The following teaser is from an article by Kate Kelland, posted February 12, 2014 at iol.co.za:
London – A year after they revealed a twisted skeleton found under a car park as the mortal remains of King Richard III, scientists in Britain plan to grind samples of his ancient bones and use them to map his genome.
The project, which may alter perceptions of the last king of England to die in battle more than 500 years ago, aims to learn about Richard’s ancestry and health, and provide a genetic archive for historians, researchers and the public.
In one of the most significant archaeological finds of recent English history, the skeleton – with a cleaved skull and curved spine – was dug up from under a car park in the English city of Leicester and unveiled last year as that of the king slain as he fought to keep his crown at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
His death ended the Plantagenet dynasty and ushered in the Tudors under Henry VII.
