> were basically peasants in their lifetimes, not grand or interesting people
What are you saying - the lives of ordinary people are the holy grail in archaeology and history as they are more difficult to investigate and construct. A king's remains and belongings tell you little about the actual society.
We're not talking about remains and belongings, we're talking about people. Bringing back a king, who was likely literate and learned, would be more valuable to me than a random peasant or slave, though I'd still want to bring them back too. I'd also have someone like Archimedes over a king. But anyway, it sounds like you don't disagree that there'd be plenty of motivation to bring even the peasants back.
(You're probably familiar with the book Montaillou? For passersby, it's a neat insight into the minds of ordinary people from hundreds of years ago.)
What are you saying - the lives of ordinary people are the holy grail in archaeology and history as they are more difficult to investigate and construct. A king's remains and belongings tell you little about the actual society.