The Princes in the Tower: could scientific analysis help identify the remains in Westminster Abbey?
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- turiking.co.uk/
Are the remains in the urn in Westminster Abbey really those of the Princes in the Tower? And how could scientific analysis help answer this question?
So, if someone were to do a study today to answer the research question, are these the remains of the Princes in the Tower, what analysis could be done to help answer that question.
The first step is to do thorough osteological analysis. We know the boys were thought to be around aged 12 and 9 when they were supposedly done away with. Does the skeletal analysis fit this? Indeed, it’s known that these are not complete skeletons and that the bones were retrieved from a spoil heap, so it would be important to start by determining if these are the remains of two individuals or more.
Sexing skeletal remains of children is notoriously difficult but osteological analysis would help to determine an age range of the age of death. To do this we would want to look at the at the developmental state of the teeth and bones. For example, teeth tend to erupt in a fairly regular and known sequence within certain age ranges. Examination of the measurements and development of the bones is also really useful for determining an age-range for age of death. It would also be important to compare measurements of the bones and analysis of the teeth with datasets from a similar time period and social status, if at all possible.
To determine what time period the remains are from we need radiocarbon dating and this is the first piece of destructive analysis. However, it is a fairly crucial analysis as it would tell us if these remains are even from the right time period. If the radiocarbon dates come back as being from the Roman or Anglo-Saxon period for example, then that answers the question and there is no need to carry out any further destructive analysis to answer the research question. The project stops right there. If the radiocarbon dates don’t fit, it’s not the Princes.
A full analysis of the bones using modern forensic techniques, to try to determine cause of death could be carried out. This would include examining the bones under direct light, as well as multispectral illumination, as well as whole body post-mortem CT scanning. Any injuries or areas of interest could then be examined further with micro-CT scanning.
The next thing to try is stable isotope analysis, putting it simply, this looks at different forms or isotopes of the same element such as carbon or nitrogen for example. The different isotopes of carbon and nitrogen can tell us about a person’s diet and therefore whether or not they seem to have a diet that suggests higher status. Oxygen and strontium isotopes give an indication of where someone has lived and so could be cross-referenced against the historical documentation about where the two princes lived, to see if these two datasets are consistent with one another.
Genetic analysis could be carried out. And of course, this would rely on the DNA being of sufficient quality in order to carry out the research.
There’s a few things that could be done. The first is helping with sexing the skeletons by looking at the sex chromosomes. Females have two copies of what’s known as the X chromosome, whereas males have one X and a Y chromosome.
If they looked to be genetically male, we could then look to see if the genetic data is consistent with these remains being the nephews of King Richard III. This could be done in two ways, by comparing the DNA from the skeletons with the DNA sequence of King Richard III which is already known. The first way is using the Y chromosome. The Y chromosome is passed down through the male line and so Richard III and Edward IV would have inherited the same Y chromosome type from their father and Edward IV would have then passed it down to his sons, Richard III’s nephews. So, the Y chromosome type from the remains in the urn should match that of Richard III.
What about that pesky rumour about Edward being illegitimate? Well, we can get around that using DNA from the rest of the chromosomes. Say Edward IV really was Richard III’s full brother, then we would expect that Richard will share about ~25% DNA in common between him and each of the Princes.
If Richard III and Edward IV were half-brothers, just sharing a mum and not a dad, then the Princes would have a different Y chromosome type, but Richard would share about ~12.5% of his DNA in common with the Princes.
Another segment of DNA that could be analysed is mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down by a mother to her children. So, by comparing the mitochondrial DNA from the remains in the urn, with a female-line relative of Elizabeth Woodville, the Princes mother, to look for a match.
Finally, a statistical analysis, similar to what we carried out with Richard III, could be used to put a statistical number on the likelihood of these being the remains of the Princes in the Tower.
Representation: www.josarsby.c...
Excellent, thank you.
Thank you for the clarity of your talk. I found your presentation of the history, which I’m familiar with, to be easier to follow than most historians. The DNA analysis potential is fascinating but seems fraught with challenges and unlikely to be definitive, hence no testing approval.
"The DNA analysis potential is fascinating but seems fraught with challenges and unlikely to be definitive"; the same applies to all of the tests to which she refers.
Excellent thank you
Thank you so very well done, chronologically correct, and clear.
Some people confuse the dates of the events leading up to the unsolved mystery. Lots of parties back then could gain from doing away with the princes. Unfortunate realpolitik of the time? Every one esp of the leading class had huge vested interests.
Thank you again.
Exciting, thanks ! Christian from france
It would be great to do a YDNA test of the “ alleged “ remains of the boys in the tower, and even a greater finding of G2a match with K. Richard lll and the presumed head ( blood) of Henry lV . I’m sure that geneticists are well aware that Haplogroup G2a is found at about 5% through out the European continent ( considerably rare). My interest in Haplogroup G2a is that my father’s YDNA
haplogroup is G2a3b1a1a . Our ancestor was born in France (1671) , who’s paternal ancestry on the direct male line with documented origins are from the family of Lusignan ( via a cadet male branch) . One of my brothers ( I’m female) did the 67 marker test with family treedna -
Looking forward to your research and I am learning much from your presentations.
Thank you 🙏 for your hard and dedicated work.
Sincerely, LMW 🇺🇸.
Addenda/ Correction My brothers G2a (YDNA test done 2006) subclade has now been revised to G2a2b2a1a1a1 (G-L13) formally G2a3b1a1a per WikipediaHaplogroup G-M 201 LMW 🇺🇸 Sep 22-2023
Hi Professor Turi, sounds like an absolutely awesome project that may need to be done. I am just wondering, if the radiocarbon dating came back as negative for the princes, couldn't it be worth genetically testing who the remains belong to? Maybe the research question could be amended to include this investigation also because if these remains are not those of the princes, they are someone's relations, and the story of how they may have ended up in the Tower of London may also need unpacking...
How would you go about finding a DNA match? There must be many thousands of descendants of Elizabeth Woodville alive, few of whom know that they are.