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

IHE REJI_4INS OF WILLIA,II RUFUS.

It is well known that the body of the Red-haired
King, defiled with dust and dirt, was rather unce-
remoniously conveyed to Winchester, and buried in
the centre of the cathedral choir, after the fatal
shot of Walter Tyrrell, in the New Fores, now just
768 years ago, "many persons looking on," says
William of Malmesbury, " but few grieving." The
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 be
accurately known, they were removed to the spot
which has now been occupied by the sarcophagus
for many long years, near the altar, between the
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 the
defunct as missiles to demolish the painted win-
dows of the church. They were consequently
scattered about, and many of them lost. Such
as were recovered at the time of the Restora-
tion were collected by the cathedral authorities,
and placed iu 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 hac et
altera a regione cista reliquias cunt Cauti et Rua
Regum, Emma Regina, Winne et Alwini Episcopo-
rum ;" and on the opposite side :—" Hac in cista, A.D.
1661, promiscue recondita sunt ossa Principum et
Pra3latorum sacrilega barbarie dispersa, A.D. 1642."
The sarcophagus was opened on Thursday last to
ascertain whether it contained any remains. The
sarcophagus itself is of Bath stone, one block hol-
lowed out, about two feet deep from the raised lid,
which is of grey or Purbeck marble. The shape is
commonly called dos d'eine. The inside length was
found to be Eft. Bin., outside about 7ft. Gill'
When the covering was removed, and the dust
had been sifted, the almost perfect skele-
ton of a man was discovered by the surgeons wile
had been called in to assist at the examination.
There were fragments of the skull, the vertebras al'
most complete, parts of the pelvis and sacrum, the
bones of the arms, jawbones, the femoral bones, and
the two tibias, the two lastnamed being nearly per'
feet. there was also part of the right orbit, the two
temporal bones, with the retros and mastoid portions
complete, but there were no collar bones, and only aid
ribs could be found. Nine teeth, remarkably sound
and perfect, were discovered. In addition to these
human remains' several curiosities were found--
namely, a number of distinct joints of wood, possi-
bly a rude ensign of authority ; a turquoise stole
which had apparently been set in a ring ; a very
small bead of an animal, probably fabulous, beau-
tifully carved in ivory, but dulled with age; some
pieces of cloth with gold embroidery ; and el
small quantity of lead, not sufficient, bell:
ever, to give the idea that a leaden coffin ha'
been used, unless the great mass had been previ-
ously removed. It crumbled with pressure. Among
the sifted dust, however, there were evidently con-
siderable portions of pulverized lead, as shown by
its weignr. -vv au the view of ascertaining the
height of the individual when alive several por-
tions of the body were measured. It was found
that the tibias (leg bones) were IG,fin. long'
which would give, including the cartilages, at
least 17in. in the living body ; the femurs (thigh
bones) measured 19in., thus making to the hil!
3ft. 2in. The spine was 26in. long., and wit'',
the general appearances of the other parts °`
the body would lead to the conclusion that the
skeleton was that of a man Oft. Bin. or 5f t. gin. in
height. The ankle bones were found in the centre
of the sarcophagus, thus showing a positive die-
placement at some former period. The examina-
tion conclusively established the fact that the re-
mains were those of one individual only—the bones
of a man, and fully believed to be those of
Rufus. By the direction of the authorities the re'
lies were carefully replaced in the sarcophagus, of ter
a detailed account had been ordered to be draw„
;
up, and the ashes of the King will no doubt agall
remain undisturbed for many generations to coma
—The Times.