Scientists have revealed the face of Saint Nicholas of Myra, the real-life bishop who inspired the concept of the modern Santa Claus. according to New York PostThe unprecedented reconstruction took place 1,700 years after the saint’s death and was made possible by analyzing data from his skull. Using advanced techniques, researchers managed to “forensically recreate” the face of Saint Nicholas of Myra, whose gift-giving propensity inspired the legend of Father Christmas.
In photos shared on Instagram by Cicero Moraes, lead author of the study, the saint is depicted with a broad forehead, thin lips and a round nose. According to the outlet, Mr. Moraes said the 3D images show that his face is both “strong” and “gentle.”
Take a look at the images below:
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Saint Nicholas of Myra died in 343 AD – long before anyone could take a photograph. He was known for rewarding only well-behaved children with gifts and inspired the Dutch folk artist Sinterklaas. Over time, the character merged with the English Father Christmas and became the Santa Claus we know today.
Despite the popularity of the saint, there was no accurate depiction of him till now. Mr Moraes said the 3D images match early descriptions of Santa Claus in literature, such as the 1823 poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, which described his “rosy cheeks”, “broad face” and “cherry-like nose”. is described. ,
“The skull appears very robust, forming a strong face, as its dimensions on the horizontal axis are larger than average,” he said. “This feature, combined with the thick beard, is very reminiscent of the figure we think of when we think of Santa Claus,” he said.
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according to PostScientists used data collected by Luigi Martino in the 1950s to reconstruct the saint’s face. Study of his remains revealed that the saint suffered from chronic arthritis in his spine and pelvis and that his skull was thick, which caused frequent headaches. Scientists said the saint probably survived by eating a mostly plant-based diet.
“We initially recreated the skull in 3D using this data,” Mr Moraes said. “We complemented this with an anatomical distortion technique, in which the tomography of a living person’s head is adjusted so that the skull of the virtual donor matches the skull of the saint,” he explained.
“The final face is an interpolation of all this information, looking for physical and statistical consistency,” Mr. Moraes said.
Notably, while Saint Nicholas was initially buried in Myra or modern-day Turkey, his bones were later moved to Bari, Italy, where they remain today.
