A passage in the Sverris Saga, an 800-year-old Norse account, describes a military raid in 1197 during which a body was thrown into a well at castle in Norway. Now, a new study published in iScience has brought this tale to life, as researchers have used ancient DNA to corroborate the saga and uncover details about the so-called “Well-man.”
“This is the first time that a person described in these historical texts has actually been found,” says Professor Michael D. Martin of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s University Museum in Trondheim. “There are a lot of these medieval and ancient remains all around Europe, and they’re increasingly being studied using genomic methods.”
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Bones were first discovered in the well at Sverresborg Castle in 1938, but all we know about that discovery was a brief description and newspaper articles from that time. It was not until excavations from 2014 and 2016 that the remains were recovered, with about 90% of the body being found. The person had several injuries on the body, although it is difficult to tell if they happened before or after he died. Most interestingly, his head was found not connected to his body.
The excavation site – Photo courtesy Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research
Today, advanced techniques like radiocarbon dating and gene sequencing have enabled researchers to paint a more detailed picture of the Well-man. Radiocarbon dating confirms the remains are around 900 years old, and studies from 2014 and 2016 identified the individual as a male who was between 30 and 40 years old when he died.
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“The text is not absolutely correct—what we have seen is that the reality is much more complex than the text,” says archaeologist Anna Petersén of the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research in Oslo. In the Sverris Saga, a work from the early 13th century that recounts the life and reign of King Sverre Sigurdsson of Norway (r. 1177–1202), one episode details the war between two factions – the Birkebeiners (who supported Sverre) and the Baglers. The Baglers launched a sneak attack against the Birkebeiner stronghold at Sverresborg Castle near present-day Trondheim. The saga relates what happens next:
The Baglers seized all the property in the castle, and then burnt every building of it. They took a dead man and cast him into the well, and then filled it up with stones. Before they left. the castle they called upon the townsmen to break down all the stone walls; and before they marched from the town they burnt all the King’s long-ships. After this they returned to the Uplands, well pleased with the booty they had gained in their journey.
“We can corroborate what actually happened in a more neutral way,” explains Dr. Martin Rene Ellegaard, also from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Ellegaard, in his work toward a doctoral degree, used a tooth from the Well-man to sequence his genome.
In the article, the researchers write:
Our genomic analyses confirm that the Well-man was indeed a male and augment the historical text with predictions about his physical appearance: that he likely had blue eyes and blond or light-brown hair. More interestingly, our results show that his ancestry can be traced to the southernmost counties of Norway, most probably Vest-Agder. The defeated holders of the castle were King Sverre’s Birkebeiners, who are thought to have been mainly from central Norway. Conversely, it is the Baglers, the invading victors from the south of Norway, who are described as having thrown the man into the well. Accordingly, previous reports had assumed that the Well-man was a central Norwegian, from the losing side of Birkebeiners. Our results unequivocally show that the Well-man’s ancestry was typical of the present-day population of the southern Agder counties, but of course cannot tell us whether the Well-man belonged to the Birkebeiner or the Bagler army. We note that the passage in Sverris Saga states that the Well-man was dead before the Baglers threw him into the well. Perhaps the Baglers threw one of their own dead into the well.
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This insight was possible thanks to reference data from modern-day Norwegians’ genomes, provided through collaboration with Professor Agnar Helgason at deCODE Genetics in Iceland. “Most of the work that we do is reliant on having reference data,” explains Ellegaard. “So the more ancient genomes that we sequence and the more modern individuals that we sequence, the better the analysis will be in the future.”
The ruins of the castle today – NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet / Wikimedia Commons
“Those reference data are literally thousands of genomes of modern Norwegians and many thousands of other European genomes,” Martin adds.
However, this method does have its drawbacks. To sample the Well-man’s genome, researchers had to grind the tooth into a powder, rendering it unusable for future tests. This also meant they couldn’t test for pathogens the Well-man may have carried.
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“It was a compromise between removing surface contamination of the people who have touched the tooth and then removing some of the possible pathogens… there are lots of ethical considerations,” says Ellegaard. “We need to consider what kind of tests we’re doing now because it will limit what we can do in the future.”
Looking ahead, researchers hope to apply these techniques to other historical figures. “The important Norwegian Saint Olaf is thought to be buried somewhere in Trondheim Cathedral,” Martin notes, “so if his remains are eventually uncovered, there could be efforts to describe him physically and trace his ancestry using genetic sequencing.”
Reflecting on this new intersection of history and science, Petersén remarks, “It’s a fantastic result on what Ellegaard and Martin’s method can bring to archaeology in such a strange or rare context like this.”
The article, "Corroborating written history with ancient DNA: The case of the Well-man described in an Old Norse saga," by Martin R. Ellegaard, S. Sunna Ebenesersdóttir, Kristjan H.S. Moore, Anna Petersén, Åshild J. Vågene, Vanessa C. Bieker, Sean D. Denham, Gianpiero L. Cavalleri,Edmund Gilbert, Thomas Werge, Thomas F. Hansen, Ingrid Kockum, Lars Alfredsson, Tomas Olsson, Eivind Hovig, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Kári Stefánsson, Hans K. Stenøien, Agnar Helgason, Michael D. Martin, is published in iScience. Click here to read it.
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Top image: Well-man skeleton. Image courtesy Åge Hojem NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet
A passage in the Sverris Saga, an 800-year-old Norse account, describes a military raid in 1197 during which a body was thrown into a well at castle in Norway. Now, a new study published in iScience has brought this tale to life, as researchers have used ancient DNA to corroborate the saga and uncover details about the so-called “Well-man.”
“This is the first time that a person described in these historical texts has actually been found,” says Professor Michael D. Martin of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s University Museum in Trondheim. “There are a lot of these medieval and ancient remains all around Europe, and they’re increasingly being studied using genomic methods.”
Bones were first discovered in the well at Sverresborg Castle in 1938, but all we know about that discovery was a brief description and newspaper articles from that time. It was not until excavations from 2014 and 2016 that the remains were recovered, with about 90% of the body being found. The person had several injuries on the body, although it is difficult to tell if they happened before or after he died. Most interestingly, his head was found not connected to his body.
Today, advanced techniques like radiocarbon dating and gene sequencing have enabled researchers to paint a more detailed picture of the Well-man. Radiocarbon dating confirms the remains are around 900 years old, and studies from 2014 and 2016 identified the individual as a male who was between 30 and 40 years old when he died.
“The text is not absolutely correct—what we have seen is that the reality is much more complex than the text,” says archaeologist Anna Petersén of the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research in Oslo. In the Sverris Saga, a work from the early 13th century that recounts the life and reign of King Sverre Sigurdsson of Norway (r. 1177–1202), one episode details the war between two factions – the Birkebeiners (who supported Sverre) and the Baglers. The Baglers launched a sneak attack against the Birkebeiner stronghold at Sverresborg Castle near present-day Trondheim. The saga relates what happens next:
The Baglers seized all the property in the castle, and then burnt every building of it. They took a dead man and cast him into the well, and then filled it up with stones. Before they left. the castle they called upon the townsmen to break down all the stone walls; and before they marched from the town they burnt all the King’s long-ships. After this they returned to the Uplands, well pleased with the booty they had gained in their journey.
“We can corroborate what actually happened in a more neutral way,” explains Dr. Martin Rene Ellegaard, also from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Ellegaard, in his work toward a doctoral degree, used a tooth from the Well-man to sequence his genome.
In the article, the researchers write:
Our genomic analyses confirm that the Well-man was indeed a male and augment the historical text with predictions about his physical appearance: that he likely had blue eyes and blond or light-brown hair. More interestingly, our results show that his ancestry can be traced to the southernmost counties of Norway, most probably Vest-Agder. The defeated holders of the castle were King Sverre’s Birkebeiners, who are thought to have been mainly from central Norway. Conversely, it is the Baglers, the invading victors from the south of Norway, who are described as having thrown the man into the well. Accordingly, previous reports had assumed that the Well-man was a central Norwegian, from the losing side of Birkebeiners. Our results unequivocally show that the Well-man’s ancestry was typical of the present-day population of the southern Agder counties, but of course cannot tell us whether the Well-man belonged to the Birkebeiner or the Bagler army. We note that the passage in Sverris Saga states that the Well-man was dead before the Baglers threw him into the well. Perhaps the Baglers threw one of their own dead into the well.
This insight was possible thanks to reference data from modern-day Norwegians’ genomes, provided through collaboration with Professor Agnar Helgason at deCODE Genetics in Iceland. “Most of the work that we do is reliant on having reference data,” explains Ellegaard. “So the more ancient genomes that we sequence and the more modern individuals that we sequence, the better the analysis will be in the future.”
“Those reference data are literally thousands of genomes of modern Norwegians and many thousands of other European genomes,” Martin adds.
However, this method does have its drawbacks. To sample the Well-man’s genome, researchers had to grind the tooth into a powder, rendering it unusable for future tests. This also meant they couldn’t test for pathogens the Well-man may have carried.
“It was a compromise between removing surface contamination of the people who have touched the tooth and then removing some of the possible pathogens… there are lots of ethical considerations,” says Ellegaard. “We need to consider what kind of tests we’re doing now because it will limit what we can do in the future.”
Looking ahead, researchers hope to apply these techniques to other historical figures. “The important Norwegian Saint Olaf is thought to be buried somewhere in Trondheim Cathedral,” Martin notes, “so if his remains are eventually uncovered, there could be efforts to describe him physically and trace his ancestry using genetic sequencing.”
Reflecting on this new intersection of history and science, Petersén remarks, “It’s a fantastic result on what Ellegaard and Martin’s method can bring to archaeology in such a strange or rare context like this.”
The article, "Corroborating written history with ancient DNA: The case of the Well-man described in an Old Norse saga," by Martin R. Ellegaard, S. Sunna Ebenesersdóttir, Kristjan H.S. Moore, Anna Petersén, Åshild J. Vågene, Vanessa C. Bieker, Sean D. Denham, Gianpiero L. Cavalleri,Edmund Gilbert, Thomas Werge, Thomas F. Hansen, Ingrid Kockum, Lars Alfredsson, Tomas Olsson, Eivind Hovig, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Kári Stefánsson, Hans K. Stenøien, Agnar Helgason, Michael D. Martin, is published in iScience. Click here to read it.
Top image: Well-man skeleton. Image courtesy Åge Hojem NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet
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