King Richard III found in untidy grave

[Smartmarzipan]

I was talking about this the other day, and for the life of me I couldn't remember the king's name. Anyway, I found the story.

King Richard III Found in 'Untidy Lozenge-Shaped Grave'
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 223744.htm

University of Leicester archaeologists have published the first peer-reviewed paper on the University-led archaeological Search for Richard III in the journal Antiquity.

The paper reveals:
-Richard III was casually placed in a badly prepared grave -- suggesting gravediggers were in a hurry to bury him
-He was placed in an 'odd position' and the torso crammed in
-The grave was 'too short' at the bottom to receive the body conventionally
-Someone is likely to have stood in the grave to receive the body -- suggested by the fact the body is on one side rather than placed centrally
-There is evidence to suggest Richard's hands may have been tied when he was buried

The paper -- by a team from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, and Department of Genetics -- follows the public revelation in February by the University of Leicester that the University had discovered King Richard III.

The paper reveals that the King's grave was too short for him and had an untidy "lozenge" shape, with the bottom of the grave much smaller than it was at ground level.
The head was propped up against one corner of the grave, suggesting the gravediggers had made no attempt to rearrange the body once it had been lowered in.
There were also no signs of a shroud or coffin.
This is in stark contrast to the other medieval graves found in the town, which were the correct length and were dug neatly with vertical sides.
This may show that the gravediggers were in a hurry to put the body in the ground -- or had little respect for the deceased.
This is in keeping with accounts from the medieval historian Polydore Vergil, who said Richard III was buried "without any pomp or solemn funeral."
'The king in the car park': new light on the death and burial of Richard III in the Grey Friars church, Leicester, in 1485 is the first academic paper to be published on the University of Leicester's Search for Richard III.

I just remember thinking, "One day you're king, one day you're buried in a crappy hole under a parking lot."

[WitchSabrina]

here's more

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20116118

[Solitary]

Thanks guys for the info. So Shakespeare was right that the King had scoliosis and was a hunchback. I will have to tell my son he's lucky he isn't a king. Solitary

[Colanth]

More news about the site (not about the king, though): //http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112888986/richard-iii-burial-site-excavated-archaeologists-070213/

[stromboli]

Apparently he was an asshole, so he got what he deserved.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Apparently he was an asshole, so he got what he deserved.

Well, not really. He was as much of an asshole as any of the combatants in the wars of the roses.

In fact he was lauded by allies and enemies alike as a man who was very good on the battlefield, and his statecraftmanship wasn't really any better or worse than anyone else. Most people remember him for the princes in the tower more than anything else, but that event was so surrounded in mystery it's hard to discern what happened to them, although I border more on the idea that they were killed off in the end. But then again, such as was medieval politics, especially when it came to the Lancastrian and Yorkist regimes.

But certainly his short reign wasn't and better or worse than his brothers before him, and no where near as bad as Henry VII who died a man who had almost brought the country to its knees by the time he died thanks to his overtly suspicious and untrusting nature.

Thanks guys for the info. So Shakespeare was right that the King had scoliosis and was a hunchback. I will have to tell my son he's lucky he isn't a king. Solitary

He had scoliosis but the idea of him being a hunchback is unfounded. There isn't a mention of him having a hunched back at all before the Tudors under both Henry's began a hate campaign against him to entrench their own (very shaky) claim to the throne.

Remember people lauded Richard as a very competent and dangerous combatant. It is very unlikely he would have been given these plaudits (or gained the level of skill which he supposedly had) had his scolisois affected him to the level that a hunchback would suffer. Likely his scoliosis was actually not known about aside from a very few close advisors and his family.

That is, until his death.

[stromboli]

So....That "my kingdom for a horse shit is bogus?" Bummer.

[ozymandias]

I thought it was shakespeare that started the bit about him being a hunchback.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Sounds like he was basically dumped in and buried to get rid of quickly either that or the burial service was a low budget company.. Discount Funeral Services..for your nations peace of mind.. :-k

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I thought it was shakespeare that started the bit about him being a hunchback.

It was Henry VIII who sought to remove the Yorkist caims to the throne Initially. The Tudor myth was continued as the dynasty became entrenched and Yorkist plots/rebellions were put down. The Tudors after all were a very minor non-aristocratic family linked to the Lancasters.

But what you say is true. The evidence suggests that it was Shakespeare who really brought out the idea of Richard being a deformed hunchback, when really the evidence doesn't back that up.

[Brian37]

Another rich person who still died despite attributing his fortune and title to a god.

[Colanth]

Another rich person who still died despite attributing his fortune and title to a god.

The Lard works in mysterious ways.  (So mysterious that a non-existent god wouldn't do things any differently.)

[Minimalist]

It's good to be the king.... sometimes.

Sometimes you get killed.

[Brian37]

It's good to be the king.... sometimes.

Sometimes you get killed.

Death always enters the picture, no matter wealth or poverty, nationality or politics, but who can you blame more, the assholes who know better but get the public to kill for them, or the credulous public who is too stupid to understand we are all the same species.

[Minimalist]

Kings who get to die in bed have it good.

Kings who get hacked up by swords and axes?  Not so much.