A FORENSIC artist has reconstructed the face of 11th century Viking St Magnus, whose remains were found in the Orkney cathedral named after him, from century-old images of his skull.

Hew Morrison, of Dundee, used images taken of a wounded skull and bones found in a wooden box at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall in 1919 as the basis for the reconstruction.

Magnus Erlendsson was known as the Earl of Orkney, having been born into Orkney nobility in 1080. His family also has strong connections to Norwegian royalty, who ruled the islands from 1098.

The strongly religious warrior refused to fight in the Viking raid which resulted in the Battle of Anglesey, but was involved in a dispute over the succession to the Orkney throne with his cousin Haakon after returning to the islands in 1105.

He was given the earldom of Orkney and jointly ruled with Haakon, until 1114, when their supporters fell out and they prepared for battle at islands’ assembly.

However, the fighting was averted and a fragile peace accord ensued until the two sides’ ships met on the island of Egilsay, where Magnus sought refuge in the local church, and was killed with an axe.

The exact date of Magnus’s martyrdom is uncertain, but it is thought to have occurred between 1115 and 1118. The annual St Magnus International Festival is to mark the anniversary in June.

Using similar computer software, Mr Morrison has previously reconstructed the image of how a woman whose remains were found in a Caithness cemetery in 1987, but who died 3,700 years ago, would have looked.

A professor from Aberdeen University and a minister had examined the bones found at St Magnus Cathedral and vouched their authenticity.

Mr Morrison, who had been fascinated by the find since he was a boy, said: “I had forgotten about it until I visited Orkney back in 2015 whilst working on another facial reconstruction project.

“I managed to track down through Orkney Archives excellent photographs taken in 1925 that were suitable to use.”