Researchers have connected the identity of skeletal remains found in a well at Norway’s Sverresborg castle to a passage in a centuries-old Norse text.
The 800-year-old Sverris saga, which follows the story of the real-life King Sverre Sigurdsson, includes the tossing of the body of a dead man — later known as “Well-man” — down a well during a military raid in central Norway in 1197.It’s likely, according to the text, that raiders lobbed the body into the well to poison the main water source for locals, but little else is said about the man or who he was in the saga.
Seven of Well-man's teeth have been recovered. and skull, which researchers found disconnected from the body. Lead study author Dr. Martin Ellegaard at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology instead used samples of a tooth to sequence the genome, which enabled the team to discover that Well-man likely had a medium skin tone, blue eyes, and blond or light-brown hair.
To sequence Well-man’s genome, the researchers had to remove the tooth’s outer surface to avoid contamination potentially caused by anyone who previously handled it during excavation, and then ground half the tooth into powder, which means the sample can’t be used for future tests. But other teeth from the remains could be tested.
“However, showing that his genetic origin may have been in southern rather than central Norway, as was originally expected, changes our perception of the circumstances surrounding the decision of the victors to deposit this particular human carcass in the well. It opens up new possibilities for interpretation and allows for a deeper understanding and novel insights into stories we thought were largely understood.
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