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Facial reconstruction: From mummy to murder

In 1975, Richard Neave used clay, glass eyes and a wig to rebuild the face of an Egyptian mummy. It started a career recreating the faces of the dead using the method he invented.

In 1975, British forensic artist Richard Neave used a pile of modelling clay, two prosthetic eyes and a woman’s wig to reconstruct the face of an Egyptian mummy.

It was to be the start of a 40-year career recreating the faces of the dead using the pioneering β€˜Manchester technique’ that he invented.

And as his reputation spread worldwide, the police came calling. They needed Richard’s skills to help catch a killer, as he told Jane Wilkinson.

(Photo: Richard Neave in 2012. Credit: Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)

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9 minutes

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Wed 7 Jun 2023 02:50GMT

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