Northern European Bog Bodies of the Iron Age

Bog bodies are mummified corpses that are still intact 2,000 years after their death. 

They offer questions and clues about life and death in Iron Age Europe.

Over the past few centuries, and likely before then, people harvesting peat in European bogs have struck upon remarkable and no doubt frightening discoveries. 

It’s hard to say exactly how many bog bodies there are (it depends on whether you count just the fleshy bog bodies or include bog skeletons), but the number is probably in the hundreds. The first records of them date to the 17th century, and they’ve been turning up fairly regularly since then. (Before that, bodies found in bogs were often given a quick reburial in the local churchyard.)

Violently killed thousands of years ago, these corpses of men, women, and children have been naturally preserved by the unique chemistry of Northern Europe’s bogs. 

Scientists now have the means to study the remains of bog bodies in such detail that they can, in a sense, resurrect these ancient people. Archaeologists and anthropologists are using their knowledge of chemistry, geology, and human behavior to better understand the circumstances that led to these gruesome deaths. 

Remarkable Preservation

What physical characteristics of Northern European bogs helped preserve the “bog bodies”?

Bogs are cold-weather swamps and are excellent preservers of human bodies. The oxygen-free environment prevents decay, and the excessive tannins—naturally occurring chemicals used in tanning leather—preserve organic materials such as bodies, including the soft tissues and the contents of the digestive tract. 

Typically, a bog contains acidic minerals and spongy organic materials often used for fertilizer and fuel for burning. Peat is an organic soil of decomposed plants. Sphagnum moss creates a lack of oxygen which makes stagnant water. It also releases acids that inhibit bacteria. Without bacteria, things don't decompose. The sphagnum moss is the building block of bogs.

Sphagnum moss interacts with peat and water to create an “antiseptic” bog environment that one expert calls “the secret behind the bog bodies.”

Bogs are found mostly in Denmark, Netherlands, Ireland, Europe, Canada, and America. For thousands of years, peat was cut and used as fuel for heating homes. Most of the bog mummies were found by accident while bog cutters were harvesting the peat.

Where?

NORTHERN EUROPE: Ireland, England, The Netherlands, Germany and Denmark

How?

Raised bog

The best-preserved bodies were all found in raised bogs, which form in basins where poor drainage leaves the ground waterlogged and slows plant decay. A raised bog contains few minerals and very little oxygen.

Natural preservatives

Peat comprises decaying pollen and vegetation — mainly sphagnum moss — where bog bodies are found. The peat releases an acid similar to vinegar that pickles the skin like leather and dyes the hair ginger.

Cold conditions

The mummies would have had to have been placed in the water during winter or early spring when the bog was coldest to refrigerate the body and prevent it from decaying.

Handled with care

Despite having been brutally murdered, bog bodies often show signs of being delicately placed. Tollund Man was found in a fetal position with his eyes and mouth deliberately closed after his death.

Secured in place

Bodies were often held down by rocks or with sharpened branches driven into the peat, likely to prevent the corpses from floating back to the surface.

Wearing a noose

Elling Woman and Tollund Man were hanged, the ropes still around their necks in death. The Borremose Man was hanged or strangled with a rope noose. Yde Girl was strangled with a woollen belt.

Famous Bog Bodies

The Role of Science

Further Reading