Infamous pirate’s face revealed

The face of a notorious Scots pirate has been revealed using a skull held in the University’s Anatomical Museum.

A facial reconstruction of Alexander Tardy, an infamous pirate and poisoner operating in the early 1800s, has been produced by a student at the University of Dundee.

Tardy’s face was unveiled for the first time at this year’s University of Dundee Masters Show.

Vicious pirate

Alexander Tardy carried out numerous acts of piracy and poisoning, and is best known for his last acts aboard the brig Crawford in 1827.

He and fellow pirates boarded the ship before poisoning the captain and crew.

When it became clear he was set to be captured, Tardy retreated to the captain’s cabin and slit his own throat.

Facial reconstruction

Forensic art student Amy Thornton produced a facial reconstruction and full body cast of the infamous pirate as part of her Masters project.

Tardy’s skull was laser scanned and the size of the jawbone, which was missing, was estimated from the evidence available.

The skull was 3D printed and fleshed out to the point where it was possible to produce a realistic and full-size model of Tardy.

For the exhibition, Tardy was dressed in disguise as a doctor, which was a ruse he employed to ensure boarding to ships.

Anatomical Museum

The Anatomical Museum is housed in the old Medical School at Teviot Place, which was built in the 1880s.

It contains a number of historical artefacts including anatomical teaching models, life and death masks, and the remains of infamous bodysnatcher William Burke.

The museum is open to the public on the last Saturday of each month.