Athelney is a small village located in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. The village, near North Petherton, is built around the Isle of Athelney, once a very low isolated island in the 'very great swampy and impassable marshes' of the Somerset Levels. Sedgemoor is a local government district of Somerset in England. ... Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Map sources for North Petherton at grid reference ST2933 North Petherton is a small town in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. ... The Somerset Levels (or Somerset Levels and Moors as they are less commonly but more correctly called) is a sparsely populated wetland area of central Somerset between the Quantock and Mendip hills, consisting of marine clay levels along the coast, and the inland (often peat based) moors. The total area...

Isle of Athelney

The Isle of Athelney is best known for once being the fortress hiding place of King Alfred the Great, from where he went on to defeat the Danes at the Battle of Eddington in May 878. Statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester Alfred (849? – 26 October 899) or Ælfred was king of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex from 871 to 899. ... The Battle of Edington (May 878) was a battle which took place near Edington in the county of Wiltshire in the south_west of England. ... Events The Danes force king Alfred the Great of Wessex to retreat to a fort in Athelney, Somerset. ...

Archaeological excavations and written evidence indicate that at the time of Alfred the island was linked by a causeway to East Lyng, with either end protected by a semi-circular stockade and ditch. The ditch on the island is now known to date from the Iron Age. It is therefore presumed that the Isle was known by Alfred to have been an ancient fort, and that its existing defences were were strenthened by him. Evidence of metalworking on the site suggests that he also used the island to equip his army. When translated from the Anglo-Saxon, the name of the isle, Æthelinga íeg, is often thought to mean the Island of Princes; if correct this might suggest that the island had royal connections prior to Alfred. Importance and applicability Most of human history is not described by any written records. ... In modern usage, a causeway is a road elevated by a bank, usually across a broad body of water or wetland. ... Missing image Image:http://www2. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create parts or structures. ...

To give thanks for his victory, in 888 Alfred founded a monastery on the Isle that lasted until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, under King Henry VIII of England. The location of the monastry, on top of the isle, is marked by a Victorian monument. Events January 13: With the death of Charles the Fat, the Frankish kingdom is split again, and this time permanently. ... Buddhist monastery near Tibet A monastery is the habitation of monks. ... The Dissolution of the Monasteries (referred to by Roman Catholic writers as the Suppression of the Monasteries) was the formal process, taking place between 1536 and 1540, by which King Henry VIII confiscated the property of the Roman Catholic monastic institutions in England and took them to himself, as the... Events May 30 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian Era of Great Britain is considered the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ...

The Isle is distuished as being the site of the 1st and 100th Time Team television archaeology programs. Time Team is a popular and populist Channel 4 television series dealing with archaeology, first shown in 1994. ...

See also

• Museum