William Shakespeare grave scanned in 400th anniversary

A radar survey into William Shakespeare's grave and an excavation of the playwright's house are among research projects marking the 400th anniversary of his death, BBC News reports.


Shakespeare's grave in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford upon Avon has never been excavated, but a scan has been carried out to search below ground.


This allows an investigation without physically disturbing the site.


The findings are expected to be revealed in the next few weeks.


There are believed to have been discoveries in the grave, in a church where five members of the Shakespeare family are buried.


There has been speculation about a possible family vault under the stones - and questions about whether such a ground-penetrating scan would show other items buried with Shakespeare.


The grave, where the playwright was buried in 1616, carries the warning: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forebeare, To digg the dust enclosed heare; Bleste be the man that spares thes stones, And curst be he that moves my bones."
 

The investigation into the grave was revealed ahead of this summer's World Shakespeare Congress.
The congress, likened to an Olympics for Shakespearean scholarship, is held every five years.


This year's event will be split between Stratford upon Avon and London.


Michael Dobson, professor of Shakespeare studies at the University of Birmingham's Shakespeare Institute, said previous anniversaries had been "dogged" by rivalries between the playwrights's birthplace and workplace.

The World Shakespeare Congress, beginning in July, will bring together a thousand Shakespearean specialists, researchers and academics.


Plans for the congress were presented at Shakespeare's Globe, one of the venues, in an event co-hosted with groups including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the University of Birmingham, King's College London and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.


As well as a range of performances, debates, seminars and conferences at the congress, this anniversary year will see new findings from research and archaeology.


There will also be findings from investigations in Shakespeare's last home, New Place in Stratford.
The house, due to be reopened to the public in July, has been excavated in a dig commissioned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.


Paul Edmondson, the trust's head of research, says the excavation has uncovered a much clearer picture of Shakespeare's home life, and there will be findings about his cold store - the equivalent of a 17th Century fridge - and the family's oven.