Gabriel Robinson
Professor Allen Griffith
Archaeology MWF 11 AM
10 April 2014
If I Were Looking for Richard III
King Richard is known as the last Plantagenet King of England. He would rule
from 1483 until his death in 1485 in the Battle of Bosworth Field. His defeat at Bosworth
Field was the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, and it symbolizes the end of the Middle
ages in England. Henry Tudor succeeded Richard to become Henry VII, King of England
(Editors).
Now, what happened next is up for debate. It is said that after the battle Richard
was ‘brought off the field unto the town of Leicester, and there was laid openly, that
every man might see and look upon him.’ Myths have often circulated as to what
happened to his body. One even claims that 50 years after Richard’s death his bones were
removed from his cript and “were thrown into the River Soar.”(Richard) Nothing was
certain except that his body was missing. However, one thing was generally agreed upon:
According to Tudor spokespersons, Richard III was buried a priory of Greyfriars at
Leicester (Robert).
The Friary at Leicester was one of the first friaries ever built in England.
Unfortunately, like many other similar places, the monastery was dissolved in the 16th
century because of the Protestant Reformation. This led to it being looted, and its
materials being recycled into other places of worship. It eventually fell into disrepair, was
built over and disappeared completely (Richard).
In 2011,The Richard III Society along with The University of Leicester chose to
excavate the likely burial site, even though it was unlikely they would be successful. The
biggest problem was that redevelopment and new buildings now covered the Leicester
grounds, and finding the exact place he was buried was unlikely (Buckley).
Now lets say that, hypothetically, I was in charge of the dig team. How would I
conduct myself, and my team? The first step would be to choose our dig site. Leicester is
a big city, roughly 73 square kilometers, and we can’t just start digging wherever. The
majority of Leicester has been a subject of gentrification and modern development. Once
we had a location, I believe that remote sensing and a vertical test excavation would be in
order. For remote viewing I would choose to use a proton procession magnetometer. The
proton magnetometer would be beneficial because it would sense the iron particles used
in mortar in the 14th and 15th centuries.
In the actual dig, ground-penetrating radar failed to work because of the pipes and
sewage system were all that were visible. Unfortunately, this would, likely, also be the
case with the proton magnetometer. Unable to test any further the next step would be to
do a test excavation. This would require a power auger to dig deep enough and break
through the heavy cement. The excavation would have to be at least 15 ft deep and run
North to South because historically friaries were oriented East to West. This way, if we
picked the right location we would intercept one of the church walls.
If the test excavation were successful, which it would be, the next step would be
to search for the cloisters, where, according to medieval records, Richard III would have
been buried. Evidence for this would include walls made of masonry stone and terracotta
tile floors, which would be indicative of cloisters in the 14th century. Although it isn’t
necessary, I would then employ the use of thermoluminescence in order to tell me just
how old these tiles actually are. In the actual dig, the researchers were successful at doing
so, and therefore knew that they were on the right track. Based upon this information I
could then develop my own hypothesis, which would be that Richard III was in fact
buried at this site.
Parallel trenches would have to be dug out in order to reveal as much of the
church as possible. With any luck the choir would be discovered. This would be
significant because according to the 1490 Warwickshire priest, John Rouse, Richard III
“at last was buried in the choir of the Friars Minor at Leicester (Current Archaeology).”
Once a skeleton was recovered, would this be enough evidence to conclude that it
was in fact the lost Plantagenet King? Is this really Richard III? The simple answer is no.
A team of osteologists would need to be ready in order to identify the remains.
Osteologists specialize in the study of bones, and more specifically the bones of the
deseased. In this way we would be able to come to the conclusion that either this is
Richard III or it’s not. The first step in determining who this individual was would be to
create a biological profile for them. This included determining sex, size, age at death, and
any other physical characteristics that the person might have. The first thing we would
notice is that the skeleton is physically smaller and more slender than most males from
this time period, almost feminine. This is historically accurate because Richard III was
known to be much smaller than the average male. Another startling piece of evidence we
would notice is a very prominent curve in the spine, which was evident to be an actual
physical abnormality and not from the individual being smashed into his grave (Robert).
It would appear as though this individual had scoliosis. For years it was thought that the
rumors that Richard III had been a hunchback had merely been a myth perpetuated by the
Shakespeare play (Hicks). However, this would be evidence that there is some historical
accuracy to this. Is it possible that we would be even closer to identifying the remains and
drawing a conclusion on who the remains might be.
Finally it would become evident that the skeleton had received a number of
traumas, which would have been congruent with battlefield wounds. There were blunt
force and slicing wounds inflicted to the head, which would have proved fatal. Two more
stab wounds would be found on the rib and pelvis, and was the kind or injury you would
find in an “attempt to humiliate someone.”(Appleby) It is well known Richard III was not
well liked, and during the Middle Ages defiling the bodies of your enemies was not
uncommon.
One final test would be performed that would finally prove whether this was
Richard III or not. A mitochondrial DNA test would prove conclusive that this is Richard
III. In humans mitochondrial DNA is the smallest chromosome coding for 37 genes and
containing approximately 16,600 base pairs. Mitochondrial DNA can be significant in
identifying who the body belonged to, because it can only be passed through the female
line. The goal of the DNA analysis was to link the DNA of the individual to the DNA of
Richard’s sister, Margaret of York. However, you might detect a small problem we might
encounter while trying to perform this test. Where would we find a female descendent of
Richard III? Luckily for us, Michael Ibsen, was found and agreed to take part in the
study. He claims that his mother was a direct descendant of Margaret of York, and would
have the same mtDNA as Richard III (Appleby). DNA would have to be extracted from
the skeleton’s teeth, which had remained intact because the enamel is one of the hardest
parts of the body. To our relief, the test would come back positive and we would then
have sufficient evidence to say that the body was indeed Richard III (Appleby).
Now that Richard III has been found, we can reassess the circumstances of his life
and death. Was he the evil monarch or is this a myth perpetuated by the Tudor legacy? It
is obvious that we disliked by whoever buried him. This is evident by the fact that he
lacked a coffin or burial. However, although he may not have been the most popular
person in the world, this does not mean he was evil. The stories told about Richard III
have perpetuated myths, which are historically inaccurate. Hopefully now that we have
found his body we can look deeper into the mystery that is Richard III and find out what
the king really was like.
Works Cited
Appleby, Jo, Dr., and Turi King, Dr. Richard III: Identifying the Remains. University of
Leicester. Leicester, United Kingdom, n.d. Youtube. 4 Feb. 2013. Web.
Buckley, Robert, Dr. The Search for King Richard III: The Archaeological Dig.
University of Leicester. Leicester, United Kingdom, 12 Sept. 2012. Youtube.
University of Leicester. Web.
"Current Archaeology – Richard III: The Significance of the Choir." Current
Archaeology. Curren Archaeology, 12 Sept. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Wars of the Roses." Encyclopedia Britannica
Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Hicks, Michael. "Richard III (king of England)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
"Richard III: The Search for the Last Plantagenet King." Current Archaeology 2 Oct.
2012: n. pag. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/richard-iii-the-search-for-thelast-plantagenet-king.htm>.
Robert. The Search for King Richard III: The Archaeological Dig. N.d. Web.
"-UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER - Key Figures in Richard III Search Tell of 'Huge
Shock' of Skeleton Discovery; Michael Ibsen and Dr John Ashdown-Hill Recount Their
Reactions to News of Grey Friars Find." Travel Business Review (TBR) 23 Oct. 2012: n.
pag. Print.