Skeletons unearthed at a site said to have been visited by King Arthur are the oldest example of monks ever found in the UK, archaeologists have said.
Carbon dating revealed the remains, discovered at medieval Beckery Chapel, near Glastonbury, were from the 5th or early 6th Century AD.
Site director Dr Richard Brunning said: "It's the earliest archaeological evidence we've got for monasticism."
Beckery Chapel near Glastonbury 'earliest known UK monastic life'
5 December 2016
BBC News
About 50 or 60 skeletons were found at the monastic cemetery
Skeletons unearthed at a site said to have been visited by King Arthur are the oldest example of monks ever found in the UK, archaeologists have said.
Carbon dating revealed the remains, discovered at medieval Beckery Chapel, near Glastonbury, were from the 5th or early 6th Century AD.
Site director Dr Richard Brunning said: "It's the earliest archaeological evidence we've got for monasticism."
Beckery was excavated in May by the South West Heritage Trust.
The team found about 50 to 60 skeletons, most of whom were adult male, apart from two juveniles thought to be novice monks.
A female skeleton is believed to have been a visiting nun or patron.
Mr Brunning said the balance of male and female remains and the new scientific evidence meant there was little doubt the burial ground had been a monastic cemetery.
It predates Iona Abbey in Scotland, founded in the late 6th Century, and nearby Glastonbury Abbey, which dates from the 7th.
The monastery buildings would have been simply made using wattle and daub rather than stone
The earliest monks died in the 5th or early 6th centuries AD with burials taking place at Beckery until the early 9th Century AD.
"It would have been very small. We're only talking about a small number of monks there at any one time. Effectively it's like a large hermitage", explained Mr Brunning.
"It's on a small island just off Glastonbury so it's surrounded by the wetlands and cut off from normal life. That's probably why it's based there.
"There are a few rudimentary buildings made of wattle and daub, so nothing grand made of stone."
Further tests are planned to establish if the inhabitants were local or came from further afield.
Experts believe use of the site ended when the Vikings invaded later in the 9th Century AD and attacked Somerset.
The chapel is connected to legendary visits by King Arthur, who is said to have seen a vision of Mary Magdalene and the baby Jesus there.
The site was excavated in May by the South West Heritage Trust team of archaeologists
Beckery Chapel near Glastonbury 'earliest known UK monastic life' - BBC News
Carbon dating revealed the remains, discovered at medieval Beckery Chapel, near Glastonbury, were from the 5th or early 6th Century AD.
Site director Dr Richard Brunning said: "It's the earliest archaeological evidence we've got for monasticism."
Beckery Chapel near Glastonbury 'earliest known UK monastic life'
5 December 2016
BBC News
About 50 or 60 skeletons were found at the monastic cemetery
Skeletons unearthed at a site said to have been visited by King Arthur are the oldest example of monks ever found in the UK, archaeologists have said.
Carbon dating revealed the remains, discovered at medieval Beckery Chapel, near Glastonbury, were from the 5th or early 6th Century AD.
Site director Dr Richard Brunning said: "It's the earliest archaeological evidence we've got for monasticism."
Beckery was excavated in May by the South West Heritage Trust.
The team found about 50 to 60 skeletons, most of whom were adult male, apart from two juveniles thought to be novice monks.
A female skeleton is believed to have been a visiting nun or patron.
Mr Brunning said the balance of male and female remains and the new scientific evidence meant there was little doubt the burial ground had been a monastic cemetery.
It predates Iona Abbey in Scotland, founded in the late 6th Century, and nearby Glastonbury Abbey, which dates from the 7th.
The monastery buildings would have been simply made using wattle and daub rather than stone
The earliest monks died in the 5th or early 6th centuries AD with burials taking place at Beckery until the early 9th Century AD.
"It would have been very small. We're only talking about a small number of monks there at any one time. Effectively it's like a large hermitage", explained Mr Brunning.
"It's on a small island just off Glastonbury so it's surrounded by the wetlands and cut off from normal life. That's probably why it's based there.
"There are a few rudimentary buildings made of wattle and daub, so nothing grand made of stone."
Further tests are planned to establish if the inhabitants were local or came from further afield.
Experts believe use of the site ended when the Vikings invaded later in the 9th Century AD and attacked Somerset.
The chapel is connected to legendary visits by King Arthur, who is said to have seen a vision of Mary Magdalene and the baby Jesus there.
The site was excavated in May by the South West Heritage Trust team of archaeologists
Beckery Chapel near Glastonbury 'earliest known UK monastic life' - BBC News