Archaeologists In Derbyshire Have Discovered An Anglo-Saxon House From The 9th Century

A cave home that was originally believed to be an 18th-century folly has been discovered as one of the UK’s oldest preserved household interiors and was likely the home of an exiled Anglo-Saxon king, researchers speculate.

Anchor Church cave in south Derbyshire was utilized as a party venue by local gentry in the 18th century, and it was previously assumed that this was the cave’s only history.

However, researchers now believe the cave-dwelling dates back 1,200 years, and that Eardwulf, who was overthrown as king of Northumbria in AD806 and died in AD830, lived there.

Edmund Simons, the project’s lead investigator, grew up in a cave house-filled area.

“I can’t think of a natural mechanism that creates walls, doors, and windows, let alone pillars, thus it’s not a natural cave.” Everything about the cave, including the narrowness of the windows, suggested it was built in the Saxon style.

Simons believes that a local legend connects the place to Saint Hardulph, formerly King Eardwulf. He believes Eardwulf lived there as a recluse, in tunnels that were built or extended specifically for him, where his enemies could keep a watch on him.

“They’re quite tough to comprehend and date, and I’ve always been captivated by them,” he remarked. “When I was three, I remember falling off one.”

He usually works abroad, but due to the inability to travel in the last year, he decided to “indulge me and put together a project to figure out what the hell these things are.”

The initiative is looking at 170 sites, but Simons said that “everything just fit together in a manner that it doesn’t often happen with all these things” at Anchor Church cave.