The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Surgeon identifies bones of King
Peterborough- based spinal expert was called to examine incredible discovery of the skeleton of Richard III dug up in a car park
Archaeologists who dug up the body of Richard III in Leicester called on a Peterboroughbased spinal surgeon to help identify the infamous King.
Piers Mitchell, consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeon at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, studied the spinal deformity ( scoliosis) of the skeleton, recovered at Greyfriars Priory.
He was part of the discovery team that confirmed the bones were those of the former king whowas killed in battle in 1485.
Mr Mitchell is the president of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology ( BA- BAO) and was invited by the Leicester archaeology team to interpret the spinal changes in the skeleton.
He was asked to work out how the deformity had impacted upon his life.
Mr Mitchell said: “As a children’s orthopaedic surgeon at Peterbor ough City Hospital three days a week, I look after many children with spinal deformity, so understand the clinical symptoms and effect upon an individual.
“Whenthe team found the skeleton one of the first things they noticed was that it had a curved spine and I spent one morning examining this.
“Richard had a type of scoliosis that starts in childhood and he would have had curved back and ones houlder higher than the other, resulting in a stooped posture.
“At this point, the DNA results linking the skeleton to a descendant of Richard’s had not come through but I was confident all along that this was him.
“Not only did the spinal condition match descriptions of Richard but we also found skull injuries which could have been caused in battle.”
Mr Mitchell, who appeared in a TV documentary about the find aired on Channel 4, added that he was proud of his role.
“We should be pleased people have found this astonishing link to the past and that medical and scientific advances allow us to bring history to life.
“If the discovery helps to inspire young people take an interest in history, medicine and science that is positive.”