Man's Corpse So Miraculously Well Preserved His Guts Reveal Alarming Last Meal From 2,400 Years Ago

Experts were once able to determine the last meal of a mummified man believed to have been eaten up to 24 hours before his death, which occurred 2,400 years ago.

Back in 1950, peat cutters stumbled upon a body preserved in a bog, located about 12km west of Silkeborg, Denmark.

At that time, the finders thought the body, affectionately referred to as the Tollund Man, might be a recent murder victim, given the remarkable preservation of his remains.

However, radiocarbon dating later confirmed that the Tollund Man was actually an ancient artifact.

This naturally preserved mummy was a five-foot-three man who lived in the early Iron Age, around the fifth century BC. 

Tollund Man was found with a noose still around his neck, leading to speculation that he might have been the victim of a ritual sacrifice.

Tollund Man is thought to have lives in fifth century BC. Silkeborg Museum

An autopsy confirmed that he had died from hanging, and the acidic conditions in the peat bog had helped to preserve his bones exceptionally well. 

Interestingly, Tollund Man's brain and stomach were also remarkably well-preserved. 

In 2021, a team of scientists revisited his stomach contents to determine precisely what he had eaten just before his death.

The findings from this investigation were published by the Cambridge University Press in July 2021. 

Nina H. Nielsen, who is the head of research at Denmark's Silkeborg Museum, spearheaded what National Geographic called 'the most comprehensive gut analysis of a bog body ever conducted'.

Silkeborg Museum

The study, titled "The Last Meal of Tollund Man," detailed how the researchers utilized new methods to analyze plant macrofossils, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, steroid markers, and proteins found in the man’s gut. 

This allowed them to pinpoint his last meal, consumed 12-24 hours before his demise.

Nielsen explained the significance of this research, saying, "You get the idea of the average diet, but this study can actually tell you what he ate on the day he died." 

She added, "That's what makes it really interesting—you get really close to how it all happened."

According to their research, Tollund Man's last meal consisted of porridge made from barley and flax, accompanied by some fish. 

Additionally, "Proteins and eggs from intestinal worms indicate that he was infected with parasites," according to the study.

Interestingly, the scientists also found pale persicaria seeds in his stomach, which are typically discarded as threshing waste during grain processing.

Food like barley, wild buckwheat and flax were found in the man's stomach. Silkeborg Museum

The study suggests that the presence of threshing waste might 'relate to ritual practices'.

While the notion that Tollund Man was a sacrificial victim remains theoretical, the discoveries related to his last meal lend support to the possibility that his death might have had a ritualistic element. 

Following this detailed analysis, Nielsen and her team concluded that advancements in technology continue to shed new light on ancient mysteries. 

They believe that this study contributes significantly to understanding life and death in the Danish Early Iron Age.