Edit. Misunderstood ? Who knows. Peace and Love. WHAT ABOUT THE NEW RAIL LINK!

In an article in The Telegraph today Andrew Marszal reviews the Channel 4 documentary...

“Foremost among the intrepid archaeologists was Philippa Langley, an avowed “Ricardian” whom by the level of emotion she had invested in every twist and turn, you could have mistaken for the dead king’s widow.”

Slightly unfair. Philippa was certainly emotional, and not a little tongue-tied, but given that she’d invested four years of her life and raised more than the £10,000 needed to fund the dig (and follow her dream of finding Richard) perhaps understandable when she thought she might have (found him). I’m not even sure she’s an archaeologist, she took no part in the practical side of the excavation (at least nothing that we saw in the documentary) remaining all the time outside the trench where the skeleton was found.

Not so University of Leicester’s osteoarchaeologist, Dr Jo Appleby, who bashed a hole in the skull with a mattock! What the hell was she doing so close to the skeleton wielding a mattock. If the poor fella hadn’t already received enough blows to the bonce (a sweeping cut that ‘dented’ the skull, a dagger type hole through the top, and a final blow at the back/base of the skull that would have finished him) Appleby had to give him a fourth for good measure.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment was Channel 4’s choice of presenter in the shape of Simon Farnaby - a self-styled comedian actor who really brought little to the programme other than reassuring Philippa Langley during her emotional moments. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the programme, and the dig itself, was just how incredibly lucky they were to find Richard’s remains (and it’s probably safe to say they are his remains). Remarkable in not just going to the right site, not just digging in the right place, but also finding on day one a skeleton with a curved spine and several ancient blows to the skull. A skeleton dating from the right time with a DNA profile that matched a living descendant of Richard. It was also good to see the professionals who, at the beginning of the prog had all looked very sceptical, slowly arriving at the WOW factor as all the little pieces of evidence fell into place.

Three cheers for the ‘amateurs’ who set the ball rolling!

York want him, Leicester want him, anyone going to ring Harry Hill to sort this out?

Or shall we just shove him in Room 101?

Nice feature on Mike Pitts’ Digging Deeper blog. Mike concludes by saying -

“And, this is the rub, so would academia. Asking specialists to address a wider audience, during their research, forces them to think beyond the narrow confines of their immediate tasks, to see the bigger picture. It demands that they communicate in clear language, which means they have to think clearly. It encourages them (though in this case I doubt such incentive was needed) to work together, not competitively. And it asks them to think very hard about what they are going to say. For if they get it wrong, they surely will be fried.

“Sometimes the peers in the street are the ones that matter most.”

Do you think Phillipa Langley should be honoured in some way for her relentless pursuit to find King Richard III? I think she should as not many believed her and it is only by her persistence and total belief that he lay where he was found that he has 'returned' to us. If she had been a well-known archaeo or historian rather than an amateur nobody a serious award would be very much on the cards. Maybe Queenie will see to it that she does!

"Today marks the culmination of an extraordinary journey of discovery. When I embarked on the Looking For Richard project 4 years ago - the quest to find a king in a car park - almost everyone thought I was mad. Let's face it, it's not the easiest pitch in the world – to look for a king under a council car park – but luckily the R3 Soc, LCC, and the University, as well as C4 and DSP – partners with vision, came on board.

"But, as we got ready to look for Richard, at the 11th hour one of our funding bodies pulled. The dig was to be cancelled so, together with writer Annette Carson we launched an international appeal. The search for Richard was saved by donations from around the world, but they also gave the project its mandate when they said – search for him - find him - honour him".

"Strange thing to say for Richard III – honour him …?

"Richard III gave us the system of bail and opened up the printing industry, giving us books and the freedom of information. He also initiated – and applied - the legal principles of the Presumption of Innocence and Blind Justice. It is ironic then that Richard is still presumed guilty of the murder of his nephews, until proven innocent, even though there is no evidence that points to him having killed them".

This is sort of linked to Richard III and they are apparently going to discuss him.
Hmmm! Not sure what I think about this idea ...
http://www.24dash.com/news/communities/2013-02-12-Digging-up-feelings-can-archaeologists-excavate-emotion

Continuing on from the earlier CH4 programme, this wednesday at 9pm concentrates on the the forensic work carried out.

And talking of him, poor man seems to have been infested with round worm according to this news which has been rampaging through a boring news week...

http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2013/09/04/king-of-england-richard-iii-suffered-from-parasitic-roundworm