Trainee creates digital death mask of Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary was beheaded in Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire on 8 February 1587, for conspiring against her cousin Queen Elizabeth I.

Yueqian Wang face to face with digital 3D model of Mary Queen of Scots' death mask

A digital 3D model of Mary, Queen of Scots' death mask has been created to mark the 437th anniversary of the monarch's execution.

Mary was beheaded in Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire on 8 February 1587, for conspiring against her cousin Queen Elizabeth I.

The digital death mask was created by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) from a plaster cast in its collection, taken from Mary's tomb effigy in Westminster Abbey.

It was created through photogrammetry, involving hundreds of overlapping high-resolution photographs being taken around the object and then analysed by software to work out their relative position.

HES said the digital documentation of historic sites and objects was "fundamentally changing the way we interact with history".

Yueqian Wang, a digital innovation trainee, who created the model as part of her training at HES, said: "Creating this model was hugely interesting but also challenging because I had to find ways to work round the metallic reflections and shadows captured in the photography, and make sure I was happy at each stage with what the software generated.

"I’ve always been interested in sharing stories from history with a wider audience as well as the practical side of heritage conservation.

"Digital Innovation is a perfect approach to work in both areas – I can share stories of the heritage object with more people by creating digital models, as well as supporting conservation experts by collecting detailed 3D data sets."

Mary Stuart was born at Linlithgow Palace in 1542, the only legitimate child of King James V.