Skull of King Richard III.
It is very rare in archaeology to be able to identify a named individual with precise dates and a documented life. The study, published in Elsevier's Journal of Archaeological Science, shows a change in diet and location in his early childhood, while in later life he had a diet filled with expensive, high status food and drink. This forensic study is the most complete to have been conducted on a medieval monarch.
The stable-isotope analysis shows how his environment changed at different times in his life, and, most significantly, identified marked changes in his diet when he became king in 1483. Isotope scrutiny of bone and tooth material from King Richard III reveals previously unknown details of his early life and the change in diet when he became King two years before he was killed at the Battle of Bosworth. Isotope measurements that relate to geographical location, pollution and diet (strontium, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon and lead) were analysed in three locations on the skeleton of Richard III.
The teeth, which form in childhood, confirm that Richard had moved from Fotheringay castle in eastern England when he was seven. The data suggest that during this time he was in an area of higher rainfall, older rocks and had a changed diet relative to his place of birth in Northamptonshire. The femur, which represents an average of the 15 years before death, shows that Richard moved back to eastern England as an adolescent and had a diet that matched the highest aristocracy.
The rib only represents between two and five years of life before death, and here the data indicates the greatest change in diet. Although an alteration in the chemistry between the femur and the rib of Richard III could indicate relocation, historical records show that Richard did not move from the east of England in the two years prior to his death. This chemical change is more likely to represent a change in diet relating to his period as King. The difference suggests an increase in consumption of freshwater fish and birds that were popular at royal banquets at the time, including birds such as swan, crane, heron and egret. The bone chemistry suggests he was drinking more wine during his short reign as King, reinforcing the idea that food and drink were strongly linked to social status in Medieval England.
Richard was the last Yorkist King of England. His death ended the Wars of the Roses and became famous through Shakespeare's play, Richard III. In 2012, archaeologists began excavating beneath a car park in Leicester, hoping to find Richard's final resting place; the remains found were confirmed as his.
for NO FLUORIDE!