HELEN CASTOR: IN A PARISH CHURCH IN THE ENGLISH MIDLANDS LIES THE TOMB OF OUR GREATEST EVER PLAYWRIGHT.

ITS ONLY INSCRIPTION IS A CURSE.

MAN: "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."

CASTOR: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S STRANGE-LOOKING GRAVE HAS LONG BEEN SURROUNDED BY RUMOR AND LEGEND.

FOR CENTURIES, THAT HAS BEEN A MYSTERY.

YOU KNOW, WHY A CURSE ON THE GRAVE?

IT IS--IT IS A STRANGE THING.

MAN: A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T THINK HE'S BURIED WHERE HIS TOMBSTONE IS.

IF HE'S NOT THERE, WHERE IS HE?

CASTOR: THERE HAVE BEEN DOZENS OF CALLS EXCAVATE THE GRAVE, BUT THE CHURCH HAVE ALWAYS SAID THEY WON'T VIOLATE HIS REMAINS.

MAN: THE WORDS ON SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE WHICH MAKE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR THAT HE DIDN'T WANT HIS GRAVE TO BE DISTURBED.

CASTOR: BUT NOW THANKS TO THE LATEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES, WE CAN SEE WHAT LIES BENEATH WITHOUT EVEN LIFTING THE STONE.

WE WON'T DISTURB THE BONES.

WE WON'T EVEN DISTURB THE DUST.

CASTOR: I'M HELEN CASTOR, A HISTORIAN OF MEDIEVAL AND TUDOR ENGLAND, AND I'LL BE FOLLOWING THIS GROUNDBREAKING PROJECT.

SHAKESPEARE'S STONE IS A BIT PECULIAR.

IT'S NOWHERE NEAR AS GRAND AS ALL THE OTHERS, AND IT'S VERY, VERY SHORT.

IT'S AN INVESTIGATION THAT WILL LEAD TO A CHILLING TALE OF GRAVE ROBBERY... A DUSTY FAMILY CRYPT BENEATH A COUNTRY CHURCH... MAN: THIS IMMEDIATELY FEELS AWKWARD.

VERY TIGHT.

CASTOR: AND A MYSTERIOUS SKULL.

OH, MY WORD.

LOOK AT THAT.

CASTOR: 400 YEARS AFTER SHAKESPEARE'S DEATH, IT'S A CHANCE TO FINALLY SEPARATE THE FACT FROM THE FOLKLORE BY REVEALING WHAT'S UNDER HIS STONE.

CASTOR: BEGINNING TO LOOK A BIT DIFFERENT.

AND THEN SOMETHING ELSE IS HAPPENING.

I'VE LOOKED AT VERY MANY GRAVES, I HAVE NEVER, EVER SEEN THIS SORT OF THING IN A GRAVE ANYWHERE.

AN CASTOR: STRATFORD UPON AVON, BIRTHPLACE TO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, THIRD CHILD OF A LOCAL GLOVE-MAKER, WHO ROSE TO BECOME THE GREATEST OF ENGLISH DRAMATISTS, BUT WHILE HIS POEMS AND PLAYS BECAME WORLD FAMOUS, OF SHAKESPEARE THE MAN WE KNOW ONLY FRAGMENTS.

RECORDS SHOW THAT HE MARRIED AT 18 IN 1582 AND 10 YEARS LATER WAS WRITING PLAYS FOR THE LONDON STAGE.

MAN AS MACBETH: LIFE'S BUT A WALKING SHADOW, A POOR PLAYER THAT STRUTS AND FRETS HIS HOUR UPON THE STAGE AND THEN IS HEARD NO MORE.

SHAKESPEARE LEFT NO JOURNAL, AND NO CONTEMPORARY WROTE HIS BIOGRAPHY, BUT WE KNOW HE RETURNED TO STRATFORD, WHERE HE DIED AGED JUST 52.

THE REST OF SHAKESPEARE'S SECRETS LIE BURIED WITH HIM HERE IN STRATFORD'S HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.

I GREW UP NEAR STRATFORD, SO I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE A VERY LONG TIME AGO, BUT YOU KNOW HOW YOU NEVER REALLY LOOK AT THINGS THAT ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR NOSE.

IT HADN'T OCCURRED TO ME THAT OUR GREATEST EVER PLAYWRIGHT ISN'T BURIED IN POET'S CORNER IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

HE'S ROUND THE CORNER FROM HOME HERE IN HIS LOCAL PARISH CHURCH.

THANKS TO SHAKESPEARE, THIS IS ONE OF BRITAIN'S MOST VISITED CHURCHES.

THANK YOU.

CAN I TAKE A GUIDEBOOK, AS WELL?

YEAH.

WE CHARGE 3.50 FOR ONE OF THOSE.

LET ME GIVE YOU THAT.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: A QUARTER OF A MILLION TOURISTS STEP UP TO THE ALTAR EVERY YEAR TO VISIT SHAKESPEARE'S FAMOUS TOMB.

SO HERE ARE THE SHAKESPEARE FAMILY GRAVE STONES, LEDGER STONES THEY'RE CALLED.

AND THIS ONE AT THE END IS ANNE HATHAWAY, WILLIAM'S WIFE, AND RIGHT NEXT TO HER IS THE GREAT MAN HIMSELF.

"THE GRAVE OF THE POET WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE."

OF THE 5 SHAKESPEARE FAMILY STONES, ONLY WILLIAM'S CARRIES NO NAME.

HIS NEARBY BUST IS THE SOLE MEMORIAL OF HIS BURIAL HERE IN 1616.

AND HIS STONE IS TOO SHORT FOR A GRAVE AT BARELY A METER LONG.

DR. PAUL EDMONDSON IS AN EXPERT IN SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE AND THE THEORIES THAT SWIRL AROUND HIS BURIAL.

SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT PART OF THE STONE HAS BEEN REMOVED, OR MAYBE THIS STEP HAS BEEN BUILT OUT ON TOP OF IT.

I THINK SOME PEOPLE EVEN SUGGEST HE WAS BURIED STANDING UP, YOU KNOW, SO THAT YOU'D JUST GOT THE HEAD-- THE TOP OF IT COVERED, AS IT WERE.

TO TRY AND MAKE SENSE OF THE FACT THAT THIS IS SUCH A SMALL SPACE.

AND THEN THERE'S THIS EXTRAORDINARY, COMPELLING POEM WRITTEN ON THE GRAVE, AND IT'S A CURSE, AS WELL AS A BLESSING.

"BLESSED BE THE MAN THAT SPARES THESE STONES, AND CURSED BE HE THAT MOVES MY BONES.

IT'S SPINE-TINGLING, ISN'T IT?

IT--IT'S DRAMATIC, AND FOR CENTURIES, THAT HAS BEEN A MYSTERY, YOU KNOW, WHY A CURSE ON THE GRAVE?

IT IS--IT IS A STRANGE THING.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THE FAVORED THEORY IS THAT THE SHAKESPEARE FAMILY STONES ARE JUST MARKERS FOR A SUBTERRANEAN BURIAL CHAMBER.

THE GUIDEBOOK TELLS ME THAT "SHAKESPEARE'S COFFIN WILL HAVE BEEN LAID "WITHIN A BRICK-LINED FUNERAL VAULT "WHERE HIS WIFE ANNE AND THE OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS BURIED HERE WERE LATER TO JOIN HIM."

A FUNERAL VAULT UNDER THESE STONES?

UNDER THIS SHELF THAT WE'RE STANDING ON, AS IT WERE, THE CHANCEL FLOOR, IS A FAMILY VAULT TO THE BEST OF MY BELIEF, WITH STONE COFFINS PERHAPS DIRECTLY UNDER THE STONES AS LAID OUT, AND MAYBE THAT'S WHY SHAKESPEARE'S IS IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT POSITION TO THE OTHERS.

MAYBE THE STONE COFFIN GOES UNDERNEATH THIS STEP WHERE WE'RE STANDING.

CASTOR: BUT THERE IS ANOTHER, FAR MORE SINISTER THEORY ABOUT HIS TRUNCATED TOMBSTONE, WHICH SURFACED IN A 19th CENTURY MAGAZINE.

THE STORY CLAIMED THAT A BAND OF TROPHY HUNTERS HAD BROKEN INTO THE GRAVE AND STOLEN SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL.

I'M A SKEPTIC WHEN IT COMES TO TALL TALES AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN A BURIAL STONE QUITE LIKE SHAKESPEARE'S.

SO I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE WOULD ASK QUESTIONS AND WHY THEY MIGHT WONDER IF HE'S EVEN REALLY BURIED THERE AT ALL.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE BEEN TRAINING THEIR SIGHTS ON STRATFORD, KEEN TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE TOWN'S MOST FAMOUS FORMER RESIDENT.

MAN: WE NOW KNOW THAT THAT'S GOT 14th CENTURY MATERIAL IN IT.

CASTOR: 2010 SAW THE EXCAVATION OF SHAKESPEARE'S FAMILY HOME IN NEW PLACE, LED BY ARCHAEOLOGIST KEVIN COLLS.

AT THE MOMENT, WE'RE GOING WITH THE FACT THAT MOST OF THE BURNT BRICKS ARE ACTUALLY INSIDE THAT CURVE.

CASTOR: THE DIG UNCOVERED ONE OF SHAKESPEARE'S 10 FIREPLACES, HIS OVEN, AND COLD STORE, AS WELL AS A SMALL BREWHOUSE FOR MAKING ALE, FINDS THAT HELPED TO BUILD A PICTURE OF SHAKESPEARE THE AFFLUENT COUNTRY SQUIRE.

IT REALLY WASN'T UNTIL THE NEW PLACE PROJECT CAME UP THAT ACTUALLY IT WAS ASTOUNDING TO ME THAT YOU'VE GOT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE THAT'S EVER LIVED, AND WE KNOW NEXT TO NOTHING ABOUT THE MAN.

CASTOR: HAVING FILLED IN SOME OF THE GAPS ABOUT SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE, KEVIN TURNED TO HOLY TRINITY AND HIS STRANGE TOMB.

COLLS, VOICE-OVER: AS AN ARCHAEOLOGIST, I LOVE MYSTERIES, AND I LOVE SOLVING MYSTERIES, AND THE NEXT STEPPING STONE WAS OBVIOUSLY TO LOOK AT HIS GRAVE AND ALL THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.

CASTOR: KEVIN KNEW THE CHURCH HAD REJECTED ALL REQUESTS TO OPEN THE GRAVE, BUT HIS PROPOSAL WAS DIFFERENT.

I'M VERY CLEAR AS THE VICAR AND THE CUSTODIAN OF--OF THIS HOLY PLACE AND OF THE GRAVES HERE THE PROMISE THAT, IN A SENSE, WE'VE MADE TO SHAKESPEARE TO HONOR THE WORDS ON SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE, AND THE KEY DIFFERENCE IS THAT IT WAS CLEAR FROM THE BEGINNING THIS WAS GOING TO BE A NON-INTRUSIVE INVESTIGATION.

COLLS: WELCOME TO HOLY TRINITY.

CASTOR: KEVIN GOT THE GREEN LIGHT FOR THE FIRST-EVER ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE FAMOUS TOMB.

THROUGH THE CHANCEL OF THE CHURCH.

CASTOR: AND THERE'S NO DIGGING INVOLVED.

WE WON'T DISTURB THE BONES.

WE WON'T EVEN DISTURB THE DUST.

FANTASTIC.

COLLS, VOICE-OVER: WHEN PEOPLE THINK OF AN ARCHAEOLOGIST, THEY THINK OF TROWELS, THEY THINK OF WHEELBARROWS, SOIL, EXCAVATING THE GROUND, MAKING A MESS, AND I THINK THERE'S CERTAINLY A MOVE NOW IN THE 21st CENTURY TO DO ARCHAEOLOGY IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

COLLS: WHAT WE REALLY DON'T KNOW AT THE MOMENT IS WHETHER EACH ONE OF THESE LEDGER STONES CORRESPONDS TO A GRAVE BENEATH IT.

CASTOR: KEVIN'S SECRET WEAPON IS GEOPHYSICIST ERICA UTSI.

THAT'S A GOOD CHALLENGE FOR THE RADAR, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEAL WITH.

CASTOR: SHE'S A WORLD EXPERT IN GROUND PENETRATING RADAR, OR GPR, A TECHNOLOGY SHE'S USED TO DISCOVER LONG LOST TOMBS UNDER WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

UTSI: TO BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL GRAVES AND SORT OF ONE BIG VAULT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S DEAD EASY BECAUSE THE VAULT WOULD HAVE A LARGE AMOUNT OF AIR.

THAT'S 20.

AND AGAIN.

THAT'S GOOD.

CASTOR: ERICA IS USING THE LATEST GENERATION OF GPR TECHNOLOGY TO PROBE BENEATH THE STONES.

IT WORKS BY FIRING RADIO WAVES INTO THE GROUND.

THEY BOUNCE BACK TO A RECEIVER, ALLOWING ERICA TO CREATE A PICTURE OF WHAT LIES UNDERGROUND.

GOT TWO.

WHAT YOU'RE GETTING IS A SERIES OF SCANS GOING OUT.

SO IT'S NOT STRAIGHTFORWARD.

IT'S NOT LIKE JUST TAKING A PICTURE WITH A CAMERA AND SAYING, "OH, YES.

I CAN SEE THIS, I CAN SEE THAT."

THE RADAR SENDS BACK A SIGNAL EVERY TIME SOMETHING CHANGES IN MATERIAL.

IT'S THE CHANGE THAT IT SIGNALS.

COLLS: HUMAN REMAINS IS VERY DIFFICULT TO SPOT WITH THE GROUND PENETRATING RADAR BECAUSE BONES HAVE A TENDENCY TO TAKE ON THE PROPERTIES OF WHATEVER THEY'RE BURIED IN.

SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR WHETHER THERE IS A STONE VAULT THERE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR WHETHER THE HUMAN REMAINS WERE PLACED IN A COFFIN.

SO IT'S NOT THE ACTUAL BONES THAT WE'RE SPOTTING, BUT IT'S ALL THE OTHER LITTLE PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT GO ALONGSIDE HOW A HUMAN IS BURIED.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH PARISH REGISTER.

A WONDERFUL BOOK THIS.

CASTER, VOICE-OVER: WHILE THE SCANNING GETS UNDERWAY, I'M KEEN TO EXPLORE ONE OF THE WILDER RUMORS, THAT SHAKESPEARE WASN'T EVEN BURIED AT HOLY TRINITY, BUT PARISH RECORDS DATING BACK 400 YEARS TELL A DIFFERENT STORY.

HERE IT IS.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: ONE ENTRY RECORDS HIS BAPTISM IN THE CHURCH AT JUST THREE DAYS OLD... "APRIL 26, 1564.

GUILLIMUS FILLIUS JOHANNES SHAKESPEARE" IN LATIN.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: AND THEN 52 YEARS LATER, HIS BURIAL THERE.

IT'S A WONDERFULLY STURDY BOOK.

"1616, APRIL 25, WILL SHAKESPEARE, GENT."

GENTLEMAN.

SO HE'S GONE UP IN THE WORLD.

HE CERTAINLY HAS, AND WE THINK HE WAS BURIED TWO DAYS AFTER HE DIED, WHICH MEANS HE DIED ON THE 23rd, HIS BIRTHDAY.

SO IF HIS NAME APPEARS HERE, THERE CAN BE NO POSSIBLE DOUBT THAT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE WAS BURIED AT HOLY TRINITY?

HIS NAME WOULDN'T BE IN THIS BOOK IF HE HADN'T BEEN BURIED AT THE CHURCH.

CASTOR: SHAKESPEARE'S CURIOUS GRAVE HAS CONFUSED AND MYSTIFIED MILLIONS WHO'VE SEEN IT.

400 HUNDRED YEARS AFTER SHAKESPEARE'S DEATH, STRATFORD'S HOLY TRINITY CHURCH HAS ALLOWED THE FIRST-EVER ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF HIS GRAVE.

UTSI: I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING THERE, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, AND I'VE GOT NO IDEA WHETHER IT'S SHAKESPEARE OR NOT.

CASTOR: GETTING THE FIRST GPR RESULTS WILL TAKE WEEKS, BUT THEY COULD SOLVE MYSTERIES THAT HAVE LASTED CENTURIES, BUT I'M CURIOUS TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SHAKESPEARE'S STATE OF MIND AS HE AGED AND FACED HIS OWN DEMISE.

I'M HOPING TO FIND CLUES IN HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT.

HERE IT IS.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S WILL, AND IT'S GOT HIS SIGNATURE HERE AT THE END.

THAT'S RIGHT.

"BY ME WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE."

HE'S SIGNED IT AGAIN TWICE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FIRST TWO PAGES.

JUST SNUCK IN HERE "WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE."

AND THIS ONE'S IN THE MARGIN.

THERE WASN'T ROOM HERE TO PUT IT IN, SO HE'S TUCKED IT THERE.

SO THAT'S TO INDICATE THAT HE APPROVES OF AND VALIDATES ALL 3 PAGES.

THAT'S RIGHT.

DOES THE WILL MENTION HIS BURIAL ANYWHERE?

YES, RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING UP HERE, HE SAYS, "AND MY BODY TO THE EARTH WHERE OF IT IS MADE."

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THERE'S NO CURSE MENTIONED IN THE WILL, BUT IT IS THE FINAL ALTERATIONS MADE IN MARCH 1616 JUST A MONTH BEFORE SHAKESPEARE DIED THAT ARE THE MOST REVEALING ABOUT HIS FINAL DAYS.

MARCH, I THINK, IS WHEN IT REALLY HITS HOME THAT HE IS GOING TO DIE, THAT HE'S SICK ENOUGH TO DIE, AND THERE'S A COMPLETE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WRITING A WILL IN GOOD HEALTH TO SETTLE YOUR ESTATE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT A PROVIDENT MAN DOES AND ACTUALLY THINKING, "I MIGHT BE DYING."

WHAT DOES HE LEAVE?

HE LEAVES VERY SMALL THINGS REALLY, AND YOU CAN PICK THEM OUT BECAUSE THEY'RE IN A SLIGHTLY DARKER INK AND A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT HAND.

AND BETWEEN THE LINES.

AND BETWEEN THE LINES.

THEY'VE BEEN ADDED IN.

AND THIS ONE HAS GOT SOME REALLY NICE BEQUESTS OF MOURNING RINGS.

IT'S ACTUALLY MONEY TO BUY A MOURNING RING, AND THESE ARE RINGS THAT YOU GIVE OUT TO PEOPLE WHO WILL WEAR THEM AND THINK OF YOU, AND HE'S GIVING THEM TO HIS STRATFORD FRIENDS-- HAMNET SADLER AND WILLIAM REYNOLDS-- BUT ALSO TO HIS LONDON FRIENDS, AND HE CALLS THEM HIS FELLOWS.

I CAN SEE "TO MY FELLOWS."

THAT'S RIGHT.

JOHN HEMINGES, RICHARD BURBAGE, AND HENRY CONDELL, AND THEY GET 26 SHILLINGS AND 8 PENCE EACH TO BUY...

RINGS.

RINGS.

HE JUST WANTS THEM TO REMEMBER HIM.

SO SUDDENLY THIS IS A DIFFERENT REGISTER ENTIRELY.

YES, COMPLETELY.

YES.

HE'S MOVED ON FROM WHAT YOU DO WITH LAND TO WHAT YOU DO WITH MEMORY.

CASTOR; THESE GIFTS TO HIS FRIENDS CERTAINLY FIT THE SCENARIO OF A DESPERATELY ILL MAN SETTING HIS AFFAIRS IN ORDER, AND ONE OF THESE FINAL ALTERATIONS HAS TURNED OUT OUT TO BE THE MOST CONTENTIOUS LINE IN SHAKESPEARE'S WILL.

MENTIONING HIS WIFE ANNE ONLY ONCE, HE LEAVES HER HIS SECOND BEST BED.

"TO MY WIFE, MY SECOND BEST BED" STUCK IN BETWEEN IN THE LAST PARAGRAPH.

PEOPLE IN THE PAST HAVE THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS A SNUB TO HER.

THE SECOND BEST BED IS NOT A SNUB IN ANY WAY.

IT'S, LIKE, THE SECOND LARGEST PIECE OF FURNITURE, THE MOST EXPENSIVE PIECE OF FURNITURE IN THE HOUSE.

AND APART FROM THE SECOND BEST BED, SHE'S PROVIDED FOR BY THE MARRIAGE SETTLEMENT NOT IN THIS WILL.

THAT'S RIGHT.

IT'S A VERY MOVING THING TO READ, TO SEE THE BEQUESTS TO THE PEOPLE HE LOVED.

YES, YES.

CASTOR: SHAKESPEARE WAS 52 WHEN HE DIED, RELATIVELY YOUNG FOR A WEALTHY MAN AT THE TIME, AND JUST LIKE HIS GRAVE, HIS DEATH HAS ALSO SPAWNED A STRING OF WILD THEORIES.

SOME SAY IT WAS SYPHILIS CAUGHT FROM LONDON BROTHELS, OTHERS THAT HE WAS MURDERED BY HIS SON-IN-LAW.

SHAKESPEARE HISTORIAN PAUL EDMONDSON THINKS THE MOST LIKELY REASON WAS MORE PROSAIC.

IT COMES FROM AN ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY JOHN WARD, THE VICAR OF HOLY TRINITY 50 YEARS AFTER SHAKESPEARE'S DEATH.

HE WRITES, "SHAKESPEARE, DRAYTON"-- THAT'S MICHAEL DRAYTON, WHO WAS A POET FRIEND-- "AND--AND BEN JONSON"-- SHAKESPEARE'S FRIEND AND RIVAL-- "HAD A MERRY MEETING AND IT SEEMS DRANK "TOO HARD, FOR SHAKESPEARE DIED OF A FEVER THERE CONTRACTED."

DRANK TOO HARD.

DRANK TOO HARD.

AND DO YOU THINK THERE'S A REASON TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY?

IT RINGS TRUE TO ME THIS.

JONSON HAD JUST EFFECTIVELY BECOME POET LAUREATE.

PERHAPS THEY WERE MEETING TO CELEBRATE THAT, AND THIS PHRASE "MERRY MEETING," THERE'S AN INVERTED COMMA JUST BEFORE "MERRY," WHICH SUGGESTS JOHN WARD HAS HEARD THAT PHRASE FROM SOMEBODY WHO'D TOLD HIM THIS STORY WHO KNEW WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

HE COULD BE QUOTING AN ACTUAL WITNESS.

HE COULD.

BUT IN 1616, WHAT COULD CARRY YOU OFF WITH A FEVER?

WELL, TYPHOID HAS BEEN PLAUSIBLY SUGGESTED, AND THERE WAS A DITCH THAT RAN ALONGSIDE NEW PLACE WHICH WAS INFAMOUS.

IT STANK.

SO IT WOULDN'T TAKE MUCH TO--TO TAKE A SIP OF SOMETHING WHICH WASN'T REALLY GOOD FOR YOU.

I THINK THIS IS PLAUSIBLE, AND THERE'S A GOOD REASON TO SUPPOSE THAT THE FEVER HE CONTRACTED WAS PROBABLY TYPHOID, AND HE DIED ABOUT A MONTH LATER.

BECAUSE TYPHOID WAS PASSED IN CONTAMINATED WATER.

YES.

CASTOR: BUT IS THIS THEORY OF DEATH FROM TYPHOID JUST ANOTHER PIECE OF RUMOR-MONGERING?

WHO IS THE POSSIBLE WITNESS OF THIS STORY THAT WARD MIGHT BE QUOTING?

THE OTHER THING THAT I THINK IS REALLY INTERESTING ABOUT JOHN WARD'S NOTEBOOK IS THAT HE--HE MAKES A NOTE TO GO AND VISIT SHAKESPEARE'S DAUGHTER, JUDITH QUINEY, WHO'S AN OLD LADY.

SHE'S IN HER 70s AT THIS POINT.

IT WOULD MEAN THAT SHE COULD BE THE PERSON WHO TOLD WARD HOW HER FATHER HAD DIED FROM A "MERRY MEETING" WITH TWO POET FRIENDS.

DRANK TOO HARD, CAUGHT A FEVER.

CASTOR: IF SO, THERE WOULD BE NO MORE RELIABLE SOURCE ABOUT HOW SHAKESPEARE DIED THAN HIS OWN DAUGHTER.

WE'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO PROVE HOW SHAKESPEARE DIED.

MAYBE IF WE DUG HIM UP BUT POSSIBLY NOT EVEN THEN, BUT HISTORY IS FULL OF STORIES THAT HAVE TO BE SPUN FROM FRAGMENTS, AND THIS ONE, SHAKESPEARE'S NIGHT OUT WITH TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES HAS ENOUGH CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAIL TO MAKE US TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

DEATH FROM FEVER MATCHES EVIDENCE FROM THE WILL THAT AT THE END OF HIS LIFE SHAKESPEARE KNEW HE WAS DYING, AND IT WAS ONLY WEEKS LATER THAT HE WAS BURIED AT HOLY TRINITY, BUT BACK IN THOSE DAYS, BURIAL WASN'T ALWAYS THE END OF THE STORY, AND THAT COULD EXPLAIN THE INSCRIPTION ON SHAKESPEARE'S TOMBSTONE, CURSING ANYONE WHO "MOVES HIS BONES."

IT SEEMS THAT IN SHAKESPEARE'S DAY...

THIS WAS NO OUTLANDISH FEAR BUT AN ALL-TOO-REAL PROSPECT.

THERE ARE SO MANY BONES.

THERE WERE ONCE MORE, AS WELL.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THIS IS A VAULT FOR STORING HUMAN BONES.

KNOWN AS A CHARNEL HOUSE, IT'S ONE OF THE LAST IN BRITAIN, BUT IN SHAKESPEARE'S DAY, THEY WERE COMMONPLACE.

IT'S AN UNCANNY EXPERIENCE BEING IN HERE.

I ALWAYS THINK OF A SKULL AS A SKULL, BUT WHEN YOU SEE THEM ALL IN A ROW, YOU START SEEING INDIVIDUAL FACES.

YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.

I THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE SAME FOR MEDIEVAL PEOPLE.

THEY MANY NOT HAVE NECESSARILY BEEN ABLE TO RECOGNIZE WHICH ONE OF THESE SKULLS WAS THEIR RELATIVES, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THEY WERE IN HERE SOMEWHERE.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: IT MAY SEEM GRUESOME TO US, BUT IT WAS ONCE COMMON PRACTICE TO DIG UP THE BONES OF THE DEAD TO MAKE ROOM IN THE GRAVEYARD FOR NEW ARRIVALS.

RELATIVES WOULD COME HERE AND PRAY FOR THE SOULS OF THEIR LOVED ONES.

CRANGLE: IT WAS A VERY TACTILE EXPERIENCE, AS WELL, FOR PEOPLE.

FOR EXAMPLE, AROUND THE EDGE, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN RUBBED MANY TIMES.

IT'S A BIT WORN, ISN'T IT?

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: AS WELL AS ALLOWING RELATIVES A PHYSICAL LINK WITH THE DEAD, THE RITUAL PLAYED AN IMPORTANT PART IN THE JOURNEY OF THE SOUL.

SO PEOPLE WOULD HAVE COME HERE TO PRAY FOR THEIR DEAD WHO MAY HAVE BEEN IN PURGATORY TO LESSEN THE TIME THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO SPEND THERE.

PURGATORY BEING A PLACE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL, WHERE SOULS COULD EXPUNGE THEIR SIN BEFORE THEY GET TO HEAVEN.

EXACTLY.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: BUT THE REFORMATION IN THE 16th CENTURY REJECTED THE IDEA OF PURGATORY.

BY THE TIME OF SHAKESPEARE'S DEATH, IT WAS NO LONGER NECESSARY TO PRAY FOR THE SINS OF THE DEAD.

SO CHARNEL HOUSES TURNED FROM PLACES OF REVERENCE TO NOTHING MORE THAN DUSTY DUMPING GROUNDS FOR THE BONES FROM OVERCROWDED GRAVEYARDS.

SO THE IDEA FOR SHAKESPEARE TO BE IN HERE WITHOUT BEING VISITED PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN QUITE A CALLOUS TREATMENT OF HIS REMAINS.

SO THE IDEA OF A CHARNEL HOUSE AS SOMEWHERE DANK AND GRIM-- YEAH.

BY THE TIME OF SHAKESPEARE, THESE PLACES WOULD HAVE BEEN REGARDED AS QUITE NEGATIVE.

SO IT WAS A REAL FEAR THEN.

YEAH, I THINK FEAR PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN THE WORD.

THERE WAS NO REASON TO DISTURB DEAD.

SO PUTTING A SIGN ON YOUR TOMB WAS ONE WAY TO MAKE SURE YOU DID REST IN PEACE.

"KEEP OUT.

DON'T MOVE ME."

EXACTLY.

CASTOR: IN SHAKESPEARE'S DAY, HOLY TRINITY HAD ITS OWN CHARNEL HOUSE.

IT STOOD JUST A FEW METERS FROM WHERE SHAKESPEARE WAS BURIED.

SEALING HIS GRAVE WITH A CURSE WAS PERHAPS A BID TO PREVENT HIS REMAINS ENDING UP ABANDONED THERE.

IN "ROMEO AND JULIET," ONE OF SHAKESPEARE'S MOST FAMOUS PLAYS, JULIET IMAGINES THE SAME GRISLY FATE.

MAN: THE IDEA OF THE CHARNEL HOUSE CROPS UP AT VARIOUS POINTS IN SHAKESPEARE'S WRITING.

I GUESS "ROMEO AND JULIET"-- VERY FAMOUSLY JULIET TALKS ABOUT THE IDEA OF BEING TRAPPED IN A CHARNEL HOUSE, THE IDEA OF BEING CAUGHT THERE.

WOMAN AS JULIET: HIDE ME NIGHTLY IN A CHARNEL HOUSE, O'ERCOVERED QUITE WITH DEAD MEN'S RATTLING BONES, WITH REEKY SHANKS AND YELLOW CHAPLESS SKULLS; OR BID ME GO INTO A NEW MADE GRAVE, AND HIDE ME WITH A DEAD MAN IN HIS TOMB.

THINGS THAT, TO HEAR THEM TOLD, HAVE MADE ME TREMBLE.

DICKSON: FOR HER, SHE IMAGINES THE WORST THING IS BEING IN A CHARNEL HOUSE, IS BEING TRAPPED THERE, BEING CAUGHT IN, SURROUNDED BY ALL THESE SKULLS, ALL OF THESE BONES AND NOT ABLE TO GET OUT.

CASTOR: THE PROSPECT OF YOUR BONES BEING MOVED AFTER BURIAL WAS A VERY REAL ONE.

SHAKESPEARE'S FAMILY MIGHT WELL HAVE PAID A FEE TO SECURE HIS BURIAL INSIDE THE CHURCH PERHAPS TO ENSURE HIS REMAINS DIDN'T MEET SUCH A FATE.

UTSI: YOU SEE HOW QUICKLY THIS COMES IN.

AND...IT'S QUITE STRANGE ACTUALLY.

THEN IT'S GOT TO EXTEND.

CASTOR: SHAKESPEARE ARCHAEOLOGIST KEVIN COLLS AND GEOPHYSICIST ERICA UTSI HAVE BEEN ANALYZING THE GPR DATA FROM HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.

IT'S A TIME-CONSUMING PROCESS, BUT THEY NOW HAVE THEIR INITIAL FINDINGS.

I AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 400 YEARS, WE'RE GOING TO FIND OUT WHAT LIES BENEATH THAT GRAVESTONE.

IT HAS LONG BEEN ASSUMED THAT SHAKESPEARE AND HIS FAMILY WERE LAID TO REST IN AN UNDERGROUND VAULT, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT ERICA AND KEVIN HAVE FOUND.

SO IF WE START AT THE SURFACE HERE, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS RECTANGLE HERE-- THIS STRONG SIGNAL RECTANGLE, THAT CORRESPONDS TO THAT BRASS NAME PLATE ON ANNE HATHAWAY'S TOMB.

OK.

SO THAT'S WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE HERE.

THAT'S RIGHT.

SO THAT'S QUITE USEFUL.

OK.

SO SHALL WE START GOING DOWN INTO THE GROUND?

YES, PLEASE.

YES, PLEASE.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THE GPR GIVES US A VIEW FROM ABOVE, PROBING DOWN BENEATH THE CHURCH FLOOR 6 MILLIMETERS AT A TIME, FINDING LAYERS OF STONE AND SOIL.

CASTOR: IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A BIT DIFFERENT.

UTSI: AND THEN SOMETHING ELSE IS HAPPENING.

IT LOOKS LIKE A WEATHER FRONT MOVING.

HA HA HA!

SORT OF.

THERE ARE SOME DARK CLOUDS COMING FROM THE WEST.

WELL, THOSE DARK CLOUDS ARE REALLY, REALLY STRONG SIGNALS.

THE RADAR IS TELLING US THAT THAT MATERIAL UNDERNEATH THE GROUND HAS CHANGED COMPLETELY.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: BARELY 14 CENTIMETERS DOWN, THE GPR HITS SOMETHING UNEXPECTED.

TO THE UNTRAINED EYE, THIS LOOKS LIKE A MASS OF BLACK SHAPES, BUT ERICA CAN MAKE OUT A SERIES OF AIR POCKETS.

WE'RE LOOKING AT AIR GAPS BUT ONLY IN SOME AREAS.

WE'RE LOOKING AT A HUGE AIR GAP THAT WOULD BE A HOLE UNDER THE FLOOR.

WELL, THEY'RE QUITE DISCRETE AIR GAPS, AS WELL, AND THEY'RE A PARTICULAR SHAPE.

EXACTLY.

WHEN-- THIS DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A VAULT TO ME.

IT DEFINITELY ISN'T A VAULT.

THESE ARE GRAVE-SHAPED.

ABSOLUTELY.

WE'VE GOT A SERIES OF SHALLOW GRAVES.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: AS A BODY DECAYS, THE SOIL THAT'S BEEN USED TO FILL THE GRAVE SETTLES, AND AIR GAPS FORM.

ALTHOUGH A DECOMPOSED BODY IS INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM THE FROM THE SURROUNDING SOIL, THE GPR CAN DETECT THESE DISTINCTIVE AIR VOIDS.

ERICA HAS FOUND NOT ONE LARGE AIR VOID BUT THE TELL-TALE SIGNATURES OF 5 INDIVIDUAL GRAVES.

THEY LIE ALMOST DIRECTLY BELOW THE SHAKESPEARE FAMILY STONES AND UNUSUALLY CLOSE TO THE SURFACE.

AND IF WE'RE STILL UNDER A METER HERE, THAT'S ABOUT 3 FEET, ISN'T IT?

3 FEET, YEAH.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: MOST REVEALING OF ALL, SHAKESPEARE'S UNDERSIZED STONE ON THE SURFACE DOESN'T MATCH WHAT'S UNDERNEATH.

UTSI: SO HERE WE HAVE THE REFLECTION OF THAT VERY SHORT STONE, AND WE HAVE WHAT LOOKS LIKE A VERY SHORT GRAVE.

SO THE FIRST QUESTION WAS DID THAT MEAN THAT THESE GRAVES ACTUALLY LIE FURTHER TO THE EAST UNDERNEATH THE ALTAR STEP?

WE'VE HAD A LOOK WITH THE RADAR, AND IT DOESN'T EXTEND.

SO IT'S NOT THAT WILLIAM'S HEAD IS HERE AND HIS FEET ARE STICKING OUT ABOVE THE TOP OF OUR PICTURE?

NO.

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

COLLS: FEET WILL BE THERE.

AND WE GO EVEN DEEPER INTO THE GROUND, AND WE CAN SEE SOMETHING REALLY INTERESTING HERE, WHICH IS--DO YOU SEE THERE IS A LINE HERE OF BRICKWORK?

AND WHAT THAT APPEARS TO BE IS THE HEAD END OF THE GRAVES, SO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE, INSTEAD OF ENDING THERE, ACTUALLY ENDS DOWN HERE, WHICH BRINGS IT STRAIGHT INTO LINE WITH ALL THE OTHER GRAVES.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THE GPR HAS DETECTED SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE REACHING AS FAR AS THE BRICK WALL, WHICH MEANS THAT THAT BENEATH THE CHURCH FLOOR, HIS GRAVE IS ACTUALLY THE SAME LENGTH AS THE OTHERS, AND THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE INTRIGUING.

WE HAVEN'T FOUND ANY EVIDENCE AT ALL FOR METAL.

SO WHAT HAVE COFFINS GOT A LOT?

COFFINS HAVE GOT A LOT OF METAL.

THEY'RE EITHER MADE OF METAL-- IT'S A BIG, LEAD BOX-- OR THERE'S LOTS AND LOTS OF METAL NAILS... HOLDING THE WOOD TOGETHER.

HOLDING THE TIN OF THE COFFIN.

EXACTLY!

SO THAT IS REALLY, REALLY INTERESTING AND VERY, VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE ONE OF HIS FINAL REQUESTS WAS TO BE RETURNED TO THE EARTH, A SIMPLE BURIAL, NOTHING TOO ELABORATE, AND IT APPEARS THAT THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT HE HAD, A NICE SHROUD BURIAL, QUITE SHALLOW, AND, UM, YEAH RETURNED TO THE EARTH FROM WHICH HE CAME.

CASTOR: THE GPR HAS REVEALED THAT SHAKESPEARE AND HIS FAMILY WERE BURIED SIMPLY IN TRADITIONAL WINDING SHEETS OR SHROUDS.

BRITAIN'S GREATEST DRAMATIST WAS BURIED NOT IN A GRAND VAULT BUT IN A SHALLOW GRAVE WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A COFFIN.

THE GPR HAS ANSWERED SOME QUESTIONS BUT RAISED OTHERS.

WHY WOULD ANYONE COVER THE TOP HALF OF A GRAVE WITH A BLANK PAVING STONE?

COLLS: IF WE THINK THAT HIS TOMBSTONE WOULD HAVE ORIGINALLY BEEN BIGGER THAN IT IS AT THE MOMENT, THEN WE THEN NEED TO LOOK AT--AT WHY IT'S NOT NOW.

SO WHAT HAS HAPPENED BETWEEN NOW AND THEN TO MAKE THE STONE APPEAR MUCH SHORTER THAN IT IS?

CASTOR: FURTHER GPR ANALYSIS MIGHT PROVIDE SOME ANSWERS, BUT THE FINDINGS ARE ALREADY SENDING KEVIN IN A NEW AND SURPRISING DIRECTION.

HE'S LOOKING AGAIN AT ONE OF THE TALL TALES THAT SURROUND SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE.

THE STORY, WRITTEN ANONYMOUSLY, EMERGED IN 1879 IN A MAGAZINE CALLED "THE ARGOSY," WHICH PUBLISHED "TALES, TRAVELS, ESSAYS, AND POEMS."

IT'S THE STORY OF ONE FRANK CHAMBERS, A YOUNG SURGEON IN THE AREA 180 YEARS AFTER SHAKESPEARE DIED.

THE STORY BEGINS WITH CHAMBERS ATTENDING A DINNER PARTY IN A STATELY HOME NEAR STRATFORD.

THE CONVERSATION TURNS TO SHAKESPEARE AND WHETHER HIS FAMOUS PLASTER BUST IN THE CHURCH ACTUALLY LOOKS ANYTHING LIKE HIM.

SOMEONE PIPES UP THAT THAT A RICH MAN WITH LITERARY INTERESTS HAS OFFERED A BOUNTY OF 300 GUINEAS TO ANYONE WHO CAN BRING HIM WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL.

TEMPTED BY SUCH A LARGE SUM OF MONEY AND HUNGRY FOR ADVENTURE, CHAMBERS TAKES UP THE CHALLENGE, AND THE STORY TURNS DARKLY GOTHIC.

CHAMBERS RECRUITS 3 MEN, GRAVE ROBBERS HE USES TO DIG UP FRESH CORPSES FOR HIS ANATOMICAL STUDIES, AND ONE DARK NIGHT, THEY BREAK INTO HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.

INSIDE, THEY LIFT SHAKESPEARE'S STONE AND START DIGGING.

CHAMBERS WHISPERS TO HIS MEN "NO SHOVELS BUT HANDS AND FEEL FOR THE SKULL."

ONE OF THE MEN PULLS IT OUT, AND CHAMBERS SAYS, "I HANDLED SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL AT LAST "AND GAZED AT IT ONLY FOR A MOMENT, FOR TIME WAS PRECIOUS".

THE GRAVE ROBBERS MAKE THEIR ESCAPE, TAKING THE SKULL WITH THEM.

IT'S A ROLLICKING READ, EXACTLY THE KIND OF GOTHIC TALE THAT WAS SO POPULAR IN THE 19th CENTURY, AND IT'S EASY TO DISMISS AS ANOTHER OF THE FAR-FETCHED STORIES THAT SHAKESPEARE ALWAYS SEEMS TO ATTRACT.

MUCH OF THE TALE IS CLEARLY MADE UP, BUT ONE OF THE DETAILS STRIKES KEVIN AS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT.

COLLS: IT SAYS HERE THAT THE MEN "DUG TO A DEPTH OF 3 FEET," WHICH IS WHAT OUR GPR TOLD US, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE KNOWN.

IF THEY'D DONE THEIR RESEARCH, A VAULT WOULD BE WHERE HE LAY.

ABSOLUTELY.

IF YOU WERE MAKING SOMETHING UP, YOU WOULDN'T MAKE UP SUCH A SHALLOW DEPTH AS THAT.

IT'S EITHER A REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE THAT THEY'VE GOT IT BANG ON CORRECT, OR THERE IS SOME TRUTH IN THIS STORY.

CASTOR: KEVIN THINKS THE SHALLOW GRAVE DETAIL IN THE ARGOSY STORY IS TOO MUCH TO IGNORE.

IT'S WELL-KNOWN THAT AROUND THE TIME OF THE SUPPOSED THEFT OF SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL A NEW CRAZE HAD EMERGED, TROPHY HUNTING FOR CELEBRITY SKULLS.

ONE VICTIM WAS SIR THOMAS BROWNE, A PHILOSOPHER AND NEAR CONTEMPORARY OF SHAKESPEARE'S.

HIS SKULL WAS PILFERED FROM HIS GRAVE IN 1840.

DR. FRANCES LARSON HAS STUDIED THIS GHOULISH EPISODE IN HISTORY.

LARSON: THERE'S ALMOST A VENERATION GOING ON, A KIND OF WORSHIP, AND I THINK THAT DOES LEAK INTO THE TRADITIONS OF COLLECTING THE SKULLS OF GENIUS INDIVIDUALS AND THAT IDEA OF A KIND OF AURA IN THE REMAINS OF A PERSON'S BODY.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THE FAD WAS FUELED BY A NEW THEORY, THAT GENIUS COULD BE MAPPED BY EXAMINING THE LUMPS AND BUMPS ON GREAT MEN'S SKULLS.

LARSON: IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY, A PSEUDOSCIENCE CALLED PHRENOLOGY BECAME HUGELY POPULAR, AND THE IDEA WAS THAT YOU COULD LOCATE DIFFERENT PARTS OF YOUR PERSONALITY ON YOUR HEAD.

SO WE CAN SEE SELFISHNESS HERE, MORAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS UP HERE.

AT THE TOP.

HA HA HA!

LITERALLY CORRELATED TO BUMPS ON THE SKULL.

YES, AND AS YOU DEVELOPED, THOSE LUMPS AND BUMPS OF YOUR BRAIN WOULD IN TURN SHAPE YOUR SKULL, AND THEREFORE, THE HUMAN SKULL COULD BE USED TO MAP INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITIES.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THE SKULLS OF THE FAMOUS BECAME A VALUABLE COMMODITY.

MOZART, HAYDN, AND 17th CENTURY WRITER JONATHAN SWIFT ALL HAD THEIR SKULLS TAKEN FROM THEIR GRAVES.

WAS THIS ALSO SHAKESPEARE'S FATE?

SO THE STORY THAT SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL MIGHT HAVE BEEN TAKEN FOR MONEY, HOW PLAUSIBLE IS THIS TALE THAT'S TOLD?

I THINK IT IS PLAUSIBLE THAT SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE SEEN A COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITY.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THE IDEA OF SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL GOING MISSING IS REMINISCENT OF PERHAPS THE MOST FAMOUS SCENE SHAKESPEARE HIMSELF EVER WROTE, WHEN HAMLET WITNESSES TWO GRAVE DIGGERS UNEARTH THE SKULL OF YORICK THE COURT JESTER.

ALAS, POOR YORICK!

I KNEW HIM, HORATIO; A FELLOW OF INFINITE JEST, OF MOST EXCELLENT FANCY; HE HATH BORNE ME ON HIS BACK A THOUSAND TIMES; AND NOW, HOW ABHORRED IN MY IMAGINATION IT IS!

MY GORGE RISES AT IT.

HERE HUNG THOSE LIPS THAT I HAVE KISSED I KNOW NOT HOW OFT.

WHERE BE YOUR GIBES NOW?

YOUR GAMBOLS?

YOUR SONGS?

YOUR FLASHES OF MERRIMENT, THAT WERE WONT TO SET THE TABLE ON A ROAR?

NO ONE NOW, TO MOCK YOUR OWN JEERING?

QUITE CHOP-FALLEN.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: A GRAVE-ROBBED SKULL FORCES HAMLET TO CONTEMPLATE DEATH.

IF SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL WAS ALSO GRAVE-ROBBED-- AS THE "ARGOSY" STORY SUGGESTED-- WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?

THERE'S A TWIST TO THIS SINISTER TALE.

4 YEARS AFTER THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE APPEARED, A POSTSCRIPT TO THE STORY EMERGED.

IT CLAIMED TO REVEAL WHAT HAPPENED NEXT TO SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL, PICKING UP THE STORY WITH DR.

CHAMBERS FAILING TO SELL HIS PRIZE.

SO CHAMBERS GOT NERVOUS.

HE JUST WANTED TO BE RID OF IT.

HE TOLD DYER, ONE OF THE GRAVE ROBBERS, TO RETURN IT TO SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE IN STRATFORD.

INSTEAD, THE STORY SAYS, DYER HID IT IN "A LOCAL VAULT."

AND THAT VAULT WAS SAID TO BE HERE BENEATH A CHURCH IN BEOLEY JUST 15 MILES FROM STRATFORD.

NOW STONE MASONS ARE OPENING UP THIS 16th CENTURY FAMILY CRYPT.

IT FEELS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF "HARRY POTTER," A SECRET STAIRCASE.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THE MISSION IS TO EXAMINE A ROGUE SKULL THAT THE STORY CLAIMS BELONGS TO SHAKESPEARE.

CASTOR: THIS TAKES SOME DOING, RALPH, DOESN'T IT?

IT DOES A BIT.

OH, MY WORD.

IT'S A TIGHT SQUEEZE, BUT THERE'S MORE ROOM THAN YOU THINK WHEN YOU GET DOWN HERE, ISN'T THERE?

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THIS CRYPT IS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE OF THE SHELDON FAMILY.

WELL, THROUGH THAT ODD LITTLE HOLE IS WHAT WE CALL AN OSSUARY, A STORE FOR BONES, AND IT IS IN THAT OSSUARY THAT WE HAVE THE SKULL THAT MAY BELONG TO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.

SO THIS IS WHERE THE ROGUE SKULL IS.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: IN THIS OSSUARY, THERE ARE 4 COMPLETE SKELETONS SAID TO BE SHELDONS AND ONE LONE SKULL.

RICHARDSON: IT DOESN'T BELONG TO ANY OF THE SKELETONS, HENCE THE STORY THAT IT COULD BELONG TO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.

CASTOR: BEOLEY CHURCH HAS GIVEN KEVIN PERMISSION TO EXAMINE THE MYSTERY SKULL AS PART OF HIS INVESTIGATION INTO SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE.

COLLS, VOICE-OVER: I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE GO AND INVESTIGATE THIS... GOT YOUR GLOVES, MICK?

COLLS, VOICE-OVER: AND RECORD THE SKULL IN ITS LOCATION, AND WE ALSO ANALYZE THIS SKULL IN AS MUCH DETAIL AS WE CAN DO TO TRY AND FIND OUT IF IT'S THE SKULL OF A MALE OR A FEMALE, WHAT SORT OF AGE AT DEATH FOR THE PERSON, AND JUST SUGGEST IF THERE'S ANY POSSIBILITY AT ALL THAT THAT IS THE SKULL OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.

OK.

RIGHT.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: IT'S THE FIRST TIME ANYONE HAS BEEN ALLOWED INTO THE CRYPT TO ANALYZE WHAT'S KNOWN AS THE BEOLEY SKULL.

HERE IT COMES.

CASTOR: BUT THE CHURCH HAS ASKED THAT, OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE DEAD, KEVIN AND HIS TEAM DON'T TOUCH OR MOVE ANY BONES.

COLLS, VOICE-OVER: THERE'S AN ELEMENT OF UNKNOWN IN ALL OF THIS.

WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK IN A CRYPT THAT ACTUALLY HAS OTHER PEOPLE BURIED IN IT, ATTEMPT TO SCAN THE SKULL USING THE HIGHLY ACCURATE LASER SCANNER.

THAT'S GONNA BE QUITE AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE IN THAT IT'S A REASONABLY BIG AND HEAVY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE'RE TAKING INTO A SMALL DARK CRYPT.

IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT SCENARIO TO WHAT WE NORMALLY WORK WITH IN TERMS OF FORENSIC INVESTIGATION.

COLLS: RIGHT.

SO WE WANT IT AS LOW AS WE CAN GO.

AS LONG AS IT'S NOT ON THE GROUND.

THROUGH THE HOLE.

YEAH.

TELL ME WHEN.

CASTOR: MICK BRITTON IS AN ENGINEER SPECIALIZING IN LASER SCANNING.

THIS IMMEDIATELY FEELS AWKWARD.

CASTOR: HE'S HOPING TO BUILD A PRECISE 3-D COMPUTER MODEL OF THE UNIDENTIFIED SKULL.

THERE'S NOT MUCH ROOM THERE, IS THERE?

NO.

THIS IS WHAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT.

I CAN CERTAINLY GET SOME OF THE FRONT OF THE SKULL BUT ANYTHING ELSE IS GOING TO BE REALLY, REALLY DIFFICULT.

CASTOR: HE'LL NEED TO TAKE MULTIPLE SCANS FROM EVERY POSSIBLE ANGLE TO ENSURE THE MODEL IS ACCURATE, BUT THE SKULL'S IN A TRICKY POSITION RIGHT UP AGAINST THE WALL.

BRITTON: I'M THINKING THE BEST THING TO DO IS ATTEMPT GETTING INSIDE THE HOLE.

I THINK IT'S GOT TO BE WORTH A SHOT.

OK. GOOD LUCK, MICK.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: IT WON'T BE EASY.

MICK MUSTN'T DISTURB ANY OF THE BONES INSIDE THE TINY OSSUARY.

THAT'S GOOD, MICK, THAT'S GOOD.

WELL DONE NO.

IT'S VERY, VERY TIGHT STANDING ROOM.

VERY TIGHT.

COLLS: SO WHAT DO YOU NEED NEXT, YOUR GLASSES?

HA HA HA!

PROBABLY.

THERE YOU GO, SIR.

LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET THE SCANNER THROUGH THE HOLE THEN.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: NOW MICK CAN SCAN THE BACK, AS WELL AS THE FRONT.

BRITTON: I CAN GET ROUND PROBABLY-- I WOULD SAY APPROACHING 60% OF THE SKULL HERE AND QUITE A LARGE AMOUNT OF THE CROWN.

RIGHT.

I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE A GO AT THE EYE SOCKET, KEVIN.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS.

HA HA!

IT'S PRETTY AMAZING.

YOU CAN SCAN THINGS TO THE MILLIMETER-- SUB-MILLIMETER ACCURACY IF YOU WANTED TO.

BRITTON: I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M ACTUALLY GETTING ROUND THE BACKSIDE OF THAT SKULL.

DIDN'T THINK WE WERE GONNA REACH THIS.

OK?

GOT IT.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: AFTER AN HOUR OF LASER SCANNING, THE BEOLEY SKULL NOW HAS A 3-D VIRTUAL TWIN.

THERE WE GO.

A SKULL.

OH, MY WORD!

LOOK AT THAT.

OK.

THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS, THIS SKULL HAS BEEN RUMORED TO BELONG TO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.

NOW IT CAN BE ANALYZED BY FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST CAROLINE WILKINSON.

AS AN EXPERT IN CRANIOFACIAL RECONSTRUCTION, CAROLINE WORKS WITH THE POLICE TO HELP IDENTIFY MURDER VICTIMS.

SHE CAN DETERMINE WHETHER ITS AGE AND SEX MAKE IT A POTENTIAL MATCH FOR SHAKESPEARE.

WILKINSON: THE SKULL GIVES YOU A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL, SO WE CAN TELL WHETHER THE INDIVIDUAL IS MALE OR FEMALE, WE CAN LOOK AT THE AGE THAT THEY DIED, AND WE CAN LOOK AT A BROAD ANCESTRY CATEGORY, AND IN DETAIL, IT CAN GIVE YOU THE FEATURES OF THEIR FACE AND THEIR FACIAL APPEARANCE.

SEE, WE'VE GOT A PRETTY GOOD 3-D SHAPE.

THE FIRST THING IS THAT FROM A BROAD ANCESTRY POINT OF VIEW THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH A WHITE EUROPEAN.

SHAKESPEARE, WHITE EUROPEAN, SO FAR, SO GOOD.

THEN THE NEXT THING WE WOULD DO IS AN ASSESSMENT OF HOW OLD THE PERSON WAS WHEN THEY DIED.

WHAT WE TEND TO LOOK AT WITHIN ANTHROPOLOGY ARE THE TEETH BECAUSE THE WEAR OF THE TEETH WILL BE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE AGE OF THE INDIVIDUAL.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: KEVIN ALSO HAD PHOTOS TAKEN BY A CRIME SCENE PHOTOGRAPHER SO THAT CAROLINE COULD EXAMINE THE TEETH IN DETAIL.

WILKINSON: ON THIS INDIVIDUAL, THE BONE HAS RESORBED ESPECIALLY AROUND THE FRONT WHERE THE INCISORS WERE, AND THERE'S NO INDICATION THAT THERE ARE SOCKETS THERE.

SO THESE WERE TEETH THAT WERE LOST IN LIFE.

YEAH.

FROM THIS SKULL, I WOULD EXPECT THEM TO BE IN THEIR SEVENTIES BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANY INDICATION OF TEETH IN THE UPPER JAW.

CASTOR: IT'S UNLIKELY THAT SHAKESPEARE HAD LOST ALL HIS TEETH BY THE AGE OF 52 WHEN HE DIED.

THE NEXT THING TO LOOK AT IS THE BROW.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: AND THERE'S MORE THAT DOESN'T QUITE MATCH.

IN MALE SKULLS, YOU TEND TO SEE A BULGE JUST WHERE THE EYEBROWS SIT, AND YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SKULL THAT WE DON'T HAVE A BULGE OF BONE.

WE'VE GOT QUITE A SMOOTH AND UPRIGHT FOREHEAD.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: THE SHAPE OF THE EYE ORBITS ALSO LOOKS SUSPICIOUSLY FEMALE.

WILKINSON: FROM LOOKING AT THE INFORMATION THAT WE DO HAVE, IT LOOKS MORE LIKE A FEMALE SKULL.

AS FAR AS WE KNOW, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE WASN'T FEMALE, WAS HE?

NOT AS FAR.

NO.

THAT WOULD BE A TURN-UP FOR THE BOOKS.

THE SUGGESTION OF AGE, THE SUGGESTION OF FEMALENESS, IT'S PRETTY CLEAR, ISN'T IT, I MEAN, ON THE BALANCE OF PROBABILITY.

IT IS.

I MEAN, I-- I WOULD BE SOMEWHAT CAUTIOUS.

BUT THE BALANCE OF PROBABILITIES?

I'D BE GOING FOR NO.

CASTOR: SO WHO DOES THE MYSTERY SKULL IN THE BEOLEY CRYPT BELONG TO?

CAROLINE'S RECONSTRUCTION REVEALS THE FACE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

WILKINSON: SO WE'VE TAKEN THE MODEL OF THE SKULL INTO OUR COMPUTER SYSTEM, AND THEN I'VE JUST FOLLOWED THE ANATOMICAL PROCEDURE TO BUILD THE FACE UP.

IT'S FASCINATING.

COLLS: IT IS, ISN'T IT?

BUT IT'S VERY FINE-BONED.

THAT IS A VERY FINE-BONED FACE.

ABSOLUTELY.

YEAH.

WE HAVE AN UNIDENTIFIED PERSON TO FIND.

ONE MYSTERY LEADS TO ANOTHER!

IT ALWAYS DOES!

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: IT SEEMS THE SKULL BELONGED NOT TO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE BUT TO A WOMAN IN HER SEVENTIES.

THE LEGEND OF THE BEOLEY SKULL TURNS OUT TO BE JUST THAT, A TALL TALE, BUT IT DOESN'T RULE OUT THE CLAIM IN THE ORIGINAL "ARGOSY" STORY THAT TROPHY HUNTERS STOLE SHAKESPEARE'S SKULL AND THE FACT THAT AN INTRIGUING DETAIL FROM THE STORY MATCHES THE GPR DATA.

SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE WAS DESCRIBED AS 3 FEET DEEP, A FACT THE AUTHOR IS UNLIKELY TO HAVE KNOWN.

THE FINAL GPR RESULTS ARE IN.

SO THIS HERE IS WHERE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S STONE IS, THE GROUND.

BASICALLY, WE TOOK THE RADAR BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS ACROSS HERE, AND WE CAN LOOK BIRD'S-EYE VIEW DOWN INTO IT.

CASTOR: KEVIN'S KEEN TO FIND OUT WHY THE TOP HALF OF SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE IS COVERED BY A BLANK PAVING STONE.

IF THAT SEEMS STRANGE, IT'S NOT AS STRANGE AS WHAT LIES BENEATH.

TO THE UNINITIATED, ERICA, IT LOOKS LIKE A BIG BLACK HOLE.

WHAT AM I ACTUALLY LOOKING AT?

THAT WILL BE AIR.

THE IMPORTANT BIT IS ACTUALLY THAT LIGHT COLOR, THE LIGHT LINES ROUND THE OUTSIDE OF THIS DARK SHAPE, BECAUSE THAT, IF YOU LIKE, IS WHAT'S HOLDING THE AIR POCKET IN.

SO WE HAVE SOMETHING FORMING A BOX.

IT'S ALMOST CERTAINLY SOME SORT OF STONE OR BRICK, OR SOME SORT OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL.

WHAT'S PECULIAR IS IT'S CUTTING ACROSS WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE, THE HEAD END, AND ALSO OVER THE WALL BETWEEN SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE AND ANNE HATHAWAY'S.

CASTOR: THE GPR HAS REVEALED SOMETHING VERY ODD, AN UNEXPECTED BOX-LIKE STRUCTURE BUILT RIGHT ACROSS SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE.

UTSI: THIS BOX HAS BEEN ADDED LATER, AND WHAT I THINK HAS HAPPENED IS THAT WE'VE GOT SUBSIDENCE OF THE FLOOR, AND I THINK SOMEBODY HAS PUT A PUT STONE STRUCTURE IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THE FLOOR ABOVE.

SO WHY WOULD SOMEONE HAVE DELIBERATELY BUILT A BRICK OR STONE BOX THERE?

THE OBVIOUS ANSWER IS THAT IT MUST BE SOME SORT OF REPAIR.

CASTOR: IT'S A VERY SPECIFIC REPAIR NEEDED WHY?

PRESUMABLY BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN MORE SETTLEMENT IN THAT AREA THAN THERE HAS IN ANY OF THE OTHER GRAVES.

NOW THAT'S A BIT STRANGE.

IT MEANS THERE WAS MORE REASON FOR THAT AREA TO COLLAPSE, AND THE OBVIOUS IMPLICATION IS THAT IT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DISTURBED AT SOME TIME, AND THEN THEY'VE BEEN OBLIGED TO COME BACK IN PUT A STRUCTURE IN TO SUPPORT THE FLOOR.

CASTOR: ERICA HAS FOUND EVIDENCE OF A SIGNIFICANT REPAIR TO SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE, A STRUCTURE APPARENTLY BUILT TO SUPPORT THE BLANK PAVING STONE THAT COVERS THE HEAD END OF THE GRAVE.

THE CHURCH UNDERWENT RESTORATION WORK IN THE 19th CENTURY, BUT THERE'S NO RECORD OF SUCH A REPAIR, ALTHOUGH ONE REPORT DOES MENTION "SINKING OF THE FLOOR."

I'VE LOOKED AT VERY MANY GRAVES IN MANY CHURCHES, AND I HAVE NEVER, EVER SEEN THIS SORT OF THING IN A GRAVE ANYWHERE.

COULD IT NOT BE PART OF REGULAR WEAR AND TEAR?

CHURCH--CHURCHES ARE GETTING REPAIRED ALL THE TIME, AREN'T THEY?

YES, BUT THIS PART HERE IS CUTTING ACROSS WHAT WE THINK IS A BRICK WALL.

WHY WOULD YOU HAVE TO REPAIR ABOVE A WALL IF THE WALL WAS STILL INTACT?

YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT SETTLEMENT ON A BRICK WALL, WOULD YOU?

NO.

SO THAT IN ITSELF SUGGESTS THAT THAT BRICK WALL HAS SOMEHOW BEEN DAMAGED.

CASTOR: THE GPR CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY THE REPAIR WAS NEEDED, BUT FOR KEVIN, THIS EVIDENCE OF DISTURBANCE TO SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE FITS WITH THE STORY OF HIS SKULL BEING STOLEN IN THE 18th CENTURY.

IF YOU LOOK AT THAT IMAGE, THERE IS NO OTHER REPAIR ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE FLOOR.

IT'S SUCH A COINCIDENCE WE HERE HAVE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S BURIAL WITH A VERY ODD DISTURBANCE AT THE HEAD END, AND WE HAVE A STORY THAT SUGGESTS THAT AT SOME POINT IN HISTORY SOMEONE'S COME IN AND TAKEN THE SKULL OF SHAKESPEARE.

CASTOR: USING THE GPR AND HIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE, KEVIN TAKES ME THROUGH WHAT HE THINKS HAPPENED.

COLLS: WE ALREADY KNOW THE OTHER EVIDENCE IS POINTING TOWARDS A BRICK BOX.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: IT HINGES ON HOW SOIL BEHAVES WHEN IT'S DUG INTO AND DISTURBED.

SO THE BIG QUESTION IS WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

SO IF AT SOME POINT HIS SKULL WAS TAKEN FROM THAT LOCATION, THIS AREA WOULD BE MATERIAL THAT THEY HAD TO PUT BACK.

ANYONE WHO'S DONE AN EXCAVATION WOULD KNOW THAT YOU PUT THE MATERIAL BACK AGAIN, IT'S ALWAYS SOFTER, IT HAS A TENDENCY TO SINK, TO CAUSE A DEPRESSION.

SO IF THAT'S HAPPENED, WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE GOT IN THE CHANCEL FLOOR IS A HOLE.

AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE.

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN REPAIRED.

A REPAIR JOB TO AT BIT OF THE FLOOR THAT WAS SINKING...

EXACTLY.

BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN DISTURBED AND THEN WITH A PAVING STONE PUT ACROSS IT TO REPAIR THE FLOOR ABOVE THE BOX.

AND THEN EFFECTIVELY, YOU WOULD BE LEFT WITH THIS HERE, WHICH IS WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S LEDGER STONE WITH THE CURSE ON IT AND THEN THE STONE THAT WE SEE TODAY, AND THAT WOULD EXPLAIN THE GPR RESULTS AND WHAT WE SEE ON THE GROUND IF YOU VISIT THE CHURCH NOW.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: IT'S A SHOCKING IDEA AND PARTICULARLY CHILLING GIVEN THE INSCRIPTION THAT LAYS A CURSE ON ANYONE MOVING SHAKESPEARE'S BONES.

COLLS: THE PERIOD OF HISTORY THAT SHAKESPEARE DIED IN, SKULL THEFT WAS A--A BIG THING THAT WAS GOING ON, AND HERE WE'VE GOT AN AREA OF A GRAVE WHICH HAS GOT A DISTURBANCE AT THE SKULL END, AND WE'VE GOT A STORY ABOUT THAT SKULL BEING STOLEN.

SO IT ALL TIES IN QUITE NICELY.

IT'S VERY, VERY CONVINCING TO ME THAT HIS SKULL IS NO LONGER AT HOLY TRINITY AT ALL.

CASTOR: BUT NOT EVERYONE IS CONVINCED BY KEVIN'S THEORY.

EDMONSON: NOTHING I'VE SEEN AS A RESULT OF THIS SURVEY CONVINCES ME THAT THE SKULL WAS STOLEN BECAUSE THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THE SKULL IS NOT THERE.

I THINK PROBABLY THE CURRENT EXPLORATION HAS--HAS WHETTED OUR APPETITE TO FIND OUT MORE.

CASTOR: THE GPR FINDINGS PUT IT BEYOND DOUBT THAT SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE IS NOT IN ITS ORIGINAL STATE.

I WANTED TO KNOW IF THE CHURCH WOULD CONSIDER OPENING IT IN THE LIGHT OF KEVIN'S CONCLUSIONS.

TAYLOR: I THINK THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY ARE COMPELLING IN TERMS OF SHOWING THE STRUCTURE AT THE HEAD OF THE GRAVE, BUT IT'S STILL ONLY A THEORY THAT THE REASON FOR THE REPAIR WAS DUE TO REMOVAL OF SOME OF HIS REMAINS, THE REMOVAL OF HIS SKULL, AND SHAKESPEARE'S WISHES ARE MADE QUITE CLEAR ON THE INSCRIPTION ON THE TOMBSTONE, AND IT'S OUR INTENTION TO RESPECT HIS WISHES.

AT THIS POINT IN TIME, THE CHURCH HAS NO INTENTION TO OPEN UP THE GRAVE, AND SO I THINK WE JUST HAVE TO LIVE WITH THAT SENSE OF MYSTERY.

CASTOR, VOICE-OVER: WHEN WE STARTED THIS INVESTIGATION, I WAS PREPARED FOR SURPRISES, BUT IT'S ALL TURNED OUT TO BE EVEN STRANGER THAN I COULD HAVE IMAGINED.

THE PRESSURE TO EXCAVATE WILL NO DOUBT CONTINUE, BUT WHAT I'VE ALREADY SEEN HAS LEFT ME WITH THE DISTURBING THOUGHT, THAT THE HEAD WHICH DREAMT UP SOME OF THE GREATEST DRAMAS IN THE WORLD MAY WELL BE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE.