M.J. Rose

Hear ye! Did you catch this news when it was first announced? This one seems to have slipped through our fingers!

Shakespeare’s Curtain theatre unearthed in east London

Theatre where Romeo and Juliet was first performed is rediscovered in Shoreditch centuries after it was dismantled

(The Guardian)

“Well preserved remains of Shakespeare’s original “wooden O” stage, the Curtain theatre where Henry V and Romeo and Juliet were first performed, have been discovered in a yard in east London.

The Curtain theatre in Shoreditch preceded the Globe on the Thames, showcasing several of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. But it was dismantled in the 17th century and its precise location lost.

Now part of the gravelled yard in Shoreditch where the groundlings stood, ate, gossiped and watched the plays, and foundation walls on which the tiers of wooden galleries were built have been uncovered in what was open ground for 500 years while the surrounding district became one of the most densely built in London.

Experts from Museum of London Archaeology (MoLA) have found two sections of exterior wall, crucial for giving the dimensions of the theatre, and are confident of revealing more as the site is cleared for redevelopment. An outer yard paved with sheep knuckle bones could date from the theatre or slightly later housing….”

For the rest click here.

Have you heard of the Lancashire Witch Trials? It’s a 400 year old tale of witch hangings. Here’s a new find related to this local history:

From BBC News,

‘Witch’s cottage’ unearthed near Pendle Hill, Lancashire

“Engineers have said they were “stunned” to unearth a 17th Century cottage, complete with a cat skeleton, during a construction project in Lancashire. The cottage was discovered near Lower Black Moss reservoir in the village of Barley, in the shadow of Pendle Hill.

Archaeologists brought in by United Utilities to survey the area found the building under a grass mound. Historians are now speculating that the well-preserved cottage could have belonged to one of the Pendle witches.

The building contained a sealed room, with the bones of a cat bricked into the wall. It is believed the cat was buried alive to protect the cottage’s inhabitants from evil spirits…”

For the rest, and a great video segment on the story, click here.

We think these artifacts rather beautiful actually!

Edison’s Talking Dolls Can Now Provide The Soundtrack To Your Nightmares (NPR – All Things Considered)

“Back in 1890, Thomas Edison gave us some of the world’s first talking dolls. Today, the glassy-eyed cherubs that are still around stand about 2 feet tall; they have wooden limbs and a metal body; and they sound supercreepy. (If you’re looking for a soundtrack to your nightmares, listen to the audio story above.) Edison built and sold about 500 of them back in 1890. Now, new technology has made hearing them possible for the first time in decades.

Jerry Fabris, who curates sound recordings at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, says part of what makes the recordings so unsettling is that they were most likely read by a female factory worker imitating a little girl. (For example: Here’s a shrieking recitation of “A Child’s Prayer” that you will never unhear.)…”

For the rest of the story click here.

Listen to the story —