Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1868-10-01

niE REMAINS or M ENaIIsu MON
ARCH-THE GEhNE az WILLIAM
RUFUS.

In Il late English paper We read the
ALLOWING interesting account;
The Tomb of William Rufus, in Win.
chester Cathedral, was opened on Tuesday
week, by order of the Archdeacon, in or
der 10 ascertain il there were really any
remains in it, as popular opinion indi-
Gated that the bones had been taken from
their first resting place, and placed in one
of the mortuary chests at the top of the
side screen of the choir. II this had
proved correct the covering tombstone
would have been removed, as it causes
: some obstruction 10 ;he full use of that
part of the cathedral Some bones, how
ever, were found; and on being put to-
gcther by Drs, Mayo, Langdon, and 9th
els, a slight deficiency was discovered,
showing that they must have been dis
turbcd at some time.
The sarcophagus itself is Of Bath stone,
one block followed out, about two feet
deep from the raised lid, which is of grey
or Purhcck marble The shape is COM
monty called das due The inside
length was found 10 be six feet eight
inches; outside about seven feet six inch
eS.
When the covering was removed and
the dust had been siltea, the almost PER
feCt skeleton of man was discovered by
the surgeons who hal been called in TO
assist az the examination. There were
fragments of the skull, the vertebre al
most complete, parts of the pclvis and
saCrum, the bones of the arms, jawboncs,
the fcmoral bones, and the two tibiaS,
the two last named being nearly perfect,
There was also part of the right orbit, the
two temporal bones, with the petro> and
nastoid portions complete; but there
were no Collar-hones, and only six ribs
could hc found. Nine teeth, remarkably
sound and perfect, were discovered. In
addition TO these human remains, several
curio,itirS were found namely, a num-
her of distinct joints OF wood, possibly
rldc ensign of authority; turquoise
stone which had apparently been set in 4
ring; Il very small head of an animal,
probably fabulous, beautifully carved in
ivory. but dullcd with age; some pieces
of cloth with gold embroidery and Il
small quantity of lead, not sufficient,
however. to give the idea that a leadcn
coffin had been used, unless the great
mass had been previously removed. 1t
crumbled with pressure. Among the slit
cd dust, however, there We're evidently
considerable portions OF pulverised lead,
IA shown 10y its weight, With the view
of asccrtaiming the height of the indiyid-
ual when alive, several portions of the
body were measured 1t was found that
the tibias ,leg-bones0 were III, inches long,
which would give, including the cartil-
ages, at least Il inches in the living body
the fcmurs ,thigh-boncsl measured ~
inches, thus making Ia the hip J feet
inches The spine WAS % inches long
and. with the general appearance of the
other parts of the body, would lead to tn,
conclusion that the skeleton was that OF a
man feet, S inches, or } feet inches il
height. The ankle bones were found il
the center of the sarcophagus, thus show
ing a positive displacement at some form
er period. The examination conclusiyely
established the fact that the remains wcrt
those OF one individual only-the bones o
il man, and fully believed to be those o
William Rufus By the direction OF tht
authorities the relics were carefully re
placed in the sareophagus, after detailed
account had been ordered to be drawn up
and the ashes of the King will no doub
again remain undisturbed for many gen
erations to come.