Face of man who died on Rome’s Scottish frontier revealed after 1,900 years

The face of a man who died on the Roman frontier in Scotland almost 2,000 years ago has been revealed, using a reconstruction of his features created for a major new exhibition in Edinburgh.

An international team of experts used scientific techniques including ancient DNA analysis to build a picture of the man’s life. They concluded that he was probably in his early 50s when he died at Inveresk, near Musselburgh on the Firth of Forth, at some point between AD 140 and 165.

He had been born in southern Britain and had travelled hundreds of miles north to the edge of the Roman empire.

Not a soldier

Analysis of his skeleton showed he had suffered several injuries during his life. He had a broken nose that had healed and limited use of his right arm because of extensive bone growth around the elbow, probably caused by septic arthritis.

Experts said he was certainly not a soldier at the time of his death, because he would not have been able to swing a sword.

His skull will be displayed alongside the digital facial reconstruction in Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire, which opens at the National Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street, Edinburgh, on 14 November and runs until 18 April 2027.

‘His family would have spotted the likeness’

Dr Fraser Hunter, principal curator of prehistory and Roman archaeology at National Museums Scotland, said: “I have worked with the finds from Roman Inveresk for years, but this facial reconstruction finally gives me a sense of what one of its inhabitants looked like.”

“Archaeology tells us about people who had hopes and fears just like us, and it is a privilege to present a vision of this resident of Inveresk using contemporary scientific techniques,” he said. “We cannot know how exactly he looked, but we think his family and friends would have spotted the likeness.”

The reconstruction, by the forensic artist Dr Chris Rynn, experimented with different hairstyles and added skin blemishes to bring the face to life.

A rare and unusual burial

The man was one of a number of people whose burials were found around the Roman fort at Inveresk. Burials from Roman Scotland are rarely discovered, and these are particularly unusual: four of the six adult men buried at the site, including the man whose face has been reconstructed, were decapitated after death.

They are thought to be among the earliest known examples of the practice in Britain and the first found in Scotland. The reasons are unclear. Experts suggest it may have been linked to supernatural beliefs or to the way the people died, or may have been used as a form of punishment.

Dr Jess Thompson, curator of osteoarchaeology at National Museums Scotland, said: “The burials at Inveresk are exceptional and incredibly rare survivals from Roman Scotland. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of human remains allows us to understand the physical attributes of these individuals as well as their life stories.”

“We can investigate where these men had travelled from to reach the frontier, what they were doing there and what became of them,” she said. “This facial reconstruction unites cutting-edge science with artistic vision to create an instant connection with the past.”

The science behind the face

The museum said the reconstruction drew on an osteoarchaeological assessment carried out at the museum, earlier isotope analysis led by scholars at Durham University, and ancient DNA research by a team from the University of York’s department of archaeology and Harvard Medical School. Isotope analysis of teeth and bone can reveal where a person grew up, while DNA can indicate ancestry and physical traits.

Life on the edge of empire

Inveresk was one of the most important Roman sites in Scotland. Its fort stood on a ridge above the River Esk, east of the Antonine Wall, the frontier built across central Scotland in the 140s AD on the orders of the emperor Antoninus Pius. A substantial civilian settlement grew up around the fort, and finds from the area have long been among the highlights of the national collections.

The new exhibition will explore what life was like on the frontier – for the soldiers who tried to conquer the land, for the communities that grew up around each military base, and for local people whose way of life was threatened by the Roman invasion.

For visitors, the man from Inveresk offers a rare chance to look into the face of someone who lived through that period – not a general or an emperor, but an ordinary, injured traveller who ended his days far from where he was born.