A NEW book claims to have uncovered the home of the legendary wizard Merlin, in the Borders.

In “The Ghosts of the Forest”, author William A. Young reveals new evidence placing the famous magician in Liddesdale.

“A connection between Merlin and northern Britain has long been accepted by scholars” he says. “In the earliest legends relating to Merlin, he was made court bard to a king called Gwentholye whose capital lay just north of Carlisle.

“When the king was killed in a nearby battle, Merlin was described as fleeing to a mountain in the forest to hide from his enemies. By examining the descriptions given in the legends, and cross-referencing them with place-name and archaeological evidence, I believe I may have identified the hilltop considered to have been his refuge.

“The summit in question is Glendhu Hill in Liddesdale, one mile south of the line of the border. A series of unexplained ruins are to be found there that correspond very closely to the content of the legends.”

“The Ghosts of the Forest” attempts to reconstruct portions of the lost mythology of the Celtic Britons, the original inhabitants of southern Scotland and northern England. It uses evidence drawn from archaeology, folklore, and Celtic legends, some of which have only recently been translated.

Much of the content of the book is focussed on the Borders. It puts forward the theory that Merlin was a pagan who worshipped gods from the time of the druids, and connects a series of locations in and around the Border region to this pagan Celtic religion. It also reveals evidence suggesting that a number of these holy places remained in use for centuries after Merlin’s lifetime.

“If these conclusions are accurate,” says William, “then it is the case that the pre-Christian religion of northern Britain survived for far longer, and in a far more complete form, than has hitherto been recognised.

“It is possible that the history of this island is very different from that in which we are conventionally taught to believe – and that the importance of the Borders in that history has been grossly under-estimated.”

The “Ghosts of the Forest” is available in print and ebook formats from Amazon, and through the author’s website at www.inter-celtic.com.