King Richard

By+Nanguadawang

If the history is the winners story， the archaeology is a process to reproduce the truth.

The English king Richard III has always been a mystery——in Shakespeare's works， he is brutal and oppressive， heartless and cruel： in order to have powers， he framed the faithful and upright people， killed his nephew， is synonymous with tyranny. However in the eyes of some historians， he was a great military genius and reformer， the last king of the Plantagenet. Over the past 500 years， Richard IIIs remain was missing， and his true image cannot be a final verdict. Finally， the University of Leicester's archaeological team dug out some clues ——they discovered a dead body in the underground of a parking lot at the centre of the Leicester city， which was highly suspected as Richard III. More shockingly， after repeated tests， the archaeologists finally confirmed that this was really Richard IIIs body.

New Discovery

At The Parking Lot

According to the historical records， after the defeat on the Persian Walter Plain in 1485， Richard III 's body was paraded， and finally buried in a church of Leicester. In 1583， as the Henry VIII came into power and religious reform was implemented， most monasteries in the UK were reduced to rubbles， Richard III's tomb was also moved to somewhere else in the movement——the location of the tomb became a mystery since then. Rumors said that as early as the 16th century， Richard's remain had been dug out by people of that time， and thrown into the nearby ditch. Opinions vary， centuries have past， no one knows where the former king really sleeps in.

Until August， 2012， the university of Leicester's archaeological team determined the digging range by radar detection technology， they repeatedly compared the maps of Britain in the middle ages to those in the modern times， and inferred that a parking lot of a committee at the heart of Leicester might be the location where Richard III was buried. As the project went on， the medieval monastery cloisters site was clearly presented， and Richard understood that they have found the right place.

The Truth

Came To Light

The remains have taken a number of tests， including the radiocarbon dating， stable isotope analysis， and bone morphology. All test results are consistent with the history records.

The staffs took DNA samples from the bones， and compared them with the existing gorse familys descendants DNA. The modern blood descendant of Richard III is Michael Ibsen， he is 55 years old， and a furniture manufacturer living in London. Through the 12 weeks of tests， the evidence about DNA also shown that the relics were really Richard IIIs.