Reconstruction brings to life medieval man buried in Aberdeen
The face of a man buried in a city centre more than 600 years ago has been reconstructed.
The man – known as Skeleton 125 – was among 60 entire skeletons and 4,272 bone parts found in Aberdeen as redevelopment of the city’s art gallery got under way.
He has now been reconstructed by experts at AOC Archaeology Group, who were called in to examine the site after the first bones were recovered.
They found that the man was aged over 46 at the time of death.
At 5ft 2ins tall, he was shorter than the average man during the later medieval period.
He suffered from extensive dental disease, including tooth loss, periodontal disease, cavities and a chronic abscess.
Tests which help to analyse diet showed that he did not live in Aberdeen all his life, but was more likely to have been raised in the Outer Hebrides or the north-west Highlands andmovedtothecityasanolder adult.
Dr Paula Milburn, of AOC Archaeology Group, said: “SK125 has provided us with a first fascinating glimpse of one of the people buried on the site of Aberdeen Art Gallery over 600 years ago.
“The ongoing post-excavation work is examining the remains in detail and will provide us with amazing information on the kind of people buried here, including their ages, gender, health and lifestyles.”
Dr Milburn added that the man displayed the effects of age, with degenerative joint disease observed in the middle and lower back.
She added: “Fascinatingly, sulphur isotope data – which can reveal residence later in life – indicates that he may have spent the last years of his life in or around Aberdeen.”
Councillor Marie Boulton, Aberdeen City Council’s cultural spokeswoman, said: “The incredible find on the site and the amazing painstaking research of Dr Milburn and her team is another wonderful chapter in the history of Aberdeen Art Gallery which enters its latest phase with the much anticipated reopening on 2 November”.
The gallery was built in 1885 on the site of the former Blackfriars Dominican Friary, believed to have been founded between 1222 and 1249.
The friary and its church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, were destroyed by Reformers in 1560.
Excavations outside the gallery uncovered a red brick charnel house containing three Victorian coffins, holding a mass of disarticulated human remains.
Inside the gallery excavations revealed in situ burials, including the 60 skeletons and the remainder of the human bones.
SK125 was recovered from the lowest level of the burials, with other skeletons dated to the period 1050-1410.
Of the 60 skeletons, 56 were adults, one an adolescent (13 years) and three were children of six, eight and 11 years of age.
Of the adult skeletons, 26 were male and six were female, and they ranged in age from 18 to 46 years and older.
The remains provided evidence of a strenuous, physically active lifestyle with high rates of dental disease. Dress accessories, personal ornaments and coffin wood and fittings were recovered from the site by the art gallery, which will open to the general public from 4 November.