Grauballe Man

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Grauballe Man is one of the best preserved bog bodies in the world. He was found on April 26, 1952, in a bog near the village Grauballe in Denmark, by someone who was digging for peat. Carbon dating has determined him to be from around 290 BCE.

The Grauballe Man is very well preserved, and still has nails and hair. Even his fingers were in a good enough condition to get his fingerprints. While his hair and beard is still preserved, it has been miscolored by time, just like his skin. No clothes or jewelry have been found near him.

He died from having his throat cut, but he also had a fractured cranium and leg. Why he was killed is not known. As with several other bog bodies, it is assumed that either a sacrifice or execution as punishment for a crime is what caused his injuries. Recent scans have reconstructed his face and revealed a lot of facts about him, such as the fact that he was beginning to develop gout. Other than that, he appears to have been a healthy male, about 30 years old.

The Grauballe Man is currently at display at Moesgård Museum near Aarhus, Denmark. He is the topic of a poem by Seamus Heaney, who also alludes to him in another poem called The Tollund Man.

[edit] External links

• The Grauballe Man – a brief description at the homepage of the Moesgård Museum
• The Grauballe Man – a poem by Seamus Heaney at the homepage of BBC NI Schools