The Tollund Man, who lived during the 4th Century BC, was so well preserved on discovery that that he was mistaken for a recent murder victim. His internal organs were intact; it was concluded that his last meal was porridge consisting of 40 kinds of seeds, eaten 12 to 24 hours before his death.

Tollund Man

The well-preserved head of Tollund Man

The Tollund Man is a naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC, during the period characterised in Scandinavia as the Pre-Roman Iron Age. He was found in 1950, preserved as a bog body, on the Jutland peninsula, in Denmark. The man’s physical features were so well preserved that he was mistaken for a recent murder victim. Twelve years before Tollund Man’s discovery, another bog body, Elling Woman, had been found in the same bog.

Though the cause of death was determined to be hanging, scholars believe the man was a human sacrifice, rather than an executed criminal, because of the arranged position of his body, and the fact that his eyes and mouth were closed.

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