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Facial recognition software has helped recreate the faces of the Czech royal family who died over a thousand years ago.
The researchers used radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis to identify the remains of Duke Spytihněv I and his brother Vratislav, who died a few years apart at the start of the 10th century.
The team scanned the dukes’ skulls in great detail and incorporated information about their diet, health, and mobility to render their three-dimensional resemblances.
A digital result was created for each man, showing each with blue eyes and reddish-brown hair – all of which were determined by DNA analysis.
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After taking digital photos from every angle in great detail, the researchers “ fleshed out ” Spytihněv I with musculature, drawing on both anatomical depth and soft tissue methods.
The brothers were from the house of Přemyslid, a Czech dynasty which ruled from the 9th century to the beginning of the 14th century, controlling Bohemia, Moravia, Poland, Hungary and Austria.
They are considered important figures in Czech history, the sons of the first Přemyslid ruler, Bořivoj I and his wife, St. Ludmila.
Ruler from 894 AD until his death in 915 AD, Spytihněv I founded Prague Castle and formed important alliances to repel the invasion of the Magyars of Hungary.
Vratislav I, his younger brother, succeeded after Spytihněv’s death and was also the father of King Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech state.
Anthropologist Emanuel Vlček first discovered their remains at Prague Castle in the 1980s, but improved radiocarbon dating now allows researchers to be much more precise in identifying individuals.
The team used DNA analysis to determine Duke Vratislav I (pictured) and his borther had red hair and blue eyes
Researchers are using 3D reconstruction technology to determine what medieval rulers looked like. In the photo: physical reconstruction of the face of Spytihněv I
And DNA analysis can determine diet, mobility, and other characteristics.
Archaeologist Jan Frolík, geophysicist Jiří Šindelář and photographer Martin Frouz partnered with Cicero André da Costa Moraes, a forensic facial reconstruction expert from Brazil on the project.
They scanned the skulls of the Přemyslid brothers using photogrammetry, a process that involves digital photos taken from multiple angles with precise detail.
Not only is the technique fast and precise, it is virtually contactless, preserving the remains from further degradation.
“We got a very detailed and fairly precise image of each individual’s skull in this way… and then it’s no longer a problem to do a scientific digital reconstruction of the face,” Šindelář told Czech Radio.
Moraes then “ fleshed out ” his subject matter with musculature, drawing on different reconstruction techniques, including anatomical and soft tissue depth methods.
It is crucial for him to work in “blindness,” said Moraes, not knowing anything about his subjects in advance.
“If you like a historical figure, maybe – maybe – deep in your mind you could try to create an interesting face,” he told Radio Prague International.
“So it’s important not to know who you are rebuilding.
Moraes, an expert in forensic facial reconstruction, used the same technique to reveal the faces of other Czech royals, including Queen Judita of Thuringia (pictured)
Moraes used the same technique to reveal the faces of other members of the Czech royal family, including Queen Judita of Thuringia and Zdislava of Lemberk, the patron saint of difficult marriages and those who laugh at their piety.
At the request of the Archdiocese of Prague, the team will then work on the reconstruction of the face of Saint Ludmila of Bohemia in honor of the 1,100th anniversary of her martyrdom.
They will also begin to rebuild Vratislav’s son Wenceslas I, the patron saint of the Czech Republic who was murdered by his brother on his way to mass.
For most of his subjects, Moraes can only guess at the color of the eyes and hair, but an extensive DNA study showed that both brothers had reddish-brown hair and blue eyes.
However, their hairstyles, facial hair, and clothing were all educated guesses based on illustrations from surviving manuscripts.
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