STAGE

The skull of a bear has been unearthed on the site of the Elizabethan Rose Theater in London where William Shakespeare is believed to have acted and near where bear-baiting was first recorded in the 1500s. The animal was believed to be a mature adult European brown bear, and the skull appeared to have come from a ditch that contained debris dating from 1587-1606, when the Rose Theater was flourishing. The discovery of the skull may indicate the Rose was used for entertainment other than drama. Bears were taken to Britain to undergo attacks by dogs for the entertainment of paying spectators. The foundations of the Rose were discovered earlier this year during demolition to build an office.