He looks like a rugby international – or a Hollywood movie thug – but this is the face of medieval chivalry. Using sophisticated reconstruction techniques, forensic scientists from Dundee University have been able to discover what a 14th-century warrior found buried at Stirling Castle looked like before he suffered a brutal death

After months of work in close collaboration with Historic Scotland, they also came up with all sorts of clues to who he was as well as how and when he was killed. What they found can be seen on BBC 2’s History Cold Case programme this Thursday at 9pm, and it’s pretty dramatic stuff.

The knight was part of a group of 10 skeletons found in 1997 when archaeologists were excavating an area of the castle called the Army Kitchen as part of the preparatory work for the Stirling Castle Palace Project. To their surprise they came across a forgotten royal chapel with skeletons, probably belonging to important people, that tests showed dated from the 13th to 15th centuries

It’s likely that they met their deaths during extreme circumstances, such as the sieges that took place in the long Wars of Independence with England. Thanks to advances in technology we are able to get much more information from skeletons now than we were in the 90s.

So, Historic Scotland has announced that it is working with Dr Jo Buckberry, a biological anthropologist from Bradford University, and two other scientists, to analyse the entire group. This could tell us where they came from, what illnesses and conditions they had, how they died – and much more besides.

One intriguing avenue of research will be to compare the results from the Stirling skeletons to those of soldiers found in mass graves who were killed at the Battle of Towton, the decisive clash of England’s Wars of the Roses, in 1461. Plans are also being made to include the facial reconstruction, and the other research results, in a permanent exhibition due to open at Stirling Castle next spring. This exhibition is being created as part of the £12 million Stirling Castle Palace Project.

The core of the project, however, involves returning the castle’s magnificent Renaissance royal palace to how it may have looked in the 1540s, long after the Wars of Independence.

He was a strong man who probably did a lot of riding and had a well-developed upper body. He was also buried in a highly prestigious place during the late 13th or the 14th centuries. All of this points to him being a knight. For more – watch the programme!

The radiocarbon dating gives a range of possibilities. There was a female who died between 1270 and 1400 (most likely 1280-1310 or 1350-1390) and for the knight it was probably between 1290 and 1400. The overlap makes it possible that they died at the same time, but we can’t say any more than that at present.

There were many clashes round Stirling. The main incidents affecting the castle are shown below, and our 10 chapel skeletons could come from one or more of these.

Stable isotope analysis will be used to collect evidence. This includes strontium and oxygen analysis to try and establish where the people grew up. Carbon and nitrogen analysis can also show whether they ate much seafood, which can help indicate their social status.

Nine skeletons have been radiocarbon dated and we can say a certain amount about when the people died. It seems they were mostly from around the Wars of Independence. The dates we have are to a 95% degree of probability:

Some of the skeletons are highly fragmentary and it is uncertain what information they can yield. Among the most intriguing are the remains of two infants.

Historic Scotland follows clear guidelines on the treatment of human remains and this ensures they are looked after with care and respect. For the immediate future the skeletons will be kept in safe storage so they are available for research by experts. It is possible that they could be reburied at some future time.