What did the real Saint Nicholas look like?  We have a number of images of the Saint from ancient frescos and paintings.  But what did he really look like.  Scientists have reconstructed an image of the man based on photo's, x-rays and measurements taken from the skull of the Saint in Bari in 1953.   An anatomist was given access to the tomb by the Vatican when the crypt was being repaired.

The reconstruction process is generally believed to be quite reliable, however some assumptions are made with regard to colour of  skin, hair and eyes and the hair style used.    The results show an olive-skinned man with a broken nose and shock of white hair. Computer technology was used to build the image of the saint’s face. Experts then studied paintings of religious leaders on Orthodox icons and decided to add a white beard trimmed to 4th century fashion.

What emerges is the face of a man aged 60, 5ft 6in  tall, which is smaller than the normal height at this time, and with a heavy jaw. This image  sould be recognisable to anoyone who knew the man.