King Richard III mystery woman buried beside his grave remains a big question until now. Archaeologists who unearthed her remains initially thought they'll be finding remains of a well-known man. But what happened next shocked them! They uncovered a woman according to claims of the scientists this week.
It was a huge puzzle for the archaeologists and scientists to find King Richard III, mystery woman in the ruins of an English medieval church. But what bothered them more was when they discovered the new found remains don't belong to a friar or a knight, but to an elderly woman.
King Richard III remains was unearthed in 2012 in a parking lot in Liecester formerly where the Grey Friars Friary church was once erected. For further investigation, researchers started studying the location thinking that it was the final resting place for the King, who was killed in the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
The Battle of the Bosworth Field was the last known battle of the Wars Of Roses between the York and Lancaster that happened in England in the last half of the 15th century. On Aug.22, 1485, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond won the battle against the last king of York, King Richard III who was killed in the war.
Since then, the remains of King King Richard III were forgotten until it was uncovered in 2012. However, after King Richard III, mystery woman remains were unearthed. The discovery was shocking when they found a lead coffin covered in a larger stone coffin in 2013, CNN reports.
Mathew Morris, an archaeologist at the University of Leicester stated that a grave like that- very elaborate stone sarcophagus, lead inner casket buried in a very prominent position in the church gives theory that the person was an important person that time.
On March 1, Morris' theory about King Richard III, mystery woman remains was confirmed after several examinations were done. As mentioned by Live Science, her bones suggest that she lived during the 13th or 14th century before King Richard III was buried in Leicester.
Another surprising detail about King Richard III mystery woman remains uncovered by the scientists explains her diverse diet of protein food, which was seen in the examination. She was consuming protein-rich food including fish, meat and game that also suggest that she came from a very wealthy family.
Before concluding that the remains they found were of an elderly woman, INQUISTR states that the researchers theorized that the remains belong to three of the most popular men during the time- Sir William de Moton of Peckleton, or Peter Swynsfeld or William of Nottingham, the two leaders of the English Grey Friars order.
Up to this date, King Richard III mystery woman identity remains a mystery. Morris and his team were looking on the possibility that the remains of King Richard III mystery woman were that of a woman named Emma who was married to John of Holt. However, records and information were not enough to conclude the theory.
Whoever King Richard III mystery woman is still remains a big question. Scientists even fear that without concrete facts and evidences, the mystery woman will remain a mystery.