For Christians, what Jesus Christ may have looked like has been a mystery. The New Testament of the Holy Bible does not provide any detailed description of Jesus Christ, nor have any drawings of Him been discovered. As a result, Christ has been depicted in various appearances by people from different times and cultures.
Fortunately, science may have found a way for Christians to finally find an answer to the age-old question of how Jesus Christ looks like.
Through the help of an exciting new scientific field known as forensic anthropology commonly used in solving crimes, British scientists who teamed up with Israeli archaeologists came up with what is believed to be the most accurate recreation of Jesus' Christ face in history.
How exactly did the researchers accomplish this remarkable feat? An article on Esquire Magazine's website provided a detailed account.
Guided by the description by evangelist Matthew that it was hard to recognise Jesus from His disciples during his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, the scientists extrapolated that Christ had features that were typical of Galilean Semites of His era.
With this in mind, the research team acquired three well-preserved skulls from Jerusalem in Israel, where Jesus lived and preached.
Medical artist Richard Neave from The University of Manchester in England then took charge of evaluating the skulls. Using special computer programmes, his team was able to re-create the muscles and skins overlaying the skulls.
The skulls, however, did not provide two key pieces of information about Jesus' appearance: his hair and his skin colour. To be able to determine these, the researchers analysed drawings found in various archaeological sites in Israel.
The research team ultimately concluded that Jesus had dark eyes, and was bearded following Jewish tradition.
As regards the length of Jesus' hair, the researchers deviated from the common belief that Christ had long, straight hair. Instead, they assumed that Jesus Christ had short hair with tight curls, based on their analysis of the Holy Bible.
