A PREHISTORIC man, sH๏τ in the face at close range 5,600 years ago, can be seen for the first time since the bronze age – complete with the arrows that killed him.

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.

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 ᴅᴇᴀᴅ using their skulls.

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.”

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.”

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.

To complete their work, the authors began by virtually rebuilding the bones of the Porsmose man, using pH๏τographs and measurement data.

Graphics expert Mr Moraes said: “We then reconstructed the face using forensic techniques, creating a bust that included the areas hit by the arrowheads.

“In the chest area, where an arrow hit the sternum, we also reconstructed some other bones and the circulatory system.

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“So it was possible to ᴀssess where the fatal arrow had pᴀssed through.”

Mr Moraes said the resulting face was a “strong” one.

At the time of death, the Porsmose man was 35 to 40 years old, and stood roughly 1.66m tall.

Mystery surrounds the circumstances of his killing, but after he was sH๏τ in the face and the chest, his body either fell into the water or was thrown there.

Whether he was executed, murdered, or fell in battle is lost to history.

The National Museum of Denmark, which houses his remains, imagined him as a murdered farmer in a post on social media.

It read: “While everyone is fast asleep, strangers enter the house. The dogs growl, but are silenced with clubs.

“The strangers break into the courtyard and set fire to the thatched roofs of the houses.

“He wakes the family and grabs his axe. Together, they escape the burning house. But there is chaos outside and he loses sight of his children.

“He can see one of the strangers leaving with his wife. He runs after him with his axe raised.

“But then he feels a searing pain in his chest and the light disappears.

“By the time the next arrow hits his face, he is already on his way to the eternal cornfields of his ancestors.”

The Brazilian team behind the new study comprises Mr Moraes, forensic dentist Thiago Beaini of the University of Uberlândia, dental surgeon Janaina Paiva Curi, and physiotherapist Lis Moura.

They were ᴀssisted with bibliographical references from the National Museum of Denmark.

They published their study in the journal OrtogOnLineMag.