Rebuilding the Past

Reconstruction of faces is an important adjunct to various sorts of investigations these days. Beginning more than a century ago, methods of rebuilding human features from cranial remains have been refined until reconstructing accurate likenesses, even of historical figures, is now at an all-time level of accuracy. Part of the reason for that accuracy (and therefore likeness) in such reconstructions actually dates to the end of the nineteenth century when first attempts at rebuilding faces from crania, and the collection of reams of facial thickness data began. Today there are huge data bases that take into account all sorts of issues like gender, race, and so on.

Skull of Richard III and reconstruction based on it.

Although the most publicized facial reconstructions have been to identify unknown victims, facial reconstruction is also used in anthropology, archeology, and other sciences. Furthermore, the technique of rebuilding a face from the bones outward has evolved from using strips and lumps of clay applied to the actual skull or cranium to using three-dimensionally-printed copies of skulls or to fully computerized three dimensional reconstruction. Regardless, the accuracy and likenesses achieved in such work are striking.

Face of Shakespeare, from a death mask

Various historical figures have been subjected to study and reconstruction from cranial remains. For example, King Richard III of England was found some years ago buried under a parking lot. The remains were definitely those of the deposed monarch, based on DNA analysis, but his face was known from posthumous paintings. So a computerized reconstruction of his face was made based on scans of the skull, then the result reproduced in plastic. 

Hoff, "The Bard," digital

A decade or so ago a scientist in England reconstructed at face said to be Shakespeare (above) but instead of a skull used a death mask. (The mask may not be the author.) Taking the mask that was only discovered two hundred years after Shakespeare's death, the result does resemble our conception of what he may have looked like. The scientist responsible claims that the result, when compared with a portraits of the writer, is very close. Perhaps so, although there is considerable variation among the images available. Taking the mask image I used Sketchbook and a few period references for the hair and collar, to make a fuller rendering of the head. While it may or may not be William Shakespeare, the result was pleasing. 

The Archer, from The Mary Rose

An interesting group of reconstructed likenesses were made of crew of the Tudor-era English warship Mary Rose. The ship went down with the majority of the crew in a storm in the 16h century with nearly 500 crew. Although names aren't known, some of the crew could probably be recognized from their images. A particular favorite at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, U.K. is an archer (presumably) whose entire skeleton is also on view. It shows deformities consistent with archery as does one of the fingers of his right hand. 

Context 958

Probably the most fascinating of historical facial and skeletal reconstructions, though, has to be Context 958 which is the only name given for a 13th century man whose skeleton was recovered from a medieval cemetery in Cambridge, England. He seems to have died as a destitute man in a shelter and was buried in its large graveyard. Using the skull plus computer software, researchers generated a possible likeness. Based on his remains, he was likely a tradesman who worked hard and was reasonably well-fed, with perhaps two significant periods of illness or hunger during his childhood. He died in the medieval hospital that had occupied the site of a current school in Cambridge, of unknown causes. The grounds contained more than 400 sets of remains. In the case of this fellow, he looks as if he could be one of our neighbors.

Hoff, "Beachy Head Lady," digital

An interesting idea came to mind while looking at these and other historical faces. These make fascinating drawing material. With that in mind, besides the drawing of Shakespeare above I've done a few others because their stories were engaging and their place in history caught my attention.

One of them, named Beachy Head Lady because her skeleton was discovered  there in Sussex, England. The skeleton suggested she died young, was probably upper social status since there was no evidence of hard work, and was clearly from sub-Saharan Africa--that is, unimaginably far away. She had grown up in the area, however. Using radiocarbon dating the remains are from the third century; her face was reconstructed by a forensic expert. I used that image to make a drawing of her head (left). Although literally nothing was known about the skeleton discovered in a forgotten box labelled Beachy Head, based on extensive analysis she is theorized to have possibly been the wife of a Roman official and therefore lived a life of much reduced labor. Nonetheless, it is startling to think that the face we can see, however close it comes to reality, is the face of someone who lived nearly two thousand years ago. In my drawing I tried to give her an even livelier look.

Hoff, "Erika the Red," digital

In foraging through historical faces reconstructed by traditional means or by computer, I ran across another fascinating story and a distinctly different history of Vikings. The burial of a woman that was unearthed in Norway may have been that of a Viking warrior. Of course the traditional history of the people was that the men went off in long boats to pillage and conquer, leaving women children and elderly back in their homeland. However, this woman was buried with deadly weapons including arrows, a sword, and an axe. More important, she had suffered a head injury that looked like a sword wound that fractured her skull. The original discoverers knew the skeleton was female but somehow ignored the evidence of her grave goods that she was very likely a warrior. From the skull, her face was reconstructed using traditional methods. I made the sketch here based on the reconstructed image (right) and again tried to give her some real recognizable emotion. I assumed she would look fierce and forbidding, and gave her a healed scar instead of the unhealed wound depicted in the rebuilt face. I assumed a fair complexion and hair and medium-green eyes.

Using these kinds of references for drawings has been both fun and instructive. I'll probably do more.