After Richard III, archaeologists set their sights on Alfred the Great

His remains are believed to lie in an unmarked grave in Winchester and a team is reportedly applying for permission to dig up the spot at St Bartholomew’s Church. It is thought Alfred’s skeleton could be found among a collection of bones there.

But the job is expected to be much harder than the analysis on Richard III, as finding a living relative to provide a DNA sample would involve searching a much older family tree.

Katie Tucker, an archaeologist from Winchester University, told The Times: “As far as we’re aware there are five skulls plus other bones. The most simple part will be to work out ages, sexes, and put the bones back together. The problem is, where would we get a comparative sample from? It’s a hell of a lot further to go back to trace a living descendant.”

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