After his death at Bosworth Field, Richard III’s body was taken to Leicester and buried in the Greyfriars Friary, a Franciscan church in the city. However, the exact location of his grave was lost during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII in the 16th century. Over the centuries, the friary itself was demolished, and the land built over, turning the site into a car park in modern Leicester.

The loss of Richard’s burial site became a historical mystery and a subject of fascination. Historians, archaeologists, and enthusiasts speculated for decades about where the last Plantagenet king’s remains might lie. The search for Richard III’s final resting place remained a symbol of reconnecting with a forgotten and contentious past.

The Discovery: From Legend to Excavation

The breakthrough came in 2012, when the University of Leicester’s archaeological team, led by Richard Buckley, began excavations on a site identified as the probable location of the Greyfriars church. The project was commissioned by the Richard III Society, a group dedicated to promoting research into the king’s life and reputation.

Excavations in August and September 2012 revealed the remains of the friary’s walls and floor, along with a skeleton buried under what was once the choir area of the church. The skeleton was unusual: it showed signs of scoliosis, a severe curvature of the spine, which aligned with historical descriptions of Richard’s physical appearance.

The remains were found in a shallow grave, with no ornate coffin or markings, consistent with a hurried burial after a battlefield death. This discovery immediately raised hopes that this was indeed Richard III’s long-lost skeleton. shutdown123