Remains of Globe Theater Believed Found

Archeologists believe they have found the remains of William Shakespeare’s Globe Theater under a central London parking lot.

“It seems almost certain that this is the Globe,” Peter Thompson of the Museum of London said today. “The museum is very excited.”

The Globe, Shakespeare’s own playhouse where all his most famous works were performed, was built in 1599. Archeologists have uncovered three wall foundations on the site and an intriguing clue: a layer of crushed hazelnut shells.

Thompson said Elizabethan theatergoers appeared to have eaten hazelnuts during performances in the same way as today’s moviegoers munch popcorn.

The remains, under a disused parking lot, are in an area close to Southwark Bridge on the River Thames where historical evidence, including 17th-Century prints, indicated that the Globe stood.

The theater was burned down during a performance of Shakespeare’s “Henry VIII” in 1613 but was rebuilt, to be finally demolished in 1644.

The site is only yards from that of another Shakespearean playhouse, the Rose Theater, the discovery of which earlier this year sparked an international campaign to stop a firm of property developers from building over the remains. But the government refused to block the development.

The Hanson company, owner of the Globe site, said in a statement that it had put up $395,000 to evaluate the site. It said the Museum of London will now supervise covering the remains to preserve them while a decision is taken on how best to display them permanently.