Emily Chan
Simons and his team of researchers were able to map out the original plan of the caves by conducting a drone survey and carefully studying the architectural features, which were very similar to other Saxon architecture. The caves consisted of three rooms and a chapel that faced east.
In the 18th century, the Anchor Church caves were renovated under the order of the English aristocrat Sir Robert Burdett.
He modified it so he could host dinners with his friends in a cool environment with an elaborate setting. He widened the entrances and added brickwork and window frames.
The only intact domestic buildings to have survived from the Saxon period may be cave dwellings, according to Simons.
The team has found 20 other cave houses in west-central England that could date back to the 5th century. Surely, more examples from Anglo-Saxon England are out there somewhere.
