Mysterious Culloden skull could have belonged to battlefield casualty who was charging forward or on hands and knees

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

The Statistical Account for Scotland from the 1746 Battle of Culloden includes 1,794 references to locals picking up bullets and fragments of armour, seeking them out and preserving them as curiosities and valuable relics.Take a look at the 3D model of the skull

One of them, a top section of a skull, probably belonged to someone killed on the battlefield in a bloody meeting between the Highlanders and the King’s troops.

A projectile wound lies just left of centre of the cranium, with a larger exit wound to its back lower right. This was part of a collection of more than 3,000 items owned by Scottish surgeon and anatomist Sir Charles Bell, bought by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s Hall Museums in 1825.

The details of how Sir Bell got hold of the skull remain a mystery, but its preservation suggests it wasn’t buried for long before becoming part of an anatomical collection. According to the museum catalogue, it was found on a part of the field at Culloden where the Highlanders wrapped their plaids around their left arms and stooped low to attack the King’s troops.

Derek Alexander, the Head of Archaeological Services for the National Trust for Scotland, is still unclear about the skull’s story after applying 3D modelling techniques to it. “We cannot say whether the skull fragment belongs to a Jacobite or one of the Government troops,” he says.

“But the injury to the top of the head could be interpreted in a number of different ways. It could be from someone, head down, looking at the ground as they charged forward, or an individual who had already been wounded and was on their hands and knees. Or, indeed, it could be someone hit while focusing on reloading their musket.”

With the 270th anniversary of the battle approaching on April 16, Alexander has used photogrammetry – overlaying standard photographs, eschewing the need to use the original, fragile remains – to deduce that the musket ball is likely to have been fired at the victim from a distance of around 45 metres.

“The skull is a unique example of human remains from Culloden,” he says. “It graphically demonstrates the horrific wounds that would have been suffered by both the Jacobite and government armies as a result of close quarter musketry.”

Well-known in medical circles, the skull predates the other bits of skeletal remains accompanying it on public display at the museum. “A skull is an incredibly personal thing,” says Katey Boal, the Learning Manager at the Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Centre. “When you look at it in three dimensions you can imagine the person it would have belonged to.

“This skull takes the story of Culloden and reminds us that real people were involved. They fought, suffered and died on the field. It is a huge responsibility to tell their story, and the work the team has done is an important part of that.”

Most of the remains come from the Napoleonic period. Stefan Sagrott, an Archaeology Data Officer for the trust, calls photogrammetry “a great tool”. “It is low cost and doesn't require any fancy equipment aside from a decent camera and the processing software,” he says. “We are using it to record a whole range of cultural heritage sites, monuments and artefacts, and we are getting some really outstanding results.

“Using it to record cultural heritage allows us to open up the past to even more people than ever before. We can take an object which would be too fragile for anyone to handle, photograph it, 3D model it and then make it available online for anyone to see, wherever they are.

“Another brilliant result of this is that we can also 3D print the models, creating accurate replicas of objects such as the Culloden skull, and they can then be displayed at a property and handled without any worry of damaging the original object.”

The results of the modelling will be presented at the centre as part of a showcase of archaeological work on artefacts relating to the Jacobite uprising.

• Event takes place at the Culloden Visitor Centre on April 15 2016, 1pm.

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Three places to find links to Culloden

Brechin Town House Museum
The museum is located within the old Town House in the centre of Brechin. Although not on display, the collection includes a Jacobite Sporran owned by David Mitchell of Lethnot, a sergeant in the rebel army who probably wore it at Culloden.

Glenfinnan Monument
set amid superb Highland scenery at the head of Loch Shiel, was erected in 1815 by Alexander Macdonald of Glenaladale in tribute to the clansmen who fought and died in the cause of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. The Visitor Centre contains displays and an audio programme about the Prince’s campaign from Glenfinnan to Derby and back to the final defeat at Culloden.

Muthill Museum
On the left as you enter the village of Muthill is Sundial Cottage. Inset high on the front wall is the sundial itself, dated 1746 - the same year as the Battle of Culloden. Down at the end of this street, on the left just past the graveyard, is the small but delightful museum.

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art550878-battle-culloden-scotland-archaeology-skull-history