It is not everyday that a severed head is transported through Jutland in Denmark in the boot of a Golf station wagon.
It nevertheless happened on 22 April, when the head of the 2,400-year-old Tollundmannen was taken from Museum Silkeborg to the forensic department at Aarhus University.
The university writes this in a press release on Tuesday.
Here, the head was to undergo both a clinical CT scan and a scan in the new micro-CT scanner, which can take images with a high degree of detail.
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Eye completely intact
Both the researchers and the staff at the museum were all awake for a day when the scans were carried out – but the result was worth everything, says Ole Nielsen, director at Museum Silkeborg.
– We are particularly curious to study the teeth and the throat. We believe that he has been hanged. It had been the most current theory since the Tollundman was found with a leather rope around his neck in 1950, but investigations so far, in the form of X-rays and scans, have not been so accurate as to disprove other theories – for example, that he had been strangled, says the press release.
He says that he was thrilled when he saw the detailed images of Tollundmanen’s teeth and eyes, which cannot be seen from the outside, because both his mouth and eyes are closed.
– One eye appears to be completely intact with shape and optic nerves – it’s amazing. The other eye is punctured, says Nielsen.
SCANNING: Here, the Tollundman’s head is scanned. Photo: Aarhus University
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– Absolutely exceptional
Pictures of the moss man’s teeth can tell if he has had dental diseases, and they can also help show how his short life has been shaped.
– It is quite exceptional that he has an eye and mouth that are not damaged. Lips are one of the first things to be destroyed when a corpse decays. But he lies there with an almost Mona Lisa-like smile. We couldn’t dream of forcing the mouth open to see the teeth, but now we can see them on the scan, he says.
The museum manager explains that if children experience long periods of illness or hunger in childhood, while the teeth are forming, it can be seen on the teeth.
The images can thus show whether the Tollundmannen has had access to resources or whether he has experienced any crises.
The researchers are looking to see if he has holes in his teeth, and if he has all his teeth.
– We would like to know as much as possible about him, explains Nielsen.
EYE: Tollundmann’s right eye and brain are well preserved. The eye still contains the lens and an intact optic nerve. Photo: Aarhus University
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In secret
The shipping and scanning of the Tollundmann had to take place in complete secrecy.
His head was transported in a tight metal case in the museum director’s car. Conservator Lars Vig Jensen was also in the car, and directly behind the car drove the museum’s head of research, Nina Helt Nielsen, ready to take over if something were to happen to the first car.
– If there is too much attention, it can be destructive to the ability to concentrate that allows us to handle him correctly. If we lose him, we cannot repair it. It was important that there was calm to work with it in a good and safe way, says Nielsen.
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At the Department of Forensic Medicine at Aarhus University, among others, assistant professor Kasper Hansen was ready to scan the head with a micro-CT scanner.
– Because Tollundmannen has been lying in an acidic moss for over 2,000 years, much of his bone minerals have been washed out. Therefore, the contrast between the bones and the soft tissue is less than normal, he says and adds:
– But on a micro-CT scanner we can achieve better contrast on the different tissues and see many more details, explains Kasper Hansen in the press release.
The researchers and staff at the museum will now examine the results. And the Tollundman himself is now back in his glass case at the museum.
