CERDIC

The potential burial site of the mysterious Dark Age king Cerdic who founded Wessex which grew into England is revealed in a new book.

Fascinating research based on an ancient land charter from the son of Alfred the Great leads to a former Bronze Age mound on the edge of a Hampshire town. This huge barrow was located near a historic trackway, a Wansdyke-style earthwork and an old Roman Road as a very public statement of power and warning to enemies.

Author Paul Harper said: "The exciting discovery has brought the story of Cerdic from a lost period of British history to life. This could be overwhelming proof that Cerdic was not just a product of fantasy in the chaotic aftermath of post-Roman Britain but a real warlord who forged a powerful realm which evolved into the nation of England."

The book reveals how Cerdic emerged from the ashes of Rome in the 6th century, with a warband known as the Gewisse which offered protection to civilians from barbarians roaming the land and then fought for territory with rival kingdoms before evolving into the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex.

During an unprecedented climate disaster, which blocked out normal sunlight and led to a plague pandemic which killed millions, Cerdic carved out a new domain that shapes Britain up to the present day.

One-by-one mysteries are solved including the identity of his shadowy son, the location of every bloody battle against enemy warlords, the links to an iconic medieval poem and the King Arthur legend.