A new digital reconstruction has recreated the face of a 2000-year-old skeleton found at an archaeological site in Scotland.
A team of experts from National Museums Scotland used cutting-edge scientific techniques to analyse the genetic makeup and recreate the life of the dead man, whose skeleton was found in the remains of a Roman fort in Inveresk on the shores of the Firth of Forth.
The man’s skull and the digital facial reconstruction will be on display in ‘Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire’, an exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland that will open on 14 November.
The facial reconstruction was informed by an osteoarchaeological assessment carried out at National Museums Scotland, previous isotopic analysis led by scholars at Durham University, and ancient DNA by a team based at the Department of Archaeology at the University of York and Harvard Medical School. Dr Chris Rynn combined these findings to estimate the man’s appearance.
Researchers found that the man was born in southern Britain and was probably in his early 50s when he died between 140 and 165 AD.
Analysis of his skeleton revealed that he suffered several injuries during his lifetime. His nose had been broken and healed, and he had limited use of his right arm following extensive bone growth around the elbow joint, probably caused by septic arthritis. He could not have been a soldier when he died owing to his disabilities. Pronounced wear on his front teeth suggests he compensated for this reduced mobility by holding objects between his teeth.
Dr Fraser Hunter, principal curator of prehistory and Roman archaeology at National Museums Scotland, said: “Archaeology tells us about people who had hopes and fears just like us, and it is a privilege to present a vision of this resident of Inveresk using contemporary scientific techniques. We cannot know how exactly he looked, but we think his family and friends would have spotted the likeness.”
