WITHIN the last few centuries hundreds of bodies have been unearthed from shallow bog graves around Europe. The unique environment of the bog has maintained these bodies in a remarkable state of preservation.
Archaeological investigation shows that most of the bodies are between 1,000 and 2,000 years old. Forensic investigation reveals at murder was the cause of death in most cases. Why these people were murdered remains a mystery although there are several theories to explain the phenomenon.
A bog is a particular kind of peatland. In peatland organic matter is produced faster than it is decomposed. In the northern hemisphere the peat forming vegetation consists mainly of mosses of the genus Sphagnum. Peat is a dark brown organic material built up by the partial decay of vegetation in the acid water of the peatland. If the peat becomes so thick that the surface vegetation is insulated from the mineral soil underneath then this peatland is called a bog.
Bodies usually begin to decompose shortly after death. It is well known that, even after a short period in a watery grave, the layer of fat underneath the skin of the corpse turns into a waxy substance called adiposera. This does not happen in the special conditions obtaining in the bog - acidity, wetness, low temperature and the absence of oxygen.
The acidic bog water strongly retards the growth of micro organisms that would otherwise grow in the corpse and spoil it. The bog water also has a tanning action on the skin and gradually converts it into leather. Some 2,000 years later full overall body conformation is maintained.
A recent bog body discovery in England illustrates many typical features of the phenomenon. In August 1984 a bog body was discovered at Lindow Moss, in Cheshire, England. An anonymous wit affectionately named the body as Pete Marsh but it is officially referred to as Lindow Man.
Pete came to a sticky end.
Careful investigation established that he first received two heavy blows to the head, next he was throttled with a thong and twisting stick and, finally, his throat was cut.
Much work has gone into trying to determine whether these victims were executed, ritually slain, or just mugged. Most of the bodies show signs of severe maltreatment. Throttling, throat cutting and decapitation are common. The brutal consistency of the killings would seem to rule out mugging.
Two other possibilities are punishment for crime or sacrifice to the gods of the age.
The punishment theory is meant to cover not only criminals but also outcasts, possibly homosexuals and prostitutes. Bodies of children are rarely if ever found and advocates of the punishment theory assume that if the murders were for sacrificial reasons children would make much more desirable victims. This theory also holds that the victims were buried in bogs so as to ensure that criminal spirits would not defile good land.
Advocates of the sacrificial killing theory point to the uncalloused skin and meticulously manicured finger nails of the victim. These were people not accustomed to heavy manual work. Perhaps they were a priestly class of the Iron Age.
Examination of the stomach contents of the victims also indicates that most of the killings took place in winter. This conclusion is based on the observation that the victims' last meal usually consists of seeds and fibres but no greenstuffs or pips of summer fruits. Perhaps these were ritual slayings associated with the solstice.
In September 1991 the discovery of a very well preserved ancient body in the Alps on the Austro Italian border made world headlines. This body was not unearthed from a bog but from a melting glacier. The body was in a remarkably state of preservation and archaeologists were amazed when carbon dating showed the body to be 5,300 years old. The body has been christened Ice Man and he lived during the Stone Age.
Interestingly, Ice Man's penis and testicles are missing. They were probably purloined by someone as a souvenir during the recovery of the body from the ice. Such an item in your display cabinet would indeed make an interesting talking point.
It appears that Ice Man was grazing goats in summer Alpine pastures and was overtaken by bad weather as winter approached. He probably died from hypothermia and his body was quickly dried out by the winds. A covering of snow hid the body from the attention of animals who would otherwise have eaten it. He was then buried under ice as the glacier formed.
Bog bodies are usually discovered by ordinary people who have no knowledge of archaeology. The discoverer usually thinks that the body represents a recent outcome of foul play.
In 1983, just a year before Lindow Man was discovered, a human head was unearthed at Lindow Moss. By coincidence a local man was being questioned about the disappearance of his wife. He had been claiming innocence but, when confronted with the find from the bog, he confessed to murder. He is now serving a long prison sentence. Radiocarbon tests later revealed the head to be 2,000 years old. The wife's body has never been found.