Tourists visiting the Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester can gaze into the empty grave where the king’s skeleton was discovered in 2012. His actual bones are being reinterred in Leicester Cathedral. But a 3D-printed replica is there, revealing details such as the late monarch’s twisted spine and mortal wounds.
King Richard III was killed in 1485 on his way from Nottingham to Bosworth, where he encountered Henry Tudor. An excavation led by the University of Leicester found a skeleton beneath a parking lot and, early last year, researchers confirmed the identity of the remains.
The 3D replica was made in cooperation with the University of Dundee. Like the original, the printed skeleton reveals that Richard’s spine has a spiral shape, indicating that he had severe scoliosis.
The replica also reveals the damage that Richard III sustained in his final battle, where he ultimately died from a halberd strike during an attempt to kill Tudor. Investigators have identified a total of ten injuries that his bones suffered shortly before his death, including a slice that was taken out of the skull, a cut to the ribcage and a pelvic wound.
[Image: Richard III Visitor Centre]
