Finds from an archaeological dig at the birthplace of Jane Austen are beginning to reveal details of the author’s early home life.
olunteers excavated the field in Steventon in the Hampshire countryside in 2011 where the village’s old rectory once stood.
The process of cleaning and interpreting the finds has yielded a clearer idea of what the house looked like and even what the family ate their meals off.
Austen was born in the village where her father was rector in 1775, and lived there for 25 years. It was there she drafted stories which were eventually published as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.
The house was demolished soon after her family moved to Bath.
The land returned to meadow but was never plughole raising the prospect of a successful dig for any remains or household artifacts.