"The best preserved lion skull was radiocarbon dated to between AD 1280 and 1385, making it the earliest Medieval big cat known in Britain. The period when it lived covers the reigns of Edward I, II and III, when the lion tower was built.

"The second lion skull was dated using the same method to AD 1420-1480. The leopard skull, which was badly damaged, dated to between 1440 and 1625, which covers the Plantagenet reign, the Tudors and Stuarts.

"Despite their royal status, the cats were not treated with ceremony when they died, instead being dumped - unskinned - in the Tower's moat."

-- BBC News