Brymbo Man - facial reconstruction

Brymbo Man is one of the highlights of Wrexham County Borough Museum.

He is the remains of a skeleton that was found in a stone-lined grave, along with a decorated beaker and flint knife, in Brymbo, near Wrexham, in 1958.

Originally dated to 1500-1600 BC, experts now think Brymbo Man was alive sometime between 2200-1900 BC.

Brymbo Man was initially described as one of the Beaker people, invaders who brought with them the tradition of burying their dead with clay beakers. Nowadays archaeologists think Brymbo Man may have been an incomer, perhaps even a warrior, but he was probably not from a different ethnic group. The first beaker burials are now dated to as early as 2500 BC at the start of the Bronze Age.

The facial reconstruction was undertaken by Dr. Caroline Wilkinson of the University of Manchester in 2001. Her approach is based on her in-depth knowledge of anatomy and the relationship between skull shape and the face.

Did you know?

Beaker burials, such as Brymbo Man's, were the first individual burials. Prior to this period (about 2500 BC), most burials were communal, with many individuals sharing the same grave, often being buried over many years, even centuries.

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