National media, including The Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian and the Daily Mail, as well as ITV news, converged on Hyde Parish Hall on Friday 17 January as a team from the University of Winchester and Hyde 900 told how after years of work, a partial pelvis had been found, which after extensive work, may belong to either Alfred the Great, or his son, Edward.
Last year, Hyde900 was granted permission to exhume the remains of an unmarked grave, located in the grounds of St Bartholomew's Church in Hyde, right in the heart of Winchester. The excavation and subsequent examination of the bones was carried out by the Department of Archaeology at the University of Winchester, led by Dr Katie Tucker, while the project was filmed by the BBC. Their documentary The Search for Alfred the Great, presented by Neil Oliver, airs on Tuesday 21 January at 9pm on BBC2.
Speaking afterwards, Winchester MP Steve Brine, who attended the event alongside media from around the world, said: "Winchester is in many ways the heart of England, and Alfred and his family were in many ways the first family of the English nation.
"We've recently heard the excitement of Richard III being found in the Midlands, and anything Leicester can do, Winchester can obviously do better!"
The press conference heard that further work is now going to be carried out, with Hyde900 and the University of Winchester making further statements shortly on how they will now proceed.
Steve continued: "My feelings today include great excitement, fascination and pride. I think it's also extremely moving. This is in all probability the final resting place of a great king, but also a person who has left this world and so we should treat the whole issue with great respect as Hyde900 and the University team have done all the way along."
More information ...
University of Winchester - Alfred supporting web-pages
Visit the Hyde 900 website
Watch ITV Meridian piece from Friday 17 January 2014