Facial reconstruction based on the skull of a young woman

(Kelebia Grave 410.)
by Emese Gábor, facial reconstruction artist

The skull recovered from the cemetery at Kelebia belongs to a young woman who died in her early twenties. It has been preserved in excellent condition. Its morphological analysis revealed that the woman had primarily europid features, and her teeth were almost complete. The characteristic conchoidal abrasion marks on her teeth indicate that she spent a lot of time spinning.
The facial reconstruction was created based on fifty measurements made at specific points of the skull; the thickness of the organic tissue was estimated by the so-called Manchester forensic facial reconstruction method, with consideration to the age and sex of the individual. The muscle and soft tissue layers of the skull were built up with anatomical precision following the method by Gerasimov, paying particular attention to the unique characteristics of the face, including the special traits of the muscle attachment sites, the eye sockets, and the observed asymmetries. The form and size of the nose were estimated based on Lebedinsky’s method. The joint application of the three facial reconstruction methods was completed using a reference database of X-ray images taken of living persons to perfect the occasional imprecision of the estimations on the thickness of organic tissues.
The discoloured spots on the skull indicate jewellery or other metal objects interred with the woman. The facial reconstruction based on archaeological and anthropological analyses and measurements contributes to outlining a comprehensive picture of the look and lifestyle of the young woman.