Richard III Skull: First Picture of Remains Found Under Leicester Car Park

Richard III Skull: First Picture Of Remains Found Under Leicester Car Park

Archaeologists hunting for the remains of Richard III have released the first image of a battle-scarred skull which could be that of the 15th century ruler.

Archaeologists previously said there was strong circumstantial evidence to suggest the bones, exhumed from a car park behind council offices in the city, are those of Richard III but did not want to make any academic decision before the skeleton was subjected to a number of tests.

"The University of Leicester is poised to unlock a 500-year-old mystery by announcing the outcome of our search for King Richard III. Over the past five months, since we announced the discovery, our experts from a range of departments have subjected the human remains found at Grey Friars to rigorous examination."

The skeleton, with a metal arrow in its back and severe trauma to the skull, was exhumed in September during an archaeological dig. It was found in the same part of Grey Friars church where Richard III was recorded to have been buried after his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, the last major act in the Wars of the Roses.

The king was resurrected in Shakespeare's play Richard III, which portrayed him as a tyrannical hunchback with a withered arm. Richard was notorious as the suspected murderer of his two nephews in the Tower of London whose deaths enabled him to accede the throne. His dramatised demise had the king calling out "a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse" before he was killed on the battlefield.

Initial examinations showed the bones to be those of an adult male and the remains were said to be in a good condition. The skeleton had a curved spine, consistent with accounts of Richard III's appearance. DNA taken from the skeleton has been analysed and compared with that of Michael Ibsen, a descendant of Richard III's family. Radiocarbon tests and genealogical studies have also taken place.

source:www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

remains – maradványok
battle-scarred – harcban sebesült
ruler – uralkodó
circumstantial evidence – közvetett bizonyíték
to exhume – exhumálni/(ki)hantolni
to subject to – alávetni/kitenni valaminek
to be poised to do something – valamit szándékozik tenni/készül valamit megtenni
outcome – eredmény/kimenetel
rigorous – szigorú/rendkívül alapos
arrow – nyílvessző
severe trauma – súlyos sérülés
archeological dig – régészeti ásatás
act – felvonás/cselekedet
to resurrect – feltámasztani/új életre kelni
to portray – leírni/ábrázolni
tyrannical – zsarnoki
hunchback – púpos
withered – fonnyadt/hervadt/korcs
notorious – hírhedt
to suspect – gyanítani/feltételezni
to enable – lehetővé tenni
to accede to the throne – trónra lépni
demise – elhalálozás/hanyatlás
initial – kezdeti/elsődleges
curved spine – hajlott/görbe gerinc
to be consistent with – megegyezni valamivel
account – beszámoló/elbeszélés
descendant – leszármazott/utód
genealogical – leszármazási/nemzedékrendi