Excavations carried out at Shakespeare's 'cesspit'

London, April 6 (ANI): Archaeologists are trying to find more about the life and times of William Shakespeare - by carrying out excavations at a site that may have been the playwright's cesspit.

Spades and brushes are at work at the ruins of New Place, Shakespeare's former home in Stratford-upon-Avon, which was pulled down in 1759.

The team led by Birmingham Archaeology believe the property, bought by Shakespeare in 1597, has a rubbish tip or cesspit used by the famed dramatist.

They have already found pieces of pottery and broken clay pipe in a muddy hole on the site.

"We do not know if the knot garden was an area used by Shakespeare - it may have been a yard simply used by his servants," the Telegraph quoted Dr Diana Owen, Director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which owns the site, as saying.

Owen added: "But this could actually yield some fantastic results, especially if it was an area where rubbish was thrown or the cesspit was located."

"Through documentary evidence we know Shakespeare lived at New Place but we have very little information regarding the layout of the house and gardens at this time," Kevin Colls, from Birmingham Archaeology, said.olls added: "Through archaeological fieldwork, in particular the excavation of structural remains and the recovery of artefacts, we hope to fill in the blanks.

"Even the smallest sherd of broken pottery has the potential for giving us tantalising glimpses into the life of Shakespeare such as what he liked to eat and drink."

"This excavation may help rewrite our view of Shakespeare," Paul Edmondson, head of education at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said.

He added: "We know he owned property in London, but we don't know that he was ever anything except a lodger there. Why, after he bought this splendid house and installed his family there, when he had somewhere to keep the books he needed and somewhere peaceful to work, why would he not have come back here to write?

"My belief is that he became a literary commuter, in London whenever he had to be, living and working in Stratford the rest of the time." (ANI)