Miklós Kásler - Zoltán Szentirmay (szerk.): Identifying the Árpád Dynasty Skeletons Interred in the Matthias Church. Applying data from historical, archaeological, anthropological, radiological, morphological, radiocarbon dating and genetic research (Budapest, 2021)
CHAPTER THREE – Archaeological, anthropological and radiological data
a reddish grey colour, which later turned darker. This beautiful sight brought a loud mass of people to the normally quiet square. They jumped down into the pit in droves, and the inspector could not order them back anymore. Old ladies prayed before the crumbled ark: while some marvelled and reflected on the dead image of a life once so vibrant, others were guessing or wondering: to which of our kings does this strong skeleton belong?” (Érdy 1853). The skeleton was unusually tall, possibly about 188-190 centimetres. Its tall stature suggests a Nordic type, since the Árpáds and the Ruriks were blood relatives, as the rulers of the Kievan Rus’ were of Scandinavian origin. Béla Ill ’s great-grandfather Prince Álmos married Predslava from the Rurik dynasty, and their grandchild Géza II (1141-1162) also married a wife from Kiev, with his marriage to Euphrosyne of the Rurik dynasty leading to the birth of Béla III (Szabados 2016). Gyula László, acclaimed professor of archaeology, pointed out that the facial reconstruction of Béla Ill ’s skull resembles the herm of Saint László stored in Győr, which is not surprising, considering the fact that Béla III was the one who had King László I canonized in 1192, and thus Béla III could have been the only living royal model for the herm (László 1965, Figure 11). 60
