Digging for Richard III: The Search for the Lost King - Hardcover

Pitts, Mike

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500252009 ISBN 13: 9780500252000

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 2014

Synopsis

The story of the archaeology behind the dig that found Richard III, told through a fascinating array of photographs, diagrams, and firsthand accounts

In August 2012 a search began and on February 4, 2013 a team from Leicester University delivered its verdict to a mesmerized press room, watched by media studios around the world: they had found the remains of Richard III, whose history is perhaps the most contested of all British monarchs.

History offers a narrow range of information about Richard III which mostly has already been worked to destruction. Archaeology creates new data, new stories, with a different kind of material: physical remains from which modern science can wrest a surprising amount, and which provide a direct, tangible connection with the past. Unlike history, archaeological research demands that teams of people with varied backgrounds work together. Archaeology is a communal activity, in which the interaction of personalities as well as professional skills can change the course of research. Photographs from the author’s own archives, alongside additional material from Leicester University, offer a compelling detective story as the evidence is uncovered. 41 iillustrations in color and black-and-white

About this title

About the Author

Mike Pitts has been the editor of British Archaeology, Britain’s leading archaeology magazine, for over fifteen years, following and reporting on an extraordinary number of discoveries and scientific breakthroughs. He is an award-winning journalist and archaeologist who has researched subjects ranging from Easter Island to Stonehenge.

Review

“Highly recommended. [Mike] Pitts effectively conveys the excitement of the discovery, clearly and vividly describing the process and the personalities. Writing this book must have been the dream of a lifetime for him, and he has risen to the occasion. STARRED REVIEW”
- Kirkus Reviews

“As gripping as any detective fiction. . . . Pitts’s book is proof that one doesn’t need to be fascinated with Richard III to be enthralled by the story of his body’s discovery.”
- Publishers Weekly

“This remarkable cold-case-file narrative is a must for all English history buffs.”
- Library Journal

“This compelling and easily accessible account of the dig for the remains of King Richard III of England will appeal to a broad cross-section of readers, including history, mystery, and archaeology buffs. Combining Richard’s history and demise, the physical excavation itself, and cutting-edge forensic science involved, the author seamlessly weaves this centuries-in-the-making tale into a dramatic thriller. Pitts is an archaeologist himself, and his passionate enthusiasm for his subject matter is contagious.”
- Booklist/American Library Association

“A readable archaeological perspective on the dig that led to the sensational discovery in 2012 of the skeleton of England’s King Richard III, buried in 1485. . . . Highly recommended.”
- Choice

“Pitts recounts the exhilarating dig--in which the lead archaeologist promised to eat his hat if the skeleton actually turned up.”
- Scientific American

“Illuminates the tangled, bloody wars of 15th-century England and patient excavation work of 21st-century researchers....Informative.”
- Christian Science Monitor

“An amazing story.”
- The Dispatch

“It reads like an Indiana Jones adventure, albeit without the obligatory bad guys.”
- Portland Book Review

“At its liveliest, Pitts' account reads like a police procedural, with clues, false leads, and finally a killing unraveled and a mystery triumphantly solved.... As much about the diggers as about who or what they dug up.”
- The Dallas Morning News

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0500252009
• ISBN 13: 9780500252000
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208