In light of a recent discovery (Oldest 'Bog Body' Found With Skin Intact), I have wanted to write a little post about one of my favorite types of finds in Archaeology: Bog Bodies. Bog bodies are fascinating and kind of gross, but mostly fascinating.
In order for bog bodies to be formed, they must be submerged in their waterlogged environment without being exposed to any oxygen until their discovery. How this actually happens, I'm not exactly sure. (There is some sort of biochemistry involved. I'm a historian!)
Most bodies found usually date from the Iron Age (1200-500 BCE) and are found in the northern latitudes. The dates for bodies can of course be earlier and later as well.
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| Look at that skin! |
The problem of this is that they rapidly deteriorate and need to be kept wet until they can be at the lab.
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| Look at the veins! |
Despite the difficulties in not only finding the right conditions to discover the bog bodies, but also in transportation, they are well worth all the effort!
The wealth of information discovered from these body is immense. The below image shows one of the most well-known bog bodies, the Lindow man. Scientists and archaeologists were able to discover that this man was in his 20's and of likely high status, as his body did not show any signs of being a laborer. While the reason behind his death is unknown (ritual sacrifice? murder? war?), his death was caused by violent means. There is evidence that he was strangled, bashed on the head and his throat was slit. Many of the Iron Age bodies seem to also meet similar violent ends before being deposited into the bogs, lending credence to the theory of ritual sacrifice
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| Lindow Man! |
The Lindow man was preserved so well that scientists were able to ascertain his last meal - charred bread.
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| Look at these incredible features! |
For more information, PBS did a little video on Bog Bodies called the Perfect Corpse: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bog/
While I could not find that video, here is a PBS video about a similar topic called the Iceman Murder Mystery
It isn't a bog body but a frozen body - similar looking body! (FYI this is just the first part, you will have to go to the site to view the rest of the video)
Images not mine.
