Elite woman from time of Trojan War brought to life through digital technology

Digital technology has unveiled the face of an elite woman who lived around 3,500 years ago in a kingdom associated with the homeland of Helen, whose fame spread all over the world through her Troy narratives.

This woman, who lived during the Late Bronze Age, has now been brought to life through face reconstruction technology, allowing us to glimpse the face of a Mycenaean woman.

The woman, believed to have passed away in her mid-30s, was buried in a royal cemetery between the 16th and 17th centuries B.C. The cemetery was discovered in the 1950s on the Greek mainland, in Mycenae, the legendary home of King Agamemnon, as described by Homer.

Reconstructing face of a woman linked to Trojan War mythology

Historian Emily Hauser, who commissioned the digital reconstruction, expressed her amazement, saying, “It’s incredibly modern. It took my breath away.”

“For the first time, we are looking into the face of a woman from a kingdom associated with Helen of Troy—Helen’s sister, Clytemnestra, was queen of Mycenae in legend—and from where the poet Homer imagined the Greeks of the Trojan War setting out. Such digital reconstructions persuade us that these were real people.”

Technological breakthroughs offer a glimpse into past

Hauser, a Senior Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter, said, “It is incredibly exciting to think that, for the first time since she was laid beneath the ground over 3,500 years ago, we are able to gaze into the actual face of a bronze age royal woman—and it truly is a face to launch a thousand ships.’ “

“This woman died around the beginning of the Late Bronze Age, several hundred years before the supposed date of the Trojan War.”

A fascinating discovery linked to Troy

Juanjo Ortega G., a digital artist, based the realistic face reconstruction on a clay model created in the 1980s by researchers from the University of Manchester, a pioneer in the field of facial reconstruction.

Unlocking secrets of ancient women

In her book Mythica: A New History of Homer’s World, Through the Women Written Out of It, Hauser highlights how advances in forensic anthropology, DNA analysis, radiocarbon dating, and 3D digital printing have made significant progress in reconstructing the ancient world.

“We can—for the first time—peer back into the eyes of the past,” she stated.

Archaeological findings redefine assumptions about women in ancient warfare

The woman was buried with an electrum (gold-silver alloy) face mask and a weapon set that included three swords belonging to a warrior. Initially, it was believed these weapons belonged to a man buried alongside her, but it is now suspected that the weapons belonged to the woman.

Hauser explained, “The traditional narrative is that if a woman is buried beside a man, she is his wife.” While facial similarities had been previously noticed, DNA analysis revealed that these individuals were not husband and wife but rather siblings.

“This woman was buried there by her birth, not her marriage. That tells us a different story about how important she was … Data that is coming out is suggesting that far more of what archaeologists call warrior kits are associated with women than with men in these late Bronze Age burials, which is completely overturning our assumptions of how women are associated with war.”

New insights into role of women in ancient societies

Hauser also noted that archaeological discoveries and DNA analysis have helped “bring the real women of ancient history out of the shadows.”

The condition of the woman’s bones suggests arthritis in her vertebrae and hands. This condition may be evidence of the physically demanding, repetitive activities, such as weaving, that were common among women in ancient times—activities that we also see Helen engaged in within The Iliad.

“So this is such a wonderful way to connect real women’s experiences to the ancient myths and tales.”