Talk:Battle of Cannington

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[edit] Cannington or Countisbury?

The historians I've read identify Cynuit as Countisbury in Devon. Now I don't know much about local geography, but it seems to me that as long as the exact location of Cynuit is uncertain, the battle (and hence the article) ought to be called "Battle of Cynuit".

In general I agree a more neutral approach would be to have a main article "Battle of Cynw(u)it", with text stating it is likely to be Cannington. The evidence for a (the?) battle at Cannington is:

• archaeological: human remains from the period in a field east of the hill fort
• circumstantial: pattern of raids along the Bristol Channel, such as Watchet
• strategic: Cannington gateway to the Parrett, fording point at Combwich, access to Aethelney, tidal to Langport (e.g. previous raids to Somerton), north bank at Down End and access to the Polden ridge to Glastonbury
• name: nearby Combwich is certainly close to Cynwit

My 100-year old sources are W.H.P.Greswell (amateur, not very reliable by modern standards) and the Victoria History of Somerset (see picture credit for the map). I will try to find better archaeological references. It might also make sense to split Cannington Hill as a separate article about the Iron Age hill fort. --Mikhailfranco 15:04, 10 December 2006 (UTC)