The unusual Anchor Church Caves in south Derbyshire were, until quite recently, thought to have been follies cut into the rock in the eighteenth century. But new research has revealed that they could date from the early ninth century - making them probably the oldest intact domestic interiors in the UK. They may well have even been lived in by a king who became a saint.

In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Cat Jarman talks to Professor Edmund Simons who been making use of innovative methods to date and understand better this and other Medieval cave dwellings.

The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.

For more Gone Medieval content, subscribe to our Medieval Monday newsletter here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android or Apple store.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.