The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-02 00:00:00

7HE REMAINS OF TVILLIAAI RUFUS•

It is well known that the body of the Red-haired
King, defiled with dust and dirt, was rather unee"
remoniously conveyed to Winchester, and buried In
the centre of the cathedral choir, after the fatal
shot of Waiter Tyrrell, in the New Fores, now jest
768 years ago, " many persons looking on," saYs
William of Malmesbury, "but few grieving." Tbel
bones were, it is conjectured, afterwards entombed
by his nephew, Bishop de Blois, and at a subsequent
period, the date of which does not appear to he
accurately known, they were removed to the sPnt
which has now been occupied by the sarcophagus
for many long years, near the altar, between tb°
north and south doors of the choir. During the
great Revolution many of the tombs of illustrious
persons were violated by Cromwell's fanatic sol"
diery, who, it is recorded, used the bones of tb°
defunct as missiles to demolish the painted win'
dows of the church. They were consequently
scattered about, and many of them lost. Snell
as were recovered at the time of the Restora-
tion were collected by the cathedral authorities,
and placed in six mortuary chests. These chests
are ranged three on either side of the partition walls
which stand on each side of the altar, and among
the bones deposited in them were supposed to be
those of William Rufus, as set forth by the follow'
ing inscriptions, now nearly illegible In bac
altera a regione cista reliquia) sunt Cauti et It'll'
Regum, Emmet Reginx, Winm et Alwini Episcopo-
rum ;"and on the opposite side :—" Hac in cista, A.D"
1661, promiscue recondita sunt ossa Principtuo
et
Prmlatorum sacrilega barbaric dispersa, A.D. 1642.
The sarcophagus was opened on Thursday last t°
ascertain whether it contained any remains. 'lll3
sarcophagus itself is of Bath stone, one block he.'
lowed out, about two feet deep from the raised 'lc!'
which is of grey or Purbeck marble. The shaPe
commonly called dos d' due. The inside length was
found to be 6ft. Bin., outside about 7ft. 6113;
When the covering was removed, and the dos
had been sifted, the almost perfect skele-
ton of a man was discovered by the surgeons who
had been called in to assist at the examination'
There were fragments of the skull, the vertebra al-
most complete, parts of the pelvis and sacrum, the
bones of the arms, jawbones, the femoral bones, ani
the two tibias, the two lastnamed being nearly pet-
feet. There was also part of the right orbit, the t‘ce.,
temporal bones, with the petros and mastoid portions
complete, but there were no collar bones, and only ai
ribs could be found. Nine teeth, remarkably sonlld
and perfect, were discovered. In addition to these
human remains' several curiosities were foursd'''.
namely, a number of distinct joints of wood, P°osl
bly a rude ensign of authority ; a turquoise atiulio
which had apparently been set in a ring ; a eery
small head of an animal, probably fabulous, beaus
tifully carved in ivory, but dulled with age ; suras
pieces of cloth with gold embroidery ; an
small quantity of lead, not sufficient, lin"
•
ever, to give the idea that a leaden coffin 1131
been used, unless the great mass had been Previa-
ously removed. It crumbled with pressure. Amon'
the sifted dust, however, there were evidently con'
siderable portions of pulverized lead, as shoi,vn by
its weight. With the view of ascertaining the
height of the individual when alive several Pnrci
tions of the body were measured. It was foil°
that the tibias (leg bones) were 164 in. long;
which would give, including the cartilages,
.%
least 17in. in the living body ; the femurs (11,41:
bones) measured 19in., thus making to the iflyi
3ft. 2in. The spine was 26in. long., and W 1
the general appearances of the other par.-
fa o
e
the body would lead to the conclusion that tbo
skeleton was that of a man sft. Bin. or 51t. gin. ie
height. The ankle bones were found in the cents
s,
of the sarcophagus, thus showing a positive
placement at some former period. The exatnlije,
tion conclusively established the fact that the
e°
mains were those of one individual only—the b c
ni
of a man, and fully believed to be those of Wimire,
Rufus. By the direction of the authorities the
fter
lies were carefully replaced in the sarcophagus, 3
a detailed account had been ordered to be drs •
up, and the ashes of the King will no doubt 00:
remain undisturbed for many generations to coil
—The Times.