The reconstruction of 750-year-old skeletons by a global forensic anthropologist could tell story of medieval Aberdeen.
Aberdeen City Council is in talks with a leading forensic anthropologist to turn the discovery of medieval skeletons into a centrepiece for Aberdeen’s revamped art gallery.
Discussions are taking place with Professor Sue Black, the director of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification in Dundee, who could carry out a 3D map of the remains to create an impression of what he or she may have looked like.
In March of this year, 92 skeletons believed to date back to the 13th century were unearthed from under Aberdeen Art Gallery during the £30m redevelopment works.
Archaeologists also found artefacts and treasures including coins, coffin fixtures and textile ceramics and are currently carrying out analysis in London to determine the condition of the bodies.
Professor Black, a graduate of the University of Aberdeen, has identified the victims of conflicts and natural disasters including working with United Nations in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Grenada.
The professor was awarded an OBE for her work in the international response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami which killed 230,000 people across 14 countries.
Jenny Laing, leader of Aberdeen City Council, said the prospect of working with Professor Black would "elevate the [gallery] project to a new level."
She said: "As well as bringing one of the greatest regional galleries in the world, we could now have one of the finest natural history exhibitions in the country on display.
"Sue Black is the world’s leading forensic anthropologist and to have her engaged in this project elevates our work to a new level and opens the door to new possibilities.”
"These people pre-date Robert the Bruce and were alive when Henry III was on the English throne – it is fascinating to think that we could get a glimpse into their world and to consider how Aberdeen has changed through the centuries.
"The analysis that is being done will provide a unique insight into the people that have lived right here in Aberdeen centuries ago."
Aberdeen City Council is currently fundraising for the redevelopment of Aberdeen Art Gallery into a leading attraction for the north-east of Scotland and the wider UK.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here