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Richard III: Team plan new dig at Leicester car park

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Archaeologists are to excavate more of the car park where they found Richard III.

This summer, academics from the University of Leicester will dig up the site in New Street to uncover the east end of the Grey Friars church.

The project, which is expected to cost about £30,000, is intended to produce detailed records of the church where the king was buried more than 500 years ago and where his remains were discovered in August.

A spokesman for the university said: "The planned excavation is because of the work that is to start soon on the visitor centre.

"We and the city council want to ensure the plan and the archaeology of the church is well understood and fully recorded."

The university has not said where the money for the excavation would come from.

The Grey Friars church lies beneath buildings, walls, electrical cables, underground phone lines and gas pipes.

The king's remains were discovered in the choir of the building.

The trench containing Richard III's grave has been kept open since lead archaeologist Richard Buckley and his team unearthed the remains. It is protected by a small marquee.

Parts of the car park, which belongs to the city council and is used by social services staff, are now back in use.

However, the site may be altered as part of the plans to attract tourists.

A city council spokeswoman said the site would be linked to the proposed Richard III visitor centre at the former Leicester Grammar School a short walk away.

Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "We want people to be able to walk over and see the actual place where Richard was buried.

"We also want to encourage the university to carry on excavating the site because this would give visitors an example of archaeology in action."

The council is considering knocking down a 1930s building at the New Street site to accommodate any loss of parking spaces due to the excavation.

Sir Peter said: "It's a fairly nondescript building and the council staff who reside in there can be easily moved."

He said it would also give archaeologists an opportunity to uncover more of the friary, although large parts of building may have been destroyed when the foundations of the structure were laid in the 1930s.

"Anything is a possibility," said Sir Peter. "They've pretty much got free rein to dig where they want – within reason."

Richard III: Team plan  new  dig  at Leicester car park


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