On a midsummer's eve in June 1936, five-year-old Gully Johannes went with his older brother Tur to cut peat in Boxton Bog in Verberg, Sweden. Johansson's children were surprised to find bones on the ground and called their father, Albert. He called the local experts, including Albert Sanklef, director of the Werburg Museum, and informed the police.
Together they decided not to be the latest victim of a bad game; It has been there for ages. They confirmed that most of the bones were still buried underground, but cloth and wooden poles were visible above ground. The body and clothing were carefully exhumed from the site and taken to a museum where they were placed and studied.
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Save the body
Now known as Buxton Man, the remains have been remarkably preserved over 700 years of swamping. Bokton Man may have been killed: his skull was badly fractured and a log was driven to his chest to pin his body to the bottom of the swamp.
Whoever put the Bokten man in the crowded water was trying to cover up their crime, perhaps in the hope that the evidence would sink into the abyss. But unknown to them, the natural chemistry of the swamp prevents the decay of certain human and animal tissues. Peat is a layer of muddy wetlands composed of decaying plants and vegetation. (Peat has been used as fuel and fertilizer for centuries, but many peatlands are valued as compact, highly efficient carbon sinks.) In cold northern climates, low temperatures and high temperatures are low. Oxygen. Swamp is the perfect mixture to protect human bones, teeth, skin, hair and nails.
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This water environment protects clothing made from animal hair or leather, but plant-based fabrics such as Liberty did not fare well. The boggy environment of the Boxton man protected not only his fur, but also his clothes, which were the best clothes of medieval Europeans. He wore a hat, a heavy coat, a knitted tunic, woolen socks and leather shoes. An analysis of his clothing and body reveals that he was a tall and wealthy man.
Back to life
The well-preserved remains and clothing of the Boxton Man were key to giving a face to the mysterious man in the swamp. In the year In 2005, the Swedish Museum of Cultural History hired renowned forensic artist and archaeologist Oskar Nilsson to restore its face and humanity.
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The first step in the process was a fine scan of Boxton's human skull, which was then used to create a plastic replica. The plastic skull serves as the base layer for Nielsen's reconstruction. Then I put some small pins on the skull to help make the face. Using a wealth of biological data on gender, age, weight and ethnicity, Nielsen can assess various features of a person's appearance, such as the thickness of the facial muscles, the roundness of the cheeks or the sharpness of the nose. .
Guided by his ankles, Nielsen placed modeling clays to simulate different types of human facial tissue. When the construction is complete, the top layer of silicone "skin" is created and placed. The last parts that need to be fixed before the image is cut and dressed are the eyebrows, eyelashes and hair.
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Nielsen's reconstruction of the Buxten Man is displayed alongside the remains at the Swedish Cultural History Hall and Museum. A gray-haired model in a warm robe stands with folded arms and a serious expression on her face, showing what she looked like nearly 700 years ago before her violent death.