The Face of Robert the Bruce Recreated

Scotland's hero and King, Robert the Bruce, is best remembered for his victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Edward's defeat led to Robert and his heirs being recognised as the true rulers of the Kingdom of Scotland.




In a collaboration between Glasgow University and John Moore's University, Liverpool, the most realistic representation to date has been made of Robert the Bruce's head.

Dr Martin MacGregor, senior lecturer in Scottish history, began the process after taking inspiration from the recent reconstruction of Richard III.

“The skull was excavated in 1818-19 from a grave in Dunfermline Abbey, mausoleum of Scotland’s medieval monarchs,” explains Dr MacGregor. “After the excavation the original skeleton and skull were sealed in pitch and reburied, but not before a cast of the head was taken. Several copies of the cast exist, including the one now in The Hunterian, but without the original bone we have no DNA.”

“The Hunterian also holds a piece of toe-bone said to have come from the same grave, and not returned to it. We had hoped to try and obtain DNA from this and test it against a living descendant of Robert the Bruce, but the bone would probably have been destroyed in the process.”

Dr MacGregor requested the expertise of Professor Caroline Wilkinson, Director of LJMU’s Face Lab and a world-renowned craniofacial identification expert, to carry out the facial reconstruction of Robert the Bruce. Professor Wilkinson was also responsible for the facial reconstruction of Richard III.

Professor Wilkinson said: “Using the skull cast, we could accurately establish the muscle formation from the positions of the skull bones to determine the shape and structure of the face. But what the reconstruction cannot show is the colour of his eyes, his skin tones and the colour of his hair. We produced two versions – one without leprosy and one with a mild representation of leprosy. He may have had leprosy, but if he did it is likely that it did not manifest strongly on his face, as this is not documented.”

Thanks to the work of both parties, we now have the privilege of looking into the eyes of a 700 year history-maker; a man who shaped our future and who lives on in our stories today.

B x


Source and further reading:

www.heraldscotland.com...

en.wikipedia.org...

www.educationscotland.gov.uk...

a reply to: beansidhe

What? No flaming red beard? Och, mon!

a reply to: DJW001

Sadly not, but as there were no DNA samples used in the reconstruction you can still hold out hope that he really did!

a reply to: beansidhe

Lol, he looks like my grandfather!!

originally posted by: DJW001
a reply to: beansidhe

What? No flaming red beard? Och, mon!

Hoots mon, there's a moose loos aboot the hoose.

He looks nothing like Mel Gibson, I cant believe this conspiracy.

He looks like a Norman. Oh, right. That's because he was! That and a bit of English.

Recreating faces from the past is really interesting. However, they seem idealised rather than possible reality. Considering there's a good chance he would have been pock-marked by pox etc... Also, he is normally portrayed with a beard.

originally posted by: savemebarry

originally posted by: DJW001
a reply to: beansidhe

What? No flaming red beard? Och, mon!

Hoots mon, there's a moose loos aboot the hoose.

He looks nothing like Mel Gibson, I cant believe this conspiracy.

Mel Gibson played Willaim Wallace not Robert the Bruce

Get ya history straight mate

originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff

originally posted by: savemebarry

originally posted by: DJW001
a reply to: beansidhe

What? No flaming red beard? Och, mon!

Hoots mon, there's a moose loos aboot the hoose.

He looks nothing like Mel Gibson, I cant believe this conspiracy.

Mel Gibson played Willaim Wallace not Robert the Bruce

Get ya history straight mate

I know, but its all mad

lol

originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff
Get ya history straight mate

Although to note that the Hollywood Wallace, as in Braveheart, was not a historical film. It was fantasy and revisionist. However, it gets the nationalists all excited so that's a result.

a reply to: beansidhe

This is the cave. www.caravancampingsites.co.uk...
It's thousands of years old. The roof and floor follow the strata of the rock at a slight angle. It's circular inside. There is a niche large enough for a child or a curled up adult to lie on. The sun only enters the cave on the winter solstice when it lights up the niche. (I think I got that right. It was thirty years ago the guardian told me.)

It's well worth a visit. Touch the past.

The cave used to be accessed by a rope. The surrounding land doesn't suggest a cliff, and the trees prevented easy sight of the cave from below. It was a fine secret hiding place in its time, and he rewarded the family, it's said.

a reply to: Kester

That's brilliant, thanks Kester! The very place where he saw the spider who inspired him to try again.

originally posted by: paraphi
He looks like a Norman. Oh, right. That's because he was! That and a bit of English.

Recreating faces from the past is really interesting. However, they seem idealised rather than possible reality. Considering there's a good chance he would have been pock-marked by pox etc... Also, he is normally portrayed with a beard.

I find it interesting too. They are idealised and probably a great deal more flattering than the reality. Robert must have had some battle scars, maybe three double chins - who knows? I imagine it's hard, as the artist, to not impose your own romantic notions on to the model. Nonetheless, they are the best resource at hand to date, to enable us to 'see' the history makers from the past.

a reply to: beansidhe

Well done and thanks for posting this. This is the stuff that originally brought me to ATS and keeps me coming back. These reconstructions have come a long way the last few decades and aside from some minor cosmetic and aesthetic issues like hair color, eye color, facial scars etc... We can obtain an end result that is remarkably close to the subject when they were still alive. In cases where genetic material is obtained as well, we're able to fill in the gaps even further by discerning eye and hair color. The science behind these artistic renderings is pretty solid and we will only get more and more accurate the more we learn. It's a rare treasure to be able to look upon the face of someone who lived and breathed just 700 years ago and gives us a new way to look at our past and history while making it still feel modern and pertinent. It's stuff like this that gets people and kids interested in science so we need more work like this. We can't advance any of the current work if we don't get more kids interested in understanding science and our past.

a reply to: peter vlar

Hello there and thank you! Yes, I think this too - looking into the eyes (albeit glass ones) of Robert the Bruce brings history back to life, it makes him real and relatable. I'd always pictured him looking like Rabbie Burns, I have no idea why. Probably because of some pencil drawing from school book where he pondered his spider's perseverance.

They did have access to DNA from a toe bone, also held at the Hunterian museum in Glasgow, but chose not to use it as it would destroy the bone. Destroy the toe, I say! It would be worth it.

Having this opportunity to 'meet' him is fantastic, I love the personal aspect of history too.

Love the history. Peeps on Mom's side came over in the mid 1700's from the Firth of Forth. Thanks for posting.

originally posted by: paraphi
He looks like a Norman. Oh, right. That's because he was! That and a bit of English.

Norman is based on norseman and was a area of france called normandy settled by vikings.
But there had also been a number of viking colonies in Scotland.
So likely he was part viking.

Where the hell do they get these names?

I could be Burger the Buddy!

Mods?



Oh right, post removed for...

I'm glad we get to see this guys face, finally!

originally posted by: beansidhe
Scotland's hero and King, Robert the Bruce, is best remembered for his victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Edward's defeat led to Robert and his heirs being recognised as the true rulers of the Kingdom of Scotland.

In a collaboration between Glasgow University and John Moore's University, Liverpool, the most realistic representation to date has been made of Robert the Bruce's head.

Dr Martin MacGregor, senior lecturer in Scottish history, began the process after taking inspiration from the recent reconstruction of Richard III.

“The skull was excavated in 1818-19 from a grave in Dunfermline Abbey, mausoleum of Scotland’s medieval monarchs,” explains Dr MacGregor. “After the excavation the original skeleton and skull were sealed in pitch and reburied, but not before a cast of the head was taken. Several copies of the cast exist, including the one now in The Hunterian, but without the original bone we have no DNA.”

“The Hunterian also holds a piece of toe-bone said to have come from the same grave, and not returned to it. We had hoped to try and obtain DNA from this and test it against a living descendant of Robert the Bruce, but the bone would probably have been destroyed in the process.”

Dr MacGregor requested the expertise of Professor Caroline Wilkinson, Director of LJMU’s Face Lab and a world-renowned craniofacial identification expert, to carry out the facial reconstruction of Robert the Bruce. Professor Wilkinson was also responsible for the facial reconstruction of Richard III.

Professor Wilkinson said: “Using the skull cast, we could accurately establish the muscle formation from the positions of the skull bones to determine the shape and structure of the face. But what the reconstruction cannot show is the colour of his eyes, his skin tones and the colour of his hair. We produced two versions – one without leprosy and one with a mild representation of leprosy. He may have had leprosy, but if he did it is likely that it did not manifest strongly on his face, as this is not documented.”

Thanks to the work of both parties, we now have the privilege of looking into the eyes of a 700 year history-maker; a man who shaped our future and who lives on in our stories today.

B x


Source and further reading:

www.heraldscotland.com...

en.wikipedia.org...

www.educationscotland.gov.uk...

Is it just me? Or does he look like Gary Oldman who plays Gordon in Batman, Sirius black in Harry Potter