A render of what a Maltese woman may have looked like over 2,000 years ago was released to the public this week, only to be swiftly met with offensive comments about her looks from parts of the public.
Elsa, as she’s being called, is a facial reconstruction of a skull discovered in St Paul’s Catacombs, released by Heritage Malta. She is believed to be between 18 and 24 years old.
The striking image gives viewers a glimpse into the hidden past of the island – however, some trolls couldn’t miss the opportunity to leave some very questionable comments.
“Malta, the country where you can’t get away from sexism and misogyny. Even if you’re just the CGI image of a 2,000-year-old plus woman,” feminist activist Pia Micallef said online while sharing several screenshots of men’s comments under the image.
A skeleton discovered at St Paul’s Catacombs has been revived using facial reconstruction, and Heritage Malta is now offering a masterclass on the journey of its recreation from site to lab.
Estimated to date back between the 4th century BC and the 2nd Century AD, the bones belonged to a woman aged between 18 – 24, according to Heritage Malta.
The skeleton was discovered within the access shaft of a shaft-and-chamber tomb in 2013 and experts were able to trace back the date of the bones using tomb typology and pottery studies.
“The combination of this biological profile and the conservation of the skull ultimately resulted in sufficient information for specialists to create a facial reconstruction, giving a face to our past,” Heritage Malta wrote in a statement.
Watch: From site to lab: A skull's journey described in Heritage Malta masterclass newsbook.com.mt - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsbook.com.mt Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.