Discovering Richard IIISection 2
Archaeologists at Work
• In summer 2012 archaeologists from Leicester University excavated the site of Greyfriars church.
• They looked at the choir area where important burials took place.
Finding a Skeleton• They found a
skeleton with a curved spine.
Finding a Skeleton• The curve of the spine would have made this
man look as if one shoulder was higher than
the other.
Finding a Skeleton• The skeleton had
suffered a number of wounds including a heavy blow to the back of the skull from a sharp blade …..
Finding a Skeleton• … like the poll-axe
or halberd this knight is holding.
Testing DNA
DNA tests were carried out using
•teeth and a leg bone from the skeleton
•and DNA from a descendant of Richard
III’s sister
It is Richard III
The DNA Tests Reveal …
His body has been identified after being lost for nearly 500
years.
but …
Which questions
does Richard III’s skeleton
answer?