The search for the grave of English King Richard III has uncovered a garden said to hold a memorial to the medieval monarch.

University of Leicester archaeologists announced today (Sept. 7) that they have found paving stones that may belong to the garden of Robert Herrick, a mayor of Leicester who built a mansion and garden over the church where Richard III was buried. In 1612, a man named Christopher Wren visited Herrick and reported that the garden contained a 3-foot (1-meter) tall stone pillar inscribed, "Here lies the body of Richard III sometime King of England."

"This is an astonishing discovery and a huge step forward in the search for King Richard's grave," Philippa Langley, a representative of the Richard III society, said in a statement. "Herrick is incredibly important in the story of Richard's grave, and in potentially helping us get a little bit closer to locating it."...