page_title: Tollund Man
section_title: Discovery
hierarchical_section_title: Tollund Man / Discovery
caption_attribution_description: Dansk: Moselig Tollundmanden - hele liget. Deutsch: Moorleiche des Tollundmann nach der Bergung. English: Bog body Tollund Man.
context_page_description: The Tollund Man is a naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BCE, during the period characterised in Scandinavia as the Pre-Roman Iron Age. He was found in 1950, preserved as a bog body, on the Jutland peninsula, in Denmark. The man's physical features were so well preserved that he was mistaken for a recent murder victim. Twelve years before Tollund Man's discovery, another bog body, Elling Woman, had been found in the same bog.
  Though the cause of death was determined to be hanging, scholars believe the man was a human sacrifice, rather than an executed criminal, because of the arranged position of his body, and the fact that his eyes and mouth were closed.
context_section_description: On 6 May 1950, peat cutters (Viggo and Emil Hojgaard) in the Bjældskovdal peat bog, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of Silkeborg, Denmark discovered a corpse in the peat layer which appeared so fresh that they at first believed they had discovered a recent murder victim. 
  The Tollund Man lay 50 metres (160 ft) away from firm ground, buried under 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) of peat, his body arranged in a fetal position. He wore a pointed skin cap of sheepskin and wool, fastened under his chin by a hide thong, and a smooth hide belt around his waist. Additionally, a noose made of plaited animal hide was drawn tight around his neck and trailed down his back. Other than these, the body was naked. His hair was cropped so short as to be almost entirely hidden by his cap. There was short stubble (1 mm length) on his chin and upper lip, suggesting that he had not shaved on the day of his death.
caption: The remains of Tollund Man shortly after his discovery
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