He would have built a stone church, whose foundations are in the western part of the nave. The plain of Somerset was conquered in the 7th century by Saxons converted to Christianity during the reign of King Ine of Wessex, one of the main figures in the history of the abbey. Avalon, the junction point between earth and sea, was the place of the dead, the place of passage from one world to another. It is therefore not a coincidence that the church that surmounts this hill bears the name of archangel Saint Michael: the same one who fought against the forces of darkness. The name Avalon, derived from the name of demi-god Afallon (or Afallach) who reigns over the Underworld, also comes from a Celtic legend, according to which Avalon would be an enchanted place. The hill was then called Ynys-witrin, which means Island of Glass. Later, the sea retreated and formed a huge lake. 2,000 years ago, the sea reached the foot of the hill and encircled it like an island. If that is true, then Glastonbury was 4,000 or 5,000 years ago a place of worship comparable to Stonehenge. Since ever, these paths were thought to be a gigantic labyrinth, traced according to an ancestral and magical motif. Like Silbury Hill, Glastonbury Hill has a system of eroded and weathered terraces that are still clearly visible.
Was Glastonbury the center of a fertility cult, based on legends of the goddess of Earth? Or is it the legendary Isle of Avalon, where is located the tomb of King Arthur ? Avalon, kingdom of the dead Michael's Church and it is at the same time one of the most mysterious sites in England. Like a formidable prehistoric animal, Glastonbury Tor stands 160 meters above the Somerset Plain.
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