Kings and car parks ... this is becoming a habit!
Back In August 2012, SUMO Goephysics assisted in the discovery of King Richard III’s remains under a car park in Leicester. It was later revealed that another English king may have a similar undignified resting place.
Reading’s “Hidden Abbey Project” (HAP), instigated by Philippa Langley MBE (who also led the search for Richard III’s remains), commissioned SUMO Geophysics to conduct a high density Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of the Abbey Quarter and the Gaol.
Using cutting-edge geophysical research and complex analytical software, SUMO technicians identified a series of anomalies in the radar data.
Researchers and archaeologists studied these buried anomalies which they believe related to the Abbey ruins, possible graves and other potential archaeological features and perhaps the lost remains of King Henry I.
Henry I, King of England from 1100 to his death in December 1135, the youngest son of William The Conqueror, founded the Reading Abbey in 1121 intending it to be his burial place. He died, aged 67 in Normandy in December 1135 after gorging on an excess of lampreys, an eel-like fish. He was brought back for burial in January 1136.
SUMO Surveyor Claire Graham said “The GPR data below the car park is very clear for an urban area, which can often be very disturbed. The features we’ve identified represent very exciting potential for further study.”
Councillor Tony Page - Deputy Leader of Reading Borough Council, said: “With these tantalising initial results available, there is now much work to be done”. “This project has the potential to bring huge cultural, historical and economic benefits to the Abbey Quarter and the town as a whole and so we hope to keep the momentum going.”
Credit to: The Telegraph