The Search For King Richard III - The Archaeological Dig

The University of Leicester and Leicester City Council, in association with the Richard III Society, have undertaken one of the most exciting archaeological investigations ever carried out. No less than a search for the bodily remains of the last Plantagenet King - Richard III - killed at the Battle of Bosworth.

In this short film Co-Director of ULAS, Richard Buckley, gives his personal account of the Greyfriars Dig from an Archaeological perspective.

A more comprehensive account of the search for the remains of King Richard III, and the final chapter in the story can be seen later this year on Channel 4 in a full length documentary made by Darlow Smithson Productions.

For more information about Darlow Smithson Productions see; http://www.darlowsmithson.com/

For more information about the Archaeological search see; http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/a...

For more information aboput studying Archaeology & Ancient History at University of Leicester see; http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/arch...

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[Dianne Penn]

"He contents the people where he goes best that ever did prince; for many a poor man hath suffered wrong many days have been relieved and helped by him and his commands in his progress. And in many great cities and towns were great sums of money given him which he hath refused. On my truth, I never liked the conditions of any prince as well as his. God hath sent him to us for the weal of us all"

[SZYork1]

In response to Jennifer Burnham, I wonder where you received your degree? If you read the statements made by the scholars involved, you'll see that they agree that Richard was NOT a hunchback, but had crooked shoulders, which does match contemporary accounts of Richard's appearance. Also, as has been pointed out in some of today's articles, those with scoliosis are perfectly capable of being athletic. Usain Bolt has scoliosis.

[JosieVernon]

lthough I think York Minster is appropriate.

[thomasg74]

Amazing luck,i hope it turns out to be the King,and that he gets laid to rest with the full honour he deserves.

[woolypony]

Truly a miracle. THANK YOU to all who made this happen. I am in awe.

[Matt Beechey]

So happy I requested the newsletter from Leicester University now.

[onionanon]

If it is Richard he should be buried in the North I agree, he belongs here and should be buried in York. He was the last Plantagenet King and he was our King more so than any other that came after him.

[SZYork1]

And, if you have any archaeology experience at all, you should know the definition of relative dating. The stratigraphic placement of the burial within the building features, along with the iron arrowhead in the spine, are enough at this point to place the remains within the correct time period. And the scholars themselves are in fact saying they cannot confirm identity because laboratory analysis has not begun yet.

[roxyrenard]

Very interesting and exciting news. Many thanks to all concerned with the archaeological investigations.

[Jennifer Burnham]

I also find it amusing that scholars are willing to accept RIII was hunchbacked now when they frequently reminded everyone that no contemporaneity sources say he was. That came from Sir Thomas More of the Tudor court writing years after Ricard's death for the man who usurped him and desecrated Richard's corpse. Also a visible scoliosis would have made it very hard for RIII to have been the formidable warrior that was able to fight his way within a sword length of Henry VII before he was killed

[Jennifer Burnham]

Having majored in Anthropology and worked in two field schools, there is no way to positively identify this as RIII. A mtDNA comparison is a scatter shot. The only thing it can do is confirm that this was someone related to the women of the Plantagenet. It will not confirm this specifically as RIII.

But then they did not even bother confirming the remains were from the correct era before they went public with this.