A centuries-old body found buried beneath the same parking lot as King Richard III is a woman believed to be a respected church benefactor, archaeologists told the BBC.
The woman was found buried in 2013 inside a lead coffin - which was placed inside a sarcophagus - underneath the foundations of Grey Friars Church, which is currently a parking lot in the city of Leicester, England.
Experts originally thought the person was a knight or former church head. However, due to the location of her grave, close to the friar's high altar, experts believe she was a prominent figure in the church. The area was preserved for wealthy donors.
She "is probably going to be an important benefactor of the friary, it could even be the founder, so we were really excited about examining this one in greater detail," Matthew Morris, leader of the dig site from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services, told the BBC.
The elderly woman's age and year of death are not exactly clear. She could have died in 1250, not long after the church was completed. But tests conducted through radio-carbon dating suggest she could have died in 1400, decades before Richard III died in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Researchers learned her remains showed signs of physical labor, which was normal for a middle-class resident in medieval Leicester, the BBC reported.
"[This] might suggest that the friary's main source of donations came from the town's middle classes, merchants and tradespeople, who were probably of more modest means and worked for a living," Morris said.
But she would have enjoyed a diet fit for a queen, including sea fish, wild game and other types of meat.
She is one of 10 people, including two more women, found buried at the same site where King Richard was discovered buried in 2012. Since then several tests have been conducted on his remains, including one on how the fabled king really died.
