3D imaging depicts warriors skull
Archaeologists from the National Trust for Scotland have joined with The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to apply the latest technology to recreate the features of a victim from Scotland’s most famous historic battle.
The top section of a skull of what is thought to be someone who met their demise on the battlefield at Culloden has been on display at The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s Hall Museums in Nicolson Street for many years.
Now a digital 3D model of the skull has been created, ahead of the 270th anniversary of the battle, using overlapping digital photography.
Derek Alexander, head of archaeological services for the National Trust for Scotland, said: “We cannot say whether the skull fragment belongs to a Jacobite or one of the government troops but the injury to the top of the head could be interpreted in a number of different ways.
“It could be from someone, head down, looking at the ground as they charge forward, or an individual who has already been wounded and is on their hands and knees or indeed it could be someone hit while focussing on reloading their musket.”
Given the impact, the musket ball was probably fired from about forty-five metres away.
The skull came to the museum as part of a large collection of over 3,000 items purchased from Sir Charles Bell in 1825. There are no further details from Bell’s original records as to when he acquired it, but it is established that artefacts were collected from the battlefield in the years following the events of 16 April 1746.
Battle of Culloden Skull by NTS Archaeology on Sketchfab
Katey Boal, Learning Manager at the National Trust for Scotland’s Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Centre, said:
“A skull is an incredibly personal thing, when you look at it in three dimensions you can imagine the person it would have belonged to.
“This skull takes the story of Culloden and reminds us that real people were involved, they fought, suffered and died on the field. It is a huge responsibility to tell their story, and the work the team has done is an important part of that.”
As part of a series of events and commemorations to mark the 270th anniversary of the battle, the results of the modelling of the skull will be presented by Derek Alexander, along with further archaeological work at other National Trust for Scotland properties on the Jacobite uprisings, at the Culloden Visitor Centre at 1pm on Tuesday, 15 April.
