One of the most recognisable archaeological finds in Danish history has become a little more intact over the past week.
The famous ‘Tollund Man’ bog cadaver will be getting his toe back over 50 years after it disappeared following its sensational discovery among the belongings of the late conservator Brorson Christensen.
“Here at Museum Silkeborg we are elated that the missing toe has turned up, and it will soon be back where it belongs at the museum,” the museum wrote.
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Missing a digit
The story of the Tollund Man began 66 years ago when police in Silkeborg were informed about a body found two days earlier in a bog by two brothers digging for peat.
The ‘murder victim’ turned out to be over 2,000 years old, dating back to the Iron Age, and today he rests at Museum Silkeborg.
According to Christensen’s daughter, the conservator, who helped conserve the iconic head of Tollund Man, cut off the toe as part of some experiments in conservation methods.
For many years up until 1952, it was actually just the Tollund Man’s head that was exhibited. But in the late 1980s the museum curator at the time began searching for the remaining parts of the bog man.
Most were found at the National Museum of Denmark and the Anatomical Institute, but one foot was missing a toe, which was never found … until last week.
