Scanning of a corpse smuggled onto university grounds reveals details of life and death

The fate of an ancient man is being investigated in Denmark

The head, which is 2,400 years old, was secretly transported to the Faculty of Forensic Medicine of one of the largest Danish universities. A black, very well-preserved human head with reddish hair and wrinkles on the forehead and between the eyebrows was brought to the territory of the educational institution for research.

Photo: health.au.dk

After a whole day of CT scans and tests Danish researchers will be able to tell more about the health of the Tollund man. This was reported in a press release from Aarhus University.

It turned out that the insides of the ancient corpse found in the swamp were well preserved. During the operation, researchers and museum staff had to stay awake for 24 hours while the work continued.

“When handling such an important object as the Tollund Man's head, concentration and composure are required. In Silkeborg, there was also an incident previously involving a painting in the Jorn Museum, which was desecrated by vandals. There are people who are capable of anything. That’s why we wanted the work to be done in secret,” — commented researcher Henrik Lauridsen.

Man from Tollund — international heritage. One human eye has completely retained its shape and optic nerves. The second one was pierced. His eyes and mouth are also intact, and his smile, according to experts, resembles the mysterious expression on the face of the Mona Lisa. Researchers have obtained detailed images of his teeth, which are currently being studied.

It's unknown whether the Tollund man had dental problems, but the scans could help reveal more about that: “It could determine whether he had access to resources or whether there were crises along the way. “Does he have holes in his teeth, does he have dental abscesses, and are all his teeth in place?” — says Silkeborg Museum director Ole Nielsen.

For a long time, the prevailing version was that the Tollund man was hanged because he was found with a leather rope around his neck 74 years ago. X-rays of his cervical vertebrae showed they were damaged, leading archaeologists to conclude that he died by hanging. However, previous photographs and x-rays were not accurate enough. It was therefore impossible to confirm whether he was strangled. Since Tollund Man was found in the Bjeldskovdal bog near Silkeborg in 1950, it has been the subject of several studies. His last carbon 14 dating, in 2017, showed that he died between 405 and 380 BC.