Richard III: skeleton is the king "Ladies and gentlemen, it is the academic conclusion of the University of Leicester, that beyond reasonble doubt on the man exhumed... is indeed that of Richard II," said Richard Buckley, who lead the research. The announcment, which will now be published in leading journals, provoked applause. Richard Taylor, the university's deputy registrar, said: "Today we bear witness to history today." It came 24 hours after an image of the battle-scarred skull of Richard III was released for the first time. Scientists also uncovered the grave site. The way they found the skeleton suggested the king had been tied when he was buried. There has been extensive damage to the bones, scientists say. The skeleton had an "unusually slender, almost feminine build for a man" and was aged between the late 20s and early 30s. Richard died aged 32. Without any "spinal abnormality," the skeleton would have been 5" 8" high, which was above average height for a medieval male, scientists say. A total of 10 wounds have been discovered made to the skeleton, eight of which on the skull. The injuries suggest the king may have lost his helmet. The skeleton was uncovered last autumn amid the historic foundations of a Franciscan Friary in Leicester, beneath a council car park which is overlooked by Leicester Cathedral. The skeleton was found with an arrowhead embedded in his curving spine and having been excavated from the council car park, on the site of a friary where it is believed the king was buried. Various scientific tests have since been carried out on the medieval remains but archaeologists and historians have expressed confidence that it is the body of the reviled 15th century monarch. Teams of experts who have separately carried out radio carbon dating, DNA tests and CAT scans compared notes with experts in weapons and trauma, lifestyle and diet before announcing their findings today. They have disclosed that the skull appears to have suffered a severe blow, in keeping with his violent death. The body was identified just weeks into a project which began when experts identified the car park as the most likely historical location of the church of Grey Friars, where the King was said to have been buried after his defeat in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The archaeologists initially described the dig as a "long shot" but uncovered the foundations of a church along with two bodies, one of which is thought to be that of the King.