Digging for Shakespeare at New Place Stratford-upon-Avon

New Place was Shakespeare’s primary residence in the final 19 years of his life, and it is thought that several of his later works were written there. The complex of buildings at New Place was demolished in the 1750s, but the site has remained popular with fans of the world’s most famous writer. Indeed, Victorian antiquarians excavated the site in 1862 to confirm the layout of the property but the techniques were a far cry from those used by 21st century archaeologists as they record everything in detail, from the soil deposits to all structural elements, the entire range of both artefacts and ecofacts all with the intention of revealing the site’s former occupants.

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, says Professor Stanley Wells, Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. 

As archaeologists discover artefacts from Shakespeare’s lifetime from the ground, an expert panel of archaeologists, historians and scholars, will help interpret what has been found, relating new discoveries to what is already known about Shakespeare’s life, and adding extra detail to academic understanding of his later years.

The research is not merely an academic exercise. Unusually for a dig on this scale, the public will be able to walk around the excavations on specially-built scaffolding platforms, watching the archaeologists and volunteers who are hand excavating three trenches on the site, and interacting with the archaeological staff, who will be able to explain to visitors what work is taking place at any given moment.

In total, three areas of the site will be excavated:

• The foundations at the front of the property, examining the rear range of New Place, its courtyard and remains of a large cellar from a mansion built over part of the site in 1702.
• One quarter of the 19th century knot garden, which, it is hoped, might have been used in Shakespeare’s day as backyards and contain wells, cess pits or rubbish pits
• The brick-bordered flower beds, which it is believed closely follow the layout of the foundations of Shakespeare’s domestic buildings.
• This is an amazing opportunity to use the latest techniques to find out so much more about Shakespeare’s life,â€Â adds Professor Wells. Although we are currently planning the dig to run from March until September 2010, if the dig uncovers any particularly exciting finds, we do have the option of continuing the excavation next year and maybe even further into the future. The New Place excavation could very well shed more light on many aspects of Shakespeare’s life that had not been fully explored before.

The dig launched on Friday 26 March 2010 and the archaeology continues until early September, although visitors will be able to view the excavation right up until the end of October 2010.