Scientists give face and voice to Bronze Age man (From York Press)

Scientists give Bronze Age Gristhorpe Man a face and voice

7:54am Wednesday 4th August 2010 in News By Dan Bean, dan.bean@thepress.co.uk

ACADEMICS in Yorkshire have given a voice and a face to a man who died more about 4,000 years ago.

Using state-of-the-art computer programme and forensic techniques, scientists have reconstructed the face of the Gristhorpe Man.

The skeleton of the Bronze Age man, thought to be a warrior chief, was discovered in Gristhorpe, near Filey, in 1834, and boiled in horse glue to preserve it.

It was displayed in the Scarborough Museum, now the Rotunda Museum, until 2006, when it was moved to the Division of Archaeological Sciences at Bradford University, where a series of tests and investigations were carried out on the remains.

Dr Alan Ogden used the results of the tests and his skills as a dentist and osteologist to build a facial reconstruction of the man, and modern software to animate the model and give him a voice.

“I hope that the visitor to the museum can visualise him as a living man, a senior figure in his society, used to being obeyed and probably even revered,” he said.

The facial reconstruction and the remains of the Gristhorpe Man are back on display from today at The Rotunda Museum, which is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 10am and 5pm.