article_snippet.sent: TV historian Jonathan Foyle said tests confirmed it was European oak and of a sub-species 'typical of the origin of the finest, slow-grown oak imported by the medieval elites', with analysis of the historic paintwork proving its age. '
article_snippet.sent: Under the varnish, traces of late medieval decoration have been found,' TV historian Jonathan Foyle said.
article_snippet.sent: Mr Foyle said Mr Foyle had proved that the item was not the work of Victorian revivalists by reflecting on the Tudors' belief that they had been chosen by God to save England from civil war.
article_snippet.sent: Dr Foyle described the 15th Century artefact, which is considered one of the most valuable pieces of historical furniture in England, as 'a complete national treasure'.
article_snippet.sent: Dr Foyle is backed by other experts, such as Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the history of the church at Oxford University, who described the rediscovery as 'exceptionally important'.