In the damp, shadowed crypt of a ruined Scottish priory, three people have been buried for centuries. A bishop, a cleric, and a young woman of striking beauty lay entombed beneath Whithorn, the “cradle of Scottish Christianity.”
Now, thanks to forensic science and a touch of artistry, their faces have been brought back to life.
According to legend, St. Ninian, a missionary from what is now southern Scotland, built the first stone church north of Hadrian’s Wall in the late 4th century. He called it Candida Casa, or “the White House” for its gleaming stone walls. Over centuries, the name morphed with each passing culture: the Anglo-Saxons called it Hwiterne; the Scots, Whithorn.
Whithorn grew into a spiritual hub. Pilgrims trekked from across the British Isles to seek blessings, miracles, and salvation. For a time, it was one of the most important Christian sites in northern Europe. But history is cruel with memory. By the modern era, Whithorn’s priory was in ruins, and many of the lives it sheltered were forgotten. Some of them might have vanished completely if not for a stroke of luck.
Whithorn hosts a number of important Christian artifacts and structures and is the oldest Christian site in Scotland. But no one remembered that; only maintenance work and an accident brought them back to light.
In 1957 local workers were waterproofing a derelict medieval crypt and stumbled upon three stone coffins. This triggered an archaeological exploration campaign that uncovered the graves of clergy members and wealthy donors who supported a medieval priory. The people were buried without too many possessions and not that much was known about them. But now, researchers have brought them back to light.
Facial resurrection
The renderings were created as part of Cold Case Whithorn, an offshoot research venture centered around the Whithorn archaeological site. There’s even a Whithorn Trust which oversees the site. The trust recently unveiled the reconstructions and said they will soon go on display.
The forensic method involved detailed 3D scans of each of the skulls. The process was overseen by anthropologist and forensic artist Christopher Rynn.
“This entails the use of facial soft tissue depths, musculature sculpted individually to fit each skull, and scientific methods of the estimation of each facial feature, such as eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, from skull morphology.”
Among the three, the woman stands out. Buried in her twenties, she lies on a bed of seashells near the priory’s high altar. That alone signals high status.
Her reconstructed face is symmetrical, almost classical in proportion. Rynn himself noted that she would have been considered beautiful. But her life was short; she probably didn’t make it to 30. Without written records, her identity is a mystery. She may have been a noble patron, a member of a wealthy family, or a benefactor who earned burial in this sacred space.
The cleric’s skull tells a different story. It is asymmetrical, marked by a cleft palate that would have shaped his speech and perhaps his social standing. Yet he still rose within the church. His presence in Whithorn’s crypt suggests he lived a life of service respected enough to earn burial alongside the powerful.
The bishop was identified as one Bishop Walter, who presided over Whithorn in the 13th century. His grave was the most prominent one. The bishop also exhibited signs of obesity — a clear sign of wealth at the time. He was buried fully dressed with a gold ring encrusted with rubies and emeralds.
This is just one part of the project. Researchers also carried out analyses on the bones and teeth to gather as much information as possible on their lifestyle, diet, and potential conditions. That’s how they figured out, for instance, that the bishop enjoyed a diet rich in fish and meat — another sign of wealth.
Shirley Curtis-Summers, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Bradford’s School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, explained:
“My role is to examine archaeological skeletons to identify indicators of disease and trauma. I also analysis human bones and teeth for stable isotope analysis, which can inform us about the types of foods people in the past were consuming, and whether they were local to their place of burial.”
“When applied to human remains, stable isotope analysis can offer both population level and individual data, revealing details of the lives of individual people, and informing on broader societal trends. To date, few isotope studies have focused on material from Scotland, although the handful of research projects undertaken reveal the true potential of these methods to the key themes of Scottish Archaeology, from Prehistory to the post-medieval period,” Curtis-Summers adds in an article.
This isn’t the first project of this type. Researchers have conducted facial reconstructions of people ranging from the Paleolithic to medieval times. There is always some degree of uncertainty. It’s not currently possible to know exactly what these people looked like. There’s no information on how big their ears were, for instance, or what type of wrinkles they had. In other words, these facial reconstructions are a scientific guess that comes with some uncertainty.
But such programs can still open up a window to the past.
In unveiling these facial reconstructions, researchers have offered us a captivating glimpse into the lives of medieval people. These lifelike recreations connect us to a rich heritage. As we look upon these faces, we are invited to imagine the lives and legacies of these individuals, bridging the gap between then and now.
This article was originally published in November 2023 and has been reedited to include additional information.
