The Tollund Man (died 405–384 BC) is a naturally
mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 5th century BC, during the period characterised in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
as the
Pre-Roman Iron Age.
He was found in 1950, preserved as a
bog body near
Silkeborg
Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025).[Jutland
Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...]
peninsula in
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
.
The man's physical features were so well preserved that he was mistaken for a recent
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
victim.
Twelve years before his discovery, another bog body,
Elling Woman, was found in the same bog.
The cause of death has been determined to be by
hanging
Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
. There is insufficient evidence to determine if the reason for the killing was a ritual sacrifice or a punitive execution.
Discovery

On 8 May 1950,
peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
cutters Viggo and Emil Hojgaard discovered a corpse in the peat layer of the Bjældskovdal peat bog, west of
Silkeborg
Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025).[Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...]
,
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 (skin), hide of a Domestic sheep, sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is Tanning (leather), tanned with the Wool, fleece intact, as in a Fur, pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Diction ...
and
wool
Wool is the textile fiber 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 some properties similar to animal w ...
, 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
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
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
An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...
in the peat, along with the lack of oxygen underneath the surface and the cold
climate of the Nordic countries. The acid in the peat, needed for the preservation of a human body, is caused by a
bryophyte
Bryophytes () are a group of embryophyte, land plants (embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic Division (taxonomy), division referred to as Bryophyta ''Sensu#Common qualifiers, sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular pla ...
named ''
Sphagnum
''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...
''. ''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
Isotope analysis is the identification of isotopic signature, abundance of certain stable isotopes of chemical elements within organic and inorganic compounds. Isotopic analysis can be used to understand the flow of energy through a food we ...
of the element
strontium
Strontium is a chemical element; it has symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, it is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is exposed to ...
to measure the exact quantities to get an accurate idea of where he may have travelled before his death. They took samples from his
femur
The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg.
The Femo ...
and hair to compare. They were only able to measure up to a year because of his hair being short. The results contained only small differences in strontium isotope proportions, suggesting that he spent his final year in
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, 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 killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
rather than
strangulation
Strangling or strangulation is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain by restricting the flow of oxygen through the trachea. Fatal strangulation typically occurs ...
. 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
In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In saurop ...
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 were carried out on their contents.
Scientists identified the man's
last meal as
porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...
or
gruel 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
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...
, false flax (''
Camelina sativa'') and
knotgrass Knotgrass or knot grass is the common name for several plants and a moth and may refer to:
*''Paspalum distichum
''Paspalum distichum'' is a species of Poaceae, grass. Common names include knotgrass, water finger-grass, couch paspalum, eternity ...
.
[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 an organic compound with the chemical formula and structure , more precisely . The compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde. It is stored as ...
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 surfa ...
analysis, making Tollund Man's thumbprint one of the oldest prints on record.
Cause of death
The reason for Tollund Man's death has not been definitively determined.
Some scholars believe the man was a ritual sacrifice because of the special treatment of the body: the arranged position of his body, the eyes and mouth being closed and the special meal that had been ingested.
[Hart, Edward, dir]
Ghosts of Murdered Kings
NOVA. Prod. Edward Hart and Dan McCabe, PBS, 29 January 2014 However, other scholars believe that his death may have been an execution,
in part because Germanic tribes buried traitors under piles of sticks.
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
A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...
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 historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
have been recovered.
Specimens from Jutland include the relatively well-preserved
Borremose bodies,
Huldremose Woman
Huldremose Woman, or Huldre Fen Woman, is a female bog body recovered in 1879 from a peat bog near Ramten, Jutland, Denmark. Analysis by Carbon 14 dating indicates that she lived during the Iron Age, sometime between 160 BC and 340 AD. The mu ...
,
Grauballe Man on display at
Moesgaard Museum
Moesgaard Museum (MOMU) is a Danish regional museum dedicated to archaeology and ethnography. It is located in Beder, Denmark, Beder, a suburb of Aarhus, Denmark.
MOMU cooperates with the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, Medieval and Renaiss ...
near
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
, and the similarly conserved
Haraldskær Woman. 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 ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
-winning Irish poet
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...
wrote a series of poems inspired by
P. V. Glob's study of the mummified Iron Age bodies found in
Jutland
Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...
'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'' collection, compares the ritual sacrifice to those who died in the sectarian violence of "
the Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
".
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 a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
's modern England.
Tollund Man is featured in several songs: "
Tollund Man" (1995) by the American folk band
The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats are a United States band formed in Claremont, California, Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole me ...
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'' and was also mentioned in the 2016 film ''
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving.
Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
'' in which a bog body was found in the Shetland Islands.
He is the subject of the novel ''Meet Me at the Museum'' by Anne Youngson in which the main characters bond through a shared fascination with the Tollund Man.
See also
*
List of bog bodies
Citations
General sources
* Translated from the Danish original: ''Mosefolket: Jernalderens Mennesker bevaret i 2000 År'', 1965. The Wikipedia article: ''
The Bog People''.
Further reading
*
*
* Giles, Melanie (2020). ''Bog Bodies, Face to Face with the Past''. Open Access, https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/46717
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 Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...
''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 in Europe
Pre-Roman Iron Age
Human sacrifice victims
Deaths by hanging