Archaeologists began digging up a parking lot in central England this past weekend looking for the remains of the last English king killed in battle.
Historians believe they may have finally located where infamous monarch Richard III is buried – under a parking lot in Leicester.
Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the last clash of the War of the Roses, and according to records his body was interred in a Franciscan friary in the area.
A team from the University of Leicester is excavating the site, with an initial goal of finding the remains of the friary, according to Reuters.
“The friary was, however, knocked down during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, and the exact location of the burial site has been one of Britain’s enduring historical mysteries ever since,” according to The Daily Mail.
Archaeologists came to the conclusion that Richard, who was last Plantagenet ruler and is considered England’s last Medieval King, was buried in the parking lot after closely examining ancient maps, the publication added.
Archaeologists have access to Richard III’s DNA after swab samples were taken from a direct descendant of the king’s sister, Canadian-born Michael Ibsen, Reuters reported.
British to excavate War of the Roses graves
03/28/2011
The Battle of Towton – fought during England’s War of the Roses - was likely the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil, yet it it’s also one of the least known. That’s about to change.
Archaeologists believe they have located burial pits from the 1461 clash, a battle that claimed 28,000 lives, and will begin excavation this summer.
Work is to begin in June, at a site 12 miles south of York between the villages of Saxton and Towton where the battle took place. Experts have identified as many as five different mass burial sites and believe they could yield the remains of several hundred men, according to The Independent.
This week marks the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Towton, an event so bloody that almost 1 percent of the English population was wiped out in a single day. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 soldiers took part in the battle between the Houses of York and Lancaster for control of the English throne.
