Archaeologists working at the dig site where the skeleton of one of England's most notorious kings was found have uncovered a coffin in a coffin. The rare find at the grave site of King Richard III has archeologists excited about the high profile person they believe is resting inside.
A team from the University of Leicester has been working at the Grey Friars site since 2012 when a skeleton believed to be Richard III was found beneath a parking lot. In February of this year DNA proved the remains were that of the last King of the House of York.
When the University of Leicester archaeologists found the large medieval stone coffin they worked carefully to open it. They discovered a lead coffin inside the stone one which to them suggests an important person was laid to rest inside the two coffins. A hole in the second coffin shows the feet of the person that was buried.
"The inner coffin is likely to contain a high-status burial-though we don't currently know who it contains," read a statement from the University.
The lead casket was taken back to the University where researchers will work carefully to exhume the skeletal remains. Theories as to whom may have been buried in the Grey Friars double coffin include Peter Swynsfeld one of the founders of the Grey Friars. Swynsfeld died in the year 1272. Another possible occupant of the coffin is William of Nottingham who died in 1330.
It is possible that a knight known as Mutton is the person inside the lead coffin. Sir William de Moton of Peckleton died sometime between 1356 and 1362 and was known as the "Sometime Mayor of Leicester."
The coffin was first discovered in September 2012 when the skeleton of Richard III was discovered. Archeologists were unable to remove the coffin from the ground at the time.
Richard III is an infamous English king known for his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. This battle placed on the throne Henry Tudor, the father of the most famous dynasty in English history. Richard III's rise to the throne is marked with controversy and accusations claiming he had his two young nephews killed while keeping them in the Tower of London.
Richard III was not meant to be King of England. In 1483 Edward IV, Richard's brother died and left Richard as lord protector to Prince Edward the 12-year-old heir to the throne. As Protector Richard was charged with overseeing the young king until he became of age and could rule on his own.
Instead the young prince and his younger brother were placed in the Tower of London by their uncle and never heard from again. It is widely believed and accepted by many scholars that Richard III had them killed.
The controversies and accusations that surround Richard III's short reign and the depiction of him by Shakespeare forever in our subconscious make it hard for us to see him as less than a monster. There are scholars who are looking past the controversies surrounding Richard III to learn more about the man at the center of a 500-year-old debate. Plans are currently in the works to find a proper burial place for the last English King to be killed in battle.
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