Introduction
This afternoon I am reporting on the recreated faces of five adults from up to 900 years ago. These were all buried in or near St. Giles’ Cathedral. The timing of this exhibition coincides with the 900th anniversary of the establishment of Edinburgh city.
Information on the First Edinburghers Project- Part 1
First, to put this information in context here is a landscape image of modern-day Edinburgh. In the time period concerned with this post the city would have been contained within a much smaller boundary. This was deliniated by a defensive wall.
St Giles’ Cathedral today. Until 1560 the country was wholly Roman Catholic. Today, the building is a Presbyterian place of worship and correctly known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh.
The recreation project was undertaken by experts from the Francis Crick Institute. Also involved were scientists from Aberdeen and Dundee Universities together with Edinburgh’s city archaeologist.
The underlying people remains were excavated in 1981. They have since undergone DNA sequencing, isotopic analysis and forensic facial reconstruction.
Information on the First Edinburghers Project- Part 2
- SK 103 was a young, adult female, age 25-35 years.
- None of the females shown above are related. They lived on a diet rich in protein from saltwater fish.
- SK016 was a young adult female age 25-35 years. She was of high social status due to a burial in front of the Chapel of Our Lady.
- SK 110 was a male age 35-45 years. He had a large cancerous bone tumour in the nasal capacilty.
- In the 13th century only 20pct of the population reached age 35-45 years. This was due to a combination of manual labour, poor sanitation and living conditions, diseases, infections and lack of modern medicines.
- Both male and female statures were below British average for the period. Average male height was 5 ft 6 inches whilst female equivalent was 5 ft 1 inch.
- 12th century burials gave signs of significant injury, disease, leprosy or cancer. It may be significant that St.Giles was the patron saint of leprosy and physically disabled.
- SK 109 was a juvenile.
The video clips below provide more information.
More information
For more information on Scotland’s history, heritage and touring please refer Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4. Also available via Kindle.