Skeleton discovered on Richard III site
Credit: UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
Philippa Langley, from the Richard III society, works in the
garden of the Herrick Chapel
Credit: UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
Philippa Langley, from the Richard III society, works in the
garden of the Herrick Chapel
ARCHAEOLOGISTS announced on Wednesday that they had found human
remains opposite Leicester Cathedral which could be those of
Richard III.
The Greyfriars Project, a joint project of the University of
Leicester and Leicester City Council, began searching for the
king's remains on 25 August. It discovered a lost medieval church
of the Grey Friars, which is where Richard III is recorded as being
buried after he died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
On Wednesday, the University of Leicester issued a statement
saying that archaeologists had "confirmed the discovery of human
remains at the site".
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning, Richard
Taylor, the director of corporate affairs and planning at the
University of Leicester, said that the archaeologists were not
saying that they had definitely found the remains of Richard III,
but that the search for his remains had "entered a new phase",
shifting from the archaeological dig to the laboratory.
The skeleton found by archaeologists had "characteristics which
warrant extensive further detailed examination". The results of the
DNA analysis were expected to take up to 12 weeks, he
said.
In the trenches: the site opposite Leicester Cathedral is
examined
Credit: UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
In the trenches: the site opposite Leicester Cathedral is
examined
The head of the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the
University of Leicester, Professor Lin Foxhall, said: "A great deal
of research and investigation remains to be done before we can be
sure of the identity of the individual. . . On the basis of data we
have so far - the archeological context, the skeletal evidence - we
have a man with what appear to be battle injuries, who suffered
from . . . curvature of the spine, respectfully but modestly buried
in a place of honour in the friary church. This seems to be
consistent with some of the textual evidence . . . from
contemporary historical sources."
The Dean of Leicester, the Very Revd Vivienne Faull, said that
the cathedral had worked "very closely" with Leicester City Council
and the University of Leicester on the search for Richard III's
remains.
"There has been a major memorial to King Richard at the heart of
the cathedral and adjacent to the Herrick Chapel since 1980," she
said. "The memorial states that Richard was buried in the graveyard
of the church of the Greyfriars, in the parish of St Martin - now
the cathedral church.
"If the identity of the remains is confirmed, Leicester
Cathedral will continue to work with the royal household, and with
the Richard III Society, to ensure that his remains are treated
with dignity and respect, and are reburied with the appropriate
rites and ceremonies of the Church."