London [UK], August 31: New research has revealed what a man who lived through the Norman conquest of Britain may have looked like, uncovering new details about his life more than 1,000 years ago.
Known as Conquest Man, his remains were analysed by researchers from English Heritage and Heritage England using osteological analysis, ancient DNA and isotope testing, alongside a digital face reconstruction.
The results from his DNA suggests he had substantial ancestry from continental Europe. He was described as "stocky and muscular", more than five feet tall and around 50 to 60 years old with evidence of multiple healed fractures.
He was also given a privileged burial in a Norman church then owned by one of William the Conqueror's knights, St Peter's in Barton-upon-Humber, and laid to rest in a coffin made from an oak tree felled around 1079.
His arms were folded with his head supported on a grass pillow and kept from falling sideways by two lumps of local chalk. Three apple wood staffs - which were seen as sacred in Scandinavian tradition - were by his side.
Kevin Booth, English Heritage head curator of collections, who co-ordinated the study, said: "I've been fascinated by this individual - this man of the Conquest - for 20 years. Who was he, what did he experience, could he have been at the Battle of Hastings, what sort of person might he have been?
"With this new analysis, it feels like we can really get close to him. To be able to now look at his face is to feel we can almost speak to him."
Source: Qatar Tribune