Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Cave House May Have Once Been Home to a King

Forget castles, now this is a cave fit for a king! 

New research by experts from the Royal Agricultural University and Wessex Archaeology suggests that a medieval cave structure in Derbyshire, England, may actually be a home of Eardwulf, an exiled ruler of the medival English kingdom of Northumbria.

The cave, cut out of the soft sandstone rock, used to be considered to be an 18th century folly, but new dating demonstrated that it was far older - more likely from the 9th century instead.

“Using detailed measurements, a drone survey, and a study of architectural details, it was possible to reconstruct the original plan of three rooms and easterly facing oratory, or chapel, with three apses,” said researcher Edmund Simons in a statement.

“The architectural similarities with Saxon buildings, and the documented association with Hardulph/Eardwulf, make a convincing case that these caves were constructed, or enlarged, to house the exiled king.”

“It was not unusual for deposed or retired royalty to take up a take up a religious life during this period, gaining sanctity and in some cases canonisation. Living in a cave as a hermit would have been one way this could have been achieved.”

Image: Wessex Archaeology

#cave #Eardwulf #king #archaeology #AngloSaxon

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