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The Tollund Man (died 405–380 BC) is a naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 5th century BC, during the period characterised in
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
as the
Pre-Roman Iron Age The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain, roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. The regio ...
. He was found in 1950, preserved as a bog body, near
Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
peninsula in
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
. The man's physical features were so well preserved that he was mistaken for a recent murder victim. Twelve years before his discovery, another bog body, Elling Woman, was found in the same bog. The cause of death has been determined as by hanging. Scholars believe the man was a human sacrifice, rather than an executed criminal, because of the arranged position of his body, and his eyes and mouth being closed.Hart, Edward, dir. "Ghosts of Murdered Kings". NOVA. Prod. Edward Hart and Dan McCabe, PBS, 29 January 2014


Discovery

On 8 May 1950,
peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
cutters Viggo and Emil Hojgaard discovered a corpse in the peat layer of the Bjældskovdal peat bog, west of
Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
, which was so well preserved that they at first believed they had discovered a recent murder victim. The Tollund Man lay away from firm ground, buried under of peat, his body arranged in a fetal position. He wore a pointed skin cap of
sheepskin Sheepskin is the hide of a sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is tanned with the fleece intact, as in a pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Dictionary", 2nd ed., Macquarie Library, North Ryde, 1991 Uses ...
and
wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...
, fastened under his chin by a hide thong, and a smooth hide belt around his waist. Additionally, a
noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...
made of plaited animal hide was drawn tight around his neck and trailed down his back. Other than these, the body was naked. His hair was cropped so short as to be almost entirely hidden by his cap. There was short stubble ( in length) on his chin and upper lip, suggesting that he was usually clean-shaven, but had not shaved on the day of his death. The Tollund Man was approximately 40 years old. The Tollund Man's last meal consisted of a porridge with barley, flax, wild weed seeds, and some fish.


Scientific examination and conclusions

Radiocarbon dating of Tollund Man indicated that he died circa 405–380 BC. The preserved tender soft tissues of his body are the consequence of the acid in the peat, along with the lack of oxygen underneath the surface and the cold
climate of the Nordic countries The climate of the Nordic countries is that of a region in Northern Europe that consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, which include the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. Stockholm, Sweden ...
. The acid in the peat, needed for the preservation of a human body, is caused by a
bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in s ...
named ''
Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...
''. ''Sphagnum'' fights against degradation due to resistant phenolic compounds contained in their cell walls. Due to the acidity of peat, bones are typically dissolved rather than preserved. Scientists conducted an isotope analysis of the element strontium to measure the quantities down to the minute to get an accurate idea of where he may have traveled before his death. They took samples from his
femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates wit ...
and hair to compare. They were only able to measure up to a year because of his hairs being short. The results contained only small differences in strontium isotope proportions, suggesting that he spent his final year in
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
, and that he may have moved at least in his last six months. Examinations and X-rays showed that the man's head was undamaged, and his heart, lungs and liver were well preserved. The Silkeborg Museum estimated his age as approximately 40 years and height at , a relatively short stature even for the time. It is likely that the body had shrunk in the bog. On the initial autopsy report in 1950, doctors concluded that Tollund Man died by
hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...
rather than
strangulation Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hangin ...
. The rope left visible furrows in the skin beneath his chin and at the sides of his neck. There was no mark, however, at the back of the neck where the knot of the noose would have been located. After a re-examination in 2002, forensic scientists found further evidence to support these initial findings. Although the cervical vertebrae were undamaged (these vertebrae are often damaged as a result of hanging), radiography showed that the tongue was distended—an indication of death by hanging. The stomach and intestines were examined and tests carried out on their contents. Scientists identified the man's
last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States In the United States, most states gi ...
as porridge or
gruel Gruel is a food consisting of some type of cereal—such as ground oats, wheat, rye, or rice—heated or boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk rather than eaten. Historically, gruel has been a ...
made from grains and seeds, both cultivated and wild. Approximately 40 kinds of seeds were identified, but the porridge was primarily composed of four types: barley, flax, false flax (''
Camelina sativa ''Camelina sativa'' is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae and is usually known in English as camelina, gold-of-pleasure, or false flax, also occasionally wild flax, linseed dodder, German sesame, and Siberian oilseed. It is native to E ...
''), and knotgrass.Silkeborg Museum
''The Last Meal''
, Silkeborg Museum and Amtscentret for Undervisning, Silkeborg Public Library, 2004
From the stage of digestion it was concluded that the man had eaten 12 to 24 hours prior to his death. Porridges were common for people of this time. Because neither meat nor fresh fruit was found in the last meal, it is suggested that the meal was eaten in winter or early spring, when these items were not available. Both feet and the right thumb, being well conserved by the peat, were also preserved in
formalin Formaldehyde ( , ) ( systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...
for later examination. In 1976, the Danish police made a
fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...
analysis, making Tollund Man's thumbprint one of the oldest prints on record.


Display

The body is displayed at the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, although only the head is original. Because conservation techniques for organic material were insufficiently advanced in the early 1950s for the entire body to be preserved, the forensic examiners suggested the head be severed and the rest of the body remain unpreserved. Subsequently, the body was desiccated and the tissue disappeared. In 1987, the Silkeborg Museum reconstructed the body using the skeletal remains as a base. As displayed today, the original head is attached to a replica of the body.


Other bodies

In Denmark, more than 500 bog bodies and skeletal remains dating to the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
have been recovered. Specimens from Jutland include the relatively well-preserved
Borremose bodies The Borremose bodies are three bog bodies that were found in the Borremose peat bog in Himmerland, Denmark. Recovered between 1946 and 1948, the bodies of a man and two women have been dated to the Nordic Bronze Age. In 1891, the Gundestrup cauldr ...
, Huldremose Woman,
Grauballe Man The Grauballe Man is a bog body that was uncovered in 1952 from a peat bog near the village of Grauballe in Jutland, Denmark. The body is that of a man dating from the late 3rd century BC, during the early Germanic Iron Age. Based on the evide ...
on display at Moesgaard Museum near Aarhus, and the similarly conserved
Haraldskær Woman The Haraldskær Woman (or Haraldskjaer Woman) is the name given to a bog body of a woman preserved in a bog in Jutland, Denmark, and dating from about 490 BC (pre-Roman Iron Age). Workers found the body in 1835 while excavating peat on the Harald ...
. Approximately 30 of these bog bodies are housed and/or displayed in Danish museums for continued research.


In popular culture

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
–winning Irish poet
Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.
wrote a series of poems inspired by P. V. Glob's study of the mummified Iron Age bodies found in
Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
's peat bogs, finding contemporary political relevance in the relics of the ritualistic killings. Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man", published in his ''
Wintering Out ''Wintering Out'' (1972) is a poetry collection by Seamus Heaney, who received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Importance of Place California/Liberation The volume contains poems written between 1969 and 1971. Heaney wrote much of the c ...
'' collection, compares the ritual sacrifice to those who died in the sectarian violence of "
the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
". Heaney wrote an excerpt from the poem in the Tollund Man exhibit's guest book in 1973. British author Margaret Drabble, in her 1989 novel '' A Natural Curiosity'', uses her characters' obsession with the Tollund Man to provide a satirical criticism of
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
's modern England. Tollund Man is featured in several songs: "
Tollund Man The Tollund Man (died 405–380 BC) is a naturally Mummy, mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 5th century BC, during the period characterised in Scandinavia as the Pre-Roman Iron Age. He was found in 1950, preserved as a bog body, ne ...
" (1995) by the American folk band The Mountain Goats and " Curse of the Tollund Man" (2004) by the English rock band The Darkness. Tollund Man was mentioned in the episode "Mummy in the Maze" of the American television series ''
Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...
''Williams, Scott. "Mummy in the Maze". ''Bones''. Dir. Marita Grabiak. Fox. 30 Oct. 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. and was also mentioned in the 2016 movie '' Sacrifice'' in which a bog body was found in the Shetland Islands. He is also the subject of the modern novel ''Meet Me at the Museum'', by Anne Youngson. One of the primary characters is a fictional curator at the Silkeborg Museum, who writes letters to an English woman, musing on the life and death of the Tollund Man.


Citations


General sources

* Translated from the Danish original: ''Mosefolket: Jernalderens Mennesker bevaret i 2000 År'', 1965. The Wikipedia article: ''
The Bog People ''The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved'' is an archaeology, archaeological study of the bog bodies of Northern Europe written by the Danish archaeologist Peter Glob, P.V. Glob. First published in 1965 by Gyldendal under the Danish title of ''Mo ...
''.


Further reading

* *


External links


Tollund Man—A Face from Prehistoric Denmark


*
''The Tollund Man''
an

by
Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

''National Geographic'' September 2007: "Tales From the Bog"

Image of the facial reconstruction to show what Tollund Man had looked when he was alive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tollund Man 5th-century BC births 5th-century BC deaths 5th-century BC people 1950 archaeological discoveries 1950 in Denmark Archaeological discoveries in Denmark Bog bodies Germanic archaeological artifacts May 1950 events in Europe Pre-Roman Iron Age Human sacrifice Deaths by hanging