Actors dressed as knights visit the parking lot where archaeologists are searching for the grave of King Richard III.
Where would you expect to find the grave of an English king? Surely all the dead monarchs are buried in Westminster Abbey, grand mausoleums, or well-tended plots on the grounds of magnificent castles. How about a parking lot? Yes, archaeologists and historians are close to certain that they have found the remains of King Richard III under the pavement of a parking lot in Leicester, in central England.
Who was Richard III (1452–1485), and how did he come to such a sorry end? Richard was the last of the line of Plantagenet kings and the last ruler of the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field ended the Wars of the Roses and made way for the Tudors to rule England. Richard’s history was largely written by Tudors, though, and they embellished rumors to paint Richard as a true villain. William Shakespeare continued the smear, portraying the doomed king as an evil, sinister hunchback.
Now the possible discovery of Richard’s remains is drawing attention back to his story. According to old documents, the king was buried at Greyfriars, a Franciscan monastery that was demolished in the 1530s. Recently, archaeologists dug under asphalt where the monastery was said to be located and found a human skeleton. Although incomplete, the evidence points straight to Richard III. The skeleton is of an adult male, the skull was injured by a bladed weapon, and there is an arrow point lodged in the vertebrae. Clearly, this man did not die peacefully in his bed. Moreover, the skeleton’s spine shows evidence of scoliosis, which would have made one shoulder higher than the other. In contrast to Shakespeare’s portrayal, though, this man was not a hunchback. A conclusive ID will have to wait until the skeleton’s DNA is compared to that of a Canadian man who is a 17th great-grand-nephew of the king. Radiocarbon dating and bone analysis will provide even more information. In the meantime, rest in peace, King Richard.
Image credit: Rul Vleira/AP Images
Related Links
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The Rehabilitation of Richard III
The finding of the king’s remains may spur a reevaluation of his true character.
(Source: Archaeology, January/February, 2013) -
Richard III Dig: ‘Strong Evidence’ Bones Are Lost King
Watch a video of a University of Leicester researcher explaining why the evidence is strong. Scroll down for links to more related stories.
(Source: BBC, September 12, 2012) -
Missing Monarchs: The Kings Who Did Not Rest in Peace
Richard III isn’t the only king whose remains traveled a bizarre path. Read about several more.
(Source: BBC, September 13, 2012)
love the website
cool
wow that is cool
hiiiiii
That’s 2 clever by half and 2×2 clever 4 me. Thsnka!
cool…
i wonder if it’s really him
this is gray.
hi
uck, nothing is nice
Never heard of this King before
awesome
I wonder if it is actually really in fact – HIM….
If it is…then i wonder…WHAT ON EARTH IS HE DOING UNDER A PARKING LOT?!?!?!
Well…I think it is rather AMAZIN! What do you guys think?
GO EVIL DUDE FROM THE PAST!
YOU GONNA SCARE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE EVER DROVE BY YOU TO DEATH
wahahahhahahahhahaha
😀
maybe he deserves it if he was evil
they shoulda made a sign sayin, “KING RICHARD 3 WAZ HERE
Wow
that is a good story
Really