Digging for Richard III: The Search for the Lost King (Revised and Expanded)

Digging for Richard III: The Search for the Lost King (Revised and Expanded)
Author: Mike Pitts
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2015-09-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 0500773033

"As gripping as any detective fiction. Proof that one doesn't need to be fascinated with Richard III to be enthralled by the story of his body's discovery." —Publisher's Weekly In August 2012 a search began, and on February 4, 2013, a team from Leicester University delivered its verdict to a mesmerized press room and to the world: they had found the remains of Richard III, whose legacy was perhaps the most contested of all British monarchs. Prior to this major discovery, there had been little new information about Richard III for some time. With no new evidence to fuel it, the debate over what kind of man he might have been seemed to have stalled. Thus the story of the discovery of Richard III is a story of the value of archaeology—careful analysis of physical evidence backed up by the latest science and technology—and how it can change our understanding of history. Firsthand accounts from the team that found the king, along with photographs from the author’s own archives and an expanded epilogue incorporating new DNA evidence, augment this compelling detective story as the evidence is uncovered.

Digging For Richard Iii

Digging For Richard Iii
Author: Mike Pitts
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-11-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0500252009

The story of the archaeology behind the dig that found Richard III, told through a fascinating array of photographs, diagrams, and firsthand accounts In August 2012 a search began and on February 4, 2013 a team from Leicester University delivered its verdict to a mesmerized press room, watched by media studios around the world: they had found the remains of Richard III, whose history is perhaps the most contested of all British monarchs. History offers a narrow range of information about Richard III which mostly has already been worked to destruction. Archaeology creates new data, new stories, with a different kind of material: physical remains from which modern science can wrest a surprising amount, and which provide a direct, tangible connection with the past. Unlike history, archaeological research demands that teams of people with varied backgrounds work together. Archaeology is a communal activity, in which the interaction of personalities as well as professional skills can change the course of research. Photographs from the author’s own archives, alongside additional material from Leicester University, offer a compelling detective story as the evidence is uncovered.

Finding Richard III:

Finding Richard III:
Author: A.J. Carson
Publisher: Imprimis Imprimatur
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2018-09-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0957684037

Their task was to locate a lost grave in an obliterated church. The ‘Looking For Richard’ team of historians and researchers spent many years amassing evidence. Now for the first time they reveal the full story of how that evidence took them to a car park in Leicester.

Ashton Hall

Ashton Hall
Author: Lauren Belfer
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2022-06-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593359496

An American woman and her son unearth the buried secrets and past lives of an English manor house in this masterful and riveting novel from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Belfer. “Infused with the brooding, gothic atmosphere of Jane Eyre or Rebecca . . . a novel that must be savored, one page at a time.”—Melanie Benjamin, author of The Children’s Blizzard ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times “How many lives can you imagine yourself living?” So Hannah Larson wonders. When a close relative falls ill, Hannah and her young son, Nicky, decide to join him for the summer at Ashton Hall, a historic manor house outside Cambridge, England. Hannah gave up her academic career to raise her beloved child, who is neurodivergent and experiences the world differently from others, and she’s grateful to escape her life in New York City, where her marriage has been upended by a devastating betrayal. Soon after their arrival, ever-curious Nicky discovers the skeletal remains of a woman in a forgotten, walled-off wing of the manor, and Hannah is pulled into an all-consuming quest for answers. Working from clues in centuries-old ledgers and the personal papers of the long-departed family, Hannah begins to re-create the Ashton Hall of the Elizabethan era in all its color and conflict. As the secrets of her own life begin to unravel, and the rewards and complications of being Nicky’s mother come into focus, Hannah realizes that Ashton Hall’s women before her had lives not so different from her own. She confronts what women throughout history have had to do to control their own destinies and protect their children. Rich with passion, strength, and ferocity across the ages, Ashton Hall is a novel that reveals how the most profound hauntings are within ourselves.

The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA

The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA
Author: John Ashdown-Hill
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2013-01-16
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0752498665

The Last Days of Richard III contains a new and uniquely detailed exploration of Richard's last 150 days. By deliberately avoiding the hindsight knowledge that he will lose the Battle of Bosworth Field, we discover a new Richard: no passive victim, awaiting defeat and death, but a king actively pursuing his own agenda. It also re-examines the aftermath of Bosworth: the treatment of Richard's body; his burial; and the construction of his tomb. And there is the fascinating story of why, and how, Richard III's family tree was traced until a relative was found, alive and well, in Canada. Now, with the discovery of Richard's skeleton at the Greyfrairs Priory in Leicester, England, John Ashdown-Hill explains how his book inspired the dig and completes Richard III's fascinating story, giving details of how Richard died, and how the DNA link to a living relative of the king allowed the royal body to be identified.

Richard III

Richard III
Author: Annette Carson
Publisher: History Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-12-14
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781803991832

A new and updated edition of this classic work, brought right up to date In 2012 Annette Carson formed part of the team that discovered King Richard III's mortal remains, verified in 2013 by forensics including DNA matching. In response to the recent upsurge of interest, her 2009 paperback has been updated with details of the discovery plus new illustrations, and a larger typeface for easier readability. Carson's premise is that for centuries the vision of Richard III has been dominated by the fictional creations of Thomas More and Shakespeare. Many voices, some of them eminent and scholarly, have urged a more reasoned view to replace the traditional black portrait. This book seeks to redress the balance by examining the events of his reign as they actually happened, based on reports in the original sources. Eschewing the overlay of assumptions so beloved by historians, she instead traces actions and activities of the principal characters, using facts and time-lines revealed in documentary evidence. In the process Carson dares to investigate areas where historians fear to tread, and raises many controversial questions.

The Lost King

The Lost King
Author: Philippa Langley
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1466842709

The official inside story of the discovery of the bones of Richard III now a major motion picture starring Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan The mystery of who Richard III really was has fascinated historians, readers and audiences familiar with Shakespeare's dastardly portrait of a hunchbacked monster of royalty for centuries. In 2012, the remains of a man with a curving spine, who possibly was killed in battle, were discovered underneath the paving of a parking lot in Leicester, England. Phillipa Langley, head of The Richard III Society, spurred on by the work of the historian Michael Jones, led the team of who uncovered the remains, certain that she had found the bones of the monarch. When DNA verification later confirmed that the skeleton was, indeed, that of King Richard III, the discovery ranks among the great stories of passionate intuition and perseverance against the odds. The news of the discovery of Richard's remains has been widely reported by the British as well as worldwide and was front page news for both the New York Times and The Washington Post. Many believe that now, with King Richard III's skeleton in hand, historians will finally begin to understand what happened to him following the Battle of Bosworth Field (twenty miles or so from Leicester) and, ultimately, to know whether he was the hateful, unscrupulous monarch of Shakespeare's drama or a much more benevolent king interested in the common man. Written in alternating chapters, with Richard's 15th century life told by historian Michael Jones (author of the critically acclaimed Bosworth - 1485) contrasting with the 21st century eyewitness account of the search and discovery of the body by Philippa Langley, The Lost King will be both an extraordinary portrait of the last Plantagenet monarch and the inspiring story of the archaeological dig that finally brings the real King Richard III into the light of day.

Digging Up Britain

Digging Up Britain
Author: Mike Pitts
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Total Pages: 409
Release: 2019-12-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0500774811

Britain has long been obsessed with its own history and identity, as an island nation besieged by invaders from beyond the seas: the Romans, Vikings and Normans. The long saga of prehistory is often forgotten. But our understanding of our past is changing. In the last decade, astounding archaeological discoveries have shed new light on those who have gone before us, radically altering the way we think about our history. This book presents ten of the most exciting and surprising of these discoveries. Mike Pitts leads us on a journey through time from the more recent and familiar to the most remote and bizarre, just as archaeologists delving into the earth find themselves moving backwards through the years until they reach the very oldest remnants of the past. At each of these sites we hear from the people who found and recovered these ancient remains, and follow their efforts to understand them. Some are major digs, carried out to record sites before they are covered over by new developments. Others are chance finds, leading to revelations out of proportion to the scale of the original projects. All are extraordinary tales of luck and cutting-edge archaeological science that have produced profound, and often unexpected, insights into peoples lives on these islands between a thousand and a million years ago.

Digging for Richard III

Digging for Richard III
Author: Mike Pitts
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2015-08-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 0500773025

In 2012, archaeologists found the long-lost grave of Richard III, England's most disputed monarch and probable murderer of the Princes in the Tower. 'Digging for Richard III' is the page-turning story of how the grave was found, the people behind the discovery and what it tells us. It is the first complete narrative of a project that blended passion, science, luck and detection. This was a Tutankhamun for our times. This is an insider's gripping account of how modern archaeology really works, of how clues meticulously assembled and forensically examined are pieced together to create a narrative worthy of the finest detective fiction. First came the news that archaeologists were searching for a king in a car park. Next it was said they had located the church where Richard had been buried. Finally it was announced that a skeleton had been found with curved spine and battle wounds. All the studies, including analysis of anatomy, DNA, high-resolution scanning and a digital facial reconstruction, led to one thing. This really was the King. "Compulsively readable" - David Miles, former Chief Archaeologist at English Heritage. "Couldn't put it down. A must for anyone interested in English history" - Francis Pryor, author of 'Britain in the Middle Ages'