Face to face with the bog man

The work of researchers in the forensic art unit was featured recently in a BBC Timewatch programme, Meet the Bog Bodies.

Dr Caroline Wilkinson, a forensic anthropologist, and her team used digital technology to piece together the face of Clonycavan man, who was discovered in a Peat Bog in Ireland and is estimated to be about 2,500 years old.

The team first produced a facial reconstruction from CT scan data. A forensic artist in the team, Caroline Needham, then added skin tone, glass eyes and hair to reveal the appearance of the Iron Age Irish man.

Dr Caroline Wilkinson from the forensic art unit says, "The available evidence suggests that this is the most likely appearance of Clonycavan man. This case was particularly challenging as the body had been deformed and compressed by the peat bog burial conditions, so it all the more remarkable that we can now be face-to-face with an inhabitant of the Iron Age."