Richard III- Unearthed

Richard III

During the excavation of Greyfriars in Leicester, the bones of Richard III were re-discovered. With the use of radar and GIS the medieval King was rediscovered in Leicester under a public car-park. The excavation was lead by researchers from Cambridge and Leicester Universities-. The skeleton was uncovered an speculated to be Richard based on the curvature of his spine that inspired the infamous humped character in Shakespeare's Richard III. Along with connecting historical accounts of Richard III's injuries to the record on the bones, genetic information was compared to the modern descendant of Richard's closest relative, his sister, Anne of York

After verifying a maternal match using mitochondrial DnA, an attempt to confirm a paternal match was made. The paternal match proved negative with the skeleton exhibiting a very rare type of DnA not present in paternal descendants. Historians and archaeologists estimate that the paternity certainty among nobles in England had a false paternity of about 1-3%. This is leading researchers to believe that there may have been a case of false paternity either of Richard or one of his descendants. Richard's DnA also identified him as having blue eyes and blond hair, although portraits done during his lifetime indicate Richard had brown hair. One explanation of this is that DnA best indicates the color of ones hair in childhood and blond haired children often develop darker tresses as they mature.

Using the bones researchers were able to determine the cause of Richard's death as well. They confirmed historical accounts of Richard dying on the field of battle after being stuck on the head. The posterior portion of the skull was removed from the skeleton and a small piece of metal was found lodged in a vertebra. The skeleton also exhibited signs of post mortem wounds. There have been determined to be humiliation wounds that  were incurred during the parade of the fallen kings body. In addition to several spear wounds and sword wounds inflicted after death, Richards feet were also removed post mortem.

In addition the soil around Richard's remains has been examined by archaeoparaciteologists. Thus for the earth has revealed that Richard had an extreme intestinal infection of roundworms. Researches estimate that his diet would have been severely affected by the worms who may have grown to almost a foot in length. Richard's bones also revealed a rich, high protein diet that is analogous to court life.

When the bones were exhumed no coffin, clothing or grave goods were present, an indicator both of the age of the grave and the manner in which Richard was interred. As of present Richard III's remains will be given a reburial at Leicester Cathedral following British law of reburial close to the original grave site.The British government has announced that there will be a week of celebratory events before Richard is reburied to celebrate the monarch, who is the ancestor of the current Royal family. The exhumation of Richard III's body both provided opportunity to study the Kings death but also to relocate him to a more suitable burial location.

References

Holden, Michael. "After 500 Years, Richard III's Bones Yield Their Secret." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 04 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.

Maranzani, Barbara. "Was Richard III Riddled With Roundworms?" History.com. A&E Television Networks, 04 Sept. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.

Rincon, Paul. "Richard III DNA: Infidelity Surprise." BBC News. BBC, 2 Dec. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.