Remains of man whose death was recorded in 1197 saga uncovered in Norway
In 1197, an ancient saga records that 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.
“While we cannot prove that the remains are those of the individual mentioned in the saga, the circumstantial evidence is consistent with this conclusion,” the researchers said in a study published in the journal iScience.
“I would say there’s a high probability this is the man from the saga – not only based on the dates, but also as the whole context matches what’s written,” the archaeologist Anna Petersén, who led the excavation work, told the public broadcaster NRK.
The Sverris saga relates the life of the ambitious Norwegian king Sverre Sigurdsson, who rose to power in the late 12th century during a period of political instability and civil war that continued for decades after his death in 1202.
The 182-verse saga, believed to have been written at the time of the events it relates to – and partly under the king’s supervision – by an Icelandic abbot who was close to Sverre, is described as unique in the rich accounts it gives of his many battles.
