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The Taman Shud or Tamam Shud Case,〔While the words that end ''The Rubaiyat'' are "Tamám Shud" (), it has often been referred to as "Taman Shud" in the media, presumably because of a spelling error in early newspaper coverage which persisted. In Persian, ''tamám'' is a noun that means "the end" and ''shud'' is an auxiliary verb indicating past tense, so ''tamam shud'' means "ended" or "finished".〕 also known as the Mystery of the Somerton Man, is an unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead at 6:30 am, 1 December 1948, on Somerton beach, Glenelg, just south of Adelaide, South Australia. It is named after a phrase, ''tamám shud,'' meaning "ended" or "finished" in Persian, printed on a scrap of paper found in the fob pocket of the man's trousers. This turned out to have been torn from the final page of a particular copy of ''Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'', which is a collection of poems attributed to 12th century poet Omar Khayyám. Following a police appeal, the actual book was handed in – six months after the body was found, a businessman (given the name Mr Francis)〔1〕 said his brother found it in the back footwell of his car at about the time the body was found. The book was handed to Detective Leane who made the decision to keep the finder's real name out of the papers.〔 Imprinted on the back cover of the book was something looking like a secret code as well as a telephone number and another unidentified number. Considered "one of Australia's most profound mysteries" at the time,〔''The Advertiser'', ("Tamam Shud" ), 10 June 1949, p. 2〕 the case has been the subject of intense speculation over the years regarding the identity of the victim, the events leading up to his death, and the cause of death. Public interest in the case remains significant because of a number of factors: the death occurring at a time of heightened tensions during the Cold War, the plans to reform the Commonwealth Investigation Service (CIS) into a more secure organisation (ASIO), what appeared to be a secret code, the use of an undetectable poison, his lack of identification, and the possibility of unrequited love. It was about this time the MI5 visited Australia to brief the Federal Government about security leaks in the Department of External Affairs. The Venona Project was also discussed at the meeting. The MI5 participants were Percy Sillitoe, Roger Hollis and Robert Hemblys-Scales. The Australians present were PM Ben Chifley, External Affairs Minister H. V. Evatt and Defense Minister John Dedman.〔National Australian Archives〕 While the case has received the most scrutiny in Australia, it also gained international coverage, as the police widely distributed materials in an effort to identify the body, and consulted with other governments in tracking down leads.〔See, for example; Guðmundsson, H.H. "Þekkir þú þennan mann?" ''Skakki turninn'', 12 October 2009, pp. 19–27.〕 The FBI were unable to find a fingerprint match in their domestic criminal files. ==Victim== On 1 December 1948 at 6:30 am, the police were contacted after the body of a man was discovered on Somerton beach near Glenelg, about 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) southwest of Adelaide, South Australia. The man was found lying in the sand across from the Crippled Children's Home, which was on the corner of The Esplanade and Bickford Terrace. He was lying back with his head resting against the seawall, with his legs extended and his feet crossed. It was believed he had died while sleeping.〔 An unlit cigarette was on the right collar of his coat.〔 A search of his pockets revealed an unused second-class rail ticket from Adelaide to Henley Beach, a bus ticket from the city that could not be proved to have been used, a narrow aluminium American comb, a half-empty packet of Juicy Fruit chewing gum, an Army Club cigarette packet containing 7 Kensitas cigarettes, and a quarter-full box of Bryant & May matches.〔 Witnesses who came forward said that on the evening of 30 November, they had seen an individual resembling the dead man lying on his back in the same spot and position near the Crippled Children's Home where the corpse was later found.〔 A couple who saw him around 7 p.m. noted that they saw him extend his right arm to its fullest extent and then drop it limply. Another couple who saw him from 7:30 p.m. to 8 pm, during which time the street lights had come on, recounted that they did not see him move during the half an hour in which he was in view, although they did have the impression that his position had changed. Although they commented between themselves that he must be dead because he was not reacting to the mosquitoes, they had thought it more likely that he was drunk or asleep, and thus did not investigate further. One of the witnesses told the police she observed a man looking down at the sleeping man from the top of the steps that lead to the beach.〔Clemo, M. "('Poisoned' in SA – was he a Red Spy? )", ''Sunday Mail'' (Adelaide), 7 November 2004, p 76.〕〔Coroner's Inquest, Cleland, 1949, page 9〕 Witnesses said the body was in the same position when the police viewed it.〔Coroner's Inquest, Cleland, 1949 page 2〕 Another witness came forward in 1959 and reported to the police that he and three others had seen a well-dressed man carrying another man on his shoulders along Somerton Beach the night before the body was found. A police report was made by Detective Don O'Doherty.〔 According to the pathologist, John Burton Cleland, emeritus professor at the University of Adelaide, the man was of "Britisher" appearance and thought to be aged about 40–45; he was in "top physical condition".〔Coroner's Inquest, Cleland, 1949, pp. 12-13〕 He was "180 centimetres (5 ft 11 in) tall, with hazel eyes, fair to ginger-coloured hair,〔 slightly grey around the temples,〔 with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, hands and nails that showed no signs of manual labour, big and little toes that met in a wedge shape, like those of a dancer or someone who wore boots with pointed toes; and pronounced high calf muscles like those of a ballet dancer. These can be dominant genetic traits (dystonia of the toes), and they are also a characteristic of many middle and long-distance runners."〔The taxidermist who made the plaster cast testified at the inquest that he thought the Somerton man had been in the habit of wearing some type of high-heeled, pointed shoes, as the calf and toe characteristics were predominantly found in women because of their shoe styles. Police had earlier investigated if the man had been a stockman in Queensland based on the same physical traits, perhaps associated with cowboy/stockman style boots. See page seven of the Cleland, 1949 Inquest〕 He was dressed in a white shirt, red and blue tie, brown trousers, socks and shoes and a brown knitted pullover and fashionable grey and brown double-breasted jacket.〔Jory, R. (2000) "(The dead man who sparked many tales )", ''The Advertiser'', 1 December 2000.〕 All labels on his clothes had been removed,〔 and he had no hat (unusual for 1948) or wallet.〔 The body was clean-shaven and〔''The News'', "(Dead Man Found Lying on Somerton Beach )", 1 December 1948, p. 1〕 carried no identification, which led police to believe he had committed suicide.〔''The News'', "(Five 'positive views' conflict )", 7 January 1949, p. 3〕 His teeth did not match the dental records of any known living person. Coroner Cleland remarked that if the body had been carried to its final resting place then "all the difficulties would disappear".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Taman Shud Case」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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