Body found under parking lot is King Richard III, scientists prove
updated 9:55 AM EST, Mon February 4, 2013
Skeletal remains are of Richard III
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: DNA evidence says remains found under parking lot are those of Richard III
- Archaeologists found the body of a man buried beneath a car park in Leicester last year
- DNA tests confirm "beyond reasonable doubt" the identity of the bones
- Supporters of Richard III hope the discovery will mean history has to be rewritten
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.
Mitochondrial DNA
extracted from the bones was matched to Michael Ibsen, a Canadian
cabinetmaker and direct descendant of Richard III's sister, Anne of
York.
Experts say other
evidence -- including battle wounds and signs of scoliosis, or curvature
of the spine, found during the search and the more than four months of
tests since support the DNA findings.
The skeleton was
discovered buried among the remains of what was once the city's
Greyfriars friary, but is now a council car park.
Richard III's remains
will be reburied in Leicester Cathedral, close to the site of his
original grave, in a memorial service expected to be held early next
year, once analysis of the bones is completed.
Archaeologists say the
man they found appears to have met a violent death: There is evidence of
two severe blows to the skull, and it appears Richard's corpse may also
have been mistreated.
Richard Buckley, the lead
archaeologist on the project, said the unusual position of the
skeleton's arms and hands suggested the king may have been buried with
his hands tied.
Investigators from the
University of Leicester had been examining the remains for months.
Others got their first glimpse of the battle-scarred skull that may have
once worn the English crown early Monday when the university released a
photograph ahead of its announcement.
"The skull was in good
condition, although fragile, and was able to give us detailed
information," said Jo Appleby, a lecturer in human bioarchaeology at the
university who led the exhumation of the remains last year.
Turi King, who carried out the DNA analysis, said it was a "real relief" when the results came through.
"I went really quiet. I
was seeing all these matches coming back, thinking, 'That's a match, and
that's a match, and that's a match.' At that point I did a little dance
around the lab."
Michael Ibsen, whose DNA
matched with that of the king's remains, said he reacted with "stunned
silence" when told the closely-guarded results on Sunday.
"I never thought I'd be a match, and certainly not that it would be so close, but the results look like a carbon copy."
Supporters of the infamous king, including members of the Richard III Society,
hoped the discovery would force academics to rewrite history, which
they say has been tainted by exaggerations and false claims.
Screenwriter Philippa
Langley, who championed the search for several years, told CNN she
wanted "the establishment to look again at his story," saying she wanted
to uncover the truth about "the real Richard, before the Tudor writers
got to him."
"The trouble is we judge
Richard by a pseudo-Victorian values system, but we judge others in the
context of their time," she said.
"He was a medieval man.
If you put him back into the 15th century, he's exactly as the others
are -- princes, dukes, nobles, they're all doing exactly the same
things, and he's better than some."
Read more about the search for Richard III: Mystery of the king and the car parking lot.
end quote from:
Body found under parking lot is King Richard III, scientists prove ...
www.cnn.com/2013/02/03/world/europe/richard-iii.../index.html2 hours ago – Richard III's remains will be reburied in Leicester Cathedral, close to the ... Read more about the search for Richard III: Mystery of the king and ...
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