Editor’s Comment: Sally Henshaw, Secretary of the Midlands East Branch of the Richard III Society, send us the following guest post on the archaeological dig in Leicester.   She and Richard Smith, Chairman of the Midlands East Branch, had the opportunity of a private tour of the site.

Richard Smith and I went to see the dig yesterday and Philippa Langley of the Richard III Society showed us round. We also had a few words with Richard Buckley, lead archaeologist of the project, who we know, as he has given talks to our branch on several occasions.

I took photographs of the first and second trenches as Philippa explained what things were (see below).

Unfortunately we were not allowed to see the third trench as they are working on that one at present. They have found a medieval coin, but as yet have not been able to date it. They have also found pieces of medieval stained glass and brightly painted floor tiles. They hope the choir of the church (where Richard was buried) is located in the car park where they are now digging and not under the building (although it may be possible to dig a trench if it is) It would be awful to have come so far only to find that the part we really need to get at is under a building.

Trench 2:  internal cloister walkway showing the herring bone pattern (© Sally Henshaw)

Trench 2: The white part is a rounded step which they are calling the Leicester Step at present, as no one has seen anything quite like it before. (© Sally Henshaw)

Trench 1:  showing where the all cuts across (© Sally Henshaw)

Trench 1:  the white area is a bench they found where the monks would have sat in the chapter house (© Sally Henshaw)

Window tracery (© Sally Henshaw)

Frieze on a choir stall, early perpendicular (?) (© Sally Henshaw)

Plan of the dig (© Sally Henshaw)

Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III

Breaking News:

The University of Leicester has just a few minutes ago announced that human remains have been found at the archaeological dig in Leicester and they are talking about other “stunning discoveries”.

More details will be revealed at a press conference at 11 am (British time – that’s 20.00 EST) in Leicester.  Live coverage of whatever is announced will be available on Twitter @uniofleicester.  (Yes, I have just signed up to Twitter, something I never wanted to do, but for news like this it seems to be worth it.)

This find is truly “a dramatic new turn”, as Richard Taylor, Director of Corporate Affairs at the University of Leicester and one of the prime movers behind the project, said.

Philippa Langley from the Richard III Society said: “We came with a dream and if the dream becomes reality it will be nothing short of miraculous.”  How true!

Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III

Unfortunately I haven’t (yet?) got an eye witness report from any friend, who attended the open day at the dig in Leicester yesterday.  However, I found this post by Jonathan Calder on the Liberal England site, who has been posting about the dig regularly.  Enjoy!

Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III

We are grateful to Sally Henshaw of the Midlands East Branch of the Richard III Society, who has kindly supplied us with the above photo, which she took through the barriers at the beginning of the dig.

Great news from Leicester:  archaeologists have found an area of paving, made up of re-used medieval tiles.  This is thought to be the garden of Robert Herrick.  Robert Herrick, alderman and sometime mayor of Leicester, bought the site of the Greyfriars after the dissolution.  Christopher Wren, the father of the architect who built for instance St Paul’s Cathedral, recorded that there was a stone pillar in Herrick’s formal garden with the inscription “Here lies the body of Richard III sometime King of England“.  It is assumed that the stone pillar was on the spot where the choir of the Greyfriars church had been.

The third trench meanwhile revealed large fragments of window tracery as well as bits of lead, as it would have been used in stained glass windows.  The archaeologists think that this might have come from the east window of the church, behind the high altar – which means near the choir, where Richard III was known to be buried.  This is really getting exciting.  To quote Richard Buckley, the lead archaeologist of the project:

Having overcome the major hurdle of finding the church, I am now confident that we are within touching distance of finding the choir – a real turning point in the project and a stage which, at the outset, I never really thought we might reach.

There is more good news.  Although the dig was supposed to finish on Friday, it has now been extended for at least another week, as the prospect of major discoveries becomes more and more likely.

Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III

The University of Leicester has confirmed that the church of the Franciscan Friary has been found.  The initial two trenches revealed tiled passageway floors, which are at right angles from each other.  This led the archaeologists to believe that these are remains of the cloister of the friary.  A cloister is a rectangular open space, which is surrounded by covered walkways, so that the monks would remain dry whilst walking around it.  One of the sides of the cloister would often be alongside a church.

On the third side of the cloister remains of a large, one and half metres thick wall were found, which the archaeologists thought could be the south wall of the church itself.  The third trench established that this wall continues and also found remains of a second wall approx. 7.5 metres to the north.   The space in between the two walls has a mortar floor, which was probably originally tiled.  These remains have been confirmed to be of the church.  As lead archaeologist Richard Buckley announced:

The next step – which may include extending the trenches – will seek to gain more information on the church in the hope that we can identify the location of the choir and high altar. Finding the choir is especially important as this is where Richard III is recorded as having been buried.

He admitted that before the dig started he was not all that confident whether they would even be able to find the Greyfriars, as their first trenches could easily have missed the remains, or any remains might have been destroyed by later building activity in the area.  It is certainly not only the team that is excited “by the prospect of further discoveries over the next week or so which may take us closer to our goal”.  I am surely not the only one who checks every morning whether there have been any new developments!

Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III

The interest in the dig at the Greyfriars site in Leicester has been unprecedented, not only locally or nationally, but also internationally (our website is a point in case).   In response to this interest the University of Leicester, together with the Richard III Society and Leicester City Council, have arranged an open day for Saturday, 8 September 2012.  The site will be open to the public between 11.00 and 14.00, admission is free and no advance booking is needed.  The search team and Richard III Society member Philippa Langley will be there to show visitors around the site.

Unfortunately for us in Australia it is a tad far to organise a trip to Leicester at such short notice (not to mention the expenses).  However, if any of our readers, and we know we have readers from all over the world, should be able to visit the open day, please do not hesitate to contact us, we would love an eye witness report!

Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III

Work at the dig in Leicester did not stop over the weekend.  A third trench, running in a north-south direction, has been dug.  This trench is in the car park of a former school, which is adjacent to the Leicester City Council Social Services car park.  However, I couldn’t help wondering when I saw the photo on the latest news update by the University of Leicester, whether the part of the church, where Richard III was buried, would not possibly turn out to be underneath the building.

Whether Richard’s remains are found or not, the insights the archaeologists gain on the Greyfriars site are fascinating.  At this stage, I am not sure what the plans for the site are, once the dig has been concluded.

Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III

As every morning I couldn’t wait today to visit the news update on the Greyfriars project in Leicester.  I was especially curious what the press conference yesterday would have brought.  So here is the latest:

Richard Buckley, the archaeologist leading the dig, stated that “Progress in our search for the body of King Richard III is exceeding our expectations. The first week could not have gone better.”

A part of a wall was found, which could have belonged to the church, but also medieval window tracery, fragments glazed floor tiles as well as of a stained glass window, which might have come from the cloisters walk.  According to the BBC, Richard Buckley concluded that

The dimensions of the walls and the association with certain building materials and tiled floors suggests we are looking at a religious house and a high status medieval building.

One of the walls in particular is getting on for two metres thick and it’s on an east-west orientation, so as far as we can tell, and its still early days yet, it might be one of the walls of the Greyfriars church and if that is the case, we are on the right track.

As at the start of the dig the archaeologists were not even sure, where exactly the friary might have been, this is certainly a find exceeding any expectations.

I have been interested in medieval ceramics for some time, so for me the floor tile fragment was of particular interest.  It is of a type which was limited to high-status buildings and was one of the indications that the discovered remains are those of the church.  A photo of the tile fragment on the page of the University of Leicester.

The team is planning to dig a contingency trench over the weekend to confirm that they have indeed found the church, which would give them a clearer understanding of where to look for Richard’s body.

However, even if the body of the king were not found, the dig is a tremendous boost for our understanding of the historic Leicester.  And as for Richard, it seems to help in publicizing a more balanced viewpoint of Richard III, as a recent article in the Catholic Herald in spite of certain shortcomings shows.

In the Southern hemisphere today marks the first day of spring (though present temperatures could have fooled me).   Maybe the winter of our discontent is over in more ways than the one Shakespeare thought.

Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III

It has been established that the remains of walls, which have been found during the dig, are indeed from the medieval period.  The next step is to establish the alignment of these walls.  However, otherwise there is “Relatively little to report right now. Richard III still dead”, as the update from the University of Leicester puts it – short and precise.

We are hoping for more info tomorrow, as there will be a press briefing at 11.00 (UK time) today, which means 20.00 EST in Australia.

ITV has also an interesting article and video on the dig on their webpage.  Their remarks on Richard’s supposed deformities are particular welcome.

Tags: Archaeology, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars Dig, Richard III