Researchers have linked skeletal remains found in a well at Sverresborg Castle in Norway to a centuries-old Norse story.
In the 800-year-old Sverris saga, which follows the story of the real-life king Sverre Sigurdsson, the author tells the story of throwing the corpse of a man – later known as the “Well-Man” – into a well. Heard. Central Norway military attack in 1197.
According to the text, the attackers threw the body into the well to poison the besieged castle’s main water source for the local people. However, there was no mention of the man’s identity.
The skeleton of the man, who was believed to be in his 30s or 40s, was found in a castle near Trondheim in central Norway in 1938, The Telegraph UK reports. At that time scientists could only do visual analysis.
According to CNN, with a number of analytical techniques now available, including genetic sequencing and radiocarbon dating, researchers have now been able to link the skeletal remains to the saga.
A study in this regard, published in the Cell Press journal iScience on Friday, revealed major insights about the appearance of the “Well-Man” based on extensive research on samples of his teeth.
Michael De Martin, co-author of the study, said in a statement that it is the first time “someone described in these historical texts has actually been found”.
Mr Martin is Professor in the Department of Natural History at the University Museum of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.
“There are a lot of medieval and ancient remains throughout Europe, and they are increasingly being studied using genomic methods,” Mr Martin said.
Radiocarbon dating analysis helped researchers determine that the skeletal remains were approximately 800 years old, aligning with the timeline of the Sverris saga.
Mr Martin said he had initially hoped to sequence its genome from the body’s bones, noting that they appeared to be in good condition, but the DNA inside them was poorly preserved. Therefore, they used samples from a tooth for genome sequencing. The results showed that the man probably had medium skin tone, his eyes were blue and his hair was light brown.
They then compared the genome of the “well-man” to the genome of an anonymous modern Norwegian, stored in the reference database of DeCODE Genetics in Iceland.
As a result, it turned out that the “good man” had a deep connection to the natives of southern Norway.
