Archaeological Investigation
On 24 August 2012, the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council, in association with the Richard III Society, announced that they had joined forces to begin a search for the remains of King Richard. Led by University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), experts set out to locate the Greyfriars site and discover whether his remains were still interred. The search appeared to locate the Church of the Grey Friars, where Richard's body had been buried, beneath a modern-day city centre council car park.
In parallel, British historian John Ashdown-Hill tracked down Richard's maternal bloodline, that had survived into the 21st century, via genealogical research. A British-born woman who migrated to Canada after the Second World War, Joy Ibsen, was found to be a 16th-generation grandniece of the king. Although Ibsen died in 2008, her son Michael gave a mouth-swab sample to the research team on 24 August 2012. His mtDNA, passed down on the maternal side, can be used to compare samples from any human remains from the excavation site, and potentially to identify King Richard.
On 5 September 2012 the excavators announced that they had identified the Greyfriars church, and two days later that they had identified the location of Robert Herrick's garden where the memorial to Richard III stood in the early 17th century. Human bones have since been found beneath the church's choir. On 12 September 2012 it was announced that a skeleton discovered during the search could have been that of Richard III. Five reasons were given: the body was of an adult male; it was buried beneath the choir of the church; there was scoliosis of the spine, possibly making one shoulder higher than the other (to what extent would depend on the severity of the condition). In addition, there was an arrowhead embedded in the spine; and there were perimortem injuries to the skull. Dr. Jo Appleby, the archaeologist who discovered the skeleton, described the latter as "a mortal battlefield wound in the back of the skull" Further laboratory tests, including DNA comparisons, are planned to verify the identification.
British historian and MP Chris Skidmore has called for the late King (if the remains are confirmed to be his) to be reburied with a full state funeral. The government has confirmed that the remains, if confirmed as those of the 15th Century king, will be interred in Leicester. Leicester Cathedral, across the road from the grave, is being considered.
Read more about this topic: Richard III Of England