5616 x 3744 px | 47,5 x 31,7 cm | 18,7 x 12,5 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
15 marzo 2012
Ubicazione:
London, England, UK
Altre informazioni:
Sculptures of three lions crouched by the ruins of the Lion Tower at the main entrance of the The Tower of London emerging through London's fog. The life-size sculptures of three lions were created by the artist Kendra Haste. The royal "zoo" survived for more than 600 years after being founded by King John, the English monarch who reigned from 1199 to 1216. Radiocarbon dating of skulls of two lions and a leopard support historic documents that suggest big cats first took up residence in the Tower in the 13th century. The skulls are the only medieval big cat remains found in England. The oldest lion skull dates to between 1280 and 1385. Big cats are thought to have arrived at the Tower around 1235, when Emperor Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emporer, gave Henry III three leopards after marrying the English king's sister. The earliest written record of an English lion occurs in 1240. It refers to the upkeep of "the King's lion."
