The reconstruction was carried out by the famous Oskar Nilsson, a 3D face modeling specialist, archaeologist and forensic scientist. And he gave the image of a man an unusual feature.
1,300 years ago, a man lived in Switzerland, whose remains were discovered by archaeologists in 2014. Researchers have named him Adelasius Ebalchus - in this name echoes of the culture of the Roman Empire, destroyed centuries ago, sound. According to archaeologists, during the life of Adelazia, the Germanic peoples advanced along the Swiss plateau, finally changing the language and culture of these lands, and this man could be representatives of one of the last generations who kept ancient traditions.
His skeleton was found in one of 47 early medieval graves (c. 700 AD) that were discovered before the construction of the building in the city of Grenchen in northern Switzerland. The burial had features of the Roman style, the grave was lined with stones, and the feet of the buried were directed to the north.
According to the remains, the researchers were able to establish that Adelazia was between 19 and 22 years old, and his height was about 167 cm. He suffered from chronic osteomyelitis - an infection of bone tissue, and vitamin deficiency, which probably led to an early death. A grave framed with large stones may indicate that the deceased had a higher social position than most of the people who then lived on the territory of modern Grenchen.
Oscar Nilsson, a forensic scientist and face reconstruction specialist, was able to model the man's appearance based on a 3D copy of his skull. He has already given us the opportunity to look at an ancient Peruvian queen or an ancient Greek girl, but this work of his is different from all the previous ones.
According to the reenactor, he was struck by the excellent condition of the man's teeth. Usually, when reconstructing a face, in order to recreate teeth, you have to carefully study other parts of the face and build your theories on a variety of traits, from DNA to the climate in which a person lived. To highlight this feature of Adelas, Nilsson decided to portray him with a slight smile - and this decision was not easy for him.
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A 3D copy of the skull was used as the basis for facial reconstruction. Adelaziy had teeth that were unusually good for those times.
When reconstructing a face, especially if it is done for law enforcement, you should not portray the model as smiling, Oscar notes. The viewer can be distracted from the general impression of the reconstruction, which should be based on physical parameters, "subconsciously assuming that he is a happy person." But in this case, the specialist decided to disregard the unspoken rule, and a slight smile froze on the lips of the man recreated from antiquity.
Nilsson worked with the remains of people from many regions and periods of time, but this was the first time he came across a man from early medieval Switzerland:
Author: Anastasia Krutikova