Unveiling the Countenance of a 14th-Century Warrior: Researchers Reconstruct Face of Medieval Hero from 1361

Our world is full of stories and it is sometimes complex to represent what really happened years ago. But this was obviously without counting on a boost from technology which allowed scientists to recreate in every detail the face of a man who died in 1361 during the Battle of Visby in Sweden, one of the wildest of Europe.

This confrontation cost the lives of more than 2,500 men, the majority of whom were peasants or elderly people who were not equipped to face such a fight. Researchers then discovered a mass grave containing numerous bones and skeletons of the victims on the Swedish island of Gotland.

Credits: Cicero Moraes

Credits: Cicero Moraes

In particular, they found the skull of a medieval warrior with which they managed to digitally reconstruct his face which had been split by an ax with the help of Brazilian 3D designer Cicero Moraes. His mouth had been cut in two and his teeth broken, while there were also injuries above his eye and left cheekbone.

Credits: Cicero Moraes

Credits: Cicero Moraes

After carefully studying the skull, Cicero Moraes then distributed a series of markers over it to outline the areas of skin. Based on the skull alone, he was able to determine the size of the nose, mouth and eyes. Conversely, for the hair and skin tone, he had to show a little imagination.

Credits: Cicero Moraes

Credits: Cicero Moraes

He managed to complete the depiction of the face using a three-dimensional model of the skull on loan from the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm. The end result is quite astonishing and shows a lot of realism and precision.