Rubicon Heritage Services were commissioned to examine the magnificent Waterford Charter Roll in the Waterford Museum of Treasures. This faded medieval document contains the earliest depiction of an Irish city, and the graphics team was asked to reconstruct the image for the Cois tSiúire publication.

In 2010 NRA Project Archaeologist James Eogan asked the team to attempt a reproduction of the Charter scene as it may originally have appeared. The work formed part of the publication programme for the N25 Waterford Bypass.

The faded depiction of the City of Waterford on the Waterford Charter Roll, dated to c.1372. Photograph by Terry Murphy, Copyright Waterford Museum of Treasures

The Great Charter Roll dates to 1372 and was probably created as part of Waterford's long-running trade dispute with New Ross. It depicts Edward III receiving the key of the city, with the medieval city below: churches, Reginald's Tower, whitewashed walls and brightly coloured roofs displaying Waterford's prosperity.

The reconstruction began by digitally comparing the nineteenth-century du Noyer copy of the image with a modern photograph of the original. Differences were traced and recorded.

The 1860s Du Noyer image digitally overlaid on the Charter

The comparison revealed previously overlooked details. The graphics team then examined the original Charter directly and compared the surviving marks with archaeological and historical knowledge of fourteenth-century Waterford.

The initial sketching of the two images, undertaken by Rubicon's Jonathan Millar

The resulting sketch was developed digitally in a style intended to mimic rather than simply copy the medieval painting. Review and refinement produced the final image for publication.

The final reproduction of the image of the City of Waterford, by Rubicon's Sara Nylund. The work revealed details including a previously unseen bridge and additional wildlife