King Robert the Bruce's Skull

In 1817 the Magistrates of Dunfermline decided to build a new church as the existing parish church was in ruins and could no longer be used for worship. During clearance of the site in 1818, workmen accidentally uncovered a tomb where they found the skeleton of Bruce wrapped in linen cloth interwoven with threads of gold, over the head was a lead crown.  The skull was examined by the phrenologist George Combe and the surgeon Robert Liston, who noted that it showed some damage to the left eye socket and cheek bone, possibly from injuries received in battle. The skeleton was formally exhumed in 1819 and this 'extremely accurate plaster of paris cast of his skull and mandible' was prepared by the sculptor William Scoular and presented to the Anatomical Museum.