From the Telegraph.co.uk
Carpark skeleton will be confirmed as Richard III
Human remains found in the resting place of Richard III have already been identified as those of the king but information is being held back ahead of a major press conference next month, sources close to the project claim.
By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent7:45AM GMT 15 Dec 2012
A source with knowledge of the excavation told the Telegraph archaeologists will name the skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park in September as the Plantagenet king even if long-awaited DNA results on the bones prove inconclusive.
Additional evidence not revealed at a major press conference after the
remains were found demonstrates beyond all reasonable doubt that the body is the
King's, even without genetic proof, the source said.
Leicester University experts announced earlier this year that there was
convincing evidence suggesting the remains were those of Richard III, but have
always insisted DNA analysis is needed before a conclusion can be reached.
Clues to the body's identity include a wound to the skull and a twist in the
spine which match historical accounts of the King and his death in battle, but
these alone are not enough to prove it is the King, archaeologists said at the
time.
A spokesman for Leicester University denied any information had been withheld from the public at the press event in September, but said various new evidence gathered since then will be announced to the public next month. This will include the results of radiocarbon dating tests, which will indicate the date the individual died within an 80-year range, and analysis of dental calculus which could reveal details about their and lifestyle, as well as the first images of the body.
The spokesman said: "There will be things that have been discovered during the course of the investigation that will be announced at the press conference, but everything we were willing to reveal and that we were sure of, we revealed [in September]."
A Channel Four documentary, which initially led to the university's involvement, will also be screened in January and is expected to reveal new information about the project.
The University insists it has been open about the analysis of the skeleton from the start, but a number of people close to the study have become uncomfortable that new evidence is not being published.
A source told the Telegraph: "Unfortunately, an awful lot of stuff is being kept from the public.
"I am told that circumstantial evidence of the find which is not going to be broadcast until this programme (on Channel Four) is brought out in January will confirm the body is Richard III's, even if the DNA does not." [Did Channel Four pay for information to put this show together?]
The University said all available information will be announced at the press event and insisted it had no knowledge of any information which is being withheld for the documentary.
The body was identified just weeks into a project which began when experts identified a council car park in Leicester as the most likely historical location of the church of Grey Friars, where the King was said to have been buried after his defeat in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
The archaeologists initially described the dig as a "long shot" but have since uncovered the foundations of a church along with two bodies, one of which is thought to be that of the King. [Yeah, and the other one was a woman. It is speculated that the remains belong to Ellen Luenor, a possible benefactor and co-founder of the Friary with her husband, Gilbert. She would have been buried originally about 1250 CE. Grey Friars female skeleton is possibly of founder, October 30, 2012.]
A spokesman for Leicester University denied any information had been withheld from the public at the press event in September, but said various new evidence gathered since then will be announced to the public next month. This will include the results of radiocarbon dating tests, which will indicate the date the individual died within an 80-year range, and analysis of dental calculus which could reveal details about their and lifestyle, as well as the first images of the body.
The spokesman said: "There will be things that have been discovered during the course of the investigation that will be announced at the press conference, but everything we were willing to reveal and that we were sure of, we revealed [in September]."
A Channel Four documentary, which initially led to the university's involvement, will also be screened in January and is expected to reveal new information about the project.
The University insists it has been open about the analysis of the skeleton from the start, but a number of people close to the study have become uncomfortable that new evidence is not being published.
A source told the Telegraph: "Unfortunately, an awful lot of stuff is being kept from the public.
"I am told that circumstantial evidence of the find which is not going to be broadcast until this programme (on Channel Four) is brought out in January will confirm the body is Richard III's, even if the DNA does not." [Did Channel Four pay for information to put this show together?]
The University said all available information will be announced at the press event and insisted it had no knowledge of any information which is being withheld for the documentary.
The body was identified just weeks into a project which began when experts identified a council car park in Leicester as the most likely historical location of the church of Grey Friars, where the King was said to have been buried after his defeat in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
The archaeologists initially described the dig as a "long shot" but have since uncovered the foundations of a church along with two bodies, one of which is thought to be that of the King. [Yeah, and the other one was a woman. It is speculated that the remains belong to Ellen Luenor, a possible benefactor and co-founder of the Friary with her husband, Gilbert. She would have been buried originally about 1250 CE. Grey Friars female skeleton is possibly of founder, October 30, 2012.]
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