King Sverre Sigurdsson’s reign was full of ups and downs. One of the most shocking moments happened in 1197 when he was away in Bergen. While he was gone, a rival group called the Baglers attacked his fortress, Sverresborg Castle.
The Sverris Saga tells a chilling story about this attack. The Baglers set fire to the castle and, as a parting gift, they tossed a dead body into its drinking well, filling it with stones to poison the water. For many years, this was just a grim tale. Recently, however, it has been validated by researchers.
“This is the first time that a person described in these historical texts has actually been found,” says Professor Michael D. Martin from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. “There’s so much archaeology happening, and we’re learning a lot using genomic methods.”
Medieval sagas blend history with fiction, making it tough to discern facts from fiction. The Sverris Saga from the 12th century discusses King Sverre’s battles against the Baglers, who were supported by the church and southern Norwegian nobles. Sverre’s followers, known as the “Birkebeiners,” primarily hailed from central Norway.
The “Well-man” mentioned in the saga was a mystery until modern archaeology got involved. In 1938, workers found a body at the old well’s base. However, it wasn’t until 2016 that broader excavations revealed the whole skeleton.
Radiocarbon dating placed the body at approximately 900 years old. Initial studies suggested it belonged to a man in his 30s or 40s. But researchers needed to adjust the date based on his diet, which included about 20% seafood. Since ocean carbon appears older, they recalibrated the results, aligning the dating perfectly with the 1197 raid mentioned in the saga.
Who Was the “Well Man”?
The skeletal remains tell a story of violence. The left arm was missing, and the skull was detached from the body. Investigators discovered blunt force trauma to the back of the head and two cuts on the skull. This suggests he may have died in combat or was executed before being discarded into the well.
While we can’t know his identity for sure, researchers made some interesting deductions. Genetic analyses suggested he likely had blue eyes and light hair, features common among modern Scandivans.
They also looked for ancient diseases in his DNA. Though nothing significant was found, they noted that factors like contamination could skew results.
His southern Norwegian roots hint he was likely affiliated with the Baglers. This raises questions about whether they threw one of their own into the well or if he was a loyal supporter of theirs residing in the castle.
“The genetic drift noted in current southern Norwegians existed even 800 years ago,” the study emphasized, showing the stability of these populations over centuries.
Ethics of Discovery
To unlock these mysteries, researchers had to make sacrifices. They ground down a part of a tooth to sequence the genome, which destroyed that sample. “We must think carefully about the tests we conduct now; they may affect future opportunities,” explains Ellegaard. Yet for historians, the findings were invaluable. The discovery of the Well-man brings a human element to an ancient saga, tying it to history.
Ancient DNA research serves as a bridge between historical narratives and biological data. It opens new avenues for understanding past events, like migrations and epidemics. Such intersections could reshape our view on history.
The study detailing these findings was published in iScience.
This article has been revised. The initial version incorrectly asserted that the king had attacked the castle.
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