Feature: Face image of Roman-era "Leasowe Man" revealed in Britain

Space age know-how and forensic skills have been used to finally reveal the face of a man who lived in Britain almost 2,000 years ago.

Experts at Liverpool John Moores University's Face Lab have used the latest computer-generated three-dimensional technology to reconstruct the face of a man whose body was found on the banks of the River Mersey near Liverpool in 1864.

The 3D image has this week gone on display at the Museum of Liverpool, adding another piece of the jigsaw to the life and times of Leasowe Man.

He was given the name after a group of workmen discovered his skeleton preserved in a bed of peat along the embankment at the village of Leasowe.

The owner of the nearby Leasowe Castle donated the remains to the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and the skeleton for many years has been in the collection of London's Natural History Museum.

Until now nobody had a clue about what Leasowe Man would have looked like as he strolled along the banks of the River Mersey.

The 3D model of Liverpool's oldest skeleton is now on display in the Museum of Liverpool's History Detectives gallery. It joins a replica skull of the man which is already on show.

Liz Stewart, curator at the museum, said the image of the face raises lots of questions about his appearance, hair color, eye color and skin tone, and about his life and experiences.

She said: "Since his discovery in the Victorian period, 'Leasowe Man' has had a complicated history. He became known as 'the prehistoric man of Cheshire'. Recently, however, the bones have been radiocarbon dated to between 1600 and 1900 years old so this man lived in Britain's Roman period."

Stewart said analysis shows Leasowe Man was male, around 40 years old when he died. He was around 169 cm tall and his bones showed signs of strong muscle attachments, suggesting he was physically active during his life.

"Analysis of the chemicals in his bones tells us that he didn't eat very much fish, which is a little surprising for someone found so close to the sea," added Stewart.

Leasowe man returned to Liverpool in 2005 as a centrepiece of a year-long "Living with the Romans" exhibition.

"In the future we may work with the National History Museum to borrow the skeleton when there's an opportunity to display it within our gallery spaces," said Stewart.

The Facelab at Liverpool John Moores University is a specialist department which teaches and made researches on the skills of facial reconstruction for historical research and forensic analysis. Endit