The face of England's much-maligned king Richard III was revealed on Tuesday for the first time in 500 years on Tuesday following a reconstruction of his skeleton which was found buried underneath a car park. The three-dimensional plastic model is based on a CT scan of the skull of the king, who was killed in battle in 1485 after just two years on the throne but lived on as one of history's worst villains in the eponymous play by William Shakespeare.
Academics hope the discovery of his remains under a car park in the central English city of Leicester, complete with the twisted spine of folklore and major wounds to his skull, will lead to a rehabilitation of his reputation. And Richard III enthusiasts believe the image of his face, until now only depicted in paintings, will be key to rewriting his legend.
Philip Shaw of the University of Leicester examined the king's handwriting, and given that the spelling in those days often reflected local dialect, concluded that he may well have spoken with a Birmingham accent. The skeleton was found during an archaeological dig at a municipal car park in Leicester last August.
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