Some 2,400 years ago , a very unfortunate cat was kill , perhaps as a human ritual killing , and dump in a Danish peat bog . fortuitously for us , this unusual death meant his body was naturally mummify and remained in noteworthy condition , providing clear perceptivity into his appearance and lifestyle . In a novel study , reported in the journalAntiquity , research worker even finagle to tack together his last meal by look at the contents of guts - parasitic worms and all .
cognise as the Tollund Man , the bog bodywas discoveredin the 1950s by peat diggers on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark . overwhelm in the cool , acidulent , and dispirited - oxygen term of the peat peat bog , much of his skin and organ remained amazingly inviolate , complete with a offended expression on his boldness and a noose still wrapped around his neck opening . The man ’s features were so well preserved , investigations initially suspect the physical structure belonged to a local boy who recently go missing .
A large part of his GI tract , as well as its contents , were also found to be preserved . In new a new cogitation , researcher from the Museum Silkeborg and the National Museum of Denmark used the previous technology toreanalyze the stomach contentsof the famous Tollund Man .
Their analytic thinking revealed traces of cereals and hazardous plants — included barleycorn , flax , Au - of - pleasure seed , and seed of pallid persicaria . — that was likely wipe out in a porridge - like meal in his gastrointestinal pamphlet . Evidence of protein suggests he had also recently eaten fish . On top of this meal , they discovered vestige amounts of 16 plant metal money , although this made up less than 1 percent of the full stomach message .
All in all , they trust his last meal was a moderately typical Iron Age repast of Pisces and porridge , most belike guzzled down some 12 to 24 hours before death .
“ We can now pretty much rebuild the recipe of the last meal of Tollund Man . The repast was quite nourishing and consist of a barley porridge with some seeds from pallid persicaria and flax , ” Dr Nina H Nielsen , lead study author from the Museum Silkeborg in Denmark , said in a statement .
“ In this way , we get very close to a specific situation in the yesteryear – you’re able to almost imagine how they were sitting by the fireplace preparing the barleycorn porridge and the Pisces , ” tote up Dr Nielsen .
On top of his last meal , his guts also harbor something much less pleasant : C of parasite orchis , admit whipworm , mawworm , and cestode . Since this period of history was not sleep with for its hygiene and sanitisation , the infestation of worms is almost certainly the result of undercooked nub or solid food and weewee contaminated with human waste .
Despite being give ear , the deliberate position of the body suggests the Isle of Man was not executed but was perhaps a dupe of human sacrifice . what is more , the fact he was eating a comparatively hearty repast just hour before his death evoke he was not a down - trodden prisoner but enjoyed a relatively comfortable life story ( at least bythe standards of the European Iron Age ) . The researcher hoped by further studying the man ’s gut they might be capable to find evidence of special ingredients that were only used at extra occasion like human sacrifice , but this probe proved inconclusive .
For now , the dying of the Tollund Man remains somewhat of a whodunit .
