BOWL HOLE CEMETERY

Not everyone knows about the Bowl Hole Cemetery at Bamburgh Castle.

Just 300m south of the castle some claim it was the burial ground of the royal court that once lived in the ancient castle beneath the current Victorian building. Discovered in 1816 when a winter storm blew sand away and revealed ancient stone grave markers, some investigation was carried out, but records were sadly lost and no one was sure of the location.

A research project was recently set up to relocate the site. 91 skeletons have been found and were sent to Durham University for analysis. Results declared the people to have lived in the 7th and 8th centuries – some of the earliest Christians in the ancient kingdom of Northumbria. Their stature, sex, diet and, in many cases, their birthplace, has been revealed. Characteristically tall, robust individuals they suffered from tooth cavities and plaque problems. Abscesses were common in people as young as twenty – possibly a consequence of rich food.

This led to the assumption that the skeletons were those of well fed, high status individuals of the ancient royal court. Few grew up in the immediate local area and many came from other parts of Britain. Western Scotland and Ireland were well represented in the findings, which could indicate a connection between the Northumbrian church and Iona. Others hailed from Scandinavia and the Mediterranean. Bamburgh was evidently well-known 1300 years ago.

It is Richard III

The Leicester press conference has just confirmed that the bones sought and found in the car park are indeed those of Richard III. There is a Channel 4 programme tonight about the search and the results, and it will be interesting to see what kind of reach it has in viewing figures.
There are a lot of excited history buffs commenting on Twitter, but all at once 120 new Tweets arrived, most of which were people attempting to be funny and wanting to know if Richard would have a valid car parking ticket since he's been parked there for 526 years. I suppose it's mildly funny the first time, but the 119th comment is a bit of a drag.
However, I think it would be wonderful if instead of burying Richard in Leicester, they took his remains to York and buried him in the minster. York was always his city and the good people of York had the guts to write of their feelings for him once Henry was proclaimed king. "to the great heaviness of this city...."
I wonder if there will be a spate of books about Richard now he's in the news, so to speak? Richard's ghost seeks vengeance - I can see it now. Somebody is bound to write of his quest to hunt down Henry Tudor...maybe even get to grips with the current monarch. I expect he'd be shocked to see that it is a female. Just wouldn't fit with his mind set.

PS If they decide to make a film of Richard's life, I can see Richard Armitage as Richard III