Scientists reconstruct face of 1,000-year-old ‘Conquest Man’

By Ed Chatterton

Scientists have unveiled a facial reconstruction of a mystery man who lived through the Norman Conquest following groundbreaking research on his 1,000-year-old skeleton.

The remains of "Conquest Man" were discovered around 50 years ago at St Peter's Church in Barton-upon-Humber, Lincs.

English Heritage and Historic England have spent half a century working to gain a better understanding of the unknown man's background, including undertaking DNA analysis.

They say the results finally shed new light on experts' understanding of a tumultuous period which changed the course of English history.

Experts say the facial reconstruction of the man brings us face-to-face with an everyday person who survived the Norman Conquest for the very first time.

The man was of mixed heritage, just over five feet tall, stocky, muscular, aged between 50-60 and had several healed fractures.

He was given a privileged burial - steeped in Scandinavian ritual - in the Norman-owned church of one of William the Conqueror's knights.

He was laid to rest in a coffin made from an oak tree felled around 1079 with his arms folded, head supported on a grass pillow and kept from falling sideways by two lumps of local chalk.

Three apple wood staffs – which are known to be grave goods in the Scandinavian tradition - were also found by his side.

Kevin Booth, English Heritage's head curator of collections, who coordinated the study, said: "I've been fascinated by this individual – this man of the Conquest - for twenty 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.

"More than that, it makes us think of his role at the time of the Conquest – his loyalties and anxieties.

"The classic way of understanding the Battle of Hastings is binary; 'them and us'.

"But what Conquest Man illustrates is so much richer than that. We don't know if he was 'Saxon' or 'Norman.'

"He may have been neither - a man of continental, Scandinavian influences - but then, what many of us don't realize, is that this was true for both 'sides' at the Battle.

"By the 11th century, we were an Anglo-Scandinavian nation, and there was a similarly strong Scandinavian influence in Normandy.

"Anglo, Scandinavian and Norman interests were closely connected.

"He's a fascinating survivor of a cataclysmic period in history, born in the reign of Viking King Cnut, he survived the Norman Conquest to be buried with honour next to a pre-Conquest church, part of the new Norman world.

"It seems to me his legacy is of survival, resilience and adaptation.

"I hope that by sharing his story in this way, when people go to our Battle of Hastings re-enactment or visit the Bayeux Tapestry - of course they can cheer on who they like – but maybe he can help us not to pigeonhole those who fought and died there, but to understand them as human above all."

English Heritage worked alongside researchers from Historic England, the Crick Institute, the British Geological Survey, University of Southampton, muVIS and FaceLab.

The research process involved a series of tests on his skeleton including osteological analysis, Ancient DNA, Isotope analysis and the digital facial reconstruction.

The DNA results suggests substantial ancestry from continental Europe, while his burial included objects and practices associated with Scandinavian traditions.

Scientists say the oxygen levels in one of his teeth are consistent with time spent in a cold climate as an adolescent, while the strontium levels are more compatible with the area closer to Barton on Humber.

Human skeletal biologist at Historic England, Sarah Stark said: "The science does not point to one simple homeland for this individual.

"Instead, his skeleton, burial, ancient DNA and isotope results suggest a man connected to the wider continental world.

"He may have travelled to Barton, or he may have been born locally into a community already shaped by those connections.

"In either case, his burial suggests that the traditions associated with him were meaningful and recognizable within the Barton community, reminding us that identity in 11th-century England was far more complex than simple categories like Saxon or Norman."

Members of the public will be able to see the remains of Conquest Man at St Peter's Church on September 20.