University of Leicester

The remains of King Richard III showed a curved spine and signs of battle trauma. He apparently was hastily buried -- the grave was irregularly shaped, with sloping sides, and too small for the 5-foot-8-inch skeleton. That may have been because he had already spent days dead in the summer heat. .

By Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience

The body of King Richard III was buried in great haste, a new study finds — perhaps because the medieval monarch's corpse had been out for three days in the summer sun.

The new research is the first academic paper published on the discovery of Richard III, which was publicly announced in February 2013. A team of archaeologists from the University of Leicester found the body beneath a parking lot in Leicester that was once the site of a medieval church. The full study will be available online on Friday evening.

The archaeological analysis contains details only alluded to in the initial announcement of the findings. In particular, the archaeologists found that Richard III's grave was dug poorly and probably hastily, a sharp contrast to the neat rectangular graves otherwise found in the church where the king was laid to rest. [Gallery: The Discovery of Richard III]

Richard III's journey to Leicester
Richard III ruled England from 1483 to 1485, when he was killed during the Battle of Bosworth Field, the definitive fight in the War of the Roses.

University of Leicester

The skull of the skeleton found at the Grey Friars excavation in Leicester, identified as that of King Richard III.

Historical records reveal that after the battle, Richard's body was stripped and brought to Leicester, where it remained on public display for three days until burial on Aug. 25, 1485. The church where the body was interred, a Franciscan friary called Grey Friars, was eventually demolished around 1538. A former mayor of Leicester built a mansion on the site, but by the 1700s, the land had been subdivided and sold off, the location of the church lost.

With it went all memory of where one of England's most famous kings was buried. Richard III was immortalized by a Shakespeare play of the same name and made out to be a villain by the Tudor dynasty that followed his rule. Today, however, there are societies of Richard III enthusiasts called Richardians who defend the dead king's honor. One of these Richardians, a screenwriter named Philippa Langley, spearheaded the excavation that discovered Richard III's body.

Digging for Richard
The new paper, published in the journal Antiquity, outlines how archaeologists dug three trenches in a city government parking lot, hoping to hit church buildings they knew had once stood in the area. They soon found evidence of the friary they were looking for: first, a chapter house with stone benches and diamond-pattern floor tiles. This chapter house would have been used for daily monastery meetings.

South of the chapter houses, the excavation revealed a well-worn cloister walk, or covered walkway. Finally, the researchers found the church building itself. The church was about 34 feet (10.4 meters) wide. It had been demolished, but the floors (and the graves in the floor) were left intact. Among the rubble were decorated tiles and copper alloy letters that likely once marked the graves.

Brick dust suggested the outer church walls may have been covered with a brick façade, which would have created a striking red-and-white look with the church's limestone-framed windows, the researchers wrote.

A hasty grave
Most of the graves in the Grey Friars church floor are neat and orderly, with squared-off rectangle sides. Richard III's is an exception. The grave is irregularly shaped, with sloping sides. It was also too small for the 5-foot-8-inch (1.7 m) skeleton interred within: Richard's torso is twisted and his head propped up rather than laid flat. The body was also crammed against the north wall of the grave, perhaps because someone stood against the south wall to guide the body into its resting place. Whoever it was did not spend time afterward rearranging the body into a more symmetrical position.

"The haste may partially be explained by the fact that Richard’s damaged body had already been on public display for several days in the height of summer, and was thus in poor condition," the researchers wrote.

There was no coffin in the grave, and likely no shroud, judging by the loose position of the skeleton's limbs. However, the corpse's hands were crossed and perhaps tied in front of him.

The study also delineates the 10 injuries on the corpse's skeleton. Most are likely battle wounds, including two fatal blows to the back of the head. Two wounds on the face, one to the ribs and one to the buttock were likely delivered post-mortem, after Richard III was stripped of his armor, the researchers wrote. These "humiliation wounds" may have been designed to disrespect the king in death.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook and Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

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University of Leicester

The remains of King Richard III, showing a curved spine and signs of battle trauma.

By Jeanna Bryner
LiveScience

King Richard III may not have been a hunchback as portrayed by Shakespeare, but he did suffer from the spine-curving condition scoliosis, and he may have undergone painful medical treatments to straighten it out, scientists reported Friday.

Archaeologists announced in February that bones excavated from underneath a parking lot in Leicester, England, belonged to the medieval king. Since this confirmation, examination has continued on the bones and historical records, which have suggested the king was a control freak who had a friendly face.

Previous work showed King Richard III likely developed severe scoliosis, a painful condition, in his teen years. [Image Gallery: Photos Reveal the Discovery of Richard III]

Now, Mary Ann Lund, of the University of Leicester's School of English, has looked into the types of scoliosis treatments available when Richard III was alive, finding one would have been widely available for those who could afford it, such as the nobility.

Even so, there is no evidence on his bones to support the treatment.

"It wouldn't necessarily be possible to distinguish such signs," Lund told LiveScience. "Richard had idiopathic adolescent onset scoliosis, which means that the cause for it is not apparent, and that it developed after the age of about 10. So he would probably have been treated as an adolescent as well as during his adult life."

University of Leicester

Here the spine of what has been confirmed to belong to King Richard III. The spine shows the king would've had so-called idiopathic adolescent-onset scoliosis, meaning the cause is unclear though the individual would have developed the disorder after age 10.

Traction treatment
Richard III was born in was born in 1452 and ruled England from 1483 to 1485, a reign cut short by his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the decisive battle in the English civil war known as the War of the Roses.

At the time, scoliosis was generally thought to be caused by an imbalance in the body's humors. "The theory of the humors would mean that this (treatment) would be geared towards Richard's individual humoral complexion," Lund wrote in an email. "Given the severity of his scoliosis, it's likely that treatment would have involved more than the topical application of ointments."

Some of the short-term scoliosis treatments available during the late medieval period would have been painful, Lund said. For instance, one such treatment, traction, relied on the same principle as the so-called Rack used in torture, she added. [Medieval Torture's 10 Biggest Myths]

For this treatment, rope would be tied under the patient's armpits and around his legs; these ropes would then be pulled at either end to stretch the person's spine.

Richard III would have been able to afford traction treatment, Lund said. In addition, his doctors would have been well aware of the method, which was detailed in treatises on medicine and philosophy by 11th-century Persian polymath Avicenna. (Avicenna's work seems to have been influenced by Greek philosopher Hippocrates, Lund said.) These treatises, including Avicenna's theories on using traction in scoliosis treatment, would have been widely read in Medieval Europe, Lund noted.

Avicenna's treatments for back disorders also included massage techniques done in Turkish baths and herbal applications. For longer-term care, patients were likely encouraged to wear a long piece of wood or metal to straighten their spines, Lund said.

"Hippocratic medicine was based on responding carefully to the individual, so without Richard's medical records we can only make conjectures," Lund wrote. Whether the possible treatment worked is also "impossible" to definitively answer, Lund said. "Historical accounts describe him as an active fighter in battle, so he was clearly able to do strenuous physical activity. On the other hand, it seems likely that the condition was painful and would have restricted his lung capacity," Lund wrote.

Finding Richard
After the king's death in battle, he was brought to Leicester and reportedly interred at the church of the Grey Friars, a location long lost to history. Even so, interest in the king led to some far-fetched grave tales about the burial's whereabouts, including one purporting the bones were thrown into the Soar River. "Other fables, equally discredited, claimed that his coffin was used as a horse-trough," Philippa Langley, a Richard III Society member, said in a statement.

Relying on historical records, University of Leicester archaeologists started digging beneath the Leicester City Council parking lot on Aug. 25. They soon found the church and a 17th-century garden marked by paving stones. Records suggest mayor of Leicester Robert Herrick built a mansion and garden on the medieval church site years after the king's death, reportedly placing in the garden a stone pillar inscribed with, "Here lies the body of Richard III sometime King of England."

Shortly thereafter, the team unearthed human remains, including both a female skeleton (possibly an early church founder) and a male skeleton with a spine curved by scoliosis. The male skeleton's skull was cleaved with a blade, and a barbed metal arrowhead was lodged among the vertebrae of the upper back.

Interest in the king has remained strong. Richard III enthusiasts, or Richardians, as they are called, have societies in the United Kingdom and the United States. The discovery of the bones of the medieval king has only swelled their passions.

"He's just such an enigmatic figure, and people are drawn to that, because there's such mystery about him," Molly McAleavey, a Denver-based member of the Richard III Foundation, one of the societies dedicated to the king, told LiveSciencein March. "What was he like, really? What is the truth?"

Little bits of this truth continue to spill out from the world of archaeology and social sciences.

Follow Jeanna Bryner on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook and Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

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Richard III Society

A new facial reconstruction of King Richard III, based on the bones unearthed beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England, show the vilified monarch in a kinder, gentler light.

By Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience

More than a month has passed since archaeologists announced they'd found the bones of Richard III under a parking lot in Leicester, and the headlines have mostly moved on. But for many, the lure of King Richard III is just beginning.

Richard III enthusiasts, or Richardians, as they are known, have societies in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The discovery of the bones of the medieval king has only swelled their ranks. At the same time, the reburial of the king has sparked strong opinions. Why does this particular monarch incite such fascination? Fans say his shrouded history is a major draw.

"He's just such an enigmatic figure, and people are drawn to that, because there's such mystery about him," said Molly McAleavey, a Denver-based member of the Richard III Foundation, one of the societies dedicated to the king. "What was he like, really? What is the truth?"

Richard's mystery
Richard III was king of England from 1483 to 1485, but played an important role as a military commander prior to his monarchy, during the reign of his brother Edward IV. His brother's young sons weren't seen in public after Richard took the throne, leading to speculation that he had them murdered.

Those accusations are just the tip of the iceberg. After Richard III died during the War of the Roses, an English civil war, the next dynasty (the Tudors) did what they could to smear his name. William Shakespeare later wrote a play, "Richard III," drawing heavily on these portrayals of the king as purely evil.

The Shakespeare play was the point of entry for many a Richard enthusiast, who tend to be history buffs in general.

"I've always been interested in history," said Sandra Wadley, the secretary and one of the founding members of The Society of Friends of King Richard III, based in York, England. "I just didn't think anybody could be as black as William Shakespeare made out this man to be." [Gallery: The Discovery of Richard III]

Another fictional portrayal, in the detective novel "The Daughter of Time" (Peter Davies, 1951), drew in other Richardians. That book features a Scotland Yard inspector unraveling the history of Richard and concluding that he was innocent of historical charges of villainy.

Rediscovering Richard
Many modern-day Richardians agree the monarch was falsely vilified.

"When you read about what Richard did with his parliament and how he behaved in military matters, you find quite an extraordinary character," said Wendy Moorhen, the deputy chair of the Richard III Society, which was instrumental in organizing the excavation for the king's bones.

University of Leicester

This is the spine of what has been confirmed to belong to King Richard III. It shows the king would've had so-called idiopathic adolescent-onset scoliosis, meaning the cause is unclear though the individual would have developed the disorder
after age 10; the curvature would've put pressure on the man's heart and lungs and could've caused pain.

Enthusiasts such as Moorhen don't want to remake Richard in the image of a saint, but they do want to rehabilitate his image from that of the twisted hunchback with the withered arm portrayed by Shakespeare. The discovery of the skeleton has helped, Moorhen said: It's now known that Richard III did have scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. But he wasn't a hunchback, nor was there anything apparently wrong with his arm.

"I think it demonstrates a strength of character in Richard, that despite that he had this problem, he still rode, he could still fight, he could still lead in battle," Moorhen said.

The discovery of the bones was a day of excitement for Richardians both in the United Kingdom and abroad. "It's absolutely astounding," said Jonathan Hayes, the chairman of the American branch of the Richard III society. 

Burial controversy
The saga has not been a completely smooth one, however. The decision by the University of Leicester (which has legal exhumation and reburial rights) to inter Richard III in Leicester Cathedral upset some Richardians who wanted to see his body returned to York, where he spent much of his life. Last week, Hugh Bayley of the British Labour Party said during a debate that some of the mail over the issue had been "frankly inflammatory."

It's not clear who sent the angry missives, and Richardians contacted by LiveScience seemed eager to stay above the fray.  

"I think most of the members of the Society are less interested in the actual location than in making sure that the reburial is both dignified and respectful of his role as an anointed English monarch," Hayes said.

Wadley, who would have liked to see Richard III return to York, said she expected that he'd be interred in Leicester — and she was looking on the bright side.

"He finally gets to rest not under a car park, but under proper, consecrated ground," she said.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook and Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

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findmypast.com

In 1935, the Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald reported the discovery of a skeleton thought to be Richard III's.

By Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience

A September 1935 article heralding the potential discovery of the bones of King Richard III is among the haul of newspaper articles newly digitized by a genealogy website.

The project, collaboration between findmypast.com and the British Library, is an effort to scan 50 million pages of newsprint from more than 200 years of history. Of course, history has proven the Richard III article mistaken — the likely discovery of the king's real bones was just announced Feb. 4 in Leicester, England — but the find illustrates the long history of fascination with the dead monarch, who ruled for only two years.

"We look at something that happened 100 years ago, and it can be happening today — of course a different version of it," said Joshua Taylor, the lead geneaologist at findmypast.com.

The false Richard
The Richard III article appears in the Sept. 7, 1935, issue of the Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald. It reports the discovery of a leaden coffin and skeleton at the ruins of the church of St. Mary in Leicester. [See Images of the Historical Articles]

"This has a receding forehead and projecting jaw, attributes of King Richard," the article quotes Mr. L.W. Kershaw, the principal of Leicester Technical College.

Northcliffe Media Ltd, courtesy The British Library Board

A 1934 article datelined Birmingham, Ala., tells of an elephant theft.

The skeleton, however, would prove not to belong to the king, who died in battle in 1485. University of Leicester researchers, using modern bone and DNA analysis, announced recently that a skeleton unearthed in late 2012 beneath a Leicester parking lot is almost certainly Richard III's. The skeleton has scoliosis and battle wounds matching historical accounts of the king, and DNA analysis links the bones to two living descendents of Richard III.

The Richard III article is just one of many historical oddities rediscovered during the digitization process, Taylor told LiveScience. The team is about two years into a 10-year project and has already converted 65 million articles into digital format, working at a rate of 8,000 pages of newsprint per day. Huge scanners are used to capture digital images of the delicate old newspapers, Taylor said.

Weird history
Among the amusing headlines of yesteryear was one 1934 Daily Mail shocker, "Drunk In Charge Of An — Elephant." Datelined Birmingham, Ala., the news brief describes an alleged elephant theft. The purloined pachyderm was discovered with the alleged thief drunk and passed out on her back.

Another Daily Mail article, this one dating to 1924, tells a suspiciously too-good-to-be-true tale of mathematician Albert Einstein arguing with a Berlin tramcar conductor over correct change and being proved wrong.

The newspapers also reveal more substantial history, such as the spread of influenza epidemics, Taylor said. As the flu reached communities, articles, death notices and ads hawking cures sprung up in local papers.

"You can trace the epidemics as they come into the town," Taylor said. "You trace people passing away and how it's being spread and how doctors are treating it."

The newspapers are searchable by keyword at findmypast.com, though a subscription or one-time fee is needed to see complete scans.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook  and Google+.

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Public domain

A portrait of Richard III of England, painted c. 1520.

By Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience

The announcement that the bones of English King Richard III have been identified "beyond reasonable doubt" has spurred excitement — and some skepticism — among the archaeological community.

"I'm really excited by it," said Lemont Dobson, a historian and archaeologist at the School of Public Service and Global Citizenship at Central Michigan University. "This is one of those things where people are talking about archaeology and real science, not pseudoscience on television."

On Twitter, "Richard III" was trending Monday morning, a fact that generated some amusement among users.

"Man, when's the last time ' Richard III ' was trending? Tewkesbury?" wrote GristList editor Jess Zimmerman, referring to a 1471 battle in the War of the Roses in which a young Richard played a role. That ongoing civil war would take Richard III's life 14 years later, two years after his ascent to the throne.

But some scientists struck a more sober note, warning that ancient DNA analysis is subject to contamination, and grumbling that the results were revealed via press conference prior to peer-review by fellow researchers. [ Gallery: The Search for Richard III ]

"The DNA results presented today are too weak, as they stand, to support the claim that DNA is actually from Richard III," said Maria Avila, a computational biologist at the Center for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. "Perhaps more in-depth DNA analysis summed to the archaeological and osteological (bone analysis) results would make a round story."

DNA of a king
University of Leicester archaeologists announced Monday that a skeleton found months before under a city council parking lot does indeed belong to the medieval king. The researchers suspected the bones might belong to Richard III, because they sported wounds consistent with the king's death in the 1485 Battle of Bosworth Field. Several wounds to the skull, in particular, were consistent with almost immediate death by either brain injury or blood loss.

The skeleton also exhibits a twisting of the spine known as scoliosis, which meshes with historical reports of Richard III as a "hunchback." (He wasn't actually a hunchback, the researchers point out — scoliosis may have made him look slightly lopsided, however.) The date of the bones and burial location also fit the Richard III identification.

For the University of Leicester team, however, the nail in the coffin of the identification was a DNA analysis that matched that of Michael Ibsen, a modern-day descendent of Richard III through the maternal line, along with DNA from another descendent on the maternal line who asked to be kept anonymous. The DNA used is mitochondrial DNA, which is contained in the part of the cell that transforms nutrients to energy; this type of DNA is passed down only through the maternal line.

Ancient DNA, however, is very susceptible to contamination, sparking some skepticism.

"Before being convinced of ANY aDNA study, it should be explicit that all possible cautions were taken to avoid potential contamination," Avila wrote in an email to LiveScience. "It is just part of the protocol." (aDNA refers to ancient DNA.)

Avila also warned that people could share mitochondrial DNA even if they didn't share a family tree. To be confident that Ibsen is related to the owner of the disinterred skeleton, the researchers must present statistics showing how common the DNA profile is in the United Kingdom, she said. Otherwise, the similarities between Ibsen's mitochondrial DNA and the skeleton's could be coincidental.

Avila noted that she doesn't necessarily disbelieve the team's conclusion that the skeleton is Richard III's, just that the DNA evidence isn't the strongest piece of the puzzle.

"It seems to me that osteological as well as archaeological evidence is stronger, however 'DNA evidence' sounds fancier so it looks like they used it as the hook to capture the attention of media," she said.

Announcing a discovery
Those caveats had some scientists wishing the Richard III team had published a peer-reviewed scientific paper (a process that can take months or more) before announcing their identification to the public. The Richard III team said Monday that they would submit their findings for peer-review and publication, though not before more media exposure. The BBC's Channel 4 was to run a documentary on the archaeological hunt for Richard III and the discovery  Monday night. [ Science of Death: 10 Tales from the Crypt & Beyond ]

"I love the fact that there is so much excitement over Richard III discovery, but I'm also not keen on press conferences for science," paleobiologist Victoria Herridge of the Natural History Museum London wrote on Twitter.

Without detailed methods and statistics, Herridge and other scientists complained, it's difficult to judge the veracity of the findings.

Not everyone criticized the University of Leicester's immediate announcement. The team avoided sensationalism, said Central Michigan University's Dobson.

"I think they went about it in probably the most rigorous way," Dobson told LiveScience. Criticisms of the press conference are "missing the point of this kind of discovery," he said, because public interest is huge.

"Whether there's a press conference or not, it's going to be covered by the media, because that character occupies a place in our cultural psyche," Dobson said. "In one sense, they are giving the public what the public demands, which is access to knowledge that would typically be restricted."

The responsibility of archaeologists, Dobson said, is to present that knowledge without cutting corners on scientific rigor.

Nor did the DNA results trigger universal skepticism, given the multiple clues consistent with the body being Richard III.

"It's an impressive undertaking that the University of Leicester has pulled off: Not only did they find the cemetery and the body, they confirmed through numerous lines of evidence that the body was likely that of Richard III," anthropologist Kristina Killgrove, a professor at the University of West Florida who was not involved in the study, told LiveScience.

Based on the research done in this case, Killgrove said, "I trust that they know what they're talking about and that it will stand up to peer review."

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook   and Google+.

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University of Leicester

University of Leicester archaeologists dug up the Leicester City Council parking lot in search of the grave of King Richard III.

By Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience

Archaeologists may have uncovered the skeleton of the lost English King Richard III. But if they have, what should be done with the remains?

That question is causing contention among Richard III enthusiasts, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. The University of Leicester, which is overseeing the excavation and analysis of the remains, has jurisdiction over the remains, but various societies dedicated to the king have their own opinions.

Two groups, the U.S.-based Richard III Foundation and the Society of Friends of Richard III based in York, England, argue that the remains should be reburied in York, because Richard III was fond of that city, the Journal reported. The Richard III Society, which has been involved with the archaeological dig in Leicester that uncovered the remains, is officially neutral — a stance which itself has triggered anger.

"The lack of respect that's been shown to his remains has grated our membership," Joe Ann Ricca, founder and president of the Richard III Foundation, told the Wall Street Journal.

University of Leicester

Richard III and his queen, Anne of Neville, appear in a stained glass window in Cardiff Castle.

Richard III's History
Richard III ruled from 1483 to 1485. He died in battle at Bosworth Field in the War of the Roses, and English civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.  After his death, Richard III's body was brought to Leicester and buried at Greyfriars Church. A century later, Shakespeare wrote "Richard III," a play fictionalizing the dead king's life. 

The location of both the Greyfriars Church and Richard III's grave were eventually lost to history. In August 2012, however, University of Leicester archaeologists began excavating a city council parking lot in Leicester, under which the remains of the Greyfriars church were thought to be. [ See Images of the Richard III Discoveries ]

Soon, the archaeologists unearthed floor tiles, window frames and other remnants of the medieval church. In less than a month, the team found a battle-bruised skeleton with signs of trauma to the skull and an arrowhead lodged in the spine, consistent with Richard III's cause of death.

The skeleton also had scoliosis, or an abnormally curved spine, consistent with contemporary accounts of Richard III's appearance.

Controversial remains
The team has not confirmed the remains to be Richard III's; the University of Leicester has said it will hold a press conference in the first week of February to announce results of the laboratory analysis of the bones.

"If the identity of the remains is confirmed, Leicester Cathedral will continue to work with the Royal Household, and with the Richard III Society, to ensure that his remains are treated with dignity and respect and are reburied with the appropriate rites and ceremonies of the church," the Very Reverend Vivienne Faull, the Dean of Leicester, said in a statement.

Petitions have sprung up online arguing that the reburial should take place at Westminster Abbey or Windsor Castle.

But the most vocal critics say that Richard III would have wanted to be buried in York, where he was reportedly building a chapel at the time of his death.

"Think about this being a member of your family," Charles Brunner, a Kansas bank teller and Richard III enthusiast, told the Wall Street Journal. "Where would you want them to go? Where they wanted to go or the town they were taken to after they were killed, where they were stripped bare and put on public display?"

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook and Google+.

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