He's the man who insists King Arthur made his home in Huddersfield.

And now Simon Keegan is to give a talk in the town about his research which has astounded historians.

Daily Mirror journalist Keegan insists the real King Arthur was not from Cornwall or Wales, but was actually a northerner. He has spent years researching the ancient texts and says he can prove that King Arthur was from the Lancashire-Yorkshire area.

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Another tantalising piece of information is the placement of Arthur’s Camelot. The hamlet of Slack, at Outlane used to be called Camulod in Roman times and was home to a large and palatial amphitheatre.

The site has been closely examined by Huddersfield and District Archaeological Society many times over the past few years.

Simon Keegan, author of Pennine Dragon: The Real King Arthur of the North and journalist with the Mirrors Manchester office, at Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, long regarded as the birthplace of Arthur

Now Huddersfield Civic Society has arranged the talk on King Arthur by Keegan, author of Pennine Dragon: The Real King Arthur of the North on Tuesday, May 3, at 7.30pm at Heritage Quay at the University of Huddersfield.

Many people know King Arthur as a medieval ruler of an army of knights in shining armour with magic swords and wizards, but he was actually recorded much earlier as a warleader who battled the Saxons in the 6th century.

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He ruled in the Dark Ages - the time after the Romans withdrew and before the Saxon invasion was complete.

Arthur rallied the kings of Britain in a dozen pitched battles and sieges.

Keegan said: “The earliest surviving reference to King Arthur is a history book by a monk named Nennius who lists 12 of Arthur’s battles with names like Celidon, Dubglas, Agned and Badon.

Simon Keegan has written a book, Pennine Dragon, which claims King Arthur was actually a northerner

“They can be located from as far north as Scotland - ‘Celidon’ and ‘Mount Agned’ are Caledonia and Edinburgh - and I identify ‘Dubglas’ with the River Douglas in Wigan.

“Although the original manuscripts don’t survive, the works of northern bards are perhaps the oldest mentions of Arthur. These men actually lived around the time of Arthur and would place him in the north.”

Arthwys ap Mar’s life spanned exactly the right time period - around 470-540AD for the legendary king and he was well placed to have fought the Angles and other invaders.

To book a place at the event email richardehuddleston@gmail.com

The Roman fort at Slack, Outlane, as it may have looked 2,000 years ago superimposed on the landscape now, in context with the M62
The Roman fort at Slack, Outlane, as it may have looked 2,000 years ago superimposed on the landscape now, in context with the M62