In one of the most amazing discoveries in an unusual place, a medieval church is discovered beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England.
According to Discovery News, archaeologists announced today that they have located the church where King Richard III was buried in 1485. Lead archaeologist on the dig, Richard Buckley and his team have been exploring the grounds of a parking lot in Leicester, England, since Aug. 25, and are now confident that this is the one of the last sites of the king. “The discoveries so far leave us in no doubt that we are on the site of Leicester’s Franciscan Friary, meaning we have crossed the first significant hurdle of the investigation.”
Buckley and his team have been searching for Greyfriars church, known to be the final resting place of Richard III, who died in battle during the War of the Roses. While the location of the church was lost over time, the University of Leicester archaeologists traced the likely location to beneath the parking lot. They found their speculations to be accurate as their first two trenches turned up glazed floor-tile fragments, medieval roof tile and other building fragments. Buckley stated, “We now think we have evidence for a two-meter-wide north-south passageway, which originally had a tile floor — this may be a cloister walk on one side of a cloister garth or courtyard. At right angles to this is an east-west aligned building some five meters wide, again with evidence for a tiled floor.”
While the excavation is not complete, the team has already excavated much of the north side of the church and are certain that this is indeed Greyfriars church as Buckey said, “The size of the walls, the orientation of the building, its position and the presence of medieval inlaid floor tiles and architectural fragments make this almost certainly the church of the Greyfriars.”
If King Richard III’s body is found, he will be placed back in Leicester Cathedral.
photo by lisby1
New Discovery – A Medieval Church is Discovered Beneath a Parking Lot .
