Researchers dug up Shakespeare’s grave for the first time and found his skull probably missing

Four centuries after the death and burial of Shakespeare in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, central England, researchers employing geodesy equipment to investigate the grave of Britain’s most celebrated playwright and poet have made some intriguing discoveries. They found evidence suggesting that the spot where his head should have rested had been disturbed.

A British archaeologist has posited that William Shakespeare’s skull may indeed be absent from his grave, thereby substantiating long-standing rumors of grave robbing and adding another layer of mystery to his final resting place.

“We have evidence of an old disturbance in the grave, at the headstone, and there’s a tale which purports that someone once absconded with Shakespeare’s skull,” stated archaeologist Kevin Coles from Staffordshire University, expressing his conviction that the skull “is not in the Holy Trinity.”

These findings add a new twist to the enigma surrounding Shakespeare’s grave. The tombstone bears no name, only a stern warning: “Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear, to dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, and cursed be he that moves my bones.”

In their pursuit of the skull, archaeologists have also wrestled with another enduring legend that it is concealed in a sealed crypt in another church, located 24 kilometers away. However, upon examination, they determined that this skull belonged to a woman, approximately 70 years old.

The saga of Shakespeare’s “lost skull” first surfaced in The Argosy magazine in 1879. The author of that piece suggested that 18th-century trophy hunters were the culprits, during an era when grave robbing was a commonplace occurrence.

The archaeologists’ findings will be featured in a Channel 4 documentary set to air on Saturday.