Dimensions
199 x 254 x 24mm
"Otzi" or "Iceman" was discovered by a mountaineering couple in September 1991 in the Austrian Alps, having been perfectly preserved in ice for 5,000 years. He was one of our prehistoric ancestors who brought with him through time the accoutrements of his life, clues to the world in which he lived. This story is just one of 20 such accounts described in this fascinating book.
Here we meet, among others, a caveman from the West Country who, when discovered after 9,000 years, was found to be a direct ancestor of a local schoolteacher living just metres away, and Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, who was buried in 317 BC in a golden sarcophagus.
But this is no ordinary book of archaeological discoveries, for all these historical characters hold one thing in common: thanks to up-to-date technology and the cutting-edge techniques used in forensic detective work, we can now see what these people looked like. Ian Wilson describes, in painstaking detail, just how these facial reconstructions came to be commissioned, who undertook the work, what techniques they used and how the end result compares with contemporary records. And he shows how, through the development of genetic science, we are beginning to learn more about their lives than has ever been possible before.
This unique book throws shafts of light on the history of civilisation, but it also elaborates on remarkable anecdotes: how a Minoan priestess not only died in an earthquake while performing a ritual, and that she was pale-skinned and suffered from bad breath; how we can tell from the condition of her teeth and bones that a woman of Roman London probably enjoyed a healthy diet, with plenty of meat, vegetables and fruit. Most hauntingly, we can now see, thanks to incredible advances in facial reconstructions, the very Churchillian face of Robert the Bruce staring back at us after 600 years, and how Francisco Pizarro's wide jaws were misrepresented by the aristocratic style of contemporary portraiture.
With general introductions to each historical era and a variety of illustrations from portraits to sketches, from ancient artefacts to stunning landscapes, this book is as fascinating as it is ambitious: a blend of history, archaeology and science woven together with a compelling narrative from a bestselling author.
