The Grey Friars Project

How to identify King Richard III

- Resource Pack -

The Search for King Richard III

Educational Resource

© University of Leicester 2013

How to identify a

skeleton

During the excavation, the archaeologists collected evidence about where the person was buried in the

church and how the person was treated after they died.

When Skeleton 1 was taken back to the lab, the archaeologists could tell a lot about the person from their

bones:

They could determine if the person was male or female by studying the pelvis, base of the skull, the

forehead and the jaw.

o Men usually have a more prominent brow ridge and jaw.

o Women have a wider pelvis.

They used formulas to determine the person’s height based on the length of the leg and arm bones.

By studying the mineral content in the bones they could tell what sort of diet the person had.

o Different levels of carbon in the bone show whether they ate mostly fish or meat.

o Different levels of nitrogen in the bone show whether they ate mostly meat or

vegetables.

They were able to approximate how old the person was when they died by examining the joints,

bones and teeth.

By radiocarbon dating the bones, they could work out when the person died.

o All living organisms take in an isotope of carbon called Carbon14 until they die, then the

amount of Carbon14 in the tissue begins to decrease over time. Scientists are able to

count the amount of Carbon14 left in the skeleton and work out how long ago this

happened – the more found, the younger the sample.

By looking for signs of disease and trauma on the bones, they could tell how the person died.

Putting all the evidence together, the archaeologists were able to work out who Skeleton 1 was.

Look at the archaeological evidence and the evidence on the skeleton.

What does the evidence tell you about Skeleton 1?

Can you work out which person is the most likely match for the evidence?

In 2012, when archaeologists were searching

for the remains of King Richard III, they found a skeleton inside the

Greyfriars church. They called it Skeleton 1, but who was it?

The Search for King Richard III

Educational Resource

© University of Leicester 2013

I am Brother William Giles. I am the last

warden of the friary. We built our church in

the year 1230 and we buried people in it for

over 300 years until King Henry VIII

demolished it in 1538. We buried important

people at the eastern end of the church; you

can meet some of them below.

Skeleton 1: Meet some of the people buried in the church

I am Master Peter Swynfield.

I am an important friar, in charge of

all the Franciscan friars in England.

I am Ellen Lavener.

I am not rich, but I gave the poor

friars some land in Leicester so

they could build a bigger friary.

I am Sir William Moton.

I am a local knight. I gave

the friars a lot of money to

pray for me after I died.

We even buried King Richard III.

He was the last Plantagenet king

of England and was killed at the

Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

The Search for King Richard III

Educational Resource

© University of Leicester 2013

By piecing together the evidence, archaeologists could tell in which part of the church Skeleton 1 was buried. Can you?

Archaeologists can tell a lot about how a person was treated after they were dead from the way the body was buried? What does the evidence suggest to you?

Skeleton 1 The grave is too short for the person in it.

There is no evidence for a coffin or shroud.

The grave appears to be messily dug.

The hands may be tied together.

The feet are missing because a

cellar had been dug through them

after this person was buried.

The head is propped up.

The skeleton is twisted

in the grave.

The Search for King Richard III

Educational Resource

© University of Leicester 2013

Skelton 1: The skeletal evidenceBoth arms are normal. There is

no evidence for a withered arm. This person suffered from Scoliosis.

This caused the spine to curve

sideways. They were not hunchbacked.

The skull has been sliced

many times by a sharp

weapon. This suggests that

the person died in battle.

The pelvis shows that this

person is male.

By measuring one of the leg

bones we can work out that

this person would have

been 5ft 8in tall (1.72m) tall.

The feet are missing.

The teeth tell us that this

person was between 27

and 37 years of age.

Radiocarbon dating the bone

tells us that this person died

between 1450 and 1540.

This person appeared to be healthy.

There is no evidence of disease.

Both legs are the same. There is

no evidence for a limp.

The curved spine meant that the

right shoulder may have been

higher than the left shoulder.

Analysis of the minerals in the

bone tells us that this person

ate a lot of fish and meat.

The bones are very slender. This

person would have been slim.

The Search for King Richard III

Educational Resource

© University of Leicester 2013

Problem One: Who is Skeleton 1?

1 Brother Peter Swynfeld Supporting evidence?

Brother Peter was male Yes No

He was 5ft 6in tall Yes No

He ate a lot of fish and meat Yes No

He died in 1272 Yes No

He was aged 72 when he died Yes No

He died of old age Yes No

He was buried in the presbytery Yes No

2 Ellen Lavener Supporting evidence?

Ellen was female Yes No

She was 5ft 3in tall Yes No

She did not eat a lot of fish or meat Yes No

She died in 1349 Yes No

She was aged 37 when she died Yes No

She died of the plague Yes No

She was buried in the choir Yes No

3 Sir William Moton Supporting evidence?

Sir William was male Yes No

He was 5ft 7in tall Yes No

He did not eat a lot of fish but ate a lot of meat Yes No

He died in 1362 Yes No

He was aged 60 when he died Yes No

He died from a fall which fractured his skull Yes No

He was buried in the presbytery Yes No

4 King Richard III Supporting evidence?

Richard III was male Yes No

He was 5ft 8in tall Yes No

He ate a lot of fish and meat Yes No

He died in 1485 Yes No

He was aged 32 when he died Yes No

He died in battle Yes No

He was buried in the choir Yes No

5 Brother William Giles Supporting evidence?

Brother William was male Yes No

He was 5ft 8in tall Yes No

He ate a lot of fish but not a lot of meat Yes No

He died in 1538 Yes No

He was aged 35 when he died Yes No

We do not know how he died Yes No

He was not buried in the friary Yes No

Who is Skeleton 1?

The Search for King Richard III

Educational Resource

© University of Leicester 2013

Problem Two: Who is right?

Historic Fact True False Not

Sure

I was born at Fotheringhay in Northamptonshire

I had slender arms and legs.

My right shoulder was higher than my left.

I was buried in the choir of the Greyfriars church.

I was hunchbacked.

My left shoulder was higher than my right.

I murdered my nephews, the Princes in the Tower.

My body was dug up when the church was demolished in 1538.

My body was thrown in the river in 1538.

I was buried hastily.

I was an evil tyrant.

I had a withered arm.

I had a limp.

I was killed in battle in 1485.

Since I died, people have written many things

about me; what I looked like and what I did

during my life. Now that my skeleton has

been found, can you tell if they were right or

wrong? Or does the archaeological evidence

not answer the question?