Fun Facts About Bog Bodies

I don't know about you, but I'm into dead stuff. Recently dead, long dead, yucky, gross, awesome dead. They don't call me 'Bones' for nothing! :) So let's dig right in to those famous bodies from the bogs, shall we?

Did you know...

*The famous bog bodies are a group of about 1,800 individuals who were remarkably preserved in peat bogs after their deaths. They have been found in the countries of Denmark, Ireland, Britain, Germany, and Holland.

*Bog bodies are old. Really old. Most of them are approximately 2,000 years old (Iron Age), but several are much older still than that. The oldest bog skeleton dates to 8,000 BC and the oldest fleshed bog body dates to 2,000 BC. These crazy old ages are because of the amazing preservation qualities of peat bogs.

*Peat bogs are deposits of dead plant material that are anaerobic and contain tannic acid. This combination is key to keeping organic material, such as a human body, from completely decomposing and thus, allowing for spectacular preservation. Just look at that face above.. he looks like he just laid down for a nap. But, in fact, he is 2,400 years old!

*The man in the photo above is known as Tollund Man, found in Denmark. From the noose found around his neck, it is assumed that he died by strangulation.

*Contrary to what Tollund Man suffered at the time of his death (with only one method used), many bog bodies show evidence of several fatal methods having been used. Among these methods were throat cutting, battery with a blunt instrument, stabbing, decapitation, drowning, and as you now know, strangulation. Man, these poor people. Just one of these is bad enough, imagine several...

*Another Danish bog body known as Lindow II really had a tough time just before he died. He was hit twice on the head with an axe so hard that pieces of his skull penetrated his brain and cracked one of his molars. That was just the beginning. He was then hit in the back which broke a rib. Next he was garroted with a cord, and finished off with a slit of the throat.

*Though exceptions have popped up, many of the bodies' hands and feet show little, if any, signs of manual labor. With no records of why any of these people met their ends in bogs, only speculation can say that perhaps, because of the fine hands and feet, they were of high status and/or lived their lives fully in preparation for future sacrifice.

*So, were they sacrifices to the gods? In addition to the fine hands, many bodies have been found to have physical disabilities such as scoliosis, shortened extremities, and spina bifida, among others. These "imperfections" as they were called, may have been considered very special, perhaps even gifted by the gods, and may have made their human bearers the perfect models for sacrifice.

*So why the horrible and unrelenting methods of death then, you ask? Great question. With only speculations floating about, I cannot tell you for sure, but once I finally found out, so you will too. :)

~Knowledge is Power~

My learning experiences derive from:

Pearson, Mike Parker. The Archaeology of Death and Burial.

College Station. Texas A&M University Press. 2000.

*****

Bahn, Paul G.. Tombs, Graves, & Mummies. New York. Barnes & Noble Books. 1996.​

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