The Gog Oak is one of a pair of ancient oaks known as The Oaks of Avalon. Although this tree is dead, its companion Magog is very much alive. They were independently named after the ancient apocalyptic figures Gog & Magog. These oaks are believed to have been part of a ceremonial avenue towards the Glastonbury Tor which was cut down in 1906 to make way for a farm. A historically-based belief has Joseph of Arimathea following the Avenue of trees towards the tor but we don’t know if these particular trees were part of that original Avenue & we’re still debating the age of these trees. In 2017, this already dead tree was accidentally burned by some cleaver person that thought it would be a good idea to light a candle inside a dead tree.
The SCATTER project was funded by the Woodland Trust & carried out by researchers from UCL with logistical support & ancient oak expertise from The Ancient Tree Forum.
If visiting ancient trees, please be respectful to these living legends and their custodians.
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