( CNN ) -- First came the dramatic discovery of the long-lost remains of King Richard III . Now , there 's the mystery of the coffin within the coffin . Archaeologists working at the site in central England where Richard III 's body was found underneath a parking lot are currently puzzling over a sealed lead coffin containing the remains of a yet-to-be-identified person . The lead coffin was found encased in a larger stone coffin . The smaller coffin is intact `` except for a hole at one end of the casket through which we could tantalizingly see someone 's feet , '' said Mathew Morris , the fieldwork director at the site . New discovery just as exciting . Last year , archaeologists unearthed a body buried beneath a nondescript parking lot in the city of Leicester . In February , they confirmed the body was that of Richard III , the last king of England to die on the battlefield . The news drew global attention and set off a debate over Richard 's bloodthirsty reputation . Archaeologists from the University of Leicester , who have been toiling away at the site this summer , say the discovery of the double coffin is just as exciting . They only uncovered the lead coffin last week after eight people hauled the heavy lid off the stone coffin . But figuring out who 's inside looks set to be a much tougher task . `` This inner coffin is likely to contain a high-status burial , although we still do n't know who it contains , '' Morris wrote in a blog post . `` No writing was visible on the coffin lid but it does bear a crude cross soldered into the metal . '' There are three main contenders for the identity of the coffin 's inhabitant : a medieval knight named Sir William de Moton of Peckleton , and two leaders of the English Grey Friars order , Peter Swynsfeld and William of Nottingham . Beneath the parking lot . The Leicester site is where a church , known as Grey Friars Friary , once stood . Over the centuries , the whereabouts of the friary 's remnants were forgotten , but it remained in the records as the burial place of Richard III . Last year , experts began digging away at the area , which had taken on the less illustrious role of a parking lot . They went on to establish that it was part of the friary and that a skeleton , hastily buried in an uneven grave , was that of Richard . The archaeologists who undertook a new dig this summer think the double coffin , located near Richard 's grave , was buried during the 14th century , more than 100 years before Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 . Of the coffin 's three likely occupants , Swynsfeld died in 1272 , William of Nottingham died in 1330 and Sir William de Moton died between 1356 and 1362 . ' A first for all of us ' Besides the puzzle of who lies within , the archaeologists were excited about the coffins themselves . `` This was a first for all of us on site , '' Morris said . `` None of the team had ever excavated an intact stone coffin before , let alone a lead coffin as well . '' They have now wrapped up their four weeks of digging at the site . The lead coffin has been taken away so that experts can carry out tests to figure out the best way of opening it without damaging its contents . But , Morris said , other parts of the friary that the archaeologists tried to investigate this summer appear to have been completely destroyed -- meaning that some of the site 's mysteries may never be solved .
Archaeologists found a lead coffin within a stone coffin near Richard III 's grave . The identity of its occupant is unknown , but there are three prestigious contenders . One theory suggests it was the wife or daughter of Henry VII and another that it may have been his mistress Catherine Parr. The excavation site is at a parking lot in the central English city of Leicester .