Prehistoric cold case is SOLVED - as gruesome study reveals man shot in the face 5,600 years ago was actually killed by an arrow to the chest
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Scientists have finally solved a prehistoric cold case - 5,600 years after it happened. The skeleton of the Porsmose man was found in 1946, in a peat bog near Næstved, Denmark, with arrows still embedded in his skull and breastbone. Now his face can be seen for the first time since his mysterious death, after scientists probing his killing rebuilt his likeness from his bones.
![[The skeleton of the Porsmose man was found in 1946, in a peat bog near Næstved, Denmark, with arrows still embedded in his skull and breastbone]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/10/94205513-0-image-a-135_1737110297076.jpg)
In the process, they revealed something counterintuitive – that the fatal arrow was not the one in his face, but the one in his chest. Forensic facial reconstructions are usually concerned with rebuilding the living faces of the dead using their skulls.
![[They revealed something counterintuitive – that the fatal arrow was not the one in his face, but the one in his chest]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/10/94205517-0-image-a-137_1737110329258.jpg)
But Cicero Moraes, lead author of the new study, said this reconstruction was unique – capturing the death of the subject instead. 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 study revealed that the fatal arrow, itself made of bone, had likely penetrated the man's brachiocephalic vein, aortic arch, and right pulmonary vein, killing him]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/10/94205523-0-image-a-138_1737110345434.jpg)
Scientists have finally solved a prehistoric cold case - 5,600 years after it happened. The skeleton of the Porsmose man was found in 1946, in a peat bog near Næstved, Denmark, with arrows still embedded in his skull and breastbone. He 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.'.
![[Mystery surrounds the circumstances of his killing, but after he was shot in the face and the chest, his body either fell into the water or was thrown there]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/10/94205515-14296047-image-a-139_1737110502154.jpg)
