Greyfriars DigBill and I went to the open day in Leicester on Sunday 23 September. I couldn’t wait to see the site where (hopefully) the remains of King Richard III were found. This must be the most exciting event ever in the history of the Richard III Society!
The weather had turned and though dry it was cold and windy. The queue wasn’t too bad and we were soon inside the car park which was built on the site of the Greyfriars monastery. The open day was well organised. Small groups were let in at a time, to be taken round the site by guides who gave us the full story.
First a lady gave us the history of the dig. It became feasible when Greyfriars was located under the car park rather than the council buildings. Also John Ashdown-Hill had traced DNA from Richard’s sister Anne to Joy Ibsen in Canada and her son Michael who lives in London. Without that, any bones found could not be identified as King Richard III.
It would not have gone ahead though without the last minute fund raising of £10,000 organised by Philippa Langley, so thanks must go to her for asking and to everyone who contributed so readily. The branch donated £75.
The dig began on Saturday 25 August 2012, the 527th anniversary of the burial of Richard III in Greyfriars. His skeleton was found the same day! But we weren’t told until September 12.
On the cover is a photograph of the site in Trench 1 where the bones which belong to King Richard III were found. The yellow peg at the bottom of the picture marks where his skull was found, and the yellow peg in the middle of the picture marks his leg bones. Apparently the feet are missing but that could be due to the Victorians. Some work carried out by them narrowly missed the body - thank goodness.
Archaeologists led by Richard Buckley, co-director of University of Leicester Archaeological Services, began stripping back the soil and carving out trenches on August 25.
They found a Franciscan friary containing an adult male skeleton with a barbed iron arrowhead in its spine, a bashed skull and spinal abnormalities, probably caused by scoliosis. This would give him the appearance of his right shoulder being higher than the left, which is quite common, and certainly wouldn’t make him a hunchback.
Trench 1 where the bones were found contained the Chapter House and Church Choir. Trench 2 contains the Cloister Walk. All the finds were quite clearly labelled.
Next we went to the Guildhall which contained information panels about the dig and a display of finds. In the cathedral chancel is a memorial plaque to Richard which the Richard III Society gave in 1980. Nearby is a memorial to Robert Herrick, whose garden once covered the site of Greyfriars. He erected a stone pillar to mark the site of Richard’s burial and showed it to Christopher Wren in 1612.
After lunch we walked through the Castle Gardens to see the statue of Richard III, also given by the Society in 1980. There’s a plaque on the wall of Castle View commemorating the visit of two kings to Leicester in 1485.
Then the rain started so we headed back to the car and home.
The remains of Richard III will be reburied in Leicester Cathedral, despite the pleas of the Yorkshire Branch and many others for his body to go to York Minster, Richard’s own preferred burial site.
The results of the DNA testing will not be announced until January, when the Channel 4 documentary on the dig will be broadcast.
On 31 October the BBC carried a report suggesting that the female skeleton found at the same time as Richard III could be Ellen Luenor, one of the founders and benefactors of Greyfriars. She was buried in about 1250. Her husband’s name was Gilbert.
Researchers identified seven people who were buried in the church and Ellen is the only woman.
Archaeologists working to identify the Greyfriars remains are reconstructing the 500-year-old skeleton's face to give people a possible glimpse of King Richard III.
The skeleton has already been subjected to a CT scan which will allow a specialist team to build a 3D digital picture of the face. They hope to reveal the results in the new year.
Another facet of the identification is the comparison of the DNA from the remains with that of London furniture maker Michael Ibsen. Mr Ibsen is believed to be a relative of Richard III.
Leicester University also hope to track down another descendant to provide a DNA sample.
Other tests include environmental sampling and radiocarbon dating, which will all be used to help establish whether or not the bones belong to the former monarch.
Analysis of burial practices, health and diet and living conditions will all be used to build a picture of the person found at Greyfriars.
Scientists will pay particular attention to the battle scars found on the skull and the abnormal spinal conditions. These are consistent with historical accounts of Richard III – without themselves confirming the individual's identity.