ACADEMICS have reconstructed the face of a Viking woman whose skeleton was found at Jorvik in Coppergate more than 30 years ago.

Jorvik invested £150,000 in recruiting the team from the University of Dundee to recreate the most accurate picture of Viking life yet, which will go on display at the centre this week.

York Archaeological Trust, owner of Jorvik, enlisted the skills of academics at the University of Dundee to produce a facial reconstruction of a female skeleton – one of four excavated at Coppergate in York in the 1970s and 1980s.

The 46-year-old woman is believed to have had a limp because of an inherited hip condition, which had caused her right hip to form abnormally. She probably walked with crutches, because of her well-developed shoulder and arm bones.

She was 5ft 2in tall and is believed to have been looked after by relatives and lived with the condition all her life. Few Vikings lived to be older than 50, and 33 per cent of the normal Viking population would not have reached adulthood.

The exhibition will feature a 3D graphic display of her skeleton, showing her hip condition, and show the reconstruction of her flesh and face.

Caroline Erolin, lecturer at the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee, said a laser scanned the skull to create the 3D digital model and then used specialist computer equipment to model the anatomy of the face in “virtual clay” from the deep muscles to the superficial one.

She said: “I was pleased to be involved in this project as ten years previous, as a medical art student, I produced 2D reconstruction artwork of an individual from Fishergate in York as a part of my Masters research project, which ended up on display at Jorvik.”

Janice Aitken, lecturer and researcher at the University of Dundee, then added the lifelike finishing touches. She said: “I use the same sort of software as is used to create 3D animations in the film industry. I digitally created realistic eyes, hair and bonnet and added lighting to create a natural look.”

York Archaeological Trust’s new Investigate Coppergate exhibition examines the Vikings’ diet, displays the Viking facial reconstruction and also investigates the diseases from which the Vikings suffered.

The end of the Vikings exhibition looks at the final battles of the Viking-age in York that heralded the end of the Viking era and the coming of the Normans.