Science - knight

Apr

2013

6:06pm, EDT

Richard III gravesite may include medieval knight

University Of Leicester / Reuters

The skeleton of Richard III is seen in a trench at the Grey Friars excavation site in Leicester, central England, in this picture provided by the University of Leicester and received in London on February 4, 2013.

By Megan Gannon, LiveScience

The lost English church where the body of King Richard III was discovered may still yield more treasures, researchers say. Archaeologists at the site in Leicester are preparing to expand their dig in the hopes of opening the grave of a possible medieval knight.

Richard III's battle-scarred bones were exhumed last year from underneath a parking lot that had been covering the ruins of the medieval Grey Friars Church. Researchers found three other tombs during their search for the king, including a 600-year-old lead-lined stone coffin that may contain the body of Sir William Moton, a knight thought to have been buried at Grey Friars in 1362, more than 100 years earlier than Richard III's death in 1485.

Archaeologists hope to excavate the possible grave of Moton in July during a proposed expansion of their dig at the former Alderman Newton Grammar School, which is set to be converted into a Richard III heritage center. The researchers say the tomb will be incorporated into a visitors' center. [Image Gallery: The Search for Richard III]

"This will be a great opportunity to confirm the plan of the east end of the Grey Friars church to learn more about its dating and architecture, and will give us the chance to investigate other burials known to be inside the building," archaeologist Richard Buckley, of the University of Leicester, said in a statement.

Relying on historical records, Buckley and his team started digging beneath the Leicester City Council parking lot on Aug. 25, 2012, looking for the final resting place of Richard III. They soon found the church, a 17th-century garden marked by paving stones, and then a male skeleton with a spine curved by scoliosis, a skull cleaved with a blade, and a barbed metal arrowhead lodged among the vertebrae of the upper back.

These clues led researchers to believe they had finally uncovered the body of Richard III, who ruled England from 1483 until his death in 1485 in battle during the War of the Roses. In February, researchers announced that DNA from the teeth and a bone matched with a modern descendant of the king. The body eventually will be reinterred in the Leicester Cathedral.

The archaeologists have applied to the Ministry of Justice for an exhumation license and to Leicester City Council to extend their dig at the site.

"It's important that the University is given the chance to continue its excavation of the site, as it's quite possible there are more interesting discoveries to be made within the old Grey Friars church," said Leicester's mayor, Peter Soulsby, in a statement.

Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Mar

2013

6:41pm, EDT

Medieval knight's tomb found under parking lot

Headland Archaeology/ Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation

This carved slab, thought to be the headstone of a medieval knight, was found under a parking lot in Edinburgh.

By Megan Gannon, LiveScience

A medieval headstone and skeleton have been found underneath a parking lot in Scotland, and researchers believe they might belong to a knight.

Archaeologists who were on hand during the construction of a new building in Edinburgh uncovered a carved sandstone slab, decorated with markers of nobility — a Calvary cross and a sword. Nearby, the team found an adult skeleton, which is thought to have once occupied the grave. Scientists plan to analyze the bones and teeth to learn more about this possible knight or nobleman.

"We hope to find out more about the person buried in the tomb once we remove the headstone and get to the remains underneath, but our archaeologists have already dated the gravestone to the thirteenth century," Richard Lewis, a member of the City of Edinburgh Council, said in a statement.

"This find has the potential to be one of the most significant and exciting archaeological discoveries in the city for many years, providing us with yet more clues as to what life was like in medieval Edinburgh." [8 Grisly Archaeological Discoveries]

Builders at the site expected they would find historic objects during construction. Before it became a parking lot (coincidentally, once used by the University of Edinburgh's archaeology department), the site housed the 17th-century Royal High School, the 16th-century Old High School, and the 13th-century Blackfriars Monastery, researchers said. Archaeologists also apparently uncovered some medieval remains of the monastery, which had been destroyed and somewhat lost since the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

"We always knew that the building retrofit might uncover historical artifacts — given the site's history — but this knight is an extraordinary and exciting find," said Andy Kerr, director of the Edinburgh Center for Carbon Innovation, which is undertaking the construction at the site.

Parking lots are turning out to be treasure troves in the United Kingdom. Last summer, a mutilated skeleton was unearthed from a medieval church that had been buried underneath a lot in Leicester, England. Scientists recently announced that the bones were confirmed to belong to King Richard III, who was apparently buried there after his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field, during the War of the Roses. In fact, the English monarch's remains are still the center of much fascination and passionate debate. For instance, was the real-life king the villain described in the Shakespeare play of his namesake? And where should King Richard III's bones be re-interred?

Email Megan Gannon or follow her @meganigannon. Follow LiveScienceon Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook& Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com