The Well-Man
Oct. 26th, 2024 12:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithA medieval saga told of a man thrown in a well. Scientists found him.
A team of researchers found the remains of the "Well-man" from an 800-year-old Norse saga and used ancient DNA analysis to reconstruct who he was.
[---8<---]
To be clear, the dead guy in the well was not a major figure in the annals of medieval Norwegian history. He gets a single line: "They cast a dead man into a well, and then filled it up with stones."
A historic form of germ warfare, in case you're curious, dropping a dead body (usually animal) into a water supply to contaminate it. Closely related to lobbing bodies of plague victims over the castle walls. In both cases, it makes the territory essentially unlivable.
A team of researchers found the remains of the "Well-man" from an 800-year-old Norse saga and used ancient DNA analysis to reconstruct who he was.
[---8<---]
To be clear, the dead guy in the well was not a major figure in the annals of medieval Norwegian history. He gets a single line: "They cast a dead man into a well, and then filled it up with stones."
A historic form of germ warfare, in case you're curious, dropping a dead body (usually animal) into a water supply to contaminate it. Closely related to lobbing bodies of plague victims over the castle walls. In both cases, it makes the territory essentially unlivable.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-10-29 04:54 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2024-10-29 06:03 am (UTC)* a simple mistake, not realizing which side a dead man was on
* a person who moved from the area of his genetics to the area under attack, perhaps as a small child
* a spy
And I'll add one I didn't see in the article, which absolutely does cause people to harm their own side: a deserter. "You're damn well going to be SOME use today, coward!"
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2024-10-29 05:01 pm (UTC)I do still wonder what the year 1200's version of 'that jerk who steals everybody's lunches' would be.