The Arthur stone was discovered in 1998 in 6th Century ruins at Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, England. Apparently originally used to dedicate some building or other public structure, it was broken down and used as a drain when the original structure was destroyed.
Its Latin inscription reads: PATER COLI AVI FICIT ARTOGNOV; the (approximate) translation reading, Artognou, father of a descendant of Coll, has had (this) constructed. The name "Artognou" would be pronounced "Arthnou," a clear derivative of the Celtic name Arthur.
Accoridng to Arthurian myth, first recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth, King Arthur was born and raised at Tintagel Castle. However, the current Tintagel Castle had not been constructed at the time of Geoffrey's writing; something had to have influenced his placing of Arthur's birthplace there. Of further note is the fact that, in his History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey lists one of Arthur's relatives as Coel Hen (Old King Cole), likely the same "Coll" listed on the Arthur stone.
Also found in the 6th Century fort at Tintagel were found numerous remains of expensive pottery, glasswork, and coins from Spain and the Byzantine Empire; it would have had to be a powerful state to have sustained trade with the Mediterranean. Previous to the discovery of the Arthur stone, the fort at Tintagel had been offered as a possible location of Camelot.
The "Arthnou" of the stone, while possibly being the powerful ruler of Tintagel and Cornwall and being in the proper timeframe for the "real" Arthur, was almost certainly not him; it is most likely that a single, historical Arthur never existed. However, the memory of Arthnou could certainly have been one a basis for the historical king Arthur.
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