Saving the Rose Theatre: England's first managed and monitored reburial

Abstract

The discovery of the Elizabethan Rose Theatre in London in 1989 led to pressure on the government for the site to be preserved for future full excavation and the display of the remains in situ. This paper describes briefly the historical and geological background to the theatre site, and discusses the rationale of the burial system adopted and the methods used to monitor the condition of the site. The burial system was designed with a limited life expectancy of a few years and it was, and still remains, the objective of the Rose Theatre Trust to raise sufficient money for the theatre to be displayed. However, fourteen years on, the system continues to perform satisfactorily. The methodology is reviewed, particularly the use of expensive and scarce Buckland sand, and finally, the options for the future of the theatre's remains are considered.