The town of Derbyshire, once exalted while picturising Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, where one could track down  the country house of the irresistibly charming Fitzwillaim Darcy, has been in the news of late. There is a  spectacular finding, pertaining to a cave house in Derbyshire. A cave, which is the stark opposite of a typical Georgian mansion of the 18th century, and has tricked most people throughout centuries by
it’s unembellished exterior, has literally questioned our understanding of the past. This supposedly unpretentious cave, once assumed to be a place where parties were hosted, is now believed to be the oldest domestic interior in the UK. Something that had initially led to this much accepted assumption that the cave house belonged to 18th century was the presence of some records,which clearly stated that  Sir Robert Burdett, High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1738,  had modified these caves by adding up bricks and window frames and opening up the walls,so that he could host his dinners over there.

This study was conducted by archaeologists from the RAU's Cultural Heritage Institute, based in Cirencester in Gloucestershire, and Wessex Archaeology. Archeologists who have undertaken this study have used detailed measurements, a drone survey, and a study of architectural details to reconstruct the original plan of three rooms and an easterly-facing oratory.

Edmund Simons, the archeologist who lead the research states, that this cave house couldn’t possibly be a natural cave as no natural cave could  have such well defined walls, windows doors and pillar. It has further led to the assumption that this 1200 years old cave belonged to the Anglo-Saxon period, owing to its narrow windows, a classic Saxon architectural feature.
Some scholars even claim that it was once inhabited by the Anglo Saxon king of Northumbria, Eardwulf,while he was in exile.  What actually gave rise  to this seemingly vague assumption is a fragment from a 16th Century printed book that  read "Saint Hardulph has a cell in a cliff a little from the [River] Trent". This in turn is supported by local folklore that suggests that this cave was the one which was chosen by Hardulph as his hiding place. St Hardulph’s slightly baffling  connection with Eardwulf is made by some scholars, by identify Hardulph as King Eardwulf, who was deposed as king of Northumbria in 806 AD and was buried at Breedon on the Hill in Leicestershire, just five miles from the caves.

The Anglo- Saxons, were originally the inhabitants of modern-day Germany, who ruled over England from 5th century CE  till the arrival of William the Conqueror and the Normans in 1066.

This astounding discovery, has precisely changed our understanding of the Anglo Saxon History and its deep- rooted and profound associated with England. It will further provide us with more insights about the social and cultural aspects of Anglo- Saxon society, as more studies are under way.