NO Scot has seen this sight for around 550 years — but from next week, visitors to the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum will have the chance to view the lost tomb of Robert the Bruce – recreated in 3D.
Starting next weekend and running to October, a special exhibition will feature the recreated lost tomb of the victor of the Battle of Bannockburn that took place in 1314 just a few miles from the museum now stands.
Originally in sited Dunfermline Abbey and lost at the time of the Reformation, the tomb of King Robert the Bruce has been reconstructed both in digital and three dimensional form, complete with the warrior king’s effigy.
Thanks to the collaboration of a number of national bodies, working with Historic Environment Scotland, and using cutting-edge technology, the tomb can now be seen for the beautiful creation that it was.
Years of painstaking detective and digital work have brought the canopied, white marble royal tomb back into existence at least in digital form.
Elspeth King, director of the Stirling Smith, said: “Historical, sculptural, scientific and digital information has been used to model in virtual form the tomb of King Robert and to place it in its architectural setting in the choir of Dunfermline Abbey.
“By far the greater part of the Dunfermline tomb has been lost, yet the few surviving marble fragments are readily identifiable as elements of the arcaded tomb chest and canopy, typical of the French monuments, and allowed the team to piece together the overall design of the whole monument.
“Using only written records and a few marble fragments, the task has been as tricky as cloning a dinosaur from a fossilised egg. The results are amazing.”
The exhibition will be opened by the king’s descendant, Lord David Bruce, next Sunday. It will run until October 2.
No Scottish person has seen this sight for around 550 years, but from next week visitors to the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum will have the chance to view the Lost Tomb of Robert the Bruce in three dimensions.
Starting next weekend and running to October, a special exhibition will feature the recreated lost tomb of the victor of the Battle of Bannockburn that took place just a few miles from the Stirling Smith Museum in 1314.
Originally in Dunfermline Abbey and lost at the time of the Reformation, the tomb of King Robert the Bruce has been reconstructed both in digital and three dimensional form, complete with the warrior king’s effigy.
Thanks to the collaboration of a number of national bodies, working with Historic Environment Scotland, and using cutting edge technology, the tomb can now be seen for the beautiful creation that it was.
Years of painstaking detective and digital work have brought the canopied, white marble royal tomb back into existence at least in digital form.
Elspeth King, director of the Stirling Smith, explained: “Historical, sculptural, scientific and digital information has been used to model in virtual form the tomb of King Robert and to place it in its architectural setting in the choir of Dunfermline Abbey.
“By far the greater part of the Dunfermline tomb has been lost, yet the few surviving marble fragments are readily identifiable as elements of the arcaded tomb chest and canopy, typical of the French monuments, and allowed the team to piece together the overall design of the whole monument.
“Very little is known to survive of the effigy, but it is highly probable that this would have followed the conventionalised pattern of the French royal effigies at St Denis.
“Using only written records and a few marble fragments, the task has been as tricky as cloning a dinosaur from a fossilised egg. The results are amazing.”
The exhibition will be opened by the king’s descendant, Lord David Bruce, next Sunday. It will run until October 2.
He reigned from 1306 to 1329, he led the successful fight for independence from England, his heart is buried at Melrose Abbey and his body at Dunfermline Abbey, but from next weekend a living image connected to King Robert the Bruce can be seen in Stirling.
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