Derbyshire cave house identified as ninth-century home to exiled king

Anchor Church cave is thought to be one of the oldest intact domestic interiors found in the UK

A cave house previously thought to be an 18th-century folly has been identified as one of the oldest intact domestic interiors ever found in the UK and was once, archaeologists tantalisingly believe, the home of an exiled Anglo-Saxon king.

In the 18th century, Anchor Church cave in south Derbyshire was used by local gentry as a place for parties, and until now it was officially understood that that was as far back as its history went.