800-Year-Old Norse Saga Leads to Discovery of “Well-man” Skeleton
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="schema:primaryImageOfPage og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="
https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Well%20man.jpg?itok=0n4bSfOG"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="
https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Well%20man.jpg?itok=0n4bSfOG" width="610" height="313" alt="Well-man skeleton." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="schema:description content:encoded"><p>A unique discovery has merged Norse legend with modern science. Archaeologists have identified a mysterious skeleton known as the “Well-man,” thought to have been thrown into a well at Sverresborg Castle, Norway, over 800 years ago. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have used advanced DNA techniques to link this skeleton to an event described in the
Sverris Saga—an epic recounting the life of King Sverre Sigurdsson.</p>
<p>The Sagas refer to stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history. They talk of early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between families. They were written in the Old Norse language, mainly in Iceland, between 1100 and 1300 AD and describe the life of certain characters, although are often romanticized, undermining their credibility.</p>
<p>The
Sverris Saga details a military raid on Sverresborg Castle near Trondheim in AD 1197, during which an enemy was cast into a well, likely to contaminate the water supply and force inhabitants to surrender. Now, for the first time, scientists have matched a real-life skeleton to an event in this Norse saga.</p>
<p>“This is the first time that a person described in these historical texts has actually been found,” says Professor Michael D. Martin of <a href="
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241025122355.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">NTNU’s University Museum in Trondheim[/url].</p>
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