburg . Hellweg was the official and common name given to main travelling routes medieval trade route through Germany. Their breadth was decreed as an unimpeded passageway

6540-487: The eastern part of the Harrow Way become known as the Pilgrims Way , following the canonisation of Thomas Beckett and the establishment of a shrine in Canterbury , Kent . This pilgrimage route ran from Winchester , Hampshire , via Farnham , Surrey , to Canterbury Kent . The western section of the Harrow Way ends in Farnham, the eastern in Dover. The Ridgeway similarly keeps to high ground and for at least 5,000 years travellers have used it. The Ridgeway provided

6649-425: The even more ancient system of Yamato government called Gokishichidō . This was the name for ancient administrative units and the roads within these units, organized in Japan during the Asuka period (AD 538–710), as part of a legal and governmental system borrowed from the Chinese. Many highways and railway lines in modern Japan follow the ancient routes and carry the same names. The early roads radiated from

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6758-461: The evidence contradicted the idea of an ancient zodiac. The eye of Capricorn identified by Maltwood was a haystack. The western wing of the Aquarius phoenix was a road laid in 1782 to run around Glastonbury, and older maps dating back to the 1620s show the road had no predecessors. The Cancer boat (not a crab as in conventional western astrology) consists of a network of 18th-century drainage ditches and paths. There are some Neolithic paths preserved in

6867-481: The first purpose-built factory outlet in the United Kingdom. During the 19th and 20th centuries tourism developed based on the rise of antiquarianism , the association with the abbey and mysticism of the town. This was aided by accessibility via the rail and road network, which has continued to support the town's economy and led to a steady rise in resident population since 1801. Glastonbury received national media coverage in 1999 when cannabis plants were found in

6976-443: The ground and it flowered miraculously into the Glastonbury Thorn (also called Holy Thorn). This is said to explain a hybrid Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) tree that only grows within a few miles of Glastonbury, and which flowers twice annually, once in spring and again around Christmas time (depending on the weather). Each year a sprig of thorn is cut, by the local Anglican vicar and the eldest child from St John's School, and sent to

7085-425: The landscape over millennia. Improvements in metallurgy meant that by 2000 BC stone-cutting tools were generally available in the Middle East and Greece allowing local streets to be paved. Notably, in about 2000 BC, the Minoans built a 50 km (31-mile) paved road from Knossos in north Crete through the mountains to Gortyn and Lebena , a port on the south coast of the island, which had side drains,

7194-482: The landscape such as roads, streams and field boundaries, could be found situated around Glastonbury. She held that the "temple" was created by Sumerians about 2700 BC. The idea of a prehistoric landscape zodiac fell into disrepute when two independent studies examined the Glastonbury Zodiac, one by Ian Burrow in 1975 and the other by Tom Williamson and Liz Bellamy in 1983. These both used standard methods of landscape historical research. Both studies concluded that

7303-411: The last Abbot of Glastonbury, was executed with two of his monks on 15 November 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries . During the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 Perkin Warbeck surrendered when he heard that Giles, Lord Daubeney's troops, loyal to Henry VII , were camped at Glastonbury. In 1693 Glastonbury, Connecticut was founded and named after the English town from which some of

7412-421: The last decades of the 19th century, when it was superseded by the Trans-Siberian Railway (built 1891–1916), and the Amur Cart Road (built 1898–1909). The contemporary equivalent is the Trans-Siberian Highway . Streets paved with cobblestones appeared in the city of Ur in the Middle East dating back to 4000 BC. The Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius

7521-418: The later books survive today. The work became the inspiration for the later Vulgate Cycle of Arthurian tales. De Boron's account relates how Joseph captured Jesus's blood in a cup (the "Holy Grail") which was subsequently brought to Britain. The Vulgate Cycle reworked Boron's original tale. Joseph of Arimathea was no longer the chief character in the Grail origin: Joseph's son, Josephus, took over his role of

7630-464: The legendary associations, nor would we wish to". The site of King Arthur's supposed grave contained material dating from between the 11th and 15th centuries. Gilchrist said, "That doesn't dispel the Arthurian legend, it just means the pit [20th century archaeologist Ralegh Radford] excavated he rather over-claimed." The study made new archaeological finds; its leader found Glastonbury to be a remarkable archaeological site. The new results were reported on

7739-416: The lucrative trade in silk carried out along its length, beginning in the Han dynasty (207 BCE–220 CE). The Han dynasty expanded the Central Asian section of the trade routes around 114 BCE through the missions and explorations of the Chinese imperial envoy Zhang Qian . The Chinese took great interest in the safety of their trade products and extended the Great Wall of China to ensure the protection of

7848-816: The main routes. Kaidō ( 街道 , road ) were roads in Japan dating from the Edo period (between 1603 and 1868). They act important roles in transportation like the Appian way of ancient Roman roads. Major examples include the Edo Five Routes , all of which started at Edo (modern-day Tokyo ). Minor examples include sub-routes such as the Hokuriku Kaidō and the Nagasaki Kaidō . Kaidō , however, do not include San'yōdō , San'indō , Nankaidō and Saikaidō , which were part of

7957-761: The maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire . They ranged from small local roads to broad, long-distance highways built to connect cities, major towns and military bases. These major roads were often stone-paved and metaled, cambered for drainage, and flanked by footpaths, bridleways and drainage ditches. They were laid along accurately surveyed courses, and some were cut through hills, or conducted over rivers and ravines on bridgework. Sections could be supported over marshy ground on rafted or piled foundations. At

8066-527: The monks believed the Fairy King to be numbered among. Accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead. William of Malmesbury in his De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie gives the Old Celtic Ineswitrin (or Ynys Witrin ) as its earliest name, and asserts that the founder of the town was the eponymous Glast, a descendant of Cunedda . Centwine (676–685)

8175-469: The new railways caused a decline in trade, and the town's economy became depressed. The canal was closed on 1 July 1854, and the lock and aqueducts on the upper section were dismantled. The railway opened on 17 August 1854. The lower sections of the canal were given to the Commissioners for Sewers, for use as a drainage ditch. The final section was retained to provide a wharf for the railway company, which

8284-610: The north of Glastonbury, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills . The confluence of the two small streams that make the Whitelake River is on Worthy Farm, the site of the Glastonbury Festival , between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle . Along with the rest of South West England , Glastonbury has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature

8393-457: The officials of Glastonbury Abbey to transport produce from their outlying estates to the abbey, and when the valley of the River Axe was in flood it backed up to flood Glastonbury itself. Some time between 1230 and 1250 a new channel was constructed westwards into Meare Pool north of Meare , and further westwards to Mark Moor. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project based on

8502-566: The old Morlands factory was scheduled for demolition and redevelopment into a new light industrial park, although there have been some protests that the buildings should be reused rather than being demolished. As part of the redevelopment of the site a project has been established by the Glastonbury Community Development Trust to provide support for local unemployed people applying for employment, starting in self-employment and accessing work-related training. According to

8611-441: The other went south to the border post of Kyakhta where it linked to camel caravans that crossed Mongolia to a Great Wall gate at Kalgan . In the early 19th century, the route was moved to the south. From Tyumen the road proceeded through Yalutorovsk , Ishim , Omsk , Tomsk , Achinsk and Krasnoyarsk before rejoining the older route at Irkutsk. It remained a vital artery connecting Siberia with Moscow and Europe until

8720-528: The past believed". She noted that the project has actually uncovered the first definitive proof of occupation at the Glastonbury Abbey site during the fifth century—when Arthur allegedly lived. The legend that Joseph of Arimathea retrieved certain holy relics was introduced by the French poet Robert de Boron in his 13th-century version of the grail story, thought to have been a trilogy though only fragments of

8829-567: The peak of Rome's development, no fewer than 29 great military highways radiated from the capital, and the late Empire's 113 provinces were interconnected by 372 great roads. The whole comprised more than 400,000 kilometres (250,000 miles) of roads, of which over 80,000 kilometres (50,000 mi) were stone-paved. In Gaul alone, no less than 21,000 kilometres (13,000 mi) of roadways are said to have been improved, and in Britain at least 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi). The courses (and sometimes

8938-433: The peat of the bog formerly comprising most of the area, but none of the known paths match the lines of the zodiac features. There is no support for this theory, or for the existence of the "temple" in any form, from conventional archaeologists. Glastonbury is also said to be the centre of several ley lines . The town council is made up of 16 members, and is based at Glastonbury Town Hall , Magdalene Street. The town hall

9047-590: The predecessor of France, and East Francia became that of Germany. The Old Salt Route or Alte Salzstraße of the Hanseatic League was a medieval trade route in northern Germany that transported salt from Lüneburg to Lübeck . The Rennsteig is a ridgeway and an historical boundary path in the Thuringian Forest , Thuringian Highland and Franconian Forest in Central Germany . It

9156-438: The road from central Athens to Aegaleo and Chaidari (the old route to Eleusis) is called after the ancient road. The Corlea Trackway is an ancient road built on a bog consisting of packed hazel, birch and alder planks placed lengthways across the track, and occasional cross timbers for support. Other bog trackways or "toghers" have also been discovered dating to around 4000 BC. The Corlea trackway dates from approx 148 BC and

9265-511: The routes taken first by indigenous peoples and then colonists, especially in North America: However, Frank G. Roe disputes this theory – and its wider application – in "The 'Wild Animal Path' Origin of Ancient Roads". Some suggest that the portage routes of North American indigenous peoples followed "the game trails the animals had made around rough water. ... [And] as centuries passed, well-trodden paths were made, winding among

9374-563: The same population as is mentioned above. Glastonbury falls within the newly created Glastonbury and Somerton constituency , represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The Member of Parliament is Liberal Democrat, Sarah Dyke . Glastonbury is twinned with the Greek island of Patmos , and Lalibela, Ethiopia . The walk up

9483-463: The separate localities to the camp meeting places and cross-country flint roads. Others were more likely to have been processional ways, such as the one leading to the gigantic temple at Avebury in Wiltshire. On British hills, the line of tracks often run a little below the actual crest of a ridge , possibly to afford some shelter from the wind or to avoid travellers presenting themselves to marauders as

9592-574: The settlers had emigrated. It is rumored to have originally been called "Glistening Town" until the mid-19th century, when the name was changed to match the spelling of Glastonbury, England, but in fact, residents of the Connecticut town believe this to be a myth, based on the Glastonbury Historical Society's records. A representation of the Glastonbury thorn is incorporated onto the town seal. The Somerset town's charter of incorporation

9701-594: The soon-to-be King John I to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset , Sir Edward Seymour , brother of Queen Jane ; the Thynne family of Longleat , and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Edward Dyer was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building . It

9810-415: The south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection . Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter

9919-677: The surfaces) of many Roman roads survived for millennia; some are overlaid by modern roads. Francia or the Frankish Empire was the largest post-Roman Barbarian kingdom in Western Europe . It was ruled by the Franks during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages . It is the predecessor of the modern states of France and Germany . After the Treaty of Verdun in 843, West Francia became

10028-402: The thorn grow throughout Glastonbury including those in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, St Johns Church and Chalice Well . Today, Glastonbury Abbey presents itself as "traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world," which according to the legend was built at Joseph's behest to house the Holy Grail , 65 or so years after the death of Jesus. The legend also says that as

10137-405: The town's floral displays. Glastonbury is notable for myths and legends concerning Joseph of Arimathea , the Holy Grail and King Arthur as recorded by ancient historians William of Malmesbury , Venerable Bede , Gerald of Wales and Geoffrey of Monmouth . Many long-standing and cherished legends were examined in a four-year study by archaeologists, led by Professor Roberta Gilchrist, at

10246-583: The trade route. Prior to the Silk Road an ancient overland route existed through the Eurasian Steppe . Silk and horses were traded as key commodities; secondary trade included furs, weapons, musical instruments, precious stones (turquoise, lapis lazuli, agate, nephrite) and jewels. This route extended for approximately 10,000 km (6,200 mi).  Trans-Eurasian trade through the Steppe Route precedes

10355-486: The underlying peat. and were used to link the fen islands across the marshes . The Lindholme Trackway is later and dates to around 2900–2500 BC. It fits within a trend of narrowing width and increased sophistication during the third millennium BC. Some argue that this shift could relate to the growing complexity of wheeled transport at the time. Tracks provided links between farmsteads and fields, other farmsteads, and neighbouring long barrow tombs. They also joined

10464-454: The valleys and low-lying ground surrounding Glastonbury so the Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on the higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden trackways. These included the Sweet Track , west of Glastonbury, which is one of the oldest engineered roads known and

10573-515: The village known as 'Glastonbury of the Irish' and this could well be referring to the area of Beckery (Little Ireland) where it is believed an Irish Colony established itself in the 10th century and was thus nicknamed 'Little Ireland'. This area was known to the Irish as Glastimbir na n-Gaoidhil 'Glastonbury of the Gaels'. (The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey - Courteney Arthur Ralegh Radford). This

10682-958: The waterlogged soil to support a walkway that mainly consisted of oak planks laid end-to-end. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has been determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track, the Post Track , dating from 3838 BC, and so 30 years older. Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue , on the Somerset Levels near Godney , some 3 miles (5 km) north west of Glastonbury. It covers an area of 400 feet (120 m) north to south by 300 feet (90 m) east to west, and housed around 100 people in five to seven groups of houses, each for an extended family, with sheds and barns, made of hazel and willow covered with reeds, and surrounded either permanently or at certain times by

10791-684: Was a connecting road between small independent states in Thuringia . The route crosses the Thuringian Forest and the slate mountains of Thuringia and Franconian Forest , stretching from Hörschel at the river Werra (near Eisenach ) to Blankenstein at the river Saale . It is part of the European long-distance paths network. The Via Regia (king's road) is a medieval road that ran from Frankfurt am Main to Görlitz in Lower Silesia, in what

10900-543: Was built in 1814 and has a two-storey late Georgian ashlar front. It is a Grade II* listed building . For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, Glastonbury comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council . Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip , which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , having previously been part of Glastonbury Municipal Borough. The town's retained fire station

11009-576: Was excavated in 1994. It is the largest trackway of its kind to be uncovered in Europe. Ireland's prehistoric roads were minimally developed, but oak-plank pathways covered many bog areas, and five great 'ways' ( Irish : slighe ) converged at the Hill of Tara . An ancient avenue or trackway in Ireland is located at Rathcroghan Mound and the surrounding earthworks within a 370m circular enclosure. The Esker Riada ,

11118-411: Was formed only during the last 10,000 years, following the end of the last ice age . The low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana . This optical phenomenon occurs because rays of light are strongly bent when they pass through air layers of different temperatures in a steep thermal inversion where an atmospheric duct has formed. The Italian name Fata Morgana

11227-554: Was received in 1705. Growth in the trade and economy largely depended on the drainage of the surrounding moors. The opening of the Glastonbury Canal produced an upturn in trade, and encouraged local building. The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides , until the 1730s when it became a borough in its own right. By the middle of the 19th century the Glastonbury Canal drainage problems and competition from

11336-626: Was replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge in 1911. Until the 13th century, the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was prevented by gravel banks and peat near Westhay. The course of the river partially encircled Glastonbury from the south, around the western side (through Beckery), and then north through the Panborough- Bleadney gap in the Wedmore - Wookey Hills, to join the River Axe just north of Bleadney. This route made it difficult for

11445-463: Was the birthplace of Sir Edward Dyer (died 1607) an Elizabethan poet and courtier, the writer Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould . In the 1070s St Margaret's Chapel was built on Magdelene Street, originally as a hospital and later as almshouses for the poor. The building dates from 1444. The roof of the hall is thought to have been removed after the Dissolution, and some of

11554-519: Was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey . King Edmund Ironside was buried at the abbey. The Domesday Book indicates that in the hundred of Glastingberiensis , the Abbey was the Lord in 1066 prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror then tenant-in chief with Godwin as Lord of Glastingberi in 1086. To the southwest of the town centre is Beckery, which was once a village in its own right but

11663-526: Was the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe, until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in Belmarsh Prison . Tree-ring dating ( dendrochronology ) of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. The track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and

11772-717: Was unsuitable for the swift movement of troops and equipment. Mastiles Lane was a Roman marching road and later an important route for monks leading sheep from Fountains Abbey to summer pasture on higher ground. Also known as the Old Monks' Road, this is now a Dales walking track. The existence of ley lines and their relationship with ancient trackways was first suggested in 1921 by the amateur archaeologist Alfred Watkins , in his books Early British Trackways and The Old Straight Track . Watkins theorized that these alignments were created for ease of overland trekking on ancient trackways during neolithic times and had persisted in

11881-776: Was used until 1936, when it passed to the Commissioners of Sewers and was filled in. The Central Somerset Railway merged with the Dorset Central Railway to become the Somerset and Dorset Railway . The main line to Glastonbury closed in 1966. In the Northover district industrial production of sheepskins, woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, developed in conjunction with the growth of C&J Clark in Street. Clarks still has its headquarters in Street, but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village ,

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