More on King Richard III,,,
Posted by Sane Spirit on Saturday, September 22, 2012
Under: In the News
"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.
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After his death in the Battle of Bosworth Field, Richard III was brought to Leicester and buried at Greyfriars. The location of the grave, and the church itself, was eventually lost to history, though University of Leicester archaeologists traced the likely location to beneath the parking lot for the Leicester City Council offices
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"The size of the walls, the orientation of the building, its position and the presence of medieval inlaid floor tiles and architectural fragments make this almost certainly the church of the Greyfriars," Buckley said.
The archaeologists now plan to excavate further in search of the church's high alter and choir. The latter spot is recorded in history as the site of King Richard III's grave. If the king's body is found, he will be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral. If he is not discovered, Buckley said, the excavation has been a success in that it has uncovered a medieval church lost for four centuries.
"With or without the burial place of Richard III, the investigation has been extremely rewarding and makes a significant contribution in terms of telling the story of medieval Leicester," Buckley said.
Lost medieval church found beneath parking lot
University of Leicester archaeologists announced today (Sept. 7) that they have found paving stones that may belong to the garden of Robert Herrick, a mayor of Leicester who built a mansion and garden over the church where Richard III was buried. In 1612, a man named Christopher Wren visited Herrick and reported that the garden contained a 3-foot (1-meter) tall stone pillar inscribed, "Here lies the body of Richard III sometime King of England."
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The last known historical record is Wren's description of Herrick's garden memorial from 1612. In 1711, Herrick's descendents sold the mansion. It was torn down in the 1870s and replaced by municipal buildings, according to the University of Leicester. The garden area seems to have remained undeveloped until the 1930s or 1940s, when it was paved over.
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"Although the date at which the paving was laid has yet to be confirmed, we suspect that it relates to the period of Herrick's mansion," Buckley said in a statement. "Interestingly, the 18th-century map of Leicester shows a formal garden with a series of paths leading to a central point."
Hunt for Lost King's Grave Uncovers 17th-Century Garden
(Reuters) - Archaeologists searching for the body of England's King Richard III under a city centre parking lot said on Wednesday they had found remains which could be those of the monarch depicted by Shakespeare as an evil, deformed, child-murdering monster.< Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in central England in 1485 and his bones reportedly ended up in a Franciscan friary known as Greyfriars, now located under a car park in the centre of Leicester.
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"Clearly we are all very excited by these latest discoveries," Richard Taylor, the university's Director of Corporate Affairs, told reporters.
"It is proper that the university now subjects the findings to rigorous analysis so that the strong circumstantial evidence that has presented itself can be properly understood."
The bones were found in good condition in the choir area of the friary's church which was documented in historical records to be Richard's burial place.
[,,,]
Richard, who only reigned for two years, was portrayed as a power-hungry hunchback in one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays, "The Tragedy of King Richard the Third", although contemporary chroniclers suggested he was a tough soldier.
Taylor said the body had spinal abnormalities, believed to be severe scoliosis, a form of spinal curvature, which would have made his right shoulder appear visibly higher than his left one, which matches contemporary accounts of Richard.
However, the individual was not a hunchback.
[,,,]
Whilst his reign was brief, Richard continues to fascinate historians and debate rages to this day as to whether he was responsible for the murder of two young princes in the Tower of London, the sons of his elder brother Edward IV.
Have UK archaeologists found Richard III's skeleton?
Richard Taylor from the University of Leicester says they may well have found the skeleton of Richard III under a council car park in Leicester.
[,,,]
After his death in the Battle of Bosworth Field, Richard III was brought to Leicester and buried at Greyfriars. The location of the grave, and the church itself, was eventually lost to history, though University of Leicester archaeologists traced the likely location to beneath the parking lot for the Leicester City Council offices
[,,,]
"The size of the walls, the orientation of the building, its position and the presence of medieval inlaid floor tiles and architectural fragments make this almost certainly the church of the Greyfriars," Buckley said.
The archaeologists now plan to excavate further in search of the church's high alter and choir. The latter spot is recorded in history as the site of King Richard III's grave. If the king's body is found, he will be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral. If he is not discovered, Buckley said, the excavation has been a success in that it has uncovered a medieval church lost for four centuries.
"With or without the burial place of Richard III, the investigation has been extremely rewarding and makes a significant contribution in terms of telling the story of medieval Leicester," Buckley said.
Lost medieval church found beneath parking lot
University of Leicester archaeologists announced today (Sept. 7) that they have found paving stones that may belong to the garden of Robert Herrick, a mayor of Leicester who built a mansion and garden over the church where Richard III was buried. In 1612, a man named Christopher Wren visited Herrick and reported that the garden contained a 3-foot (1-meter) tall stone pillar inscribed, "Here lies the body of Richard III sometime King of England."
[,,,]
The last known historical record is Wren's description of Herrick's garden memorial from 1612. In 1711, Herrick's descendents sold the mansion. It was torn down in the 1870s and replaced by municipal buildings, according to the University of Leicester. The garden area seems to have remained undeveloped until the 1930s or 1940s, when it was paved over.
[,,,]
"Although the date at which the paving was laid has yet to be confirmed, we suspect that it relates to the period of Herrick's mansion," Buckley said in a statement. "Interestingly, the 18th-century map of Leicester shows a formal garden with a series of paths leading to a central point."
Hunt for Lost King's Grave Uncovers 17th-Century Garden
(Reuters) - Archaeologists searching for the body of England's King Richard III under a city centre parking lot said on Wednesday they had found remains which could be those of the monarch depicted by Shakespeare as an evil, deformed, child-murdering monster.< Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in central England in 1485 and his bones reportedly ended up in a Franciscan friary known as Greyfriars, now located under a car park in the centre of Leicester.
[,,,]
"Clearly we are all very excited by these latest discoveries," Richard Taylor, the university's Director of Corporate Affairs, told reporters.
"It is proper that the university now subjects the findings to rigorous analysis so that the strong circumstantial evidence that has presented itself can be properly understood."
The bones were found in good condition in the choir area of the friary's church which was documented in historical records to be Richard's burial place.
[,,,]
Richard, who only reigned for two years, was portrayed as a power-hungry hunchback in one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays, "The Tragedy of King Richard the Third", although contemporary chroniclers suggested he was a tough soldier.
Taylor said the body had spinal abnormalities, believed to be severe scoliosis, a form of spinal curvature, which would have made his right shoulder appear visibly higher than his left one, which matches contemporary accounts of Richard.
However, the individual was not a hunchback.
[,,,]
Whilst his reign was brief, Richard continues to fascinate historians and debate rages to this day as to whether he was responsible for the murder of two young princes in the Tower of London, the sons of his elder brother Edward IV.
Have UK archaeologists found Richard III's skeleton?
Richard Taylor from the University of Leicester says they may well have found the skeleton of Richard III under a council car park in Leicester.
In : In the News