The mystery of Somerton Man continues to baffle investigators and armchair detectives alike. On December 1, 1948, a man’s body was discovered on Somerton Beach near Adelaide, South Australia. He was well-dressed but had no identification, and there were no signs of injury or foul play. Even more puzzling, a small scrap of paper was found in a hidden pocket of his pants, reading "Tamam Shud," meaning "ended" or "finished" in Persian. This led to the discovery of a copy of a book of Persian poetry, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which had a coded message written in it.
Join Holly and Matthew as they examine the various leads and theories that have been explored over the years, from espionage to black market trading to a love affair gone wrong.
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Episodes mentioned:
- Somerton Man (Episode 4) Case Update
Sources cited:- Castello, Renato. 2013. "New twist in Somerton Man mystery as fresh claims emerge." Herald Sun, November 23. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/new-twist-in-somerton-man-mystery-as-fresh-claims-emerge/news-story/18b3fe551a0b50d1adad4b42646a1748.
- The Evening Advocate. 1945. ""Sans Wine, Sans Song"." June 4: 1. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/214186187.
- The Adelaide Advertiser. 1949. "Curious Aspects of Unsolved Beach Mystery." June 22: 2. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36373373.
- Watkins, Emily. 2011. "Rau refuses to dig up body of unknown man found dead at Somerton Beach." The Adelaide Advertiser, October 15. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/rau-refuses-to-dig-up-the-unknown-man-found-dead-at-somerton-beach/news-story/9c4bf81107db66ff441708b8
- Debelle, Penelope, and Gabriel Polychronis. 2019. "Somerton Man cold case: SA Attorney-General Vickie Chapman grants conditional approval to exhume body." The Adelaide Advertiser, October 14. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/attorneygeneral-vickie-chapman-wants-to-solve-somerton-man-cold-case-conditional-funding-approved/news-story/6531247eee73fa0e227fe5fd518dc751.
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