For reconstruction, anthropologists used a skull that is kept in the Church of Saint-Maximin in France, where the relics of saint are buried
Mary Magdalene is one of the few characters in the Gospel whose burial place is known. The relics of Jesus' companion since 1280 are in the church of Saint-Maximin-la-Saint-Baume, located in the south of France. According to legend, in 1279, during the reconstruction of the local church, which was started by the Count of Provence Charles II, tombs of the 1st century AD were opened. Among other things, a marble sarcophagus was found in the crypt. When they opened it, they saw skeletal remains, where the lower jaw and bones of the left foot were missing. In the sarcophagus there was a note that read: "This is the body of the blessed Mary Magdalene." From the accompanying text, it was clear that the relics were hidden here during the invasion of the Saracens for fear that the relic would be destroyed. Before that, they were in another tomb, where the body of Mary originally rested immediately after leaving the other world.
How did Mary Magdalene, a resident of Judea, end up in France? According to a number of sources, after the death of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, together with her brother Lazarus and sister Martha, fleeing persecution by the Roman authorities, crossed the Mediterranean Sea in a small ship and took refuge in a place near modern Marseilles. And according to some non-canonical information, there was also a child born to a woman from Jesus with Mary - this plot move, by the way, was used by the American writer Dan Brown when creating the sensational novel The Da Vinci Code. In France, Mary first preached the teachings of Christ, and then left the people in the desert, where for 30 years she led the life of a hermit and atoned for her sins.
Now a female skull from a marble sarcophagus is on display in a church in a special reliquary made of gold and bulletproof glass.
The woman's face, which scientists have restored, bears little resemblance to those pictorial samples that we are used to seeing on the icons and paintings of great painters.
- I must say right away that we are not absolutely sure that this is the real skull of Mary Magdalene, - says Philippe Charlier, professor of anthropology at the University of Versailles. “But it was important for us to start studying this relic, to bring it out of the shadow of anonymity.
The last time scientists studied the remains attributed to Mary Magdalene, in 1974. Since then, technology has leaped forward. Philippe Charlier and his assistant computer graphics specialist Philippe Frosch failed to persuade the holy fathers and gain access to the shrine. However, they were able to take more than 500 photographs of the skull from different angles, and then based on these images they compiled a three-dimensional computer model.
After analyzing the shape of the cheekbones, the structure of the facial bones, scientists came to the conclusion that the skull belongs to a woman who died at the age of about 50. On a number of grounds, it could be attributed to the representatives of the Mediterranean type of the Europioid race. These people are distinguished by their high face, almond-shaped eyes, long narrow nose, dark skin and asthenic physique.
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Facial soft tissue reconstruction was performed according to the techniques used by the US FBI. The woman's face, which scientists have restored, bears little resemblance to those pictorial samples that we are used to seeing in the icons and paintings of great painters. But this is not surprising. Since the artist's original has not been seen and created in accordance with their ideas of beauty. And each nation has its own.
In the future, Professor Charlier is going to restore the entire woman's body entirely, because the ribs, bones of the thighs and pelvis are stored in the sarcophagus.
“If the holy fathers allow us access to the remains, we would also like to conduct a radiocarbon analysis to determine exactly what century this woman lived,” the scientist says. “In addition, it is important to conduct DNA tests, this will tell about her origin and we can try to find the woman's relatives among living contemporaries.
FROM THE DOSSIER
Mary Magdalene is a follower of Jesus Christ, whose name is mentioned several times in the New Testament. It is known that she was healed by Christ from demonic possession. Mary was present at Calvary when Jesus died on the cross. He was the first to appear after his resurrection. In addition, the Catholic Church identifies Mary Magdalene with a nameless sinner who, on the eve of the Passion of Christ, washed Jesus' feet with precious incense and wiped her with her hair. There is an apocryphal version (not approved by the church) that Mary was the secret wife of Jesus.
YAROSLAV KOROBATOV