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Press Releases
Inside Out – The search for King Richard III's place of death
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After three years of gathering documentary and scientific evidence,
historians can say for certain that the Battle of Bosworth did not
happen at the spot marked on maps. The findings are revealed during
this week's Inside Out on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔΜύOne East Midlands.
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Bosworth was the last battle where a King of England died fighting.
The death of Richard III brought to an end 300 years of Plantagenet
rule and ushered in the Tudor dynasty.
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Since the early Seventies, the accepted view has been that the battle
was fought on Ambion Hill near the village of Sutton Cheney.
Leicestershire County Council even opened a visitors' centre and a
tourist trail at the site.
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In 1985, The Prince and Princess of Wales
took part in ceremonies marking the battle's 500th anniversary.
But it is certain they were in the wrong place.
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Inside Out has spent
time with the Battlefields Trust, which has been trying to discover
the real site of Bosworth.
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The Trust's work involved taking soil
samples, metal detecting and carrying out a detailed trawl through
historic documents.
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The trust also ruled out a recent theory that the battle happened
near the town of Atherstone, over the Warwickshire border.
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This is
because bodies from the battle were buried in the churchyard at the
village of Dadlington, and dead were not moved far to places of
burial in the 15th century.
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But it is an interpretation first put forward by a local historian,
Peter Foss, over 20 years ago which seems to be the closest to the
true Bosworth battlefield.
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The key to finding the exact site relied on finding the edge of a
marsh which is known to have been a key element to the way the
battle was fought. Find the marsh and the battle can be pinpointed.
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Inside Out was with the diggers and the landowner when they
discovered the edge of the marsh. It is in a field where there were
once plans to build a race track.
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Archaeologists are yet to unearth any artefacts from the battle.
The team has been searching for small clothing and armour fittings
such as buckles and strap ends. They have found some but not in great
quantities.
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This is still a mystery for a battle in which 17,000
fought and 1,000 died.
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Meanwhile, almost Β£1m has been invested on rebrading the
visitor centre to the Heritage Centre. Its operators are embracing
the new research and say it is actually good that the re-enactments
they organise are not held on the real battlefield as they would
destroy the archaeology.
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Inside Out, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One East Midlands, 7.30pm, Friday 7ΜύMarch 2008
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Notes to Editors
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Inside Out is available via bbc.co.uk/insideout from 8.00pm on Friday 7 March 2008.
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Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Birmingham Press Office
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