Experts in search for Richard III body find skeletons under Leicester car park

A skeleton bearing a barbed metal arrowhead between the vertebrae of its upper back could be the battle-slain body of Richard III, archaeologists in a high-profile three-week excavation in Leicester have revealed.

The dig in a Leicester City Council car park, thought to have once been the Medieval Greyfriars site where the King’s despoiled body was taken after the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, has unearthed one full skeleton – the potential body of the monarch – and one set of disarticulated female human remains. Their precise location corresponds to the choir area where records show the King was buried.

The University’s Richard Taylor said the intact skeleton had suffered “significant trauma” to the skull consistent with battle injuries, and had “spinal abnormalities” indicating severe scoliosis.

He stressed that the remains were being dealt with in strict accordance with the ethical policies held by the institution, which had received permission from the Ministry of Justice to exhume human remains.

The skeletons will now be transferred for 12 weeks of laboratory analysis, with conclusing DNA identification a distinct possibility.

Peter Soulsby, the Leicester City Mayor, called the news “a major chapter in the country’s history”, and called for the investigation to continue.

Two 30-metre trenches and an adjacent third ditch at the site have already produced several exceptional finds.

Glazed floor tile fragments, a section of wall and a window tracery all suggested the church had previously occupied the grounds, emphasised by a medieval roof tile usually associated with high-status buildings.

Speaking at the weekend, Philippa Langley, of the Richard III society, suggested the team were “in the right area” and were “starting to get a sense” of the exact position of the body.

“I did not think we would be where we are now at the start of the dig,” she added.

“I am totally thrilled. For me, the whole dig is now coming to life.”

The garden of former Leicester mayor Robert Herrick – lost along with the Friary – was a crucial discovery.

Herrick built a mansion house on the site during the early 1600s, in which Christopher Wren, the son of the pioneering architect, recorded seeing a three-foot stone pillar inscribed with the words “here lies the body of Richard III sometime King of England.” His note is the last known sighting of the grave.

The house was replaced by municipal buildings at the end of the 19th century, and the garden became a tarmac car park during the 1930s or 1940s.

“At the beginning of the project, I cannot say I was completely confident about finding the remains of the Friary, let alone getting closer to the presumed burial place of Richard III,” admitted Richard Buckley, of the University’s archaeological department.

“The trenches could easily have missed the structures we have found, had they been located differently, or we could have found that the evidence had already been destroyed by later development on the site.

“With or without the burial place of Richard III, the investigation has been extremely rewarding and makes a significant contribution in terms of telling the story of medieval Leicester.”

The site was opened to the public for the first time for three hours on Saturday (September 8).

"The level of interest generated by this excavation has been amazing, and people understandably want to see for themselves the fascinating work which is being carried out,” said Councillor Piara Singh Clair, the Assistant City Mayor.

"The University of Leicester and the Richard III Society are uncovering information which will help us to better tell one of Leicester's most remarkable stories, and to understand the last days of one of the most controversial kings in British history."

Buckley had previously described the search for the King as “a long shot”, but said the excavators – known as the Time Tomb Team by the local media – had been “fired up” and “extremely excited by the prospect of further discoveries”.

Their hopes have now been rewarded, with the full story set to make compelling viewing when it becomes the subject of a Channel 4 documentary later this year.

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