Richard III

Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty

Richard III's Remains Confirmed After Being Found Under a Parking Lot

Originally posted 02/04/2013 11:25AM

"Off with his head!"
– Shakespeare's King Richard III, Act III, Scene IV.

In a stunning archaeological discovery, British scientists announced Monday that DNA results confirm "beyond reasonable doubt" that the human remains found under a parking lot in Leicester, central England, are those of the nation's King Richard III – who was killed two years into his reign, at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. He was 33.

"We're certain now, as certain as you can be of anything in life," said Richard Taylor, the University of Leicester registrar who coordinated the team of archaeologists, historians, genealogists and geneticists who, since the bones were discovered five months ago, set out to identify the remains, reports The New York Times.

Archaeologists say Richard – one of the most reviled monarchs in history, scheming, murderous, and physically deformed, as Shakespeare's play reminds audiences to this day – met his own violent death. As shown in his remains, he received two severe blows to the head, and that's not all, reports CNN.