Richard III search: archaeologists 'tantalisingly close' to finding king's body

**Bangyai** · 10-09-2012, 10:35 PM

Archaeologists searching for the remains of Richard III say they are 'tantalisingly close' to finding his final resting place.

The third trench being cleaned by archaeologists after machining. (Credit: University of Leicester) Photo: University of Leicester

2:42PM BST 10 Sep 2012

The dig to recover the body of the king, who was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth by Henry Tudor in 1485, has already unearthed the long-lost Franciscan Friary where he was buried.

The church, which is also called Grey Friars, was known to be where Richard III was buried but its exact whereabouts had become lost over time.

Now archaeologists say the dig will move into the third week and say they are getting ‘tantalisingly close’ in their search for the body.

Leicester City Mayor Peter Soulsby has authorised the work to continue for at least another week.

Richard Buckley, co-director of University of Leicester Archaeological Services, said: “

“We are now tantalisingly close in our search and will investigate the choir where Richard is presumed to be buried. Whether we find Richard or not, this dig has been a huge success in terms of revealing the heritage of Leicester and I am proud that the University of Leicester has played a pivotal role in the telling of that story.

"There was an incredible turnout at the dig and the level of public interest in our work is phenomenal. I would like to thank the public for their generous support and it has provided huge motivation for us to continue our quest."
The search began two weeks ago and involved digging two trenches in a council car park before a third trench was excavated.
Archaeologists have so far discovered:
Over the past two weeks, the team has made major discoveries about the heritage of Leicester including:
• determining the site of the site of the medieval Franciscan friary known as Grey Friars
• finding the eastern cloister walk and chapter house
• locating the site of the church within the friary
• uncovering the lost garden of former Mayor of Leicester, Alderman Robert Herrick
• revealing medieval finds that include inlaid floor tiles from the cloister walk of the friary, paving stones from the Herrick garden, window tracery, elements of the stained glass windows of the church, a medieval silver penny a stone frieze believed to be from the choir stalls amongst others

Richard III (Alamy)
There has been widespread interest in the project, which is being filmed for a Channel 4 documentary.
The University of Leicester, with the Richard III Society and Leicester City Council, will open the site to the public on Saturday, September 8 from 11am to 2pm.

Richard III search: archaeologists 'tantalisingly close' to finding king's body - Telegraph

**Bangyai** · 10-09-2012, 10:38 PM

**The Ghost Of The Moog** · 10-09-2012, 11:09 PM

I own Richard III's trousers.

And his Air Force jacket.

As worn in the movie of 15 or so years ago, which won Oscar for Best Costume.

**Daft Old Cat** · 11-09-2012, 01:19 AM

I own Richie's hump. Any offers?

**Bangyai** · 13-09-2012, 12:05 AM

Archaeologists believe they have found skeleton of King Richard III

More than 500 years since he was killed in battle, archaeologists believe they have finally found the skeleton of King Richard III, buried deep beneath a council car park
By Nick Britten

1:47PM BST 12 Sep 2012

Over 500 years since he was killed in battle, archaeologists believe they have finally found the skeleton of King Richard III, buried deep beneath a council car park.

Experts said a fully intact skeleton matched much about what they knew about the medieval king, and are hoping that DNA tests will put their beliefs beyond doubt.

The remains were found three weeks into an archaeological dig by a team from Leicester University, which recently pinpointed the site of the ancient Grey Friars church, where Richard was believed to be buried after being killed in the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, and which was razed to the ground in 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII.

To their astonishment, an excavation unearthed a result which experts said were “beyond out wildest dreams”.

A memorial stone to him rests in Leicester Cathedral, but nobody knows precisely where he was buried

Five key aspects underlined their belief that appears to have ended a decade-long search for his remains.
The skeleton was an adult male, who appeared fit and strong. He had suffered significant trauma to the head where a blade had cut away part of the back of his skull; an injury consistent with battle.
A barbed arrow head was found lodged between vertebrae in his upper back, and spinal abnormalities pointed to the fact that he had severe scoliosis, a form of spinal curvature. This would have made his right shoulder appear visibly higher than his left, which is consistent with contemporary accounts of Richard’s appearance.
Richard's two year reign was the subject of one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays, which portrayed him as an evil, ugly hunchback, and which helped cement the public perception of him.
The remains were found in the Choir area of the church, again consistent with historical record of where he was buried.

A map of the cloister where the body was found

Philippa Langley, of the Richard III Society, who has driven the search to find his body since the year 2000, said: “This goes to show that if you have a dream, you should follow that dream.
“This will allow us to really challenge what we know about Richard and rewrite the history of the last two years of his life. We can find out how he got to the church, how he was buried, how he died; all the things that have been the subject of assumptions and misconceptions.”

Archaeolgists use ground penetration radar (GPR) at G

Little has ever been known about Richard III’s death, other than he died on the battlefield and was supposedly taken on horseback by his vanquisher, Henry Tudor, who later became King Henry VII. He remains the last King of England to die in battle.
He was the last of the Plantagenet dynasty and his death was decisive in the War of the Roses. Historians believe it also marked the end of the Middle Ages.
Richard Taylor, from Leicester University, whose team of experts led the dig, said: “We are not saying today that we have found Richard III. What we are saying is that the search for Richard III has entered a new phase.
"Our focus is shifting from the archaeological excavation to laboratory analysis.” He added: “clearly we are all very excited. We said that finding Richard was a long shot.”
Sir Peter Soulsby, Leicester’s mayor, said: “They can’t say it by I can – this is as near a certainty as we can get that we’ve found him. Everything fits.”
The only known account of Richard’s death is in a poem which states he was “poleaxed to the head”.

Claire Graham uses ground penetration radar (GPR) at G

Miss Langley said: “This story has never reached a conclusion. The last two years of Richard’s life history were written by the Tudor’s and paint a picture of an evil hunchback with a withered arm.
“That is totally at odds with what we know about the last 30 years and it is quite normal for the vanquisher to paint a negative picture.
“Richard was responsible for a lot of the laws that today uphold personal freedom – the right to justice whether rich or poor, the presumption of innocence, the clear title of property – so everyone has an interest in being able to piece together his full story.”
DNA tests are expected to take 12 weeks, and Turi King, from the university’s department of genetics, said that if they were not able to extract DNA or if tests proved inconclusive, they were unlikely to be any other avenues to prove conclusively the skeleton was the King’s.
The site, underneath a social work car park in Leicester city centre, will undergo further examination but is unlikely to be preserved for the public to view. Once all the tests are done, the skeleton – if it is Richard III – will be buried in Leicester.

Archaeologists believe they have found skeleton of King Richard III - Telegraph

**Breny** · 13-09-2012, 02:23 AM

Richard the iii, In my book it transtlates as a turd, as in im going for a Richard the iii

Yes i am a pleb with no manners.

**palexxxx** · 04-09-2013, 08:37 AM

From my local paper today.

King Richard lll had worms. Scientists have found proof that Richard was riddled with round worms.

King Richard III had worms, say King Richard III had worms, say scientists

Sept. 4, 2013, 10:40 a.m.
Being exhumed centuries after death from a council car park is not the most regal of postscripts. But now researchers have revealed to the world that King Richard III had worms.
The humpbacked monarch's remains were rediscovered last year, buried under a car park in northern England.

Richard's battle-scarred skeleton was unearthed and identified after DNA taken from the remains matched samples taken from a distant living relative.
He was vilified in Shakespeare's Richard III - unfairly, many believe - as a murderous hunchback. "Thy broken faith hath made the prey for worms," the evil king is told by an accuser.
Reporting in The Lancet on Wednesday, scientists from the Cambridge and Leicester universities say it appears the controversial king, who ruled England between 1483 and 1485, was infected with roundworm. Analysis of the soil around his pelvis using a powerful microscope revealed multiple roundworm eggs. However, eggs were not found in soil samples taken from the area around his skull.
Piers Mitchell from Cambridge's department of archaeology and anthropology said soil surrounding the burial site was also tested and only a few eggs were detected. Roundworm eggs were at their highest concentration in the soil near the pelvis, where the intestines would have been before they decomposed.
Dr Mitchell, who led the research team, said the roundworm eggs were from a genuine infection and not due to external contamination caused by the later dumping of human waste in the area.
The researchers also looked for other kinds of intestinal parasites, such as tapeworm, but failed to find any in the samples.
"We would expect nobles of this period to have eaten meats such as beef, pork and fish regularly, but there was no evidence for the eggs of the beef, pork or fish tapeworm," Dr Mitchell said.
"This may suggest that his food was cooked thoroughly, which would have prevented the transmission of these parasites.”
Roundworm infections are common in temperate or tropical regions of the world, including Australia.
The parasite is contracted when consuming food, water or soil contaminated with the microscopic eggs. Once ingested, the eggs hatch into larvae which migrate to the lungs, where they mature.
They then crawl up the airways to the throat to be swallowed back into the intestines, where they grow into adults. A female roundworm can grow up to 30 centimetres in length.
Most infected people have no symptoms, although serious complications can include intestinal obstruction.
Killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, Richard III remains the last English monarch to die in battle.
His death ended the "War of the Roses," the civil war between the families of Lancaster and York named after their respective heraldic symbols of the red and the white rose.
With AFP

King Richard III had worms, say scientists

Scientists examining the skeleton of King Richard III have found that he was infected by internal parasites, probably as a ...

**Gazza** · 07-09-2013, 02:31 AM

OK. So now they found him and dug him up, so what now? Bury him again?

**can123** · 07-09-2013, 02:51 AM

Originally Posted by Gazza

OK. So now they found him and dug him up, so what now? Bury him again?

No, of course not. They only have to patch up his head wound and he will be a moderator here.

**blue** · 07-09-2013, 03:29 AM

Originally Posted by palexxxx

Richard III remains the last English monarch to die in battle.

At least in those days they joined in the battle.

**Thetyim** · 07-09-2013, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by Gazza

OK. So now they found him and dug him up, so what now? Bury him again?

Richard's living descendants have started a legal challenge about where he should be buried.
So could be another 500 years before he gets buried again.

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