Wizard
Merlin's Mound
Ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini?
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Tree-covered mound
- Legend from
- Medieval tradition; perhaps Alexander Neckam
- Tone
- Wondrous
Where now are the bones of wise Merlin? The town still asks on its coat of arms.
In the grounds of Marlborough College stands a mound second in size only to nearby Silbury Hill, now dated to about 2400 BC. Medieval writers claimed it as Merlin's grave and said the town's name meant Merlin's barrow. The town arms still ask, 'Ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini' – where now are the bones of wise Merlin? Historians point out that Merlebergh appears in Domesday, long before Merlin entered the Arthurian story, and the mound later carried a Norman castle.