The remains of a man found dead on the southern coast of Australia have been exhumed more than seventy years ago in hopes of finally solving one of the country’s greatest mysteries. BBC.
The man was found lifeless on December 1, 1948, on a beach in Adelaide. It was set against the beach wall in a suit and tie. There were no documents in his pockets so he could not be identified.
The police were also unable to identify the victim during the investigation, so the case remained unresolved. He was eventually buried in a local cemetery, and his grave only says
The man is unknown.
The speculation began after his identity was discovered after several suspicious things were found that could be linked to him. The purse, presumably his own, was filled with clothes that had stickers removed, and I also found loose graffiti believed to be an icon at the time.
He hid a torn piece of paper in one of his pockets with the Persian words Tamam Shaud written on it. Translated into Hungarian, this largely means:
Ready.
The case also received international repercussions, and many conspiracy theories emerged about him later, with most of them suspecting that the man was a spy, but this can never be proven.
Police now began digging his grave on Wednesday, but work was slower than expected because the ground was solid and they weren’t even convinced to bury the man in a coffin, so they had to be careful.
Somerton Man Update:
The remains are deeper than initially thought, and it was difficult to dig into the hard clay that caused the bodies to be re-exhumed for a few hours. Forensics are still not sure if a coffin has been dug to the top of where they think the remains are. @ 9ewsAdel pic.twitter.com/yrNHlbumES– Kezia Sullivan (@ 9keziahsullivan) May 19, 2021
The man’s remains will be used to try to build his DNA profile and then try to identify him and where he came from.
Police say the technology available today is light years better than it was used in the late 1940s, so there’s a good chance it will succeed now.
