Where is the legendary island of Avalon supposed to be, and what is its significance?
wvwoman is right in that “Avalon” is generally supposed to be Glastonbury Tor; however, this is a hill in the middle of Somerset, England, which used to be an island simply because much of western and northern Somerset used to be underwater. What wasn’t just shallow sea was deep swamp; land was first reclaimed from this when sea defences and drainage systems were put in under the Roman occupation, previous to 45 AD, but for centuries after that the area consisted of swamps and fens and a generally watery landscape until the huge engineering projects of the 18th and 19th centuries “reclaimed the Levels”. The moors were enclosed by dykes and drainage ditches between 1770 and 1833; clay was spread over the fields and then controlled flooding used to deposit silt and further raise the level of the land. The Tor itself has some rather amazing geology, and it stands out distinctly from the Levels — and it is not particularly surprising that it seems to have been a focal point for religion,
