Archaeology
Stage where Shakespeare performed uncovered at St George’s Guildhall
The Guildhall of St George is a Grade I listed building constructed between 1410 and 1420 in King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
The hall has been used as a theatre since 1445, making it the oldest theatre still operating in the United Kingdom. The Guild regularly staged theatricals until their dissolution in 1547, when the hall was then used by companies of players, including the Queen’s Players, the dominant acting company formed at the express of Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1593, the outbreak of plague in London led to the closure of London theatres to prevent crowds spreading the disease. William Shakespeare is purported to have performed at the guildhall as part of the Earl of Pembroke’s Men, a troupe of actors under the patronage of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.
This is supported by a note in the corporation of King’s Lynn’s account book which shows that Shakespeare was paid by the corporation to perform. A contemporary book published in Shakespeare’s lifetime also describes how an audience member watching Shakespeare at King’s Lynn was so consumed with guilt over the play’s theme (murder), that she confessed to killing her husband.
Recent refurbishment works have uncovered 600-year-old oak floorboards underneath the 1960s and 1950s flooring. The discovery has been described as the “the largest expanse of timber medieval flooring in the country,” consisting of oak boards held together with pegs dated to between 1417 and 1430. A scientific analysis of the structure confirms that it is a complete 15th-century floor used during the time when Shakespeare performed in 1592-3.
Tim FitzHigham, Creative Director at the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, said:“I first heard the tale that Shakespeare had performed at the Guildhall as a kid, but when I went back as an adult it seemed people had forgotten about it.”
“Thanks to funding from the UK Government’s Towns Fund, under its Levelling Up agenda, a project to refurbish and redevelop St George’s Guildhall and associated buildings has been commenced by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, in partnership with Norfolk Museums Service, Norfolk County Council, and in collaboration with the National Trust who own the building,” said FitzHigham.
Cllr Simon Ring, Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Cabinet Member for Tourism, Events and Marketing said: “It confirms the guildhall as a heritage asset of national importance. It provides a further opportunity for us to promote its importance historically and to invite more funding so that we can complete the restoration to a standard that will not only stand the test of time, but also create an attraction that will catapult King’s Lynn and West Norfolk’s heritage into the world of ‘must visit’ British destinations.”
Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk
Header Image Credit : Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk
A Polish-Peruvian team of archaeologists have uncovered 22 mummified burials in Barranca, Peru.
The discovery was made on the Cerro Colorado hill, where the researchers unearthed the burials in one of four mounds located in a cluster.
Bioarchaeologist, Łukasz Majchrzak, said: “The bodies are wrapped in fabrics and plant material known as burial bundles. Between the layers of the fabrics we found ceramics, tools, and cult objects placed as funerary offerings.”
The team also found corn cobs and unidentified plant materials, which were likely placed as food for the deceased on their journey to the afterlife.
Six of the burial bundles contain the remains of adults placed in the fetal position, with their upper and lower limbs tucked under their chests.
According to the researchers, the adult burials are arranged vertically, which makes them appear as if they were sitting. They all have a similar external appearance, wrapped in thick fabric and entwined with rope.
One of the adult bundles is decorated with geometric patterns, while the remaining bundles – as Majchrzak suggests – may contain representations of animals and deities.
The other 16 burial bundles mostly contain the remains of children no older than 2 years old who were placed in a horizontal position.
The team plan to use computed tomography to examine completely preserved burial bundles that have no visible damage to allow for a non-invasive anthropological analysis. In further stages, they plan to carry out a chemical and isotope analysis, including the strontium isotope, which will determine whether the burials are from a local population.
Header Image Credit : R. Dziubińska
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
An international team, led by archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin has uncovered an ancient prehistoric fortress in a remote region of Siberia known as Amnya.
According to a study, published in the scientific journal “Antiquity”, the fortress is a complex system of defensive structures around an ancient settlement, dating from 8,000 years ago.
The fortress is spread across two settlement clusters, Amnya I and Amnya II. Amnya I consists of extant surface features such as banks and ditches, which enclose the tip of a promontory, and 10 house pit depressions. Ten further house pits, located approximately 50m to the east, comprise the open settlement of Amnya II.
Excavations have uncovered approximately 45 pottery vessels within the wider complex, including pointed and flat-based forms that reflect two distinct typological traditions.
The Amnya settlement complex signifies the start of a distinctive, enduring trend of defensive sites among hunter-gatherers in northern Eurasia—an almost continuous tradition that persisted for nearly eight millennia until the Early Modern period.
Tanja Schreiber, archaeologist at the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology in Berlin and co-author of the study, explains, “Through detailed archaeological examinations at Amnya, we collected samples for radiocarbon dating, confirming the prehistoric age of the site and establishing it as the world’s oldest-known fort.
“Our new palaeobotanical and stratigraphical examinations reveal that inhabitants of Western Siberia led a sophisticated lifestyle based on the abundant resources of the taiga environment,” added Schrieber.
The construction of fortifications by foraging groups has been observed in different parts of the world, primarily in coastal regions during later prehistoric periods. However, the early in inland western Siberia is unparalleled.
According to the researchers, the discovery transforms how we perceive ancient human communities, questioning the notion that the establishment of permanent settlements with grand architecture and intricate social systems began solely with the rise of agriculture.
Header Image Credit: Nikita Golovanov
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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