We all grew up with images of Jesus as a handsome, brown/blue eyed and long haired man. From images on stained glasses, rosaries, prayer beads, pamphlets and books, Jesus was depicted along the lines of the image above. But now, a forensic expert has recreated the face of Jesus Christ using state-of-the art science.
The resulting face is a far cry from the tall, Caucasian man with light blonde hair that is usually show in bibles and stained glass windows throughout the world.
The features of the ‘real’ Jesus are typical of Middle Eastern Jews in the Galilee area of northern Israel.
Neave and his research team were provided with Semite skulls from Israeli archaeologists. They created X-ray “slices” of the skulls and used computers to establish the muscles and skin on a typical Semite skull, reports Esquire. The team also said Jesus would be bearded and have short hair – likely with tight curls – in keeping with Jewish tradition.
Using the average build of a Semite male at the time, they theorised Jesus would likely have been just over 5ft, and since he worked outdoors as a carpenter until he was about 30, the scientists reasoned he would be stronger and more weather-beaten than usually depicted.