He’s one of the most perplexing figures in history. Whether it’s his ability to walk on water, rise from the dead or the claim to be the son of the Judeo-Christian God, Jesus Christ has been a figure of much intrigue for believers and skeptics alike. One scientist has thrown fuel on the fire with this image, which he claims is the most accurate depiction of what Jesus would have looked like when he was alive some 2000 years ago. It’s a Christmas miracle.
Forensic facial reconstruction expert Richard Neave, also a former medical artist from the University of Manchester, has created what he believes is the most accurate portrait of Jesus, by looking to what would be a typical face of a Galilean man during the first century C.E.
Working with Israeli archeologists Neave used computerised tomography to create 3D cross-sectional images of three Galilean Semite skulls from the area of Jerusalem. Doing this allowed Neave to create a fleshed out mock-up of what the person would have looked like. Using art from the time, Neave and his team were then able to determine the appearance of the man’s hair, skin tone and eyes. The result is the in the tweet below.
PHOTO: The “Real” Face of Jesus Uncovered https://t.co/yjlWf041ic pic.twitter.com/AxM0BAYU8c
— Naij.com (@naijcom) December 11, 2015
Now take this with a grain of salt, this is very much a a depiction of how he may have appeared based on the evidence provided. Given that this research is 10 years old however, it is likely a more accurate image can be seen if applying modern technology. Still, it is certainly a far cry from the omnipresent image of Jesus being a fair skinned, slender man with long brown hair, a representation that was made popular during the Renaissance in artwork like The Last Supper. Considering there are no known portraits of Jesus from when he was alive, Neave’s image is most likely the closest we can get.
This story was first seen on I Fucking Love Science.
