It's the find of a lifetime. But it can't compare to the alleged find over 800 years earlier in the western county of Somerset. It is rumored, however, that the abbot planted the evidence. The monastery had burned down a few years before, and he hoped to lure money-bearing pilgrims. The cross and bodies have been lost, but pilgrims still come in droves.
British entrepreneurs promote less traditional locales, too.
A new book, The Keys to Avalon , counters that the fabled king reigned in North Wales. The authors are consultants for the North Wales Tourist Board. Even the French are scrambling to enter the game. Officials in the province of Brittany, on France's northwest coast, are publicizing a trail of Arthurian sites. These include the Fontaine de Barenton, reputed to be Merlin's favorite spot for quaffing liquor, and the Fosse d'Arthur, where Bretons believe Arthur made his last stand.