At Richard III burial site.

Stone coffin at Richard III site is opened to find.. ANOTHER mystery lead coffin

• Remains of Richard III were discovered under a car park among the ruins of a church in Leicester last September
• A stone tomb was unearthed when the first excavation was carried out
• When moving the top of the tomb a second lead coffin, with what seemed to be the mark of a crucifix on it, was revealed

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 13:16 EST, 25 July 2013 | UPDATED: 13:16 EST, 25 July 2013

Another mystery coffin has been found in a tomb next to Richard III’s final resting place.

Archaeologists discovered the 600-year-old casket yesterday morning beneath a second lead coffin, believed to hold medieval knight Sir William Moton.

Site director Matthew Morris, who discovered the former king last August, said the latest development is rare and exciting.

Mr Morris said: ‘For me, this is more exciting than Richard III.

‘I think that’s because there wasn’t that expectation to find Richard – we never thought we would actually uncover him.

‘Here, we have an element of mystery, we don’t really know who’s inside.

‘I just haven’t come across a stone tomb with an interior lead coffin before.

‘You can tell it’s a high-status grave because of the expense of the lead and the effort of making the stone tomb.

‘We can’t really be sure about what’s happened to the grave over the past 600 years, but the lid of the coffin doesn’t match the rest of it and there’s some damage to the mortar so it looks like it might have been opened.’

Eight people were needed to lift the stone lid of the 14th century coffin, which will now go to the University of Leicester for analysis.

The remains are encased in 5mm-thick lead. But the exposed feet, and some damage to the lead, suggest the corpse was dug up and reburied hundreds of years ago.

A crucifix embellished on the lid suggests religious valuables may have been placed in the coffin but removed some time later, according to lead diggers.

The team discovered the tomb containing the lead coffin last August but recovered it to concentrate on excavating Richard III.

The casket is the first fully intact stone coffin found in Leicester, and is likely to contain a high-status burial – although experts do not know who is buried within.

Grey Friars site director Mathew Morris, of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), said: ‘Stone coffins are unusual in Leicester – and this is the first time we have found a fully intact stone coffin during all our excavations of medieval sites in the city.’

Experts suspect the grave could belong to one of three prestigious figures known to buried at the friary.

These include two leaders of the English Grey Friars order – Peter Swynsfeld, who died in 1272, and William of Nottingham, who died in 1330.

Records also suggest the friary contains the grave of ‘a knight called Mutton, sometime mayor of Leicester’.

This may be 14th century knight Sir William de Moton of Peckleton, who died between 1356 and 1362.

The ULAS team also hope the dig will help to uncover more details about Richard III’s burial and its place within the Grey Friars church, as well as a much clearer picture of the church’s layout, dimensions and architecture.

Experts are investigating the remains of a group of friars who were beheaded by Henry IV in the early 15th century too.

The story suggests they met their end after they subscribed to the rumour that the deposed King Richard II was still alive and were providing money for rebels who aimed to topple his successor, Henry IV.

Archaeologists have made a large trench measuring 25m by 17m around the area where Richard’s skeleton was found.

They has uncovered the north-east end of the church, including the choir area and the walking place around the main tower of the building.

The trench runs between Leicester City Council’s Grey Friars car park and the neighbouring car park of the former Alderman Newton School.