A Site for All Sensibilities - King Arthur's Hall Trip

June 2025

The Tamar Dowsers and the Devon Dowsers at King Arthur's Hall 

To describe a dowsing location as enigmatic must be one of the highest accolades we can bestow on anywhere. Yet at King Arthur's Hall, near St Breward on Bodmin Moor, this is actually something of an understatement.

At face value, it appears to be a simple, if large, rectangular pit dug in the moorland turf for no obvious reason. Theories as to its original purpose have ranged from mediaeval animal pound to prehistoric meeting place. Dowsers have long known that its date of original construction pushes it way back in time - and the recent  revelations of an archaeological investigation have confirmed this.

The general consensus from both the rod and the sample is now that this is an almost  5,000 year-old hole, the size and shape of a substantial swimming pool, a metre or so deep to the current ground level - and another metre down to the bedrock/floor. 

My dowsing on this visit implied that the embedded cordon of menhirs that distinguish it from being just another hole-in-the-ground, were added a thousand years later - and that the floor was fashioned several centuries later 

still.

What is still tantalisingly uncertain is why a small population of late Bronze Age hunter-gatherers would devote quite so much effort into its construction at what is, and probably always has been, the middle of nowhere.

Dowsing throws the main source of light onto this conundrum. The site is de-marked and criss-crossed by so many lines of force, information and earth energy that the modest format is beset by a veritable maelstrom of dowsable features. 

Most, if not all, of the menhirs form markers of energy lines, grids, astronomical alignments and informational flows. Every time we visit it more of these become apparent, revealing a dense mesh in the etheric 'pool' - a confluence of meta-physical elements at this specific point in the landscape.

Add to this, the dowsing derived knowledge that the site is actually formed around a deep primary 'holy' spring, which still fails to run dry even under the harshest effects of a changing climate, and we have a site that defines itself - and is merely manifest by the directed efforts of humankind.  

On this visit, several of those present became aware of the more spiritual and inter-dimensional aspects of the Hall. It is a place to spend time in contemplation and simply BE in the presence of those past and everlasting.  

As an animal compound or abattoir, excavation has shown that it lacks any significant presence 

of bones. As a post-Celtic ritual site, it lacks physical votive offerings. Suggestions are that the accumulated outflow of the spring formed a seasonal pool surface for reflective scrying, or even  for devotional bathing in the highly energised water. 

If so, the yet-to-be-investigated floor must largely be made of impermeable bedrock or immaculate slabbing. As a gift to conspiracy theorists, the site has never been studied by ground-penetrating drone-based LIDAR, unlike most other locations of its type. Indeed, but for the actions of TD member Stuart Dow and his colleagues, scientific exploration of the place would so far have be negligible.

This field trip, ably organised by Stuart and supported by his DD oppo, Alan Murray, marked another step towards appreciating the complexity of the site.

Just maybe, it also provided another small step towards understanding the true nature of this - and indeed other

- similarly ancient constructions. 

Nigel Twinn

Tamar Dowsers and Devon Dowsers

June 2025

Jane Taylor (Devon Dowsers): Dowsing Discoveries at King Arthur's Hall! 

What an incredible joint outing we had recently to King Arthur's Hall on Bodmin Moor with our friends, Tamar Dowsers! It was a truly unique and special experience, filled with fascinating discoveries and, as always when dowsers gather, wonderful conversations about hidden mysteries.

The weather was on our side too! After a heatwave earlier in the week, it was refreshingly cool, and thankfully, the rain stayed away. Inside the ancient banks of the site, we were perfectly sheltered from the wind, and enjoyed lovely breaks of sunshine in the afternoon. 

Stu and Noel

 We started our day with a fascinating introduction to the site from Stuart Dow before making our way up the slope from our meeting point, ready to explore its ancient energies. Even gaining access to the site proved a challenge for some of us! It felt as if we were being halted at energetic gateways, needing to turn and face the opposite direction before we could continue. One dowser even experienced needing to walk with an unusual gait – a truly unique energetic interaction before we even fully arrived!

This enigmatic site, located near St. Breward on Bodmin Moor, has recently been revealed by archaeologists to date back over 5,000 years to the Neolithic period – making it as old as Stonehenge! 

 It's a rectangular enclosure, 60 x 25 Megalithic Yards, defined by an earth and stone bank with 56 standing stones lining its inner face. While it was once thought by some to be an animal enclosure, its considerable height and no obvious entrance for animals, coupled with our dowsing, may suggest otherwise. Its precise purpose from that ancient time remains a mystery, but given its unique design, unlike any other known Neolithic structure in England, it strongly suggests a profound sacred or ceremonial significance. 

The site is set within a rich prehistoric landscape, with Brown Willy and Rough Tor prominent in the area, and some stone circles nearby too. It's truly remarkable how well King Arthur's Hall has survived the natural erosion and the presence of cattle and sheep, given its open moorland setting. Although most of the stones within the rectangle are now recumbent or partially buried, you can still strongly feel the immense power of the place.  

Through dowsing, we made some captivating discoveries. We found many energy lines crossing the site, and some of us were drawn to the four corners outside the banked area in a ritualistic sequence, following these lines in a set order. Each corner dowsed to have a distinctly different energy about it – truly captivating! A spiral-type energy labyrinth was also dowsed, covering the entire site suggesting a profound energetic design.

The centre of the site was particularly intriguing, being a marshy pool clearly fed by a spring 

 - a detail that has long fascinated researchers, with some believing the spring was the very reason for its construction! Some of us entered this marshy pool area, and it felt like a deeply reflective experience. The marsh flowers even formed a striking circular pattern in the middle of the pool, reminiscent of a moonlight reflection.

This mysterious location is also thought to have been a possible scrying pool, with cosmic connections to the "Bear of Arthur" alignments and trigonometry and even a lunation triangle 5:12:13 hinting at ancient astronomical observations. 

Some dowsers felt that the site may have been developed by various inhabitants of the land over the course of time, with layers of purpose added over millennia. 

Outside the main structure, a couple of us also experienced what we described through dowsing as a "cosmic heat blob" - a distinct energy that we simply walked into, and which was strongly detectable with both dowsing rods and our innate senses. So amazing to just encounter!

In the afternoon, we all spread out around the banking, enjoying engaging conversations – it almost felt like lounging poolside! 

 Whatever its original purpose, King Arthur's Hall certainly has a temple-like feel and may well have been part of a larger ceremonial complex on Bodmin Moor, which is rich with other  prehistoric sites. 

While some questions may remain unanswered by archaeology, as dowsers we can ask those questions. Could our ancient ancestors have gathered here for ritual and ceremonial purposes, using the north-south alignment of the rectangle to embrace the deep holding of nature, the sacred water, and their connection to the cosmos? The palpable energy contained in this site seemed to captivate each of us on different levels, and whatever its past use, our dowsing and intuition showed each of us what we needed to know. 

Huge thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a memorable day of dowsing and discovery at this truly ancient and special place! 

To find out more about King Arthur's Hall, Stuart Dow gave a fascinating talk earlier in the year that is available to view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KaZ6qFUxzc