Graham Phillips (author)

Graham Phillips is a British author. Phillips has a background working as a reporter for BBC radio and as a magazine editor. He has made a number of controversial claims concerning the Arthurian legend, such as the discovery of a small stone cup that he proposes was the original Holy Grail,^[1] the identification of a Roman ruin as the "historical Camelot",^[2] and the discovery of what he suggests is King Arthur's grave.^[3] He has also investigated various biblical mysteries, again presenting some controversial theories, such as an alternative location for Mount Sinai at Petra in Jordan,^[4] an Egyptian staff in a British museum as the staff of Moses,^[5] and a grave on the British island of Anglesey as the tomb of the Virgin Mary.^[6]

Books

With Martin Keatman

• The Green Stone. Neville Spearman, 1983. ISBN 0-85978-060-0. Documents the authors' search for a hidden jewel rumoured to have belonged to Mary Queen of Scots.
• The Eye of Fire. C.W. Daniel, 1986. ISBN 978-0-85207-172-4. An investigation into a Victorian secret society and the search for an ancient talisman they are said to have possessed.
• King Arthur: The True Story. Century, 1992. ISBN 978-0-7126-5580-4. Researches the origins of the King Arthur myth, concluding that Arthur was an historical fifth-century warlord from the English Midlands.
• The Shakespeare Conspiracy. Century, 1994. ISBN 978-0-7126-5883-6. Examines the evidence concerning the private life of William Shakespeare, and proposes that the playwright worked as a spy for the Protestant government of Queen Elizabeth I.
• Robin Hood: The Man Behind the Myth. Michael O'Mara, 1995. ISBN 978-1-85479-996-8. Suggests that the legendary outlaw may have been a composite character based on three separate historical figures.

Solo

• The Search for the Grail. Century, 1995. ISBN 978-0-7126-7533-8. Proposes that the medieval Grail romances where based on the legend of a jar that was said to have belonged to Jesus' follower Mary Magdalene.
  • Reissued as: The Chalice of Magdalene. Bear & Company, 2004. ISBN 1-59143-038-0.
• Act of God. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1998. ISBN 978-0-283-06314-5. Investigates the biblical accounts of the Exodus, concluding that the plagues of the Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea were real historical events caused by a volcanic eruption.
  • Reissued as: Atlantis and the Ten Plagues of Egypt. Bear & Company, 2003. ISBN 978-1-59143-009-4.
• The Marian Conspiracy. Sidgwick & Jackson, 2000. ISBN 978-0-283-06341-1. Examines the historical evidence concerning the life of the Virgin Mary and proposes that the true location of her tomb was kept secret by the Vatican.
  • Reissued as: The Virgin Mary Conspiracy. Bear & Company, 2005. ISBN 1-59143-043-7.
• The Moses Legacy. Sidgwick & Jackson, 2002. ISBN 978-0-283-07315-1. Explores the origins of Judaism by examining the historical and archaeological evidence concerning the period of the Old Testament.
  • Reissued as: 12 Tribes, 10 Plagues and the 2 Men who were Moses. Ulysses Press, 2003. ISBN 1-56975-355-5.
• Alexander the Great: Murder in Babylon. Virgin Publishing, 2004. ISBN 978-1-85227-134-3. Investigates the mystery of Alexander's death, concluding that he was poisoned by his wife Roxanne.
• The Templars and the Ark of the Covenant. Bear & Company, 2004. ISBN 978-1-59143-039-1. An account of the author's search for the biblical Ark of the Covenant by following a trail of clues purportedly left by the Knights Templars during the Middle Ages.
• Merlin and the Discovery of Avalon in the New World. Bear & Company, 2005. ISBN 978-1-59143-047-6. Proposes that the Arthurian Merlin was based on an historical figure who sailed to America a thousand years before Columbus.
• The End of Eden. Bear & Company, 2007. ISBN 978-1-59143-069-8. Advocates that a comet impact around 1500 BCE was responsible for the simultaneous collapse of various civilisations around the world.

Documentaries and television appearances

Phillips has worked twice with British TV personality Tony Robinson and appeared in his documentaries Robin Hood: Fact or Fiction (2003)^[7] and The Real Da Vinci Code (2005),^[8] and with historian Michael Wood: In Search of Myths and Heroes: King Arthur (2005).^[9] He has made two guest appearances on Britain's Channel Four Richard & Judy show: The Templars and the Ark of the Covenant (2004),^[10] and King Arthur: The True Story (2005).^[11] His investigations featured in two documentaries on the National Geographic Channel: The Hunt for the Lost Ark (2005)^[12] and Is it Real?: King Arthur (2007).^[13] Phillips's search for the lost Ark was the subject of an episode of the Travel Channel and History Channel's Legend Hunters^[14] series (The Ark of the Covenant, 2007^[15]) as was his investigation into the Grail legend (The Holy Grail, 2004^[16]). Phillips's search for the Holy Grail formed part of the Lucasfilm documentary Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest about real-life Indiana Jones type researchers which accompanied the release of the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008. His research into the Grail and Camelot legend featured in the Travel Channel's Weird Travels 2006 series (Weird Travels: The Quest for the Holy Grail). And his investigations into the secret life of William Shakespeare and the Grail legend formed part of the Discovery Channel's Puzzles of the Past 2001 series (Master Spies^[17] and Holy Relics^[18]).

References

1. "The quest for the Grail is ended", Daily Mail, 12 August 1995
2. "Tracking the Bear King", Sunday Express, 9 August 1992
3. "Is this the real King Arthur?", Daily Mail, 5 September 1992
4. "Moses Supposes", Times Literary Supplement, 12 July 1998
5. "BBC News : ENGLAND : Staff of Moses 'found' in Birmingham". BBC News article. 11 April 2002. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
6. "The Marian Conspiracy". Official website. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
7. "In the footsteps of Robin Hood". Spire Films – First shown on Channel 4(UK) in October 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
8. "channel4.com". Wildfire Television. First shown on Channel 4 (UK) 3 February 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
9. "In Search of Myths & Heroes". Maya Vision International. First shown on BBC 2 (UK) 25 February 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
10. "channel4.com". Cactus TV. Channel 4 (UK) December 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
11. "channel4.com". Cactus TV. Channel 4 (UK) June 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
12. "Mysteries of the Bible – The hunt for the Lost Ark". National Geographic Television. First shown on the National Geographic Channel (US) 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
13. "Is it Real? – King Arthur". National Geographic Television. First shown on the National Geographic Channel (US) 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
14. "Partners in Motion/Harmony Entertainment". Partners in Motion/Harmony Entertainment Official Website. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
15. "The Templars and the Ark of the Covenant – National Film Board of Canada". Partners in Motion. First shown on the Travel Channel (US) 14 December 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
16. "Legend Hunters: The Holy Grail". Partners in Motion. First shown on the History Channel (US) 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
17. "Puzzles of the Past". Clark Television. First shown on Discovery Channel (US) 5 June 1998. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
18. "Puzzles of the Past". Clark Television. First shown on Discovery Channel (US) 2 June 1998. Retrieved 25 March 2009.

External links

• The Official Graham Phillips Website