Deep in the ground, hidden from view, there are places of antiquity full of artifacts and religions that many people today are unaware of. In the Northwest areas of Europe, bogs retain remnants of forgotten societies from the elements and ravages of time. Slowly, archaeologists are locating and excavating bogs all over western Europe to see what they contain. Some of these bogs carry within them bodies preserved far better then many Egyptian mummies.
It Must Be in the Water
The fascination with bog bodies begins with the thoughts of how the bodies are so delicately preserved. In some Western European countries, peat is an essential fuel and has been for thousands of years. Peat bogs are large areas that are cut away for fuel from one generation to another and so on. Many of the bog bodies that are found, are done so when a team of peat cutters will cut away a layer to expose some of the body.
One famous example can be seen with the excavation of Tolland Man, in Tolland Fen, which is a peat bog of Denmark. Archaeologists discovered that the head and body were preserved better on the side that was laying downwards. This was then thought to be the area that was first subjected to the waters of the peat bog. It is surmised that bog water inundated with soil-acids, is the main ingredient for preservation. If the concoction is not too strong, the bones and tissues will be preserved. But if the circumstances are not correct, the acid in the water and decay of plants will dissolve the remains.
The Importance of Bog Body Finds
It is a colossal moment when an artifact of any sort is found in a bog. It shows the archaeological world that bogs were a part of ancient life. When given a bog body, an archeologist can study what people wore, what they ate, or if they were part of a sacrifice to the bog, or how the person died before ending up in a bog. There are times when there are no bodies found, but goods of sacrifice or tribute are located instead in the peat.
These finds cast a light on the material cultures of the areas surrounding the bogs. Not counting the remains of people, many things have been preserved by the deep waters of the peat bogs. Food, containers, material goods, tools, weapons, jewelry, and so much more has been found and analyzed for the world to see. These artifacts give present people an opportunity to rediscover ancient, and at times more modern, ways and goods of the world.
As time progresses, more bodies and goods are continuously being brought to the surface. In the decades that bog bodies have been regularly excavated and studied, from the late 1800’s to the present, a wide range of time has been covered by the findings. The oldest body found has been recorded to be around a couple thousand years old. The comparison is the find of a World War II soldier that was uncovered. His clothing was mostly gone, but his body was perfectly preserved. Both men and women, young and old have all been found resting in peat bogs.
Some mysteries remain as to who these people were and how they were found, as well as items thrown in to appease the deities of the bogs. The most resent study is face reconstruction on some of the bog bodies. For the first time since their death, the world has been able to see what these people had looked like in life. More studies are presently being done to unlock more secrets held by the bogs of Western Europe.
Sources:
- Glob, P.V.. (1969). The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
- Pringle, Heather. (2001). The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession, and the Everlasting Dead. New York, New York: Hyperion (THEIA).
- Reid, Howard. (2001). In Search of the Immortals: Mummies, Death, and the Afterlife. New York, New York: St. Martin’s Press.
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