A team of archeologists successfully used the LiDAR technology to unearth what they believe could completely change the way we look at Mayan culture forever.

Without a doubt, the Maya is one of the most enigmatic civilizations the world has ever seen. Throughout South and Central America, the Mayan Empire was the dominant force in the region, which is now the majority of today’s Yucatan Peninsula. 1,000 B.C. was when the first Mayan cities were built. It was then in 900 A.D. when the civilization reached its mysterious ending. What exactly was it that brought this Empire to a seemingly instant demise? New answers may have arrived…

The Mayan people had already established themselves as a powerful force to be reckoned with over 1,000 years before they built their first cities. One idea surrounding these people is the number of wars and battles they needed to endure in order to survive. One of the main explanations for the end of the Mayan civilization was the many neighbors who caused their numbers to shrink with time. In fact, it was the Spanish who took over the last known Mayan city in 1697.

For thousands of years, the Mayan people were believed to be some of the most impressive architects in human history. Years since their civilization came to an end, archeologists have found many Central American stone structures that have extremely complex designs. These structures are believed to have been made for a variety of purposes such as palaces, pyramids and even courtyards for sports events. While many of the structures still stand, where are all the others?

An empire is usually expected to consist of a large population. However, this simply wasn’t the case as far as the Mayan people were concerned. They may have been responsible for some of the most impressive structures of the ancient era, but archeologists believe that the Mayan population was a relatively small number. It is generally agreed upon that there was only between 1 million and 2 million Mayans. This is simply because the landscape couldn’t accommodate for so many people.

Despite the many discoveries that archeologists have made over the years, they are only pieces of a large Mayan puzzle that is far from complete. Like most cases, time seems to be the greatest enemy standing in the way of archeologists who simply want to unearth the truth about the Mayan civilization. Due to the jungle that has grown in place of where the empire once stood, air surveys are virtually impossible to give detailed indications of what lies beneath…

For years, archeologists have literally scratched the surface of Mayan history. Until recent times, they have only drawn conclusions from the amazing structures that were constructed by the Mayans over time. Of course, the researchers of yesteryear didn’t have the technology that we have in the present day. Many have speculated that there is so much more to discover that is buried beneath the Yutacan jungle. It seems like that time has finally arrived…

It’s not just exterior forces that recognize the importance of this investigation. The technology that has been used to make these new discoveries (which will soon be revealed) is the first part of a project that is scheduled to last three years in total. It is arranged by an organization based in Guatemala, Pacunam, which aims to promote the preservation of its cultural heritage. By the end of the project, it would have covered over 5,000 square miles of Guatemala alone.

One of the long game aims for PACUNAM is to ensure the preservation of all the sites that the project uncovers. Archeologists have discovered many pits that looters have caused over the years. “Many of these new sites are only new to us; they are not new to looters,” PACUNAM president Marianne Hernandez said. Pair that with the fact that people are cutting down 10 percent of Guatemala’s forests per year, PACUNAM has more than enough reasons to protect it.

It seems like the classic archeological method of digging is about to be eclipsed by an incredible piece of technology. Scientists have created something that is able to penetrate through layers of trees and earth to find what is stored beneath the surface. The scientists in question have given their new technology the name LiDAR, which is an acronym for Light Imaging Detection and Ranging. But what exactly does LiDAR do that is reported to have changed the face of archeology as we know it?

A clue to working out LiDAR’s actual purpose is in its name. It is essentially a type of radar that is fitted onto a piece of aircraft. When the said aircraft flies over its desired location, the radar shoots “laser pulses hundreds of thousands of times per second,” said Ithaca College archeologist Thomas Garrison. “And every time one of those lasers hits a point of resistance, it stops and sends back a measurement to the plane.”

The magical moment happens when the data that is collected is able to be transformed into a 3D map of the original landscape that once stood. Pulses are sent to the forest floor which determines what the actual landscape is without all of the jungle features. It’s almost as if every single tree was cropped out of the map to inform the researchers what the area would have looked like beforehand. But how was it used in Guatemala?

Naturally, the researchers took their awesome LiDAR technology and used it on the thick forest region of northern Guatemala. This part of the world provided over 770 square miles of land that had only be explored a little bit over the last few thousand years. “This is a game changer,” Thomas Garrison said. According to him, it has revolutionized “the base level at which we do Maya archaeology.” Amazingly, there was one standout discovery they made that they had already technically found years before…

According to Garrison, he and his team had already stepped foot inside a Mayan fortress a few years ago before the LiDAR technology was even a thing. They just didn’t realize it as it was completely unrecognizable. “There was this fortress in our area,” he said. “In 2010, I was within 150 feet of this thing.” The team was completely oblivious to the fortress as the jungle had camouflaged it. However, it wasn’t just the fortress that LiDAR uncovered…

One thing that struck the archeologists about the stunning scans was that there were many walls, moats, and fortresses. This heavily indicated that the Mayans were used to being involved in wars and needed the appropriate infrastructure to defend themselves. Even Thomas Garrison wasn’t aware of how prepared the Mayans were for battle before using the LiDAR technology. However, this was only scratching the surface of the incredible findings that they recently made about the Mayan structures.

One fascinating detail that the data from the LiDAR technology suggested was that many Mayans actually lived high above the ground on high stone platforms that they had constructed themselves. Mayan specialist Diane Davies is more impressed with the civilization than ever. “To have such a large number of people living at such a high level for such a long period of time, it really proves the fact that these people were highly developed, and also quite environmentally conscientious,” she said.

The LiDAR was able to reveal at least 60,000 Mayan structures! Not only did it shock the archeologists by the sheer number, it was the intricate nature of the complex that astounded both archeologists and historians alike. Also, the discovery shed a new light on just how advanced the Mayan people were. It suggested that there were many more cities than previously thought and this also meant that the Mayan population was potentially much bigger than previously suspected.

Thomas Garrison was able to give a pretty specific estimation of how much greater in numbers he thinks the population might have been. “The LiDAR images make it clear that this entire region was a settlement system whose scale and population density had been grossly underestimated,” he said. Based on the findings, Garrison believes that unlike the 1 or 2 million that was previously accepted, that the Mayan population was probably closer to 20 million. However, there’s a good reason for this…

Probably the main reason that archeologists have changed their thoughts on how large the Mayan population actually was is due to the many structures they discovered. These specific structures have all the signs that point to the idea that the Mayans probably used them for farming. There are clear indications that there were once terracing and irrigation systems. This would suggest that the Mayans had a sophisticated idea of how to provide for their people in large quantities.

The findings completely caught archeologists around the world by surprise. They suggest that the Mayans used highways that stretched for hundreds of miles to transport stone to use for their structures. These sophisticated clusters of highway systems were just one of the many things that have helped revolutionize the way that researchers look at the way that civilizations are formed, in general. One man explained just how much the discovery has shaken the world of archeology…

According to Marcello Canuto, an archeologist from Tulane University who took part in the project, the recent findings draw the fine line between engineering marvels and unadulterated miracles. However, the thing that shocked him the most was the strength and determination the Mayan people had to move such heavy objects. “This was a civilization that was literally moving mountains,” he said. “We’ve had this western conceit that complex civilizations can’t flourish in the tropics, that the tropics are where civilizations go to die.”

Canuto’s interpretation of these findings is that the first ancient civilizations may have originated in the jungle. This is also due to the fact that archeologists also used the LiDAR technology on the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, of all places. “But with the new LiDAR-based evidence from Central America and [Cambodia’s] Angkor Wat, we now have to consider that complex societies may have formed in the tropics and made their way outward from there,” Canuto said.

One thing is for sure: LiDAR is one of the brightest sparks in the future of archeology. Based on what it has already achieved, there is no telling what else it might uncover. It is an exciting prospect for those who invented the technology and have the privilege to use it. The chances are that other jungles around the world might have ancient civilizations buried beneath. Now, archeologists will be able to explore the likes of the Amazon and the Congo Basin.

Thomas Garrison is obviously incredibly excited about the prospect that LiDAR has for his job. However, he was quick to reassure people of other industries that the technology will be useful for more than just archeological purposes. In fact, his team only uses a small part of what LiDAR is capable of. “We don’t use about 92% of the LiDAR data. We just throw it out to make our maps,” he said. “But there is incredibly valuable information in that forestry data.”

Another benefit that LiDAR technology brings is its meticulous assessment of the conditions of certain forests. Ultimately, this will help the prevention of forest fires, amongst other environmental benefits. “You’re just seeing the archaeology part because that’s what we focused on,” Garrison said. “But that data can be used to determine how jungles recover from forest fires, what’s the carbon footprint.” However, it’s not just Thomas Garrison who has a good reason to be delighted with the findings…

One of the people who has dedicated a large part of their life to unearthing the truth behind the Mayan civilization is Brown University’s Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology Stephen Houston. “I think this is one of the greatest advances in over 150 years of Maya archaeology” Houston said. The significance of the survey actually made Houston extremely emotional. “I know it sounds hyperbolic but when I saw the [LiDAR] imagery, it did bring me to tears.”

Amazingly, some researchers believe that they will need at least another century to fully process and understand the data that LiDAR has collated since they first used it. “Lidar is revolutionizing archeology the way the Hubble Space Telescope revolutionized astronomy,” Tulane University archeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli said. “We’ll need 100 years to go through all [the date] and really understand what we’re seeing.” However, this is not the only issue that LiDAR has presented to its most dedicated users…

According to Thomas Garrison, LiDAR has presented a big problem in regards to Mayan archeology. “The tricky thing about LiDAR is that it gives us an image of 3,000 years of Mayan civilization in the area, compressed,” he said. “It’s a great problem to have though, because it gives us new challenges as we learn more about the Maya.” However, there are many more challenges that will stand in the way of whoever decides to carry on this bottomless pit of possibilities…

The archeologists in question may have made a huge breakthrough, but the mission wasn’t over just yet. In fact, the LiDAR laser technology was just the first stage. Ultimately, engineer Albert Yu-Min Lin and his team had to work their way through the jungles in order to confirm that all the data was accurate. This meant that they had to dodge poisonous snakes, scorpion and killer bees, just to verify everything that LiDAR had just done for them.

The following image gives a clear yet simplified depiction of how exactly the Lidar technology works. The main process is pretty much broken down into three steps. Firstly, the lasers are shot from the plane towards the ground. Secondly, the beams reflect from the highest points of the surface, meaning that some beams make it through the gaps between the trees. Finally, the technology can use the beams and translate them into topographic scans. Pretty neat stuff!

One thing that the Lidar technology threatens to do is uncover where exactly the source of the Mayans success actually was. Due to the mapping that the technology has created, there are a number of areas that are larger and more elaborately constructed than others. Tom Garrison believes that this can potentially be found in the lowlands. “These features are so extensive that it makes us start to wonder: is this the breadbasket of the Maya lowlands?” Garrison said.

It should be noted that despite the Mayan Empire coming to an end a long time ago, that doesn’t mean that Mayans don’t exist anymore. In fact, there are many descendants of the ancient people who still live in the region that the kingdom once stood. It is believed that the Mayans account for a staggering 42% of Guatemala’s population of 14.3 million people. In total, there are between 20 and 30 million people who descend from the Mayans, living in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

The kingdom that the Mayans built for themselves is nothing short of a miracle. Take the following into consideration: these people had no livestock, no wheels to help them with transportation, and no tools made out of metal. That’s not all though. The Mayans also lived in pretty dour conditions, full of swamps that were constantly damaged by heavy storms. Despite this, the Mayans were able to persevere for hundreds of years and built this incredible megacity.

To emphasize just how large the Mayan kingdom supposedly was, we can compare the region to modern day places. The civilization was at its very best between 250AD and 900AD. During this time, it is believed that the area in which the Mayans lived would have been two times bigger than medieval England. That’s not all though. Due to the huge population, it would have had a much denser population than that of England. It was bigger in virtually every way.

As of now, the future is always in motion and new developments continue to happen. However, as previously said, the Guatemalan organization Pacunam who are working to preserve its country’s cultural heritage are well into their three-year project. It aims to cover a lot of Guatemalan ground. Moreover, put that together with the extremely talented archeologists in charge of LiDAR, it is a matter of time before they discover even more Mayan pyramids and palaces.

All we know about what historical figures looked like in their day is what we have seen in our history and archaeological books. Let’s check out what these greats would look like with CGI technology and see history in a new and improved light.

In the year 1922, the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered and that’s how the research of this Egyptian Pharaoh began. Take another peek at the picture here and try to imagine his real face. Now prepare to be shocked by the CGI image of the king.

We’ll pause while your mouth drops to the floor. Yes, that bald-headed person is in fact King Tut. This was concluded after multiple CT scans and genetic mathematics.

It’s just like you imagined a certain impression out of the sculpture, and discovered something else altogether. Well, it is shocking to see him without his snake crown, what is up with that piercing? Was it a fashion that rulers followed back in the day? Seems pretty cool!

For over 21 years, Cleopatra ruled Egypt and outshone everyone with her intelligence, multi-linguistic skills, and of course, her beauty. She is still considered an icon even today, though she died in 30 BC. No wonder she was an Egyptian Queen.

She also wore the same snake-inspired crown as King Tut. It is so interesting to analyze how people looked and dressed back then. It makes sense to us why there are so many movies and references made about legendary beings like her. Remember “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry?

Although this Queen has been illustrated as the most beautiful woman of Egypt, this historical figure’s CGI had some interesting results. Turns out, she had curly fringes and big eyes. It makes sense now why she always wore heavy eye makeup – a trend that is still popular today.

Upon closer analysis of her, we can see she had some masculine features, such as her large nose and distinct jawline which portrayed her strength, dominance, and character.

Who doesn’t know Alexander the Great and his tales of victory? One of the bravest military generals of Macedonia, this king conquered most parts of the world and extended his empire to Egypt, Greece, and parts of India.

If you remember well, Alexander was famous for his strategic moves in every war. Armed with bravery and strength, paintings of him are the only source of his appearance until now…

Voila! Here is a handsome warrior as depicted by 3D scan reports. Unbelievable, isn’t it? The CGI reports show a full head of curly blonde hair. He almost resembles Matthew Mcconaughey or is it just our imagination?

Also, it’s interesting to see that his eyes showed two colors, prompting a possible example of heterochromia. From the few images which we have, this could be the final version that we can use to understand how he used to look.

The first president of the United States was the leader of the Revolutionary War and a soldier who battled to win freedom for his nation. Remember the movies where George Washington was portrayed as the bravest leader?

Strangely, most of his pictures we found from the archives were from his later life. We couldn’t find ones from his youth nor were we able to figure out how he would have looked in his old age. Maybe CGI would give a better perspective!

What do you think about the difference between the picture above and the CGI analysis of George Washington? While we recognize his hairstyle, the scans showed his confident expression and piercing blue eyes as the most prominent features on his face.

His serious expressions must have been the thing that stirred the hearts of many Americans and led to the most famous battles for independence. Wouldn’t you follow a leader who looked like this?

Is Santa Claus real or is he just a myth? Turns out, there was a man named Saint Nicholas who liked to send secret gifts to kids by dropping coins in their shoes. Later on, stories were all mixed up and the present version of Santa Claus was created.

But does he look the same way we visualize him during Christmas? Ancient references in the testaments and old books have drawn a prominent image of Santa Claus like the picture here.

The CGI analysis here seems to paint a different story. Does this look like Santa Claus to you with his long beard and jingle-all-the-way mantra? For us, we see a dark-eyed man with an average-sized beard and no red cap or sweater.

He looked like a normal old person in his 60s with fine lines and wrinkles on his head. He gives the impression of peace and holiness. Bit of an anti-climax if you ask us!

The French military leader, who took command during the French Revolution, was known to be one of the most prominent historical figures of all times. Historians have found a large number of pictures and paintings with his image.

However, it was not easy to come to a common consensus as to how he would look in real life. Because of multiple variations, Napoleon’s face could be easily assimilated into a common structure of a middle-aged man.

Here is the fancy CGI result of how he might have looked if he had been alive, and it is amazing and sort of spooky, don’t you think? For some reason, for us, this resembles something from the popular series Game of Thrones. We hope you’re on the same page as us.

Had he been alive today, he would have looked great with his slightly curved nose and gray-blue eyes. Although, it might be hard to imagine this from here with his eyes wide-shut.

Meet Nicolaus Copernicus – the Renaissance-era mathematician and astronomer who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe that placed the sun at the center, rather than planet Earth. He truly believed that the other planets orbited around the sun.

Check out what he would have looked like in the CGI version had he been alive today. Just a heads up – a mad scientist character is incoming (in our unprofessional opinion).

Does this look anything like his portrait paintings to you? We can kind of see the resemblance in his facial features but oh boy, does the hair look different. It seems as if hair fall was a serious issue back then, too. But, for all, that brunette bob cut may have been a wig.

Take a close look at his picture – doesn’t this historical figure in CGI remind you of Doc from Back to the Future? Maybe he traveled back in time as after all, he was a scientist too. Coincidence? We think not!

We are not talking about the current Queen of England. This queen was the first of her name. She was considered to be one of the most powerful women to ever have ruled England. Queen Elizabeth was known to be actively involved in multiple political affairs.

Quite impressive for a woman from her era! This image here is a common one found in every book of history and records of how she used to look.

And here is Her Highness, Queen Elizabeth the First, in a 3D model. The image here seems to be from the later stages of her life. From the 3D prints of her facial structure, you can almost tell she belongs to a regal family with her sharp features – high cheekbones, sharp nose, and piercing eyes.

When you look at her portrait after seeing this image, you can actually visualize what she may have looked like in all her glory – as in her royal gear et al.

One of the greatest German music composers, Bach was known for instrumental compositions such as the Goldberg Variations and for vocal music such as the Mass in B minor. To this day, Bach is regarded as a legend in the arts.

So, now knowing how important this man is, it seems almost mandatory to find how the great Johann Sebastian Bach would have looked like in 3D. We’re on pins and needles waiting for you to see this!

This artist brought beautiful renditions to the music sphere. If you haven’t heard his music then now is as good a time as any. Here you can see how this historical figure may have looked in CGI – the scan results show a hint of cruelty in his eyes, metaphorically speaking, of course.

Yet another historical figure is wearing the conventional Newton hairstyle. We are such curious thinkers that now all we want to know is what his hair actually looks like underneath the wig. We guess we’ll never know…

Emperor of Rome, Nero has been referred to as the classic psychopath, who ruled from 54-68 AD. His behavior accounted for the cruel treatment of the people of Rome. Interestingly enough, historical evidence also proves that he was an artist.

In fact, he was a singer and an Olympian who specialized in chariot races. Are you as shocked as we are? Now that we know what a complicated man he was, let’s see how he would have looked according to the magic of CGI.

We’ll hold while you take in this image – his chin strap beard was enough to lend a villainous vibe. He also apparently had red hair, freckled skin, blue eyes, and protruding ears.

While we can see that his facial structure is similar to the sculpture above, we didn’t expect him to look this way. Again, it could just be us but we feel like he belongs in a Game of Thrones episode.

Nefertiti was one of the rulers of Egypt who ruled from 1353 to 1336 B.C. Just like other queens of Egypt, she was famous for her deadly combination of wit and charm. She was also known as the Great Royal Wife, as she was married to Pharaoh Akhenaten.

But in the sculpture that we found, she has no left eye. The best guess we had was that the sculptor was not very good with eyes. Maybe CGI reports would give us all a better insight.

Although she had wrinkles and a bumpy nose, she was immensely beautiful to look at. Plus, look at those amazing eyes! The missing eye speculation was contradicted by other statues of her where both of her eyes are present.

And, once again, you can see the snake-shaped head crown on her. We have to say that we love her heavy and colorful jewelry collection. Also, her distinctive face structure totally gives us queen vibes. Wouldn’t you agree?

One of the most important historical figures in the French Revolution, Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre, also called Maximilien Robespierre, was a French lawyer. He advocated equal rights to everyone by demolishing the pillars of slavery.

There were multiple resources that claimed he looked like the image you see above. The CGI guys then took these pictures and assimilated them into one final image. We hope you’re as excited as us for this next one!

With a long name like his, it makes sense that he has a long nose to match. Also, his rough and worn-out skin makes him look like a tough guy in his 60s. What do you guys think?

While his wig is a replica of the above photo, the difference in his skin texture is quite drastic. With that being said, he has a similar serious gaze in both photos so from that perspective, the 3-D version isn’t so far off.

Here we have the “Your Highness” Mary Queen of Scots, one of the most powerful queens of Scotland and the rumored cousin of Queen Elizabeth. Interestingly enough, she was sentenced to death, for conspiring against the queen.

To date, there are very few paintings of Mary. If you haven’t seen Mary Queen of Scots yet then you should definitely check out this CGI version to find how she may have looked.

The first thing we noticed from this image, was Mary’s love of pearls from her hairpins to her earrings and necklace. Also, she appears more beautiful and softer-looking than the above painting.

This is indeed a face of royalty. Plus, if her serious gaze didn’t convince you enough then surely her fashion sense would. Her puffy-sleeved gown and pearl arched headband give her Queen status. Don’t you think?

Jesus Christ: Founder of Christianity and the holy soul. There are many paintings of him to show how he used to look. In fact, not just paintings but sculptures as well. So, if you have a mental picture of how Jesus looked, that makes a lot of sense.

Some religious families also keep pictures of Jesus throughout the ages in their homes. But despite people’s adoration of him, we highly doubt too many have seen his 3-D compilation.

And voila, here is a very hairy version of Jesus Christ from the early days. It’s still shocking to see how the final versions are so different from the pictures we’ve grown up around.

Had he been alive today, people would have not believed this is who he was. Technology is truly a marvel. In fact, he looks so different from what we’ve always thought that we’re having trouble updating our memory imprint of Jesus to this.

Phillip II was one of the rulers who attained harmony and peace in his country. At one point in time, he had gained prominence and controlled the entire military and political power of Greece.

He lost his right eye during the siege of Methone when an arrow was shot directly into it. His CGI scan was not that much of a surprise since there were relatively fewer sources to evaluate.

However, we have to say that the CGI structure we found looked much scarier. He looks so life-like and somewhat tormented. Also, the fact that we just see his head lends itself to this sinister impression that we’re feeling.

From this version, it is also easy to see that he was a middle-aged person when he got himself painted or sketched for the last time. Truth be told, he appeared more attractive in his paintings.

The most renowned and famous German composer was Ludwig van Beethoven who revolutionized Western Music. He introduced variations and thematic versions of romantic music from the classical sphere. As popular as his musical history was, he was also known to be quite the looker.

An interesting piece of trivia about his life is that he went deaf when he was still alive. Theories suggest that it was because of lead poisoning or syphilis. His deafness was first discovered in 1798 and by 1801, he had lost 60% of his hearing. Then in 1816, he went completely deaf.

After looking at the CGI version of him, the anthropologists claimed that he had a sturdy face with prominent cheekbones. They made multiple re-alignments through technology and software but could not arrive at a final life-like image of how he could have looked.

But one thing is assured – if he would have been alive today, he would have been a great example of classical music in the present era, as it is increasingly losing its charm. But he was also deaf, so maybe not.

He was the King of England from 1399 to 1413. His grandfather King Edward III, who was the maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, always wanted power over France and Henry succeeded in this. He was the first English ruler in over three hundred years whose mother tongue was English and not French.

But as heroic as he sounds, he couldn’t overcome the financial and administrative problems which made everything fall apart. With that being said, look at how handsome he looked in this painting!

Yet again, the CGI reports tell a whole different story. We believe that history geeks would appreciate the fact that King Henry looks like an old wise man with his light-colored eyes and broad mustache. This also gives us a pretty good indication of his age when he died.

In case you thought he was older, Henry IV died at age 45. Even though his headdress and bright-colored clothes are missing here, we can still see from his beard shape and frilly collar that he was of royal status.

Amongst the famous Egyptian personalities, here comes the wife of Pharaoh Ramesses, who expanded the Egyptian empire to Syria, Libya, and other African countries. What a visionary she must have been! She didn’t have the most ornamental death but her mummy sculpture defines her as a gorgeous woman.

Look at the ancient painting of how she used to look! And it’s pretty cool when you realize that the designs around this image are the language of the Egyptians from back in the day. Are you ready for her big reveal?

Wow! Doesn’t she look stunning? Look at her braids, defined jawline, and winged eyeliner. She must have been the center of attention those days and it’s no wonder the pharaoh had been charmed by her beauty.

She looks so life-like in this CGI version, almost as though she would turn around and look at you right now, well, it would be really spooky if anything like that were to happen but a small part of us hopes. Kind of like the Mona Lisa painting!

Julia Agrippina was a Roman empress and one of the most important women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was known to be physically beautiful but she also had a ruthless and domineering personality.

According to Pliny the Elder, Agrippina had a double canine in her upper right jaw. Also, another interesting report accuses her of poisoning her husband Claudius but it is more speculation than a fact. Get ready to see this beauty in real life (well, almost).

With those lustrous eyes and rosy lips, the mother of the Great Emperor Nero was a radiant vision. We just wonder how the Romans ever managed to avert their eyes away from her.

There is nothing that cannot take away your attention from her face. Keep in mind, this was a time in which cosmetic surgery and Photoshop did not exist so it just emphasizes her beauty.

Though he was the King of England, he only ruled for a short period of two years and he was known as the last king of York. He died in the War of Roses at the prime age of 33. This battle marked the end of the Middle Ages in England.

King Richard III is infamously known for being accused of killing his own nephews to protect the throne which lends itself to the idea that he was an evil man.

Anthropologists found a lot of variation when they had to bring him to life with CGI. He had a very unique and long face which can clearly be seen in the image here. Also, we have to say that we appreciate the hat that he is wearing with its jewel-encrusted broach.

Don’t you feel like history is a little more fun after seeing these CGI versions? Not only do we have a newfound respect for the subject but we also do for CGI artists. We trust that you feel the same!