Tollund Man

  • By Susan K. Lewis
  • Posted 02.07.06
  • NOVA

He has become the face of Iron Age Europe. But in 1950, when men cutting peat near the village of Tollund, Denmark, stumbled upon him, they thought he was a modern murder victim. The police, aware of similar ancient bodies, contacted the Silkeborg Museum, and various specialists—archeologists, forensic scientists, radiologists, paleobotanists, even dentists—later studied his body. Here, learn about their findings and get an intimate view of the 2,400-year-old man.

Launch Interactive

This 2,400-year-old corpse is the world's most famous bog body. Learn how scientists reconstructed his final hours.

Hear Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney recite his poem "The Tollund Man." This feature originally appeared on the site for the NOVA program The Perfect Corpse.

Credits

Special Thanks

Seamus Heaney
Vincent van Vilsteren, Drents Museum

Photos

(Tollund Man head, Tollund Man full)
© Silkeborg Museum, Denmark
(Seamus Heaney)
© Norman McBeath/Courtesy Faber & Faber

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  • America's Bog People

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