A little more than ten years after the remains of a 16-year-old Anglo-Saxon girl who died more than 1,300 years ago were found in Cambridgeshire, UK, archaeologists have used facial reconstruction to demonstrate her facial features.
In order to be successful in their endeavor, experts examined the girl’s skull to produce a lifelike reconstruction that depicted how she appeared before her tragic passing. However, forensic artists would not be able to accurately depict eye and hair color without DNA data.
Scientists remain dubious of the ‘Trumpington girl’s true ancestry
She had a fair face with a pale complexion, a somewhat small nose, prominent cheekbones, and one eye that was slightly lower than the other, as shown in the photograph.
“It was interesting to see her face developing. Her left eye was slightly lower, about half a centimeter, than her right eye; this would have been quite noticeable in life,” said Hew Morrison, the facial reconstruction artist who rendered the image.
A gold and garnet cross was found on the girl’s chest, and her skeleton was discovered buried in a wooden bed. Despite being located by British archaeologists in 2012, scientists remain dubious of the ‘Trumpington girl’s true ancestry. They contend that she may have immigrated to England as a young child from Germany as a part of an early Christian movement that was preaching Jesus’ teachings.
According to some accounts, the girl may have passed away from a disease, but the exact cause is yet unknown. According to the researchers, the girl’s diet’s protein content significantly fell after she moved to England. Although it’s unclear if it played a role in her passing.
“We now know the proportion of protein dropped, suggesting she was eating more meat and dairy products when in southern Germany than on arrival in Trumpington,” Anglo-Saxon specialist Dr. Sam Lucy was quoted as saying by BBC.
The recreated image will be on display as part of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge exhibition, which debuts on Wednesday (June 21).
With the help of the interesting technology known as facial reconstruction, researchers can discover how particular people appeared in the past. One of the most well-known pharaohs of ancient Egypt, King Tutankhamun, had his face recreated earlier this month by experts.
Teams from Australia, Italy, and Brazil were able to recreate King Tut’s visage using a computer model of his mummified head.
“He looks like a young man with a delicate face. Looking at him, we see more of a young student than a politician full of responsibilities, which makes the historical figure even more interesting,” said Brazilian graphics expert and co-author of the study, Cicero Moraes.