Using evidence from Iron Age human remains, the head and face of a woman who lived almost 2,000 years ago in Kimmeridge in Dorset has been reconstructed and it’ll soon go on display at Wareham Museum.
Radiocarbon dating, photogrammetry, 3D printing and facial reconstruction methods have helped bioarchaeologist Amber Manning rediscover Kimmeridge Woman as part of her Masters dissertation, The Forgotten Women of Dorset.
Bournemouth University student Amber Manning at work on her dissertation
Discover more about her life and times
An almost complete skeleton, which had been buried in a grave overlooking Kimmeridge Bay, was discovered in 2000 after a heavy rainstorm caused a cliff fall.
Iron Age and Roman pottery were also recovered near the burial site, along with additional small bones, later identified as belonging to a human baby.
Analysis of the bones by Bournemouth University revealed that they all came from the first century AD and the remains were kept for study at the university, which has one of the UK’s largest collections of human skeletal remains.
In 2023, the remains recovered from Kimmeridge were analysed by Amber Manning, a bioarchaeology Masters student at Bournemouth University, and Dr. Martin Smith, associate professor of biological anthropology, in order to discover more about her life and times.
Bioarchaeologist Amber Manning reconstructed the face of an Iron Age woman from Kimmeridge
“Often, bones are the only source of data”
Amber Manning said:
“I wanted to attempt to tell the stories of ordinary women from across the ages who had been missed by history. Due to the lack of written records involving women, often the bones are the only source of data we have available to tell us about their lives.
“Of the five women I analysed, the remains from Kimmeridge provided the most data due to the preservation. We were also able to get a radiocarbon date from a rib fragment to confirm that she was from approximately 2,000 years ago.
“Her skull in particular was very well preserved which allowed me to use photogrammetry to create a high quality 3D print. This method is often used in heritage work, and to create virtual reality models for public use, while better protecting the original remains.
“You select tissue depth markers based on age, sex, ancestry, and BMI estimates and attach these as small wooden pegs to the skull model, then build up layers of muscles, glands and fat pads with clay.
“Finally, you add the skin layer and sculpt in the final details which is normally where artistic license comes in. I kept the ears, eyebrows and hair as generic as possible, but the colours were based on DNA data from another project looking at Iron Age people in Dorset.”
Wareham Museum will reopen with the Kimmeridge Woman display on Saturday 5th April 2025
“We wanted her to be displayed locally”
Amber added:
“I am ecstatic about my work going on display at Wareham Museum. This was my first major project so for it to have generated any interest is amazing.
“My dissertation supervisor Dr Martin Smith contacted Wareham, as we wanted Kimmeridge Woman to be displayed locally. They have been really keen to get her on display, and have even invited me to give a lecture in the summer.
“As an early career archaeologist these opportunities are like gold dust to me and I’m very grateful for the chance to talk about my work.
“Hopefully I will have the chance to do more projects like this in the future, as I believe it is important that we tell these types of stories about the lives of ordinary people as well as those associated with major events.
“But for now I am focused on gaining more experience in the field itself, and loving getting my hands dirty on archaeological digs.”
University professor Martin Smith visited Wareham Museum to help set up the display space
A life of hard, physical labour
Martin Smith has already visited Wareham Museum to help create a display space for the Kimmeridge Woman project, which will go on display to the public as soon as the museum reopens on Saturday 5th April 2025.
Before that, he will be giving a talk in Wareham Museum on Wednesday 12th March 2025 on the Iron Age people of Dorset, after extensive excavations in the county since 2009 uncovered a wealth of new information about the people who inhabited Dorset before and after the Roman conquest.
The university’s archaeology department has discovered much information about Kimmeridge Woman, who was in her mid 30s when she died and stood around 158 centimetres, or 5 feet 2 inches, tall.
Her upper wisdom teeth never developed, and while her teeth show signs of wear, there is no evidence of decay, as refined sugar was not known of.
The areas on her arm bones where muscles attach are well developed and her spine shows signs of wear and tear, suggesting a life with regular, hard physical labour.
Looking out from Kimmeridge towards Hobarrow Bay, where Kimmeridge Woman was buried
“Lived during great social changes”
Martin Smith said:
“The small bones found next to her were of a baby who survived birth but had died within the first six months of life, although the relationship between the baby and Kimmeridge Woman remains an open question.
“It is likely that she lived during a period of great social change, either prior to the Roman invasion or when Britain was absorbed into the Empire.
“Her skeleton and skull are in excellent state, considering their age, and this has enabled the reconstruction of her facial appearance using modern techniques.
“While this type of facial approximation is not perfect, comparisons from modern forensic cases have demonstrated the likenesses are sufficiently accurate for families to recognise their relatives.
“Kimmeridge Woman is one of several people from the late Iron Age and Roman periods whose burials have been uncovered in Dorset. It was fortunate that her burial was discovered before her remains could erode into the sea and be lost forever.”
Bournemouth University’s anthropology and archaeology facility has one of the UK’s largest skeletal collections
She would still recognise her home
The tribe who lived in what is now Dorset at the time of Roman contact – colonising armies arrived in Wareham in 44AD – was referred to as the Durotriges by the Roman writer, Ptolemy
DNA studies by Bournemouth University have revealed that the people of Iron Age Dorset were a distinct, interrelated group.
With most of the Purbeck area largely unchanged by the last 2,000 years, it is likely that Kimmeridge Woman would still recognise her home if she were here today.
Tools of the trade for facial reconstruction at Bournemouth University
Further information
- Until Wareham Museum reopens, all information is on its Facebook page
- Find out more about Bournemouth University’s bioarcheology department
