Perimortem trauma in King Richard 111: a skeletal analysis.
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| Title: | Perimortem trauma in King Richard 111: a skeletal analysis. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Appleby, Jo, Rutty, Guy N., Hainsworth, Sarah V., Woosnam-Savage, Robert C., Morgan, Bruno, Brough, Alison, Earp, Richard W., Robinson, Claire, King, Turi E., Morris, Matthew, Buckley, Richard |
| Source: | Lancet. 1/17/2015, Vol. 385 Issue 9964, p253-259. 7p. 2 Color Photographs, 4 Black and White Photographs, 1 Diagram. |
| Subjects: | Richard III, King of England, 1452-1485, Skeleton, Tomography, Wounds & injuries, Bones, Health |
| Abstract: | Background: Richard III was the last king of England to die in battle, but how he died is unknown. On Sept 4, 2012, a skeleton was excavated in Leicester that was identified as Richard. We investigated the trauma to the skeleton with modern forensic techniques, such as conventional CT and micro-CT scanning, to characterise the injuries and establish the probable cause of death. Methods: We assessed age and sex through direct analysis of the skeleton and from CT images. All bones were examined under direct light and multi-spectral illumination. We then scanned the skeleton with whole-body post-mortem CT. We subsequently examined bones with identified injuries with micro-CT. We deemed that trauma was perimortem when we recorded no evidence of healing and when breakage characteristics were typical of fresh bone. We used previous data to identify the weapons responsible for the recorded injuries. Findings: The skeleton was that of an adult man with a gracile build and severe scoliosis of the thoracic spine. Standard anthropological age estimation techniques based on dry bone analysis gave an age range between 20s and 30s. Standard post-mortem CT methods were used to assess rib end morphology, auricular surfaces, pubic symphyseal face, and cranial sutures, to produce a multifactorial narrower age range estimation of 30-34 years. We identified nine perimortem injuries to the skull and two to the postcranial skeleton. We identified no healed injuries. The injuries were consistent with those created by weapons from the later medieval period. We could not identify the specific order of the injuries, because they were all distinct, with no overlapping wounds. Three of the injuries--two to the inferior cranium and one to the pelvis--could have been fatal. Interpretation: The wounds to the skull suggest that Richard was not wearing a helmet, although the absence of defensive wounds on his arms and hands suggests he was still otherwise armoured. Therefore, the potentially fatal pelvis injury was probably received post mortem, meaning that the most likely injuries to have caused his death are the two to the inferior cranium. Funding: The University of Leicester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Lancet is the property of Lancet and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 100492645 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Perimortem trauma in King Richard 111: a skeletal analysis. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Appleby%2C+Jo%22">Appleby, Jo</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rutty%2C+Guy+N%2E%22">Rutty, Guy N.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hainsworth%2C+Sarah+V%2E%22">Hainsworth, Sarah V.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Woosnam-Savage%2C+Robert+C%2E%22">Woosnam-Savage, Robert C.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Morgan%2C+Bruno%22">Morgan, Bruno</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Brough%2C+Alison%22">Brough, Alison</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Earp%2C+Richard+W%2E%22">Earp, Richard W.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Robinson%2C+Claire%22">Robinson, Claire</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22King%2C+Turi+E%2E%22">King, Turi E.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Morris%2C+Matthew%22">Morris, Matthew</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Buckley%2C+Richard%22">Buckley, Richard</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Lancet%22">Lancet</searchLink>. 1/17/2015, Vol. 385 Issue 9964, p253-259. 7p. 2 Color Photographs, 4 Black and White Photographs, 1 Diagram. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Richard+III%2C+King+of+England%2C+1452-1485%22">Richard III, King of England, 1452-1485</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Skeleton%22">Skeleton</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tomography%22">Tomography</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wounds+%26+injuries%22">Wounds & injuries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bones%22">Bones</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health%22">Health</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Background: Richard III was the last king of England to die in battle, but how he died is unknown. On Sept 4, 2012, a skeleton was excavated in Leicester that was identified as Richard. We investigated the trauma to the skeleton with modern forensic techniques, such as conventional CT and micro-CT scanning, to characterise the injuries and establish the probable cause of death. Methods: We assessed age and sex through direct analysis of the skeleton and from CT images. All bones were examined under direct light and multi-spectral illumination. We then scanned the skeleton with whole-body post-mortem CT. We subsequently examined bones with identified injuries with micro-CT. We deemed that trauma was perimortem when we recorded no evidence of healing and when breakage characteristics were typical of fresh bone. We used previous data to identify the weapons responsible for the recorded injuries. Findings: The skeleton was that of an adult man with a gracile build and severe scoliosis of the thoracic spine. Standard anthropological age estimation techniques based on dry bone analysis gave an age range between 20s and 30s. Standard post-mortem CT methods were used to assess rib end morphology, auricular surfaces, pubic symphyseal face, and cranial sutures, to produce a multifactorial narrower age range estimation of 30-34 years. We identified nine perimortem injuries to the skull and two to the postcranial skeleton. We identified no healed injuries. The injuries were consistent with those created by weapons from the later medieval period. We could not identify the specific order of the injuries, because they were all distinct, with no overlapping wounds. Three of the injuries--two to the inferior cranium and one to the pelvis--could have been fatal. Interpretation: The wounds to the skull suggest that Richard was not wearing a helmet, although the absence of defensive wounds on his arms and hands suggests he was still otherwise armoured. Therefore, the potentially fatal pelvis injury was probably received post mortem, meaning that the most likely injuries to have caused his death are the two to the inferior cranium. Funding: The University of Leicester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Lancet is the property of Lancet and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60804-7 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 7 StartPage: 253 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Richard III, King of England, 1452-1485 Type: general – SubjectFull: Skeleton Type: general – SubjectFull: Tomography Type: general – SubjectFull: Wounds & injuries Type: general – SubjectFull: Bones Type: general – SubjectFull: Health Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Perimortem trauma in King Richard 111: a skeletal analysis. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Appleby, Jo – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Rutty, Guy N. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hainsworth, Sarah V. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Woosnam-Savage, Robert C. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Morgan, Bruno – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Brough, Alison – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Earp, Richard W. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Robinson, Claire – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: King, Turi E. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Morris, Matthew – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Buckley, Richard IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 17 M: 01 Text: 1/17/2015 Type: published Y: 2015 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 01406736 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 385 – Type: issue Value: 9964 Titles: – TitleFull: Lancet Type: main |
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