Face of man from Roman Scotland revealed in new reconstruction

The face of a man who died on the Roman frontier in Scotland almost 2,000 years ago has been revealed in a facial reconstruction carried out ahead of a major exhibition.

An international team of experts used “cutting-edge” scientific techniques to determine the man’s genetic make-up and find out about his life story.

They discovered he was likely to have been in his early 50s when he died at Inveresk, near Edinburgh, sometime between AD 140–165.

He was born in southern Britain and had travelled hundreds of miles to the shores of the Firth of Forth.

The man's skull will be displayed alongside the digital facial reconstruction in the exhibition Roman Scotland: Life On The Edge Of Empire which opens at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh next month. — The man’s skull will be displayed alongside the digital facial reconstruction in the exhibition Roman Scotland: Life On The Edge Of Empire which opens at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh next month. Duncan McGlynn/National Museums Scotland/the Press Association

Analysis of his skeleton found that during his life he suffered several injuries and was certainly not a soldier at the time of his death as he could not have swung a sword.

Experts noted that the man had limited use of his right arm following extensive bone growth around the elbow joint, which was likely caused by septic arthritis, while he had suffered a broken nose which had healed.

The man’s skull will be displayed alongside the digital facial reconstruction in the exhibition Roman Scotland: Life On The Edge Of Empire which opens at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh next month.

The face of a man who died on the Roman frontier in Scotland almost 2,000 years ago has been revealed in a facial reconstruction carried out ahead of a major exhibition. Chris Rynn/National Museums Scotland/the Press Association

Dr Fraser Hunter, principal curator of prehistory and Roman archaeology at National Museums Scotland (NMS) said: “I have worked with the finds from Roman Inveresk for years, but this facial reconstruction finally gives me a sense of what one of its inhabitants looked like.

“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.”

The man was among a number of people whose burials were found around the Roman fort at Inveresk.

Experts said the burials, which are rarely discovered from Roman Scotland, are particularly unusual because four of the six adult men buried at Inveresk, including the one whose face has been reconstructed, were decapitated after they died.

They are said to be among the earliest known examples of the practice in Britain and the first in Scotland.

The reasons for post-mortem decapitation are not clear but it may have been linked to supernatural concerns or beliefs around how the people died, or might have been used as a form of punishment.

Dr Jess Thompson, curator of osteoarchaeology at NMS, said: “The burials at Inveresk are exceptional and incredibly rare survivals from Roman Scotland.

“Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of human remains allows us to understand the physical attributes of these individuals as well as their life stories.

“We can investigate where these men had travelled from to reach the frontier, what they were doing there and what became of them.

“This facial reconstruction by Dr Chris Rynn unites cutting-edge science with artistic vision to create an instant connection with the past, offering a dynamic portrait of what he may have looked like and who he may have been.”

The exhibition, which opens on November 14, will explore the experience of life on a frontier, from the soldiers who tried to conquer the land to the communities living around each military base.

It will also look at the experiences of local people whose way of life was threatened by the Roman invasion.

NMS said the facial reconstruction was informed by an osteoarchaeological assessment carried out at the museum, previous isotopic analysis led by scholars at Durham University, and ancient DNA research by a team based at the Department of Archaeology at the University of York and Harvard Medical School.

Dr Rynn combined the findings to create the reconstruction.

The exhibition runs from November 14 until April 18, 2027.