THE BODIES OF “THE BOG PEOPLE”
“The Bog People” are among the most perfectly preserved bodies in the world, due to the special chemical properties of the peat bog. In peaty conditions, the preservation of the flesh and blood sometimes occurs while the bones of such bodies usually become spongy or decompose. The peat has acids that have preserved these bodies down the last detail (such as hair and nails). It is unknown how many bog bodies have been found – many have been lost or reburied since their discovery. (http://tornadohills.com/strange/bog_people.htm). Given the modern scientific techniques and technology in the world today, scientists and archaeologists can gather important information about the lives and deaths of these people and how they looked during their life, through facial reconstructions and remains of hair and clothing.
SCIENTIFIC TECHNIQUES
A very important tool in archaeology is Radiocarbon dating (also known as Carbon 14 or C14), which determines how much radioactive carbon is present in the remains of what was once a living organism. People and animals regularly take radioactive carbon into their lives by eating meat and plants. The radioactive carbon is no longer refilled after an organism dies. The radioactive carbon activity increasingly declines, it can no longer be detected after 70, 000 years. The radiation’s strength can therefore be used to determine the age of an organism. Using this method, scientists can determine the age of various types of materials such as charcoal, peat, or shells. Bog bodies have been dated using this method. (http://www.bogpeople.org/bog_uk/index.html). Another spectacular technique used in bog body research is the reconstruction of facial features. This technique is possible only if the skull is well preserved. First, scientists use clay or wax to model soft tissues on a copy of the skull to which artificial eyes, skin, and hair are added. The final version of the reconstructed head is done by plaster, clay, or wax. These give us impressions of what the person looked like around the time of death. Facial reconstructions have been made by Richard Neave, and he has reconstructed the heads of Lindow man and Yde Girl (bog bodies). (Archaeological Institute of America, 1997)
FATE OF THE BOG PEOPLE
No one knows how these people ended up in the bogs and it is doubtful that the bodies are not the remains of people who fell in and drowned. There are many theories of why the bodies have been put into the bogs – accidental, burial, capital punishment, or ritual sacrifices. Most of the Bog People shared the same fate; they died violent deaths, often from strangulation (hanging or garroting), blows to the head, or stabbing. They were possibly punished for a crime, but there is evidence to suggest that their deaths were ritual sacrifices. (VanMeter, 1998). In the past, the people of northern Europe believed that bogs were inhabited by gods and spirits (who had control on their lives) and they thought the bogs were places where they could communicate with the gods and spirits, and dead relatives as well. Offerings were made in order to maintain good relations with these powerful beings, which were essential. Among the offerings deposited in the bogs included valuable items such as jewelry, antlers, pottery, weapons, wheels, grain, and even wagons. Anything of value could be used as an offering to fulfill their special favour. As an ultimate offering, people were sacrificed in or near the bogs and buried there. (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2001)
FAMOUS DISCOVERIES
Some of the most famous discoveries in the bogs was Tollund man (1950) and Yde Girl (1897), as mentioned. A few years later after the discovery of Yde Girl, in June of 1904, two bodies were found by peat cutters in the northern part of the Netherlands. It was long believed that it was a man and a woman, known as the “Weerdinge couple” and popularly dubbed as Mr. and Mrs. Veenstra. This was assumed because one of the bodies lays on the outstretched arm of the other body. But recent investigations revealed that the bodies were both males. One had a stab wound in his left chest and the death of the other man is unknown. (Drents Museum, 2003). In 1879 the body of an adult woman was discovered in Denmark and the body is known as Huldremose Woman. This body was very well preserved and she died violently sometime between 160 B.C. and 340 A.D. The peat cutters who found her saw that an arm was missing, and studies say that her arm was evidently cut off before she was put into the peat. (Archaeological Insitite of America, 1997). In 1984, a body was discovered near Manchester, England and the body is known as Lindow man. A large team of experts were involved in the scientific research of his body and various techniques were used to get as much information such as the age of the body, how old Lindow man was when he died, and the cause of death. (Drents Museum, 2003). In 1957 peat cutters in the Netherlands discovered the foundations of a small building made of oak. It was about two meters high and two meters wide with a 4-meter ring of stone around it. The building has eight pillars standing on two heavy beams. Four corner supports connected through holes in these two beams were put deep into the peat. There were four posts inside the little building. Its description suggests that this temple was used in rituals and based on the oak, this temple must have been built between 1478 – 1470 B.C. (Bronze Age). It is known as the Barger-Oosterveld temple. (). Hundreds of coins and pottery have also been found in the bogs. These are examples of offerings made by the bog people.
YDE GIRL
One of the most popular bog bodies ever found is Yde Girl, discovered by two peat cutters on May 12th, 1897 in the Netherlands. Findings have revealed a large amount of information about her, as she has been well-studied by Dutch archaeologist W.A.B. van der Sanden. Yde Girl died about 2, 000 years ago, she was strangled by a woolen belt which had been wrapped around her neck three times. Upon her discovery, the inhabitants of Yde handled the bog body poorly. The villagers pulled her hair out and removed her teeth as well as some of her bones, out of curiosity. The mayor informed the Drents Museum (in the Netherlands) about the find and fortunately the museum was interested in preserving the body, including the woolen cape that was also found with her. According to a scientific scan, Yde Girl was 16 years old when she died (her wisdom teeth were unerupted). The scan also showed that she suffered from mild scoliosis (abnormal curvature of the spine), she was about 4.5 feet tall and that part of her right foot was swollen as if the weight of the right side of her body rested heavily on her right foot). Recently, scientists hired a forensic artist (Richard Neave) to reconstruct her face and and it gives us an idea of what she looked like at about the time of her violent death. (Drents Museum, 2003)
CONCLUSION
Thanks to modern scientific and archaeological technology (such as Carbon 14 dating and facial reconstructions), we can reveal the importance of the discoveries in the northern European bogs and the cultural lifestyles and fate of these mysterious people. The future of the bog bodies is questionable, and according to James M. Deem, it is unlikely that new bog bodies will ever be found for the following two reasons:
- In many northern European countries, peat can no longer be dug from the few bogs that remain. If peat isn’t cut, bodies and objects will not be found.
- In other countries, so much of the peat cutting is mechanized that a bog discovery would be caught too late to be of much use. The last bog body found in England (Lindow III) was chopped into 70-plus pieces before it was “rescued.”
(Deem, 1998-2003)
Many people find it difficult to imagine that the dark brown bodies from the bogs were once human beings who lived in timber houses, brought up children, made clothes and tools, prepared meals, grew crops, and looked after their cattle. A trip to “The Mysterious Bog People” exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull is an excellent way of learning about the lives and beliefs of these ancient people, and it provides visitors a full experience of the bog environment and offerings in northern Europe through artifacts, text panels, settings, and lighting and sound. The exhibit boasts bog mummies, details of the Yde Girl reconstruction and the equipment used to date bog bodies, and a variety of objects found in the bogs. (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2001)
