The excavations at the front of New Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, (Chapel Street side) have continued only slowly with a new linking trench between the main cellar trench and the trench that looked at the so-called 'bay-window' of Shakespeare's so-called rear study of New Place. So far this new insision has been ploughing through 1860's backfill once again and finding (as of today actually) more of the capped off walls of the 1702 cellar. Soon we should get the rear wall of the cellar.

Work in the rear knot garden is the most exciting area of endeavour. The second (of four) quadrants through the circular feature has now been completed. Apart from broken bricks, tiles and mortar (classic robbing material) only parts of the horse's head have been found, suggested by some to be a ritual deposit - maybe. But don't get too excited, this is all (based on the bricks and some pottery scraps) 18th Century apparently.

The brick rubble has all been removed (about a metre deep), now revealling a burnt edge, and a black sooty bottom - both suggestive of a major fire.

That's all fine - but what on earth is this - why dig a substantial pit simply to burn things? I've not encountered such a thing before. I still think the interpretation of this feature is problematic, and to be fair, so does site director Will Mitchell.

For what its worth, I still think there is a chance that under the soot, we shall find the un-robbed remains of an 18th Century brick-lined well - but my case is weaker than it was.

Next to this feature is an even more interesting one - just begun today (23rd June). It seems to be square or rectangular, maybe as much as 2m across and containing (at uppermost levels at least) dark brown soil with lots of bones and pottery and - most exciting of all - late-17th Century clay pipes. NOW then, this isn't confirmed yet and this isn't IT - BUT, it looks as promising as anything so far - as it looks like domestic rubbish. And judging by the steep angle of the tiles and stones we see, its likely to be a pit, not a shallow scoop. Moreover, the upper fill at least is dating from the same century that Shakespeare was resident (although he was early 17th Century of course) - but we are getting sooo much closer to the real thing.

4th June 2010.
After a period of consolidation with much recording and planning, the team from Birmingham University have been hard at it again. The 1702 cellar may now be down to floor level with a compacted, pebbly horizontal surface appearing - possibly beneath the brick casing (of 1862/3) that was built around the original (1702) cellar walls.

Beneath this is where we might expect the truncated remains of Shakespeare's wells from his courtyard - maybe waterlogged - and if they are!!

The river end of the main trench also seems to be at the level that Halliwell-Philips (Victorian archaeologist) stopped his work and this is the level at which he constructed more brick encasing. If the original walls he encased (the so-called 'bay window') are sitting at this level (or lower) that means they are standing quite high (at least 0.40m).

At the rear (Knot Garden end) there is one quadrant left to remove. More cut features are appearing cutting from the same level as the well-like feature previously noted. Presumably these were of different periods but were truncated at the same time by the Knot Garden creation in the 1920's.

Seiveing will start soon hopefully. This is good as it will relieve pressure on spoil storage and the team can crack on with heavier soil removal.

Slow progress on the dig, but NEW is the revelation that the brick walls we thought were the cellar walls of the 1702 mansion are not (yet again) what they seem.

The walls we see (with their stone cappings) are in fact built around the original cellar walls and were put there by the Victorian antiquarian James Halliwell-Phillips who uncovered them in the 1860'. He clearly did this in order to protect the walls before they were covered by backfill and the subsequent landscaping we now see.

So, we have evidence of some innovative conservation practices, and this, combined with the related practise of surrounding features of note with brick walls so they can be displayed are clearly an early foray into heritage interpretation. This all shows great care for the heritage uncovered in this early dig.

A paper maybe?

Meanwhile the second of the four quadrants in the Knot Garden is making slow progress, whilst work in the so-called 'brewery area' moves along.

Making progress

The dig at Shakespeare's house in Stratford is really looking good now with loads of questions raising themselves. I think the overall message is ... 'nothing is as it appears'.

The 1702 mansion cellar (excavated in 1862/3) is looking good with the internal walls now appearing from underneath the Victorian spoilheaps. We should soon be at floor level and then of course have the opportunity to discover I hope the rear (east, riverward) wall of Shakespeare's front range cellar wall as well as the truncated remains of wells within Shakesperare's internal courtyard that should be east of this.

I think the stone wall that is stratified underneath the south 1702 cellar wall in brick, is probably the single most significant feature we have. Its clearly on a different alignment to the 1702 cellar walls and also of a different build (stone not brick). The Victorians thought it to be Shakespeare's cellar wall, and given the simple fact that it lies beneath the 1702 cellar wall - that seems convincing.

It needs a good clean and recording. A little look the other day showed it was not at all clear and that it was not exclusively stone or even drystone (I saw both bricks and mortar within it).

Meanwhile out the back (east, towards the river) we are seeing the first traces of cut features beneath the 1920 period Knot garden topsoil. Whilst the first one seems 18th Century and maybe a robbed well (I have a pound on that), it shows that idea that curt features will survive beneath the topsoil is not crazy, and thus that we have a significantly higher chance of finding cut features of Shakespeare's period - and thus his elucive rubbish.

I hope so. watch this space for more.