On October 25, 2014 the archaeology study group was led by the study group chair Eric Schmidt. Eric discussed events leading up to, during and after the death of King Richard the third. Eric focused on the archaeology site, the dig, the finds, and the cause of death of King Richard the third.
King Richard was the last King to die in battle-in 1485. His remains were lost but thanks to a small funding provided by the King Richard the third society, enough money was raised excavate the site. Unfortunately the amount raised would allow the archaeologist to dig only 1% of the area where Richard was thought to be buried.
With a little bit of luck, and a good amount of skill, the archaeologists found a leg bone the very next day-this turned out to be Richard. Eric discussed the strategy of the dig, the location where he was found and the DNA analysis used to prove his identity.
During his research on this topic, Eric had a conversation with Dr. Turi King, the archaeologist who was responsible for testing the DNA of Richard. Eric explained her involvement and showed a video which explain how the DNA analysis was carried out.
Dr. King was very happy to see such an interest in this topic. She felt fortunate to be one of seven archaeologists involved in the dig and appreciated the efforts that ESCONI had in the topic.
The presentation concluded with Eric giving away two Jetons from the 1560s. Jetons were small brass coins used as counters prior to the Abacus. They were minted in Nuremberg Germany for the use in France. These were historical items, and are widely Collected in the numismatic community.
