Young Archaeologist issue 144

Summer 2010

The Summer issue of Young Archaeologist magazine was themed around William Shakespeare and Elizabethan England.

Find out more about English poet William Shakespeare and the current excavations at his old home in Stratford upon Avon.

YAC launches the 2010 ‘Dig It’ competition with opportunities to dig at Hungate in York or at the Dig for Shakespeare at Shakespeare’s House in Stratford upon Avon.

‘Where in the World’ takes YAC to Qatar to discover their buried archaeological sites.

Raksha Dave from Time Team tells YAC about this month’s excavation.

The YAC Attack! in this issue is all about making Elizabethan knot gardens. It describes how to create your own knot garden, using cress to make the box hedges.

Wordsearch:

Did you have a go at the Wordsearch on the Just for Fun page? If you did then you will know that the mystery place linked to William Shakespeare is the Rose Theatre in London. Well done for solving the puzzle, now it’s time to find out more about the Rose Theatre.

The Rose Theatre

The original Rose Theatre was built in London in 1587 by Philip Henslowe. It was the fifth purpose-built theatre to be built in the city, and the first in the area of the city called Bankside alongside the River Thames in Southwark. Lots of Henslowe’s documents relating to the theatre survive, including an account book.

The Rose Theatre was one of the landmarks of the city of London that Shakespeare knew. It was made of wood with a plaster exterior and a thatched roof. It was not completely circular, but was actually a 14-sided shape. The diameter of the outside of the Rose was about 22m, and the inside was about 14m wide.

At least two of Shakespeare’s plays were first shown at the Rose: Henry VI Part I and Titus Andronicus. The success of the Rose Theatre was also its downfall. It attracted good audiences and encouraged the building of other theatres at Bankside. These included the Swan in 1595 and the Globe - the theatre more closely associated with Shakespeare - in 1599. These rival theatres put the Rose out of business, and the theatre fell out of use by 1603. By 1606 it was abandoned completely and was then probably knocked down.

Archaeology at the Rose Theatre

The story of the Rose Theatre would have remained in the past, but archaeologists from the Museum of London discovered its remains in 1989 when an office block built on the site in the 1950s was demolished.

The remains of the Rose Theatre were very well preserved. This is because the site is close to the River Thames, and was very damp. Wet conditions help to protect archaeological deposits from rotting away.

By May 1989, the archaeologists had uncovered about 65% of the theatre’s ground plan. This is now shown with red rope lights (see picture, right) The chalk and stone foundations of its outer and inner walls survived, as did some brickwork. The archaeologists also discovered that the yard of the theatre had a mortar floor which sloped down towards the stage. This would have helped the people at the back of the audience to have a clear view of the action.

There was also evidence of improvements to the stage and the northern half of the theatre, which stretched the theatre into an oval shape. Henlsowe’s account book shows he spent £105 on the works in 1592.

More than 700 small objects and finds were also found on the site. They include jewellery, coins, tokens and fragment of the moneyboxes used to collect entrance money from the audience.

The site of the Rose Theatre is now protected and looked after by the Rose Theatre Trust. It is once again a theatre. The archaeological remains have been protected and an exhibition is open to the public to explain more about the excavation. The Trust hopes to excavate the remaining third of the original theatre in the future.

Where can I find out more?

You can find out more on the Rose Theatre website.

The Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre is the London theatre most closely linked to Shakespeare. It was the home of Shakespeare’s theatre company the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.

The Globe Theatre was built in 1599 using wood taken from a previous theatre simply known as ‘The Theatre’. The Theatre was taken down piece by piece when the lease held by Lord Chamberlain’s Men on the land on which it stood ran out. The wood was taken across the River Thames, and the Globe Theatre was then built using it! The Globe was also built in Bankside, near the Rose Theatre.

The Globe was destroyed by fire on 29th June 1613 during a performance of Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII. A canon used in the play misfired and set fire to the wooden beams and thatch of the roof. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614. It closed in 1642 and was pulled down two years later.

A reconstruction of the Globe Theatre now stands in Bankside. It puts on performances of Shakespeare’s plays.

Where can I find out more?

You can find out more at the Globe Theatre website.

External Internet Saftey Links

External websites are out of the control of The Young Archaeologists’ Club. Whilst we have carried out an initial check that the content of the website is suitable for The Young Archaeologists’ Club age range, The Young Archaeologists’ Club is not responsible for the content of these external sites. If you feel that the link is unsuitable, please do let us know.

CEOP’s Thinkuknow website provides films and games to play on how to stay safer online and Childnet has produced a range of online safety resources including Chatdanger.com and Know IT All.

For more information please visit YAC’s Safe Surfing page.