Shepperton Woman Reconstructed

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She was unearthed in Shepperton, situated on London's western edge, carefully embedded in the remains of an ancient sacred site. Approximately 5,500 years old - Neolithic - she's among the earliest Londoners ever discovered. We've encountered earlier human remains, but none as complete as hers. Pure luck played a significant role in preserving her bones, which is why we chose to display them this way. The pathology reports revealed how we'd proceed with her reconstruction - it was an obvious choice. 'Shepperton Woman' stands as the oldest Londoner whose face could be realistically recreated. Caroline Wilkinson, our dental pathologist, specializes in reconstructing faces for murder and burn victims. In seven out of ten cases, people can identify their relatives from her work, making it theoretically possible that someone who knew this woman might recognize her from the model. Of course, there are certain caveats to consider. We're unaware of her hair color or eye color, as well as the nature of her skin pigmentation. However, the architecture of her face - including cheekbones, chin, and earlobes - could be reconstructed with reasonable accuracy. We took a bit of creative liberty with her hairstyle. Her face is quite unique - she's been described as 'masculine'. Caroline asked if we were certain about the body being female during the reconstruction process, but I assured her that's what the bone specialists told us. Shepperton Woman would have been between 30 and 40 years old when she passed away - a respectable age in stone-age society. In those days, it was common for people to live beyond 50, although about four out of ten people didn't survive their first year. Her longevity is a testament to her lifestyle. She had worn teeth from consuming gritty, stone-ground bread, but they're probably healthier than most people's today. There's no evidence of dental decay or processed sugar in her diet. What's more, the amount of lead in her teeth suggests she couldn't have drunk local groundwater as a child because there isn't any lead-rich water in the London area. She must have come from a chalkier region like the Pennines, Mendips, or Derbyshire Peaks - far to the north. We don't know why she ended up in Shepperton, whether she traveled voluntarily or was brought down as a bride or slave. It's possible that because she was an outsider, she was given special treatment at death and buried in this sacred site. She was deliberately placed in the ditch bottom, alongside another burial - probably male - but less complete. Many locals likely ended up in the Thames, but for some reason, she was considered special. We may never know why, but these little mysteries are all part of archaeology's beauty - it's fascinating to piece together what we can from the clues we have.