The skull of the skeleton found at the Grey Friars excavation in Leicester, potentially that of King Richard III.
Portrait of Richard III of England, painted c. 1520.
The remains of King Richard III, showing a curved spine and signs of battle trauma.
The empty grave hidden beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England, known now to belong to King Richard III.
Here the spine of what has been confirmed to belong to King Richard III. The spine shows the king would've had so-called idiopathic adolescent-onset scoliosis, meaning the cause is unclear though the individual would have developed the disorder after age 10; the curvature would've put pressure on the man's heart and lungs and could've caused pain.
While facial reconstructions are part science, they are also part art. For example, bones tell scientists nothing about the size of someone's ears, how many forehead wrinkles they had, or whether they often smiled or habitually wore a frown.
A new facial reconstruction of King Richard III, based on the bones unearthed beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England, show the vilified monarch in a kinder, gentler light.
University of Leicester archeologists are digging in the Leicester City Council parking lot in search of the grave of King Richard III.
A contemporary drawing of Richard III and his queen, Anne Neville, and son, Edward, Prince of Wales
Archaeologists prepare to break ground during an excavation in search of Richard III's body.
Richard III died in battle during the War of the Roses. After his death, he was buried at Greyfriars church in Leicester, but the location was soon lost to history.
In the first week of the dig, archaeologists removed the parking lot surface and dug two 98-foot (30-meter) trenches.
The dig has unearthed medieval floor and roof tiles and window fragments, suggesting that archaeologists are very near Greyfriars church where Richard III is buried.
Researchers aren't yet sure if they will uncover Richard III's body during this excavation, with one archeologist calling it a "long shot."
Though Richard III's original grave has been lost, a memorial stone in his honor sits in Leicester Cathedral. If the king's remains are found, he'll be interred here.
Richard III and his queen, Anne of Neville, appear in a stained glass window in Cardiff Castle.
Architectural fragments unearthed during the dig for King Richard III likely come from Greyfriars church.
Inlaid floor tiles unearthed from the Greyfriars church site.
Archaeologists excavate a third trench in the Leicester City Council Parking lot, investigating the boundaries of a medieval church wall.
Richard III society member Philippa Langley crouches amid paving stones which may belong to a 17th-century garden containing a memorial to the lost king.
Fragments that may belong to the east window of Greyfriar's church.
Archaeologists believe the church's east window may be near the site of Richard III's grave.
This twisted lead fragment would have supported a stained glass window.
A silver medieval penny found at the Greyfriar's site.
A stone frieze which may be from the choir stall of Greyfriar's church.
A 14th-century inlaid floor tile belonging to the church of the Greyfriars.
These copper letters may have been part of the tomb inscriptions at the Greyfriars cemetery.
Richard III society member Karen Ladniuk cleans a path made from re-used medieval tiles at the site where human remains possibly belonging to King Richard III have been found.
