Shakespeare

Scientists in Germany scanned the sculptures using computerised imaging techniques to show that they match up with portraits of the Bard. The systems, used by police, map out a person's face to identify whether they tally with known pictures. Elizabethan experts deny the claim, saying busts and portraits were not true likenesses so often look similar. The investigation was led by Dr Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel, of the University of Mainz, who has published a book on her findings. The model of the similar features was built after researchers used the techniques to show that the Davenant bust matches pictures of Shakespeare. They found the bust's facial features coincided with those of the death mask, which is owned by the German city of Darmstadt.