Erik den heliges skelett

Saint Erik was King of Sweden for a few years up to 1160, when he was killed. A skeleton attributed to him is kept in Uppsala Cathedral. It underwent scientific reappraisal in 2014. The analyses included computer tomography, Xray absorptiometry, isotope analysis and DNA sampling. Radiocarbon confirms the alleged age of the bones. They belong to a 35-40-year-old man in excellent physical shape. The many wounds that he received in connection with his death fit surprisingly well with the saint's legend, whose preserved version was written 130 years after the event.