This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/science/shortcuts/2016/jun/13/kings-and-carparks-is-reading-the-new-leicester

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
King Henry I – another king under another car park? King Henry I – another king under another car park?
(about 3 hours later)
Name: King Henry I.Name: King Henry I.
Age: 948.Age: 948.
Appearance: Squashed underneath a car park. Appearance: Squashed underneath a car park.
You must be thinking of Richard III. Are you accusing me of muddling my dead kings? Everyone knows that Henry I is 400 years older than Richard III.You must be thinking of Richard III. Are you accusing me of muddling my dead kings? Everyone knows that Henry I is 400 years older than Richard III.
But it was Richard III who they found in a car park, not Henry I. Let me put this to you: what if they were both buried in car parks?But it was Richard III who they found in a car park, not Henry I. Let me put this to you: what if they were both buried in car parks?
Surely not. It’s looking likely. Archaeologists have just started exploring the area surrounding the ruined Reading Abbey, which is thought to contain Henry’s remains.Surely not. It’s looking likely. Archaeologists have just started exploring the area surrounding the ruined Reading Abbey, which is thought to contain Henry’s remains.
They paved the abbey and put up a parking lot? Worse. They built a school on the abbey, and put a car park next to it, and that’s where Henry is likely to be buried. They paved the abbey and put up a parking lot? Worse. They built a school on the abbey, and put a car park next to it, and that’s where Henry is likely to be buried.
This sounds very specific for a brand-new archeological dig. Well, in truth, people already have a good idea of where he is. Records show that he was buried in front of the high altar, and calculations based on the size of the abbey appear to put him underneath the school car park.This sounds very specific for a brand-new archeological dig. Well, in truth, people already have a good idea of where he is. Records show that he was buried in front of the high altar, and calculations based on the size of the abbey appear to put him underneath the school car park.
A fitting location for a king who loved children. Henry I is famous for allowing his two granddaughters to be mutilated – they were blinded and their noses were cut off – in order to settle a political squabble. A fitting location for a king who loved children. Henry I is famous for allowing his two granddaughters to be mutilated – they were blinded and their noses were cut off – in order to settle a political squabble.
Yeesh. Yeah. Probably not a bad thing to move him out of there, really.Yeesh. Yeah. Probably not a bad thing to move him out of there, really.
Still, what a boon for Reading! If they find his remains, it will be just like when Leicester found Richard III. There will be TV shows about it, an inexplicable uplift in the fortunes of the local football team and a special Kasabian concert. Still, what a boon for Reading! If they find his remains, it will be just like when Leicester found Richard III. There will be TV shows about it, an inexplicable uplift in the fortunes of the local football team and a special Kasabian concert.
God, really? Well, maybe not the Kasabian concert. But at least they’ll let David Starkey on telly again. That alone must be worth the hassle of disrupting everyone’s education for a couple of years, right? God, really? Well maybe not Kasabian, but Reading FC just appointed a manager people have heard of.
Still, car parks are getting quite de rigueur for dead kings, aren’t they? Indeed. De rigueur mortis, you might say.Still, car parks are getting quite de rigueur for dead kings, aren’t they? Indeed. De rigueur mortis, you might say.
I hate you. I’m just saying, one dead king in a car park is a fluke. Two dead kings seems deliberate. Do we know where Henry VIII is? Shall we exhume the Chatham Aldi car park just in case?I hate you. I’m just saying, one dead king in a car park is a fluke. Two dead kings seems deliberate. Do we know where Henry VIII is? Shall we exhume the Chatham Aldi car park just in case?
Do say: “Can all these kings stop getting buried in car parks?”Do say: “Can all these kings stop getting buried in car parks?”
Don’t say: “Next week, we find Æthelred the Unready near some bins in Carlisle.”Don’t say: “Next week, we find Æthelred the Unready near some bins in Carlisle.”