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History buffs, rejoice! Archaeologists say a skeleton found beneath a parking lot in 2012 belongs to England’s King Richard III. “Beyond reasonable doubt it’s Richard,” lead archaeologist Richard Buckley announced on Monday. Richard reigned for two years, from 1483 until he was killed in battle in 1485 at the age of 32. He was buried unceremoniously in the town of Leicester, beneath a church that was demolished in the 16th century, its exact location forgotten over the many years since.
In late 2012, researchers began their search for the medieval king by using radar to scan for buried remains of the original church. They found it beneath a city council parking lot in Leicester. When they excavated, it didn’t take long for them to find the skeleton of a young person, buried without a coffin, and showing a curved spine matching the descriptions of Richard as deformed. A comparison of the skeleton’s DNA to that of a known distant relative of the king confirmed it was indeed Richard.
