They no doubt got much
mixed up when removed from the crypt by Henry de Blois, and again when
the chests were broken open by the Parliamentarians, so that a detailed
identification has been made impossible. It is now generally
acknowledged that the bones of Rufus are in one of these chests, and
that the so-called Rufus tomb in the retro-choir is the burial place of
some great ecclesiastic. Such at any rate is the opinion of Dean
Kitchin, who has done so much to elucidate the past history of the city
and its Cathedral.
When one of these boxes was taken recently out of its enclosing chest
and examined, it was found to have a roof something like a low gable,
which was decorated with painting about a century later than the time of
de Blois. On the outside appeared the words in Latin: "Here are together
the bones of King Kinegils and of Ethelwolf". Four of the Italian
chests that held the inner boxes were the gift of Bishop Fox. The
other chests have revealed five complete sets of human bones, and among
the remains in another were the bones of a female, possibly those of
Queen Emma.
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