Agonised face of prehistoric man shot in the head with arrow reconstructed after 5,600 years – but it DIDN’T kill him
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A PREHISTORIC man - who was shot in the head with an arrow 5,600 years ago - can be seen for the first time. An incredible reconstruction of the Bronze Age man led to the shocking discovery that his horrific injury was not the blow that killed him. The skeleton of the Porsmose man was discovered in 1946, in a peat bog near Næstved, Denmark.
![[Reconstruction of the Porsmose man, a prehistoric man killed by arrows 5,600 years ago.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/credit-cicero-moraes-pen-news-964365614.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
This body showed two horrifying arrows that had struck through and pierced the prehistoric man's head and his breastbone. Scientists have been able to reveal the tragic man's agonised face for the first time after they rebuilt his likeness from his bones.
![[Reconstructed face of the Porsmose man.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/credit-cicero-moraes-pen-news-964365621.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Despite the terrifying and gruesome arrow shot through his skull, experts revealed something counterintuitive during the process. This arrow did not kill the prehistoric human, but the one in his chest proved to be fatal. The lead author of the new study, Cicero Moraes, revealed why this reconstruction project was unique.
![[Skull of the Porsmose man with an arrow penetrating it.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/n-stved-zealand-denmark-photo-964365626.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
He said: “The objective is usually to know what the individual's face looked like. “But in the present work, we were also interested in knowing what injuries could have been caused to the anatomical structure.”. The scientist also shared why the chest piercing proved to be fatal despite the horrifying head shot.
![[Clouds reflected in a calm body of water.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/credit-linette-bach-via-pen-964365570.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Moraes added: “Although the arrow in the face is visually striking and uncomfortable, and could be fatal depending on the situation, it was the one in the chest that hit important structures.”. The deadly arrow - which was made of bone - was thought to have pierced through two major veins, bringing his life to a tragic end.
![[The breastbone of the Porsmose man with an arrow penetrating it.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/n-stved-zealand-denmark-photo-964365575.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
