During excavations in 1963, archaeologists found a so -called tree trunk box with skeletal residues under the Oude Kerk. These turned out to be a man who was buried there between 1150 and 1215. In 1963 they knew for sure: this must have been one of the very first Amsterdammers. And now that oldest known Amsterdammer has a face.
Skull
City archaeologist Ranjith Jayasena: It is a young man aged 20 to 25, about 1.72 meters long. In 1963 they were unable to date the skeleton, they thought around 1200. They did research into the skull and that skull was lost. But luckily they still took pictures. “
And those photos were good enough for physical anthropologist and skeletal expert Maja d’Hollosy, who made facial reconstruction. “With the photos you can make a two -dimensional facial reconstruction, one of the front and one of the side. And of these two -dimensional facial reconstructions you can make a three -dimensional face with the computer. I have had a layer of it and printed it.