A 3D reconstruction of the face of Kimmeridge Woman, a young woman who lived in Dorset approximately 2,000 years ago, will soon be on display at Wareham Town Museum. The exhibit, featuring both the physical model and a digital version, will open when the museum reopens on April 5, according to the Daily Mail.
Amber Manning, a bioarchaeology master's student at Bournemouth University, undertook the project as part of her degree. Using photogrammetry, 3D printing, and facial reconstruction methods, she recreated the face of Kimmeridge Woman. "I really wanted to work on ordinary women for my master's project, and this was a great opportunity," Manning said, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The human remains of Kimmeridge Woman were discovered in 2000 after erosion revealed a burial site on a cliff overlooking Kimmeridge Bay in Dorset County. The skeleton, which has been stored by Bournemouth University since its discovery, belonged to a woman believed to have been in her 20s or 30s at the time of her death. "Her skeleton was beautifully preserved," Manning noted.
Manning's reconstruction process involved creating a 3D model of the skull using photogrammetry—a method that determines the shape of an object from a large number of photographs taken from different angles. A 3D printer was then used to produce a physical model of the woman's head and face. "I then took into account her age, sex, weight, and ethnic origin, as these factors contribute to determining tissue thickness," Manning explained, adding that the young woman showed "signs of undernourishment at a certain period of her life."
The project was supervised by Dr. Martin Smith, Associate Professor of Biological Anthropology at Bournemouth University. "Recent research projects conducted by Bournemouth University have uncovered a variety of striking and important discoveries that help us build an increasingly detailed and captivating picture of life at that time," Dr. Smith said. "We are so happy to display and share some of our findings."
Kimmeridge Woman is thought to have been part of the Durotriges tribe that lived in what is now Dorset. She was approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall. There was wear and tear on her spine, indicating early stages of arthritis and issues related to a ruptured disc, suggesting she lived a life with hard physical labor. "I think it's very much the case that Kimmeridge Woman would recognise the landscape that we still live in—you could take her to Kimmeridge now or other parts of Dorset and she would recognise where she was, and the place that we still live in," Dr. Smith stated.
Small bones found alongside Kimmeridge Woman indicate a baby who had survived birth but died within its first six months, though the relationship between the baby and the woman remains unclear.
"Making a reconstruction, I usually think that we are looking into their world," Manning said. She worked closely with Dr. Smith on the project, which won her the prize for top research project at Bournemouth University in 2023, the year she graduated.
Kimmeridge Bay, where the remains were found, was an industrial center for salt production and shale extraction during the Roman period. It is now a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest and a notable hunting ground for geologists due to its diverse array of Jurassic epoch fossils.
The exhibition at Wareham Town Museum will cover the archaeological excavations and discoveries at Kimmeridge. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the 3D model of Kimmeridge Woman's head, learn about the reconstruction process, and gain insights into life during the Iron Age in Dorset.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
