title: Perimortem trauma in King Richard III: a skeletal analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Richard III was the last king of England to die in battle, but how he died is unknown. On Sept 4, 2012, a skeleton was excavated in Leicester that was identified as Richard. We investigated the trauma to the skeleton with modern forensic techniques, such as conventional CT and micro-CT scanning, to characterise the injuries and establish the probable cause of death.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed age and sex through direct analysis of the skeleton and from CT images. All bones were examined under direct light and multi-spectral illumination. We then scanned the skeleton with whole-body post-mortem CT. We subsequently examined bones with identified injuries with micro-CT. We deemed that trauma was perimortem when we recorded no evidence of healing and when breakage characteristics were typical of fresh bone. We used previous data to identify the weapons responsible for the recorded injuries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The skeleton was that of an adult man with a gracile build and severe scoliosis of the thoracic spine. Standard anthropological age estimation techniques based on dry bone analysis gave an age range between 20s and 30s. Standard post-mortem CT methods were used to assess rib end morphology, auricular surfaces, pubic symphyseal face, and cranial sutures, to produce a multifactorial narrower age range estimation of 30-34 years. We identified nine perimortem injuries to the skull and two to the postcranial skeleton. We identified no healed injuries. The injuries were consistent with those created by weapons from the later medieval period. We could not identify the specific order of the injuries, because they were all distinct, with no overlapping wounds. Three of the injuries-two to the inferior cranium and one to the pelvis-could have been fatal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The wounds to the skull suggest that Richard was not wearing a helmet, although the absence of defensive wounds on his arms and hands suggests he was still otherwise armoured. Therefore, the potentially fatal pelvis injury was probably received post mortem, meaning that the most likely injuries to have caused his death are the two to the inferior cranium.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The University of Leicester.
authors.affiliation: School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK. Electronic address: ja253@le.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Appleby
authors.affiliation: East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Guy N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Rutty
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Hainsworth
authors.affiliation: Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Woosnam-Savage
authors.affiliation: Imaging Department, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brough
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Earp
authors.affiliation: Imaging Department, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Turi E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Mathew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.affiliation: School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Buckley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy; D004739:England; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D020197:Head Injuries, Penetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010384:Pelvic Bones / Q000293:injuries*; D011481:Protective Clothing / Q000266:history; D012272:Ribs / Q000293:injuries*; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D054041:Weapons; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology