[ANSTHRLD] Heraldic Eagle Holds Clue to Battle

[Hillary Greenslade]

Check it out...

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=132935&command=displayContent&sourceNode=132702&contentPK=17146970&folderPk=77465&pNodeId=132393

EAGLE HOLDS CLUE TO BATTLE  
Date : 20.04.07  
  
A silver eagle unearthed by archaeologists could help settle a long-standing debate about one of
the most important battles in English history.

More than 500 years after the Battle of Bosworth Field, experts are divided on where the clash
took place.

The decisive clash of the Wars of the Roses, in 1485, led to the death of Richard III and the
crown passing to Henry Tudor.

While many believe the conflict was settled on Ambion Hill, near Sutton Cheney, others claim the
fight could have happened up to eight miles away, in Warwickshire.

A tiny heraldic trinket - an eagle with wings spread standing on a branch - could now be a key
piece of evidence.

It was found by volunteers working for Leicestershire County Council who have been searching in
the vicinity of the visitor centre at Ambion Hill.

They are two years into a three-year archeological survey of the area to pinpoint the battle's
precise location.

The badge dates from the late 15th century.

Peter Liddle, keeper of archeology for the county council, said: "The item in itself is not
valuable because, sadly, it is broken.

"It would, however, have belonged to a man of wealth - perhaps a retainer to a nobleman.

"Far more significant, though, is its age which matches the battle date exactly. It is the sort of
thing that could easily get lost in the melee.

"Of course we can't be sure how it got there. It is unusual because looters would have stripped
the field of valuables.

"It is a straw in the wind, but it is exactly the right kind of straw."

Heraldry experts have so far been unable to match the symbol to a noble known to have been at the
battle.

Mr Liddle said: "We are feeling more confident now that we are closer to finding the right place
than we have been before.

"We still have a year left and we hope to find more evidence."

Yesterday, the badge was declared an item of treasure at an inquest in Loughborough.

The court heard it was found in farmland by Richard McInder in December 2005 but has only recently
been dated by the British Museum.

Mr McInder has waived his rights to a fee if the item is sold, but the landowner may still be paid
a sum.

It is hoped the badge will eventually be displayed at the battlefield site's visitor centre.

Sutton Cheney resident Pauline Foster used to give guided walks at the site.

She said: "We know nobleman William Stanley was at the battle. He was a fence-sitter who only
intervened when he saw it was going Henry's way. His family's symbol was an eagle.

"I take the view that if Richard and Henry were around today they wouldn't know exactly where they
fought because the landscape has changed.

"I'm not sure the exact location is so important. It doesn't affect the political and historical
significance that a king was killed."