---
What's that? You want to learn about bog bodies? Then I shall educate you my dears!
Put very simply, bog bodies are bodies that have been naturally preserved in peat bogs; as well as most of the skin surviving, the internal organs, hair, nails, facial features and stomach contents usually survive too. This, however, is perhaps the best case scenario for a bog body; levels of preservation obviously differs from case to case. Some of the best known examples of bog bodies (famous for the high level of preservation), include the following...
 |
| Tollund Man |
 |
| Lindow Man |
 |
| Yde Girl |
They make not look that well preserved, but they are, and it has meant that facial reconstructions can be made to recreate their life. But I shall tell you about the reconstructions later.
The Nitty Gritty
So why do these bodies survive so well? The conditions of a bog are quite particular; acidic, wet, cold and lacking in oxygen. This is, of course, a natural occurrence in bogs, but it is quite possibly the best place for a body to be preserved. It should be noted, though, that the bones do not usually survive in the process - hence the 'flattened' appearance of the bodies.
Why Are There So Many Bodies Found in Bogs?
Hundreds of bodies have been found in peat bogs across the world; dating from the Mesolithic to as recent as WWII (more on that later!). The excellent preservation enables us to work out why these bodies were put in the bogs.
From the evidence, there are three possibilities for bog bodies; burial, murder/ritual sacrifice, or an accidental death. Many have suffered violent deaths, which suggests murder or something similar; for example, the Huldremose Woman was found to have died from a large cut on her upper arm; the Tollund Man was found with rope around his neck, suggesting he had been hanged; and Grauballe Man had his throat sliced.
Similarly, Lindow Man was found with stab wounds and blunt force trauma to the head, suggesting an attack; it may well be that he had been killed (on purpose or by accident, we will never know) whilst out and about, and then his body was just 'dumped' in the bog. However, his nails were spectacularly manicured; this and the way he was killed has caused arguments among people; the most common theory is that he was ritually killed by Druids.
There are examples of bog bodies that suggest they were killed purely for their 'deformities'; Aschenbroken Man had a deformity in the arm (from abornormal healing after being broken previously); and Yde Girl had scoliosis (causing her to have a curved spine) and was only 4'7", despite being 16 years old.
History of Bog Bodies
The oldest bog body is thought to be the Laois Boy of Ireland, which was found 2 years ago, and is thought to be 4,000 years old. However, there is also the Koelbjerg Woman from Denmark, which dates to 8,000BC; only her bones survived, so it is debatable as to whether she counts as a bog body or not.
There have been other bodies found during the Prehistoric, but the majority date to the Iron Age; it seems these bodies from the Iron Age are mostly ritual sacrifices, due to them all having strange deaths.
---
I will also most likely update this post sometime in the next few days as well - many more pictures and other cool stuff!
M
Extra Reading:
European Iron Age Bog Bodies
Archaeology Magazine Archive: Bog BodiesNational Geographic Gallery of Bog Bodies
Bones Don't Lie (blog): Bog Bodies
Tales From the Bog - Karen E. Lange - National Geographic
No comments:
Post a Comment