The plan was to excavate the well upon its dicovery in 1938, but World War II arrived, and the skeleton was forgotten. First 80 years later did archaeologists again begin to search for answers.

Sverre's Saga says:

The Baglers took all the goods that were in the castle (Sverresborg), and then they burned all the houses there. They took a dead man and threw him head down in the well, carried stones there and threw them in until it was full.

Archaeological research, skeletal studies and DNA analyses give us a lot of knowledge about the man in the well. We can assemble information about his appearance, age, state of health, where he came from and where he lived during his lifetime. Using methods from a variety of disciplines, we can craft a picture of his life — and his unfortunate fate — and get closer to knowing who he actually was. Through him, we also get a unique glimpse into one of the most dramatic periods in Norwegian history.

The research gives us an opportunity to figure out if this truly is the man from the sagas or not. If that proves to be the case, this find is unique, both in Norway and in Europe.