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The Tamam Shud Case is re-opening

The Tamam Shud Enigma: Australian Cold Case with Ancient Persian Connection Re-Opens!

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On December 1, 1948, authorities were called to Somerton beach in Adelaide, South Australia. A dead body had been found. Little did police realize they were about to encounter what is now considered one of Australia’s most profound mysteries, with connections to the ancient world.

They found his cold body on the sand, slumped at the base of a seawall. He was a middle-aged man in top physical condition, smartly dressed in a suit and tie, his sophisticated black shoes polished. Despite the hot weather, he wore a knit pullover and suit-jacket. His corpse revealed no obvious cause of death. Nobody knew who he was, or where he had come from. After collecting the body, police examined his possessions and clothes for a hint of who he was, but the tags and labels had been carefully removed, leaving no trail.

Police photo of the unknown dead man found on Somerton Beach, Adelaide, on the morning of 1 December 1948. (Public Domain)

The Tamam Shud Enigma

Investigators were perplexed when they found what appeared to be a secret message stuffed in his trouser pocket. The words Tamam Shud were printed on a rolled-up scrap of paper, found deep in the unidentified man's pocket. Consulting library experts, police found that the mysterious scrap had been torn from the last page of a rare copy of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Eerily, Tamam Shud is a phrase meaning "the end" or "finished", and is found at the end of The Rubaiyat.

Was this cryptic note a final message of doom for the unknown man?

Tamam Shud

Tamam Shud. The scrap of paper, with its distinctive font, found hidden in the dead man's trousers, torn from the last page of a rare New Zealand edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. (Public Domain)

Can Police Finally Identify the Unknown Man?

After more than seven decades of waiting and speculation about the identity of the Somerton Man, ABC News reports that, there may be some new insight on the way. The man’s remains will be exhumed by police with hopes that DNA samples can be retrieved and his identity and possible relatives could be revealed.

Currently, the Somerton Man is buried in a cemetery with a grave that simply refers to him as the “unknown man,” but after years of debate, Attorney-General Vickie Chapman has given police the green light to exhume the man’s remains and try to solve part of the Tamam Shud mystery. She said:

“This man could be someone's father, brother or cousin, and those relatives and friends deserve answers. It means that finally this case, which has been studied, investigated and followed for more than 70 years, will be re-examined, and, hopefully, many of questions surrounding his enigmatic life will be answered.”

The police will work with forensic scientists from Forensic Science SA. Forensic Science SA director Dr. Linzi Wilson-Wilde said that the task of DNA extraction may be difficult because “the remains have been buried for over 70 years and, in addition, the body was embalmed.” The embalming is of particular concern because “The chemicals used in the embalming process can significantly break down any DNA present. It really is an unknown — we don't know what the state of the remains is going to be, we don't know the level of degradation,” according to Dr. Wilson-Wilde.

Nonetheless, the police and scientists hope that there will be enough DNA for them to work with that they can compare it with potential relatives. Dr. Wilson-Wilde said, “Really, the aim of this is to do everything we can to find out who this man is and finally give him a name.”

What is The Rubaiyat and Why is it Important to the Tamam Shud Case?

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is a collection of poems, translated into English from Persian by Victorian writer Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. The quatrains were originally penned by Omar Khayyám, a Persian poet, astronomer, philosopher and mathematician from the 12th century. Khayyám was one of the major polymaths of the medieval period, and was dubbed the “philosopher of the world”.

The theme of The Rubaiyat is one of Carpe diem, of seizing the day – living to the fullest and dying with no regrets. Smithsonian describes the poems as “romantic reflections on life and mortality.”

When the body was discovered, investigators suspected that the Somerton Man had committed suicide with some sort of poison, but they had no evidence to back up the theory. In fact, they had no evidence to show what had actually caused his death, although they assumed he died from a dose of undetectable poison. The South Australia coroner published his final results admitting he was unable to say who the Somerton Man was, or what had killed him.

As the investigation continued in 1949, a copy of The Rubaiyat was recovered bearing the tear-marks that matched the scrap found on the body. This very rare, first-edition book of ancient poems had been placed in the backseat of an unlocked car which had been parked along a jetty a week or two before the body had been found. The car owner turned the book in to police, but requested to remain anonymous, adding to the mysterious nature of the case.

As the investigation continued in 1949, a copy of ‘ The Rubaiyat’ was recovered bearing the tear-marks that matched the scrap found on the body. (CC BY SA)

A Secret Code, Yet to be Deciphered

Under close inspection, the rare copy revealed scrawled letters on the back cover, grouped together in no recognizable language. How strange, yet fitting, that a cryptograph would be found within a book of poems by a renowned ancient philosopher and mathematician.

Detectives determined it was a secret code, and due to the tense times of the Cold War, speculated that Somerton Man was a Soviet spy murdered by unknown enemies. No governments or intelligence agencies have ever admitted knowing the man. The Rubaiyat code was made public and many tried to decipher it in vain, but it remains uncracked to this day.

Somerton Man Code. The handwriting showing pencil markings in the back of a book of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. The markings are presumed to be some sort of code. (Public Domain)

Cursed Ancient Writings?

The unknown man was buried without anyone ever learning the truth of his life or death.

The Tamam Shud case remains an unsolved enigma, but The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam seems to maintain a hold over life and death in Southern Australia. Several deaths are seen as possibly related to the Tamam Shud case. Could the ancient writings be cursed?

In June 1949 the body of a two-year-old was found in the sand 20 kilometers (12.43 miles) down the coast from Somerton. The boy’s father was found next to him, unconscious and near death, and was later admitted to a mental hospital. The pair had been missing for days. Like Somerton Man, the boy’s cause of death could not be determined. The man who found them said their location was revealed to him in a dream the previous night.

Three years before the death of Somerton Man, Joseph Marshall was found dead in a park in Sydney with an open copy of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam laid on his chest. It is believed his death was caused by poison.

Recreating the Somerton Man’s Face

Returning to the present, while the identity of the Somerton Man remains a mystery, his face has been recreated to help researchers get a better idea of what the man may have looked like when he was alive. Professor Derek Abbott, who’s spent many years researching the Somerton Man, commissioned Canadian virtual reality artist Daniel Voshart to recreate the Somerton Man’s appearance.

Professor Abbott, who also believes his wife is a descendant of the Somerton Man, told ABC News that he’s excited by the current events in the Tamam Shud case:

“It's an enduring mystery here in South Australia. The public want to know who this man was. He also has a family somewhere missing him from their family tree and they have a right to know. There's so many weird twists and turns in this case — so many unlikely things keep happening.”

While no date has been provided for when the exhumation and DNA analysis will be conducted, Dr. Wilson-Wilde said it will likely be in the “short term.”

Top Image: Cover of ‘The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.’ (Book Node) and the body of the Somerton Man with text from the mysterious code linked to the Tamam Shud case. (ABC News)

By Liz Leafloor

Updated on April 27, 2021.

References

Dash, M. (2011) ‘The Body on Somerton Beach.’ Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-body-on-somerton-beach-50795611/?no-ist=

Dillon, M. & D. Keane. (2020) ‘Somerton Man brought back to life in new animation by Star Trek special effects artist.’ ABC News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-08/new-animation-shows-face-of-mystery-somerton-man/12717590

Keane, D. (2021) ‘Somerton Man to be exhumed by police in attempt to solve mystery of his identity.’ ABS News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-24/mysterious-somerton-man-to-be-exhumed-by-sa-police/100092750

Khayyam, O. (1859) The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Project Gutenberg. Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/246/246-h/246-h.htm

 

Comments

Ah, my Beloved , fill the Cup that clears
Today of past Regrets and future Fears-
Tomorrow ? – Why, Tomorrow I may be Myself with Yesterday’s Sev’n Thousand years.
 
Lo ! some we loved the loveliest and best
That  Time and Fate of all their Vintage prest,
Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before ,
And one by one crept silently to Rest.
 
And we, that now make merry in the Room
They left, and Summer dresses in new Bloom,
Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth
Descend, ourselves to make a Couch – for whom?
 
Ah make the most of what we may spend ,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust, to lie,
Sans Wine sans Song , sans Singer, and – sans   End ! …

Sound like a bit of pre-Cold war intrigue. Even then , physically fit middle aged men were not representative of the majority of his cohort.

Thank you.
I read 73 in a Velikovsky book earlier this week, but was not able to determine his reference and source....
Ah Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire
To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire
Would not we shatter it to bits-and then
Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!

As I enjoy some of the mustang grape wine I made on my birthday....
42 And lately, by the Tavern Door agape
Came stealing through the Dusk an Angel Shape
Bearing a Vessel on his shoulder; and
He bid me taste of it; and it 'twas - the Grape!

.....the ambrosia of the Gods, the bliss, the euphoria, the treasure, the grape portal.....the Aquarian age.

Thank you for bringing this poem to my attention.

Smithsonian describes the poems as “romantic reflections on life and mortality.”

This along with the evidence you have provided seems to lead to a suicide or even death of broken heart conclusion. Reading a book holding such deep meaning while being romantically involved with, even conceiving a possible child with, a woman who is already married and thus may not be able to love you back in an open way, it might break a man

60 Minutes revealed that the Somerton Man was romantically linked to Somerton Park nurse Jessica Thomson who lived in Moseley St, just metres from where the man's body was found slumped against a sea wall 65 years ago.I also heard the book that was turned in had Jessica's unlisted phone number inside.

All police records relating to the case have been destroyed and Jessica, the one tangible link to his identity, is dead. Jessica also had a son, Robin, to another man. Robin's wife Roma Egan and their daughter, Rachel, have now come forward claiming Robin was the progeny of the Somerton Man and Jessica Thomson.They are backing a new bid by Adelaide University physicist and Somerton Man expert Professor Derek Abbott to exhume the Somerton Man's body from his West Terrace Cemetery grave.

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Liz

Liz Leafloor is former Art Director for Ancient Origins Magazine. She has a background as an Editor, Writer, and Graphic Designer. Having worked in news and online media for years, Liz covers exciting and interesting topics like ancient myth, history,... Read More

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