This man was struck with a sword, hit with an axe and finally, on two attempts, his head was chopped off and thrown into a bog about 1,800 years ago.
The mummified head was discovered by a peat miner working in Salford bog, near Worsley, Manchester, England, on August 18, 1958. The skull was taken to the Museum of Pathology at Manchester Medical School, where it was attempted to be reconstructed with 15 wire staples and then placed in a Plexiglas box. The skull was not preserved in any way, but simply allowed to "air dry".
Normal study of the "swamp head" did not begin until many years later. This bog head is now known as the "Worsley Man" and is preserved in the Manchester Museum.
The Worsley man was a male with a large chin and pronounced brow, and was in his early 30s at the time of death.
After a thorough examination in 1987, many injuries were found on the mummified head and neck. There was a wound above the right ear, probably from a blow with a sword, a broken parietal bone - apparently struck with an axe, and judging by the severed vertebrae, the man's head had been severed, and on the second attempt. The axe blow was so severe that the teeth were crushed. The blow was probably delivered from the front while the man was on his knees. The sword struck him from behind on the right side. It appears that the head was thrown into a swamp shortly after decapitation.
Radiocarbon analysis of facial tissue showed that the man died around 131-251 AD, which is Roman times.
For what reasons was the "Worsley man" subjected to such a bloody execution?
According to one theory, it was the execution of a criminal; according to another, it was a ritual sacrifice. At the very least, the man escaped disgrace, as his head was apparently not displayed as a trophy, but quickly ended up in the swamp. The burial of a separate head is attributed to fears surrounding the possible revival of the deceased, which was sought to be prevented.
A reconstruction of the exterior was made in 2001 by John Prag and Richard Neave for display in the Manchester Museum exhibition.
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