Is this the face of a witch, or a grandmother wrongly accused? Credit: Ancient Origins
4. Lilias Adie, A Scottish Woman Who Was Found Guilty In Court For Being a Witch
Older women were accused of being witches for centuries, and Lilias Adie was no exception. She was an elderly woman living in Scotland when she went on trial for witchcraft. As a result, people of her village tortured her, which forced her to confess to being in love with the devil. When she was found guilty, she committed suicide in 1704 before they had the chance to burn her at the stake. After her death, she was buried on the beach. Villagers placed a giant stone slab on top of her grave, because they believed that she might use her magic to rise from the dead. Because of this stone slab, her skeleton was well preserved enough for forensic scientists from Dundee University to make a 3D model of what she would have looked like when she was alive.
This is what Jesus most likely looked like. Credit: Bas Uterwijk
3. Jesus Christ Probably Didn’t Look Like Those Paintings in Church
In many Christian churches, images of Jesus have European features like blue eyes and brown hair. Because of this, many Christians assume that he must have been white. However, scientific evidence has proven that Jesus should have been biologically similar to Iraqi Jews. Without his remains, it would be impossible to get a completely accurate depiction. Even so, there are several different 3D interpretations out there as to what Jesus may have looked like. I went with the depiction by the Dutch artist Bas Uterwijk, because it seems to be as close to reality as I can find. He took images of Jesus from existing classic paintings and created a face based on those features. Only this time, instead of making him white, he gave him a more racially accurate depiction.
If the Statue of Liberty was a real person. Credit: Bas Uterwijk
2. The Woman in The Statue of Liberty May Not Be French, After All
A Dutch artist named Bas Uterwijk created this digital portrait to in order to show what The Statue of Liberty would have looked like, if she was a real French woman. But is this completely accurate? And did she really exist? The artist, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, was known for being fascinated with Egyptian architecture. He was originally going to create a statue that was nearly identical to the Statue of Liberty for the opening of the Egyptian Suez Canal. In his original plans, the woman was supposed to be an Arab wearing peasant robe, holding a torch over her head. Since the concept was nearly identical, historians believe that Bartholdi took his existing project and gave it to the United States. Many of the other figures on this list have had their race changed multiple times, and the Statue of Liberty may be no different.
Philip the Arab was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. Credit: Dan Voshart
1. Philip the Arab’s Facial Reconstruction Captures His Emotions
From 244 to 249, Philip the Arab served as the Roman emperor. He was a huge figure in the Roman empire, because he negotiated peace with the Persian Sassanid Empire. He was betrayed during the Battle of Verona, and killed in a rebellion. Because of this, he only reigned for 5 years, but he’s remembered for his accomplishments in that short time. This facial recreation is yet another artistic interpretation by artist Dan Voshart. His face looks identical to his bust, except that his expression is very sad, showing the sense of betrayal in his eyes. Because of this artwork, we can really get a sense of what Philip must have gone through.
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