* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

    Hetzel Design: blending architecture and entertainment – Blooloop

    Hetzel Design: Where Architecture and Entertainment Unite in Perfect Harmony

    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Placer County town of Loomis considers entertainment zone for downtown – CBS News

    Loomis Unveils Thrilling New Entertainment Zone to Revitalize Downtown

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 Technology Stocks to Buy Now – Yahoo Finance

    3 Must-Buy Tech Stocks You Can’t Afford to Miss Right Now

    ‘New frontier’: Austin leaders start discussions on air taxi technology – KXAN Austin

    Austin Leaders Ignite Exciting Conversations on the Future of Air Taxi Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

    Hetzel Design: blending architecture and entertainment – Blooloop

    Hetzel Design: Where Architecture and Entertainment Unite in Perfect Harmony

    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Strictly Come Dancing results: Chris Robshaw is eliminated while drag queen La Voix escapes dance-off – Yahoo

    Placer County town of Loomis considers entertainment zone for downtown – CBS News

    Loomis Unveils Thrilling New Entertainment Zone to Revitalize Downtown

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 Technology Stocks to Buy Now – Yahoo Finance

    3 Must-Buy Tech Stocks You Can’t Afford to Miss Right Now

    ‘New frontier’: Austin leaders start discussions on air taxi technology – KXAN Austin

    Austin Leaders Ignite Exciting Conversations on the Future of Air Taxi Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Tollund Man: What we know about Europe’s most famous bog body

February 7, 2024
in Science
Tollund Man: What we know about Europe’s most famous bog body
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

ByErin Blakemore

Published February 6, 2024

When a family cutting peat for fuel unearthed a mysterious body in a Danish bog in 1950, they assumed the well-preserved corpse was a local murderer’s latest victim. In fact, he was anything but: Although the man had been killed, his body dated from the Iron Age about 2,400 years ago.

Now known only as the Tollund Man, his incredibly preserved face, stubbled and slightly smiling, has ensured him a place as one of the world’s most famous bog bodies—made even more mysterious by the fact he was the assumed victim of human sacrifice.

In the decades since his discovery, scientists have studied Tollund Man extensively and pieced together more details about his life and death. Here’s what to know about the naturally mummified man.

Who was Tollund Man?

The presence of wisdom teeth suggest the Tollund Man was at least 20 years old when he died in Denmark’s Bjældskovdal bog in Jutland, but researchers think he was actually between 30 and 40. Radiocarbon dating indicates he died at some point between 405 and 380 B.C.

(We thought we knew the secrets of Europe’s bog bodies. We didn’t.)

Standing at about 5 foot 3 inches, the Tollund Man was discovered in a sleeping position with a rope around his neck. An autopsy revealed he had died of hanging, noting his extremely well preserved head and face.

After his death, the acidity in the peat bog preserved Tollund Man’s bones and many of his soft tissues, including an intact yet shrunken brain and intestines complete with their contents. Tollund Man’s skin and nails had cured and blackened over thousands of years spent in the oxygen-free environment of the bog. But their full decomposition was blocked by the chemicals that are produced when sphagnum moss, the main moss that comprises peat, degrades.

Today, his body is preserved at the Silkeborg Museum, a Danish cultural heritage museum near the place of his discovery.

Who were his people?

Tollund Man lived during the early part of the Iron Age in the years before Rome conquered the majority of Europe. During the period, Jutland was well populated and home to villages and farms. The era’s farmers grew grain, kept animals, and engaged in religious rituals that involved leaving sacrifices—often food or weapons, but sometimes human bodies—in the local bogs.

Modern-day researchers suspect these bogs were seen as supernatural sites with connections to the gods and the afterlife. But since the Jutland dwellers left no writing behind, it’s unclear what actually drove their religious rituals.

(This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice.)

What he wore

Bogs are famous for preserving clothing along with bodies, like the knitted clothing that surrounded a Scottish bog body found in 1951. But Tolland man wore much less apparel: He was buried naked, clad only in a cap and belt.

Further investigations have revealed that Tollund Man likely wore shoes for part of the year, but also walked barefoot much of the time. Stubble on his face indicates he must have shaved.

His last meal

In 2021, researchers discovered the contents of Tollund Man’s last meal—porridge containing barley, a variety of wild seeds, flax, and fish. The gut analysis also revealed that unlike some other famous bog bodies, Tollund Man wasn’t under the influence of edible hallucinogens or other medicinal plants when he died—signs that typically indicate a human sacrifice.

(Evidence shows these Inca child sacrifice victims were drugged.)

His death

But scientists say Tollund Man could have been the victim of a ritual sacrifice. The wide variety of types of seeds and weeds found in his gut are similar to those discovered in the digestive tracts of other bog bodies thought to have been sacrificed.

“People have suggested that they’re forming a human sacrifice because something’s going wrong in the environment,” archaeologist Henry Chapman said of those victims in a 2021 interview with National Geographic. Those cases have led researchers to believe that the sacrifices involved eating a wide variety of types of food before death, perhaps in response to environmental changes that threatened farming or food sources.

Another possibility is that Tollund Man’s death could have been more sinister: Perhaps he was a criminal or died by suicide, or was part of a vengeance killing thought to have been a practice in northern Europe at the time. Other bog bodies found throughout the region show evidence of purposeful killing and even gruesome abuses of the corpses.

(Reconstructing the face of the Bocksten Man, a 700-year-old murder victim.)

But though he was clearly killed on purpose, Tollund Man’s body was also carefully buried, and his mouth and eyes closed. Ultimately, that careful burial, his hanging, and the fact that cremation and grave burials were more common at the time than throwing bodies into bogs is why many researchers do believe his death was part of some kind of sacred sacrifice.

His remaining mysteries

Though it’s been nearly 75 years since his discovery, Tollund Man could continue to yield more information to curious archaeologists. During scientists’ initial experiments with the bog body, his head was carefully preserved and was put on display in Denmark. But his body dried out and was misplaced—yes, misplaced.

For decades no one knew where the bog body’s limbs and organs were. This led to a bizarre treasure hunt in the 1980s, when researchers armed with new technologies realized the potential worth of the rest of the body and asked for the public’s help locating the remainder of the corpse.

(Ötzi the Iceman: What we know 3 decades after his discovery.)

It turned out that the severed parts had been housed at a variety of museums and institutions throughout Denmark. The hunt yielded everything except for the internal organs and the bog body’s right big toe, whose location remained a mystery until the children of the former conservator returned it to the museum after their father’s death.

“Now nearly all body parts are in the museum[’]s possession,” the Silkeborg Museum says on its website. “Should anyone, however, come across a mysterious jar containing what might [be] his internal organs, we would be most interested to hear from you.”


These remains could still produce more insights, though researchers have so far been unsuccessful at obtaining ancient DNA from Tollund Man’s tissues.

In the meantime, the bog man has inspired everything from poems to music to children’s books—a testament to the ongoing fascination he invokes in both scientists and the public. “He is not merely a museum piece, but a man,” one archaeologist told The Age in 1956. “We refuse to believe in his death. There is a living man behind the warmth and fine humor of his face.”

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : National Geographic – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/tollund-man-bog-body-life-death

Tags: Europe'sscienceTollund
Previous Post

Is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome really so rare—or is it misdiagnosed?

Next Post

A guide to Manchester, the UK’s northern powerhouse with an eye for creativity

Forest cover enhances pest control by birds and bats independently of vineyard management intensity – besjournals

Forest cover enhances pest control by birds and bats independently of vineyard management intensity – besjournals

October 22, 2025
November Family Consumer Science Program – Alachua County

November Family Consumer Science Program – Alachua County

October 22, 2025
Correction: Anti-Science Movement story – The News-Gazette

Unraveling the Truth Behind the Anti-Science Movement: A Closer Look

October 22, 2025
Best Burgers 2025: 9 cult-favorite burgers off the beaten path – Yahoo

Best Burgers 2025: 9 cult-favorite burgers off the beaten path – Yahoo

October 22, 2025
Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

October 22, 2025
Forbes Unveils First-Ever “Most Powerful Women In Sports” List, Featuring 25 Of The Trailblazers Transforming The Industry, Including Gayle Benson, Caitlin Clark, Michele Kang, Serena Williams And More – Forbes

Meet the 25 Trailblazing Women Revolutionizing the World of Sports, Featuring Gayle Benson, Caitlin Clark, Michele Kang, Serena Williams and More

October 22, 2025
Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky remembered for his impact on the chess world – NPR

Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky: Honoring a Timeless Chess Legacy

October 22, 2025
Seattle’s Creative Economy: Building Talent, Culture, and Community – GeekWire

Seattle’s Creative Economy: How Talent, Culture, and Community Are Shaping the Future

October 22, 2025
Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

October 22, 2025
Self-efficacy mediates the effect of hope on health promotion intention in Chinese stroke patients – Nature

How Hope Boosts Health Motivation in Chinese Stroke Patients Through Self-Efficacy

October 22, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (881)
  • Economy (902)
  • Entertainment (21,773)
  • General (17,746)
  • Health (9,943)
  • Lifestyle (915)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (903)
  • Politics (912)
  • Science (16,113)
  • Sports (21,402)
  • Technology (15,882)
  • World (885)

Recent News

Forest cover enhances pest control by birds and bats independently of vineyard management intensity – besjournals

Forest cover enhances pest control by birds and bats independently of vineyard management intensity – besjournals

October 22, 2025
November Family Consumer Science Program – Alachua County

November Family Consumer Science Program – Alachua County

October 22, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version