A Lost King Is Found - UPDATE!

This is a follow up to a blog entry that I posted on September 12, 2012.  See it at:  http://erasgone.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-lost-king-is-found.html

Last September I posted an article about the archaeological work preformed by my old alma mater, the University of Leicester.  They were searching for a lost church, where they hoped to find the lost bones of the last Plantagenet king.  Historical records tell us that the Greyfriers buried Richard III under the choir of their church after he was slain at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.  The work at the parking lot did uncover the remains of the Greyfriers' Church and a skeleton right where research suggested it should be. 



Richard III skeleton has it was found under the choir of the Greyfrier's Church in Leicester, England.
Photo: Un of Leicester

But was it King Richard III?  Richard is the only English monarch whose resting place is unknown.  Archaeological evidence suggested that this indeed was the lost king.  Only extensive laboratory work could confirm if these remains were those of Richard.

The University of Leicester announced today, with certainty, that Richard III has been found.  Mitochondria DNA taken from the skeleton match samples taken from distant, living relatives.  Carbon 14 dating places the bones at the right age and ten gristly battle wounds match those suggested from written historical accounts.  The spine of the skeleton also showed clear signs of scoliosis, a debilitating physical condition that Richard was known the have. 

Richard's skull showed several injuries that were inflicted at the Battle of Bosworth Field.  More than one of the wounds would have been fatal.  The most significant is this hole where part of the lower skull was cleaved away with a sword or poleaxe. Photo: Un of Leicester

The University of Leicester has an excellent web site devoted to this project.  Laboratory analysis, photos and videos provide amazing information about Richard's remains.    http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/

A Lost King is Found

A Lost King is Found

NOTE: The final installment of the Wake Island series will be presented on my next blog entry.

Every English monarch has a known burial place.  All save one, that is.  The burial place of Richard III, the last Plantagenet king, has been lost to history - at least until now.

A stained glass in Leicester honoring Richard and his queen

In 1485 Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field.  Richard was killed and his enemies stripped and desecrated his body.  He was the last English monarch to be killed in combat.  The Greyfriars, who were sympathetic to the Yorkist cause, brought his body to Leicester where he was buried under the choir of the Greyfriars Church.  You can read more about Richard and Henry in this earlier blog entry that was presented on the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth Field:  http://erasgone.blogspot.com/2012/08/bosworth-field-and-demise-of.html

From: http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/richard-iii-pictures

In the late 1530s, Henry VIII seized and broke up the Greyfriars Friary during the dissolution of the monasteries and the break from the Catholic Church.  All Greyfriars property was sold off by the Crown.  Over time the exact whereabouts of the Greyfriars church became lost.

Earlier this month I was excited to learn that my old alma mater, The University of Leicester, was leading a project to determine the exact location of the old Greyfriars Church.  They even had a wild hope that they might discover the lost remains of Richard III.  Two exploratory trenches in a parking lot in Leicester England revealed the walls and floors of a medieval church.  Greyfriars had been found.  With the walls located, the architectural layout was relatively easy to determine. 

The parking lot in Leicester where Greyfriars was thought to be. 
From: http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/august/searching-for-richard-iii

Medieval floor tiles recovered from the Greyfriars site.
From: http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/august/searching-for-richard-iii

 

Dr.  Richard Buckley tells about the intent of the search and what he hopes to find in this short video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpkzuIj7BMk&feature=player_embedded

Lead archaeologist Richard Buckley with a piece of tracery which once held a window.

Is seems that the wild hope my not have been so wild after all.  On September 12^th the university announced that a fully articulated male skeleton was found under what would have been the choir area of the church. (The remains were first discovered on September 4^th, but the university completed a cursory examination before they announced the find.)  The skull showed signs of lethal trauma from a bladed weapon and an iron arrowhead still remained embedded in one vertebra - plain indicators of death in battle. Furthermore, the skeleton showed clear signs of scoliosis, a spinal condition that Richard was known to have suffered. 

Only extensive laboratory scrutiny and DNA analysis can determine if Richard has actually been found.  I’m proud of the University of Leicester’s archaeology department.  Hats off to Dr. Buckley!  He exhausted all of this historical research before he ever stuck a spade into the soil.  He knew exactly where to dig.  The excavation proceeded quickly and found results swiftly.  The site is sure to yield other data, just as important, about the Greyfriars and their medieval role in Leicestershire.

I’ll be pay close attention to this project.  Should the university make any determination regarding the identity of the remains, I’ll post them here.


Official University of Leicester web site on the project
http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/greyfriars

September 12^th announcement about the discovery of remains:
http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/search-for-richard-iii-enters-new-phase-201cmomentous-discovery-has-potential-to-rewrite-history201d

Graphic Art Slide Show inspired by the Greyfriars Project
http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/richard-iii-pictures