Roman nobleman's face recreated using 2,000-year-old skull

London - Scientists have recreated the face of a Roman nobleman by using a 2,000-year-old skull found in a British fortress.

Archaeologists believed the mystery Roman may have been wealthy and had possibly retired from the army when he died aged about 40. His skeleton in a stone coffin was unearthed near Newport, South Wales, not far from the Roman fortress at Caerleon, Daily Telegraph reported.

Experts used the same technology as police to discover how the face belonging to a murder victim's skull would look. This is, however, for the first time that the technology has been used on someone who lived 2,000 years ago.

The portrait shows dark-haired handsome man likened to filmstar Sylvester Stallone and actor Richard Burton.

The remains which date from 200 AD were found by builders working on Newport University campus 18 years ago. Conservationist Penny Hill then began the painstaking work of creating a portrait using materials and techniques employed by Roman artists.

The portrait was unveiled at a ceremony at the museum which is on the site of the Roman fortress in a suburban village of Caerleon.