Richard III exhumed from parking lot

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
Lost Medieval Church Discovered Beneath Parking Lot

The hunt for King Richard III's grave is heating up, with archaeologists announcing today (Sept. 5) that they have located the church where the king was buried in 1485.

"The discoveries so far leave us in no doubt that we are on the site of Leicester's Franciscan Friary, meaning we have crossed the first significant hurdle of the investigation," Richard Buckley, the lead archaeologist on the dig, said in a statement.

Buckley and his colleagues have been excavating a parking lot in Leicester, England, since Aug. 25. They are searching for Greyfriars church, said to be the final resting place of Richard III, who died in battle during the War of the Roses, an English civil war. A century later, Shakespeare would immortalize Richard III in a play of the same name.

http://news.yahoo.com/lost-medieval-church-discovered-beneath-parking-lot-150230522.html

:)
 
Sure, but what about Prince Albert in a can?

Kernunnos said:

Looks like he'll be paying a kingdom to get his horse...

Diggers 'tantalisingly close' to finding Richard III in Leicester car park

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Leicester Mercury

Archaeologists searching for Richard III have been given permission to extend their dig for a third week after getting "tantalisingly close" in their search for the king's remains.

Excavation of the Greyfriars site, in Leicester city centre, began on August 22

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby authorised the extension after hundreds of people queued around the block to visit an open weekend at the site to glimpse the discoveries so far.

He said: "I think it is only right to allow this fascinating archaeological work to continue given its success so far.

"The turnout at this weekend's open event showed the huge level of interest."

The University of Leicester is leading the search, in association with the Richard III Society.

Team leader Richard Buckley, co-director of University of Leicester Archaeological Services, said a number of major discoveries had been made.

The archaeologists have demonstrated the car park was built on the site of the Franciscan friary.

Specific parts of a church have been identified within the friary, including the eastern cloister walk and chapter house, giving a better picture of where the tomb could be.

Mr Buckley said: "We are tantalisingly close 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 the University of Leicester has played a pivotal role in the telling of that story.

"There has been global media attention, which is a measure of the power of archaeology to excite the public imagination."

Richard III was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth, in 1485.

His body was taken to Leicester, where he was buried in the church of Grey Friars.

Over time, the exact whereabouts of the church was lost.

More than 1,500 people turned up to view the excavation site.

Jennie Millar, 18, of Knighton, Leicester, who starts an archaeology degree course at Durham University next month, said: "It was really interesting.

"Getting right up close to a dig of such importance gives you a different perspective.

"At many digs, visitors are just left to wander around but on Saturday it was great to be able to speak to members of the team and ask questions.

"It would be great if they find him."

Since the dig started two weeks ago, the team has also unearthed the lost garden of the former Mayor of Leicester, Alderman Robert Herrick.

The dig is also being filmed by Darlow Smithson Productions for a Channel 4 documentary to be aired later this year.
 

Kernunnos

New member
I might have to go up there to see this.

It's not every day you get the chance to see a royal corpse being disinterred. :dead:
 

Kernunnos

New member
WilliamBoyd8 said:
A century later, Shakespeare would immortalize Richard III in a play of the same name.

And a few centuries later still, he was immortalised in cockney rhyming slang! (y)
 
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WilliamBoyd8

Active member
The archaelogical dig has become somewhat of a circus.

They found a skeleton which may have a back deformity.

People have been showing up dressed in medieval costumes and suits of armor.

And, of interest to coin people, a "medieval silver penny" was found at the site.

:)
 

Kernunnos

New member
I think it's great to see people enjoying it and getting close to what's going on there. If that skeleton does turn out to be Richard III, then it's a very important find amongst British archaeology.

I wish I could have been there when it was uncovered. What an exciting moment that must have been, especially when they found it had injuries and characteristics consistent with Richard III.
 

Kernunnos

New member
They've got some living descendants, who they're analysing the DNA against. After 5 centuries though, I'm not sure how reliable these tests are going to be.

The fact that this skeleton was found in the exact location where Richard was known to be interred, and the fact that it has wounds and deformities consistent with what we know about the fellow, convinces me more than a DNA comparison with descendants from 5 centuries later.
 

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
England has Richard III.

All we have in America is Jimmy Hoffa.

Police will drill outside a suburban Detroit residence Friday in the search for Jimmy Hoffa, the labor strongman whose disappearance is one of the most notorious and mysterious in U.S. history.

A tipster told police that a body was buried at the spot in Roseville, Michigan, at around the same time the Teamsters boss disappeared in 1975.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/26/us/michigan-jimmy-hoffa-search/index.html

:)
 

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
Richard III, King of England

Richard III, King of England

He's been resting for several hundred years in a Leicester parking lot.

DNA tests have confirmed that human remains found buried beneath an English car park are those of the country's King Richard III.

British scientists announced Monday they are convinced "beyond reasonable doubt" that a skeleton found during an archaeological dig in Leicester, central England, last August is that of the former king, who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/03/world/europe/richard-iii-search-announcement/index.html

:)
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Personally, I think this find is quite exciting. What a thrill it must have been for all the scientists & historians involved. Last night, the UK's Channel 4 had a great programme on about the discovery/confirmation and the ancestor who was tracked down for the DNA test is a Canadian.:)

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Mods: It would be a good idea to merge this thread with the other 2 from September:

Dont need to go to Egypt or Turkey for artifacts, just dig up a parking lot

Diggers close to finding Richard III in car park
 

AndyLGR

Active member
The programme on Channel 4 was excellent. The section with the experts discussing his injuries and the weapons used to inflict them really brings home the brutality of war in that time period.

The excitement in the team was palpable and very understandable as surely this is one of the biggest discoveries ever in archaeological terms in our country.

However I couldn't help but think of Lord Farquaad when they unveiled the facial reconstruction using Richard III's skull.

Richard-III-reconstructio-010.jpg
 
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