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

Oh, no!

Ancient fathers grave opened for you to see That sight of dead will make your heart leap.

Not for being a king, but a son of an age,

When this land had glorious and independent days.)

The identities of King Béla

III

and his first wife, Queen Anne, were confirmed both by János

Pauer

and

János

Érdy in

December 1848. Upon opening the grave, a silver funeral crown with four identical crosses was found on Béla

Ill

’s head, and next to him in the grave there was a sceptre, a sword, a cross, a breast cross, a ring and a spur. There was a crown with four crosses on the Queens head as well, along with a ring and some lacy textile fragments (Figure 12).

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