FIRST OFF . . .

The remains of William Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre may have been discovered under a central London parking lot. “It seems almost certain that this is the Globe,” Peter Thompson of the Museum of London said Thursday. The Globe, built in 1599, was Shakespeare’s own playhouse where his most famous works were performed. Archeologists have uncovered three wall foundations on the site and an intriguing clue: a layer of crushed hazelnut shells. Thompson said Elizabethan theatergoers appeared to have eaten hazelnuts during performances much the same as today’s moviegoers munch popcorn. The remains, under a disused parking lot, are in an area close to Southwark Bridge on the River Thames where historical evidence, including 17th-Century prints, indicated the Globe stood. The theater burned down during a performance of Shakespeare’s “Henry VIII” in 1613 but was rebuilt, then demolished in 1644. The site is close to that of another Shakespearian playhouse, the Rose Theater, which was discovered earlier this year.