Emily Chan
Archaeologists identified a British cave dwelling as the refuge for an exiled Anglo-Saxon king in 2021.
Before then, Anchor Church Caves was considered to be an extravagant building that had been made simply for decoration or as a joke. However, researchers determined that it was truly a lair for a king.
The cave house is located by the River Trent in central England. The 1,200-year-old structure was built during the life of Northumbrian King Eardwulf. He was ousted from the throne and forced to live as a hermit until he became a saint later on.
According to legend, Eardwulf, who also became known as St. Hardulph, lived in the cave-dwelling after he was deposed and exiled in A.D. 806. It is unclear what exactly he was banished for.
A 16th-century book noted that Eardwulf had “a cell in a cliff a little from the Trent.” In A.D. 830, the king was buried five miles away from the cave.
The archaeologist and lead investigator of the project, Edmund Simons from the Royal Agricultural University in England, believed that Eardwulf was closely monitored by his enemies while living in the cave.
Eardwulf ruled medieval England during a time of political instability. Overall, seven major kingdoms and more than 200 kings warred against each other for power in the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries. After his two immediate predecessors were murdered, Eardwulf took the throne in A.D. 796.
He reigned over Northumbria for just 10 years before he was overthrown, possibly by his own son, and made to spend the rest of his life in exile in the rival kingdom of Mercia. He lived in the lair with his disciples.
“It was not unusual for deposed or retired royalty to take up a religious life during this period, gaining sanctity and, in some cases, canonization,” Simons said. “Living in a cave as a hermit would have been one way this could have been achieved.”
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