London , April 6: British archaeologists have started excavating at three sites in Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, looking for rubbish tips to get some details about the life of the Bard.
The excavations centre round New Place, Shakespeare’s final home that was demolished in 1759. This was Shakespeare’s primary residence in the final 19 years of his life, and several of his later works are likely to have been written here, according to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
“Much of what we know about Shakespeare comes from contemporary reports or accounts, in public records for financial and legal transactions — such as the legal document of ownership for New Place, which we have in our archives — but we hope this dig will give us the opportunity to find out so much more about his day-to-day life once he returned to Stratford from London,” Prof. Stanley Wells, chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said.
“We’re excavating three areas in total — one large trench will run from the Chapel Street end of the property up to the end of the inner courtyard, a second will investigate the area currently occupied by the herb garden, and the final area will involve the excavation of one quarter of the knot garden at the rear of the building,” said Dr Diana Owen, director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
The knot garden is important as the archaeologists hope to unearth the rubbish or cesspit in that area. This is where archaeologists believe they might find defunct wells, filled in with refuse and waste when they ceased to be used.
“We do not know if the knot garden was an area used by Shakespeare — it may have been a yard simply used by his servants, but this could actually yield some fantastic results, especially if it was an area where rubbish was thrown or the cess pit was located,” Dr Owen added.
The dig, which was launched on March 26 and will continue till end of September, potentially can lead to lot of revelations about Shakespeare. “Even the smallest shard of broken pottery has the potential for giving us tantalising glimpses into the life of Shakespeare such as what he liked to eat and drink,” said Kevin Colls, an University of Birmingham archaeologist. The excavation, named Dig For Shakespeare, is being undertaken by archaeologists from Birmingham Archaeology.
The trust, which owns all property linked to Shakespeare in Stratford-upon Avon, has organised a new exhibition on Shakespeare’s life after his return from London to Stratford. The exhibition is housed at Nash’s House, the building that adjoined New Place and which was owned by Shakespeare’s granddaughter Elizabeth Hall’s husband Thomas Nash.
Sarju Kaul