Posted on 02/04/2013 5:42:27 PM PST by beaversmom
A facial reconstruction based on the skull of Richard III has revealed how the English king may have looked.
A skeleton found under a car park in Leicester has been confirmed as that of the king.
The reconstructed face has a slightly arched nose and prominent chin, similar to features shown in portraits of Richard III painted after his death.
Historian and author John Ashdown-Hill said seeing it was "almost like being face to face with a real person".
The development comes after archaeologists from the University of Leicester confirmed the skeleton found last year was the 15th Century king's, with DNA from the bones having matched that of descendants of the monarch's family.
Richard, who was killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 at the age of 32 after just two years on the throne, having been challenged by the forces of Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII. Continue reading the main story Richard III graphic
Interactive: Twisted bones reveal a king
Dr Ashdown-Hill, who wrote The Last Days of Richard III, said: "The most obvious features in portraits are the shape of the nose and the chin and both of those are visible in the facial reconstruction."
Richard III Society member Philippa Langley, originator of the search, said on a Channel 4 documentary earlier: "It doesn't look like the face of a tyrant. I'm sorry but it doesn't.
"He's very handsome. It's like you could just talk to him, have a conversation with him right now."
Layers of muscle and skin were added by computer to a scan of the skull and the result was made into a three-dimensional plastic model. 'In the presence'
Dr Ashdown-Hill said: "I had said previously that when I stood by the grave in Leicester that I felt closer to...
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
lol. . .
Goofy hat and all.
Looks a lot like my high school pal Scott back in the day.
What has been seen, can not be unseen.....
RICHARD #3
DICK #1
Isn’t he the one associated with the mysterious deaths of the two child princes in The Tower of London? Maybe being buried under a parking lot is appropriate.
Freeper women: guilty or not guilty?
Yes. . .Do always wonder about these reconstructions. . .how do they know the 'quality' of the skin; the smoothness; fineness;...the masculine or feminine, finishes? So to speak. Actually; don't think he looks 'sooo' different (younger; yes) than the images we see.
And those maybe with a few 'kind' strokes. Who knows? Another big 'erasure' on it's way. Scoliosis confirmed; however.
Bigger 'weird' here: Richard found only two feet under. . .Can only imagine; what else/who else; may be 'so close'; and yet so far.
Probably would never happen to a President. . .
Isnt he the one associated with the mysterious deaths of the two child princes in The Tower of London? Maybe being buried under a parking lot is appropriate.
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He is the one, and contemporary opinion held that Richard III had them murdered. The fact of the matter is that there is no certain knowledge of what happened to the two princes, his nephews. Richard III is sort of a Rorschach test for speculators as to whether he was a villain or a hero or a mix. I incline towards the latter opinion.
Two skeletons of youngsters were found in the Tower in 1674, and were buried in Westminster Abbey on the presumption these were the princes. These skeletons were re-examined in 1933, and were deemed to be appropriate ages, but little else was determined. No one has attempted DNA analysis thus far - perhaps this may spark some interest in doing so.
Richard III has his admirers too, I think basically simply for the ferocity and physical courage he showed in defending his crown, and of course being the last of a distinguished line.
The Wars of the Roses were vicious. People looking for heroes in it are going to be disappointed.
If you read Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time, you’ll see an alternate theory that RIII’s successor/overthrower, Henry VI, killed off the little princes.
Not guilty.
Edited to add: Were they TRYING to make him look like the Con Man in Chief?
Feminine mouth.
Not guilty! :)
“A skeleton found under a car park in Leicester “
He’s been under someones car since 1485?
Say what you want, but the facial reconstruction is just plain cool. I think the 3-D image is much better than the portraits. Plus the fact that it confirm the artists’ works.
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