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Telegraph One of the most celebrated battle sites in British history is situated on the wrong spot, archaeologists now believe. 
For hundreds of years history followers have visited Ambion Hill in Leicestershire, believing it to be the site of the Battle of Bosworth, which marked the end of the War of the Roses and the beginning of the reign of the Tudors. It was also the last time a British king was killed on a battlefield and immortalised by Shakespeare's Richard III's famous offer of his kingdom for a horse. However, after an extensive three-year archaeological survey, experts now believe that the proper site was a mile away. The revelation could prove an embarrassment for Leicestershire County Council, which built an award-winning interactive visitor centre at Ambion Hill, near the village of Market Bosworth. It attracts thousands of visitors each year and the council has always believed it marks the spot where, in 1485, Richard III lost his life and his crown to Henry Tudor. It signalled the end of the Plantagenet dynasty and Henry VII took the throne. However, Richard Knox, curator of Bosworth Battlefield, said it was now likely that the proper site was on low-lying ground between the villages of Shenton, Stoke Golding and Dadlington, first proposed by the historian Peter Foss in 1990. The key to the mystery is likely to be finding the former marshland that Henry is said to have used to his advantage to attack the vastly larger army of his enemy from the flanks. Investigations there have found ancient names given to the area such as Fenn Hole and Fenn Meadow, and a team is currently scouring the area with metal detectors. Mr Knox said: "We feel that Peter Foss's argument is the most likely site. "We have found ridges and furrows where there could have been a marsh." He said tests had ruled out that the battle had taken place on Ambion Hill itself, and also that the stone memorial erected to Richard III half a mile away, on the spot he supposedly fell, is situated on the wrong spot. He added: "We won't move it because it has become a landmark in its own right. But when we do decide on the correct spot we can put up another memorial provided it is practical and has public access." Controversy over the site has raged for several years. Apart from the perceived site and Mr Foss's theory, a third premise puts the battle around eight miles away in Atherstone, where documents show Henry's army might have camped prior to battle. Tests are ongoing there after documents showed that Henry paid money to locals for damage to their crops "at our late victorious field". The Council was awarded a £1 million Lottery Heritage grant to carry out the survey, the most comprehensive ever carried out on a British battlefield. The results were due to be released this summer but have been put back until next year following the wet summer of 2007, which made much of the research impossible to carry out. Mr Knox said: "There is still a lot of work to do and we are not in a position to officially say yes or no to anything at the moment." Mr Foss said that he never doubted his original theory about where the correct site is. He said: "I have a great knowledge of the area and it all made sense. When I carried out my research they had none of the technology they have today but my work was very, very sound and I am delighted if it is now recognised as being right." The official results of the survey will be announced early next year.
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