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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Jon Henley Europe correspondent

Remains of man whose death was recorded in 1197 saga uncovered in Norway

The skeleton laid out
Radiocarbon dating of bone from the skeleton found the age of the remains was consistent with the year of attack on Sverrsborg castle recounted in the saga. Photograph: Åge Hojem NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet/SWNS

In 1197, an ancient saga relates, a body was flung into a well by the besiegers of Sverresborg castle outside Nidaros, now the central Norwegian city of Trondheim. More than 800 years later, scientists think they may have found him.

“We can never be 100% sure that the remains in the well are those of the man described in the saga,” said Michael Martin of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, a co-author of the study published in the journal iScience.

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