Wellman from Norse Mythology identified as skeleton found in castle by scientists

For 800 years, he was the stuff of Norse legend.

Scientists have now revealed that skeletal remains discovered in a well at Norway’s Sverresborg Castle belong to a mysterious figure from medieval stories.

New findings using advanced DNA analysis and Published in iScience magazine On Friday, they will connect the body’s identity to a passage from a centuries-old Norse document called the Sveris Saga. It compiles various sources describing internal political struggles, or civil wars, in medieval Norway from 1130 to 1217.

Named after King Sverre Sigurdsson of Norway, the tale depicts the political conflict between the king and his arch-enemy, Eystein Erlensson, Archbishop of Nidaros.

According to this story, during a military attack in 1197 aimed at poisoning the local population’s main water source, the dead bodies, later known as the “Well Man,” were tossed into the well.

Little else is mentioned about the well man or his identity in the story.

Research project leader Mike Martin, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, told NBC News that historians are often skeptical of the historical accuracy of events described in such stories.

“This story is a blend of historical fact, narrative, political propaganda, and Old Norse religion,” he stated in an email Monday.

However, Stephen Brink, from the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Nordic, and Celtic Studies at the University of Cambridge, noted that the Sveris Saga is considered one of the most reliable historical sources because it was written during and immediately after a period of political unrest. This led to better understanding in England. He was not part of the study.

Human bones were initially found in the castle’s well during renovation work in 1938, but due to the outbreak of World War II at the time, researchers could only carry out visual examinations.

The remains stayed in the well for another 80 years until excavations began in 2014, led by Anna Petersen of the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage in Oslo.

By 2016, a complete skeleton was retrieved from the Sverresborg well in Trondheim, central Norway.

Recent scientific advancements have provided various advanced techniques to analyze human remains in more detail, including genetic sequencing and radiocarbon dating.

The human genome is about 99.6% similar. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), genetic variation accounts for only 0.4%.

The research team determined the genomic variation by extracting DNA from Wellman’s teeth, mandible, and maxilla.

“We had access to teeth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and research really picked up speed,” Professor Martin remarked. It took approximately six years in total to complete.

Experts suggest that this genetic research could offer insights into the remains discovered in previous archaeological excavations.

“This project demonstrates the significance of scientific archaeology, and the collaboration between archaeology and history, in today’s research, often resulting in remarkable findings like this one,” Brink remarked.

Advancements in technology have allowed human bones to be linked to characters from Norse mythology, blurring the line between legendary myth and historical reality.

This is not the first instance where the skeletal remains of a character from a story have been uncovered.

Elizabeth Lowe, a professor of Scandinavian history at the University of Cambridge in the UK, highlights that Research published by Jesse L. Byock in 1995 presents a compelling argument for identifying the remains of the 10th-century Icelandic poet Egil Skallagrimsson, whose tale is recounted in the 13th-century Egil Saga.