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Archaeologists in Scotland Discovered the Skeleton of a Roman-Era Man Who Was Decapitated Nearly 2,000 Years Ago. Now, You Can See What He Might Have Looked Like During His Lifetime
A digital facial reconstruction of the man, whose head was severed after his death, will soon go on view in Edinburgh. It depicts an individual in his early 50s, with graying hair and brown eyes
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In 2010, archaeologists conducting excavations ahead of construction in Musselburgh, Scotland, stumbled upon the remains of four Roman-era men. Their heads had been separated from their bodies, apparently after death.
Experts don’t know exactly why these individuals were decapitated postmortem, but they have a few theories: Perhaps the ritual was a holdover from an early Celtic cult that attributed power to severed heads. Alternatively, the beheadings might have served as a punishment or a precaution to ensure the dead didn’t come back to life.
The rationale for the decapitations might be unclear, but that hasn’t stopped archaeologists from piecing together what happened to these ancient Britons during their lifetimes. Thanks to a cutting-edge collaboration led by National Museums Scotland (NMS), the public can now envision what one of the men looked like when he died in his early 50s, between 140 and 165 C.E. A digital reconstruction of his face will soon go on view alongside his skull in “Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire,” a forthcoming exhibition at NMS’ flagship Edinburgh location.
Need to know: Roman Scotland
- Soldiers led by the Roman general Agricola invaded what is now Scotland in 79 C.E., winning a major victory at the Battle of Mons Graupius in 83 or 84.
- The Romans soon retreated, only returning to the region during the reign of Antoninus Pius. Around 142, his forces built the Antonine Wall, which replaced Hadrian’s Wall as the northernmost border of the Roman Empire.
- Inveresk was active during this period but was abandoned around 160 along with the Antonine Wall.
The man “lived a hard and physically active life,” according to a statement, “and his appearance would have betrayed his age through lines around his brown eyes and the graying of his dark hair.” Although he lived near the Roman fort of Inveresk, he probably wasn’t a soldier, as he had a condition that would have prevented him from easily wielding a sword in his right hand. John H. Reid, an archaeologist at the Trimontium Trust who wasn’t involved in the research, tells Live Science’s Tom Metcalfe that the individual might have worked a “desk job,” perhaps serving as a clerk or in another noncombat role. Alternatively, he may have simply used his left hand to hold a weapon.
“I have worked with the finds from Roman Inveresk for years, but this facial reconstruction finally gives me a sense of what one of its inhabitants looked like,” Fraser Hunter, a curator at NMS, says in the statement. “Archaeology tells us about people who had hopes and fears just like us, and it is a privilege to present a vision of this resident of Inveresk using contemporary scientific techniques. We cannot know how exactly he looked, but we think his family and friends would have spotted the likeness.”
To approximate the man’s appearance, forensic artist Chris Rynn drew on an osteoarchaeological assessment conducted by NMS, isotopic analyses led by experts at Durham University, and ancient DNA extracted by the University of York and Harvard Medical School. As Rynn writes in an Instagram post, “Hair, eyes and skin color [are] all determined by DNA, but a range of possible hairstyles are depicted, which all fit the DNA analysis.” These looks include a thinning widow’s peak and a bushy beard flecked with streaks of gray, as well as a fuller head of curly dark hair.
The individual’s skeleton shows that he suffered several serious injuries, including a broken nose and a rib fracture, both of which had healed by the time of his death. He had a bone growth around the elbow joint of his right arm, likely the result of septic arthritis. Wear patterns on his teeth indicate that he made up for this mobility loss by picking up objects with his mouth.
The new facial reconstruction builds on previous research about the mysterious Briton. A 2020 study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports looked at his strontium isotopes, which reflect where someone grew up. The authors found that he probably spent his childhood in southern Britain, hundreds of miles away from the region where he died.
Of the four decapitated individuals unearthed in Musselburgh, two seemingly came from England. The third grew up in Scotland, while the last traced their origins to somewhere in the Mediterranean. “These results suggest that decapitation burials were afforded to migrants to the Lothian area but [are] not indicative of a common origin, implying that something more complex than a shared geographic childhood origin united these individuals,” the researchers wrote.
According to a separate 2020 paper published in Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports, the subject of the facial reconstruction was buried on his back, with his feet and shoulders raised above his torso. His head was placed on the right side of his body, facing inward. Cuts on the bones indicate that the head was severed toward the base of the neck. Researchers didn’t recover any funerary goods from the man’s grave, but his remains were among the most well-preserved skeletons found at the site.
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To date, archaeologists have uncovered more than 500 Roman-era decapitation burials across the United Kingdom. Some of these individuals were beheaded postmortem, while others were killed by having their heads chopped off. Experts have proposed numerous explanations for this phenomenon, including “execution, trophy-taking, desecration, human sacrifice, war, cult practice, releasing the soul, laying the unquiet dead and banishing witches,” per a 2021 study published in Britannia. But the issue is contentious, and scholars have yet to reach a firm consensus.
Whatever the reasoning for the beheadings, the Musselburgh burials are unique. They represent the “earliest known examples of Roman inhumation and decapitation in Britain, and their apparent ethnic diversity coupled with a shared burial rite reflects the cosmopolitan nature of the Roman army,” according to the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
In the NMS statement, Jess Thompson, the museum group’s curator of osteoarchaeology, notes that the skeletons “are exceptional and incredibly rare survivals from Roman Scotland.” She adds: “Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of human remains allows us to understand the physical attributes of these individuals as well as their life stories. We can investigate where these men had traveled from to reach the frontier, what they were doing there and what became of them.”
“Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire” will be on view at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh from November 14, 2026, to April 18, 2027.
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