A NEW 3D model of Robert the Bruce’s face has gone on display to mark 750 years since his birth.
The king of Scotland is being remembered by a series of events across the Historic Environment Scotland (HES) estate, with the new face model going on display at Dunfermline Abbey, where Robert the Bruce was buried.
The 3D reconstruction is the “most realistic likeness of Robert the Bruce to be produced to date”, HES said.
It was created as part of a collaboration between the University of Glasgow and Liverpool John Moores University Face Lab, which released the digital model a few years ago.
The team used a 3D laser scanner to scan a cast of Robert the Bruce’s skull held at Hunterian Museum, which allowed the team to accurately establish the muscle formation from the positions of the skull bones.
Using CGI technology, realistically textured skin was then layered over the muscle structure.
HES said that the nose is the least accurate feature of this facial depiction due to the bone deterioration.
There is a debate over whether Robert the Bruce had leprosy, and HES said only a model without any symptoms has been created in 3D, although a digital one exhibiting some signs of the disease also exists.
Alasdair Campbell, an interpretation officer at HES, said: “We are delighted to host the most accurate model of Robert the Bruce’s face to date.
“Robert the Bruce’s story is an important part of Dunfermline Abbey, and we are excited for visitors to be able to visualise this story in a new way, particularly as we celebrate his 750th birthday.”
Dr Martin MacGregor, a senior lecturer in history at University of Glasgow who first conceived of the model, said: “In a lifetime of only 55 years, Robert the Bruce achieved the impossible and restored peace and freedom to a war-torn and colonised kingdom.
“Contemporary sources tell us much about his remarkable life, but virtually nothing about his appearance. This is what persuaded a team of historians, museum curators, geneticists, forensic scientists and medical artists to combine to create a new 3D depiction of the head of the hero-king, based upon the skull-cast taken from a skeleton in a tomb discovered within the ruins of Dunfermline Abbey in 1818.
“The head is dressed in a helmet surmounted by a crown, as worn by Bruce at his most famous victory, the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. 750 years after his birth in 1274, it is fitting that Dunfermline Abbey, where Robert Bruce was buried in 1329, should host an exhibition which brings us face-to-face with Scotland’s greatest monarch.”
The model will be on show to the public for the first time at Dunfermline Abbey from Monday, July 29 until Saturday, December 7.
HES has a blog detailing the history of the many faces of Robert the Bruce which you can find here.
For tickets to visit Dunfermline Abbey and see the model, visit the HES website.
