The theater where "The Merchant of Venice" and "Romeo and Juliet" likely debuted and where William Shakespeare himself may have trodden the boards has likely been discovered in east London, archaeologists at the Museum of London said Wednesday.



The possible foundations of what is known as simply, The Theatre, were unearthed by builders excavating the site -- a vacant garage -- for another structure.

Museum archaeologists were called to the location to make sure nothing was destroyed, and had a eureka moment.

"We were there, scratching our heads, looking into the trenches, thinking, 'this could be it,'" said Jo Lyon, a senior archaeologist at the museum. "So we did some more research, and then we found the angled walls. And we all went, 'Oh my gosh, this should be it.' "

edited by Colleen, News Editor