The Archaeologist

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The Tollund Man: The World's Most Famous Bog Body

On 8 May 1950, peat cutters Emil and Viggo Hojgaard stumbled upon a corpse in a peat layer in the Bjældskovdal peat bog, near Silkeborg, Denmark.

They were startled: his stubble and woollen cap were still visible, his features were still easily identifiable and a noose around his neck trailed behind him.

Fearing that he was a recent murder victim, the brothers alerted the police. However, to international amazement, it was soon discovered that the body in the bog was an extraordinary 2000 years old and was likely the victim of ritual human sacrifice. Here’s the story of the Tolland Man, the best-preserved prehistoric body in the world.