Richard III dig: DNA confirms bones are king's

[Jazzy]

A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park has been confirmed as that of English king Richard III.



Experts from the University of Leicester said DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the monarch's family.



Lead archaeologist Richard Buckley, from the University of Leicester, told a press conference to applause: Beyond reasonable doubt it's Richard.



Richard, killed in battle in 1485, will be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral.



Mr Buckley said the bones had been subjected to rigorous academic study and had been carbon dated to a period from 1455-1540.



Dr Jo Appleby, an osteo-archaeologist from the university's School of Archaeology and Ancient History, revealed the bones were of a man in his late 20s or early 30s. Richard was 32 when he died.



His skeleton had suffered 10 injuries, including eight to the skull, at around the time of death. Two of the skull wounds were potentially fatal.



One was a slice removing a flap of bone, the other was caused by bladed weapon which went through and hit the opposite side of the skull - a depth of more than 10cm (4ins).



Dr Appleby said: The analysis of the skeleton proved that it was an adult male but was an unusually slender, almost feminine, build for a man.



Taken as a whole, the skeletal evidence provides a highly convincing case for identification as Richard III.

Full article with pictures



After reading the article, are you convinced this is Richard III? Why or why not?

 

[Evil Eye]

Could be. Doubt we'll ever be 100% sure, still good job tracking all that down.

 

[DrLeftover]

RE: Richard III dig: DNA confirms bones are king's

Update;

July 30, 2013

First came the dramatic discovery of the long-lost remains of King Richard III.

Now, there's the mystery of the coffin within the coffin.

Archaeologists working at the site in central England where Richard III's body was found underneath a parking lot are currently puzzling over a sealed lead coffin containing the remains of a yet-to-be-identified person.

The lead coffin was found encased in a larger stone coffin.

The smaller coffin is intact "except for a hole at one end of the casket through which we could tantalizingly see someone's feet," said Mathew Morris, the fieldwork director at the site.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/30/world/europe/uk-king-richard-coffin-mystery/index.html