A filmmaker is to excavate the site of Lawrence of Arabia's fatal motorcycle crash in the hope of finding evidence that might prove he was murdered.
The First World War hero was riding his beloved Brough Superior bike near his home in Dorset in 1935 when he is said to have swerved to avoid two schoolboys on their bikes.
Lawrence, whose full name was Thomas Edward Lawrence, was thrown off the machine and died from head injuries six days later.
Rumours that a black car drove into his path led some people to believe that the crash was no accident and was covered up.
Now, filmmaker Mark Griffin is leading a team which includes archaeologists, a historian and a forensic crash investigator to excavate the scene of the crash, near Bovington Camp in Dorset.
The director's new biopic, Lawrence After Arabia, which has just been released, questions whether the British Army officer died as a result of foul play.
A filmmaker is to excavate the site of Lawrence of Arabia's fatal motorcycle crash in the hope of finding evidence that might prove he was murdered. The First World War hero was riding his beloved Brough Superior bike (pictured) near his home in Dorset in 1935 when he is said to have swerved to avoid two schoolboys on their bikes
Mark Griffin is pictured at the spot where Lawrence of Arabia died. He is leading a team which includes archaeologists and a forensic crash investigator to excavate the scene of the crash, near Bovington Camp in Dorset
Mr Griffin believes that the hero of the Arab Revolt in 1917 may have been killed on the orders of the British intelligence community after powerful figures opposed Sir Winton Churchill's alleged desire to appoint him to head up the domestic intelligence service.
The new excavation team hope to find metal remnants of the Brough motorbike, and possibly the mysterious car said to have been involved, to prove Lawrence was assassinated.
Specialist equipment will be used to scan the ground for debris leftover from the crash.
Researchers hope to revisit archival material from the inquest and police reports, as well as examine pictures of damage to Lawrence's motorbike.
Mr Griffin has previously accused the National Trust, which owns Lawrence's home, Clouds Hill, near Bovington, of censorship after he was barred from filming there.
They refused repeated requests to shoot at the cottage on the grounds that the film 'perpetuated conspiracies' surrounding his death.
But Mr Griffin believes he may find fresh evidence which could prove the naysayers wrong once and for all.
He said: 'Calling it a conspiracy theory is derogatory - it is actually an alternative explanation, suggested by the evidence, which goes against the official story.
'We're hoping to build a revisionist history of TE Lawrence which I think is more reflective of his life than the one people are familiar with.
Lawrence was seriously injured near Bovington Camp, in Dorset on May 13, 1935. He died on May 19
