Evelyn Wrench Speaker Program

Richard Buckley, OBE, PhD

Evelyn Wrench Speaker Program 2015-2016
REGIONS I AND III

RICHARD BUCKLEY, OBE, PhD
Co-Director of the University of Leicester Archeological Services

The King Under the Car Park: The Search for Richard III

Richard III, England's last Plantagenet king, has long been a figure of fascination and debate. One of the mysteries surrounding him is where he was buried. In 2012, a team of archaeologists from the University of Leicester set out to search for his final resting place under a parking lot in central Leicester. Against all odds, the project located the burial site of the king, who died in 1485 in the Battle of Bosworth Field. In this lecture, Richard Buckley, the leader of this team will tell the remarkable story of this search and the complex process of confirming Richard's identity.

Richard Buckley, OBE, PhD, is a graduate in archaeology from the Universities of Durham and Leicester and has spent over 35 years working as an archaeologist in Leicester, specializing in complex Roman and medieval urban sites and historic buildings.  He is co-Director of University of Leicester Archaeological Services and was lead archaeologist from the University of Leicester on the Search for Richard project.  Most recently, he was consultant and project manager for the £4 million Highcross Leicester project, involving excavation of the three largest archaeological sites in the City so far. His publications include Leicester Town Defences, Leicester Castle Hall, Leicester Abbey, Visions of Ancient Leicester and his most recent, Richard III: The King Under the Car Park. Richard has also published numerous reports within LAHS, a journal which he edited between 1991 and 2003. He is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), a Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.