Thousands of Ancient Bodies Lay at the Bottom of Europe's Bogs

What secrets do these ancient corpses reveal about the past?

By Liliana Kotval

The Tollund Man from the 5th century BCE during the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Believed to be a sacrificial victim. Source: National Geographic

  Would you believe me if I told you these human remains were over 2000 years old? Bogs are one of nature’s finest preservatives and have held the secrets of souls for thousands of years, perfectly conserving bodies, like of the Tollund Man’s seen here. Thanks to bogs’ natural chemistry, we can get an authentic understanding of what an ancient human would wear, what their last meal was, and even of the weapon that killed them.

Time travel may not be literally possible now, however, with the use of either ancient facial reconstruction of human remains or via meticulously preserved bodies, getting a glimpse of the past and understanding what life was like thousands of years ago has never been easier. Most uncovered human remains have been buried in soil and naturally decomposed, leaving behind only bones, metals, and any non-biodegradable matter. To bring the ancient human back to life, scientists must render a 3D image or model of what the human looked like alive by using information from the DNA in its bones.

In 1936, the Bocksten Man was discovered pinned to the bottom of a Swedish bog, thought to be a recent murder victim due to its incredible preservation. This murder, however, was very old- 500 years old. The medieval man is one of the best-preserved finds in Europe, where his hair, tunic, shoes, bag, belt, knives, and sheath look nearly as they did hundreds of years ago. Source: National Geographic

In bogs, on the other hand, ancient bodies can be so well-preserved naturally that they do not need all the previously mentioned reconstruction techniques, and even maintain a body’s lifelikeness better than Ancient Egyptian mummification. The bogs of Northern Europe are cold, low in oxygen, and very acidic, and when combined with the antibiotic properties of the mossy layer, bones, teeth, skin, hair, and nails stand the test of time. Scientists began exploring the bogs of Northern Europe in the 19th century and used old secondhand and thirdhand sources from the first century A.D. of the Roman historian, Tacitus, to discover that Germanic people, along with adulterers, thieves, and outcasts, were punished, tortured, executed, and then thrown into the bogs. Up until now, some 2,000 bodies have been uncovered in the bogs, mostly from the time between 1000 B.C. and 1500 A.D., however, with many from far before, including Denmark´s Koelbjerg Man that died around 8000 B.C. 

   The Tollund Man also faced a violent death, and the leather cord that was used to strangle him is still miraculously preserved. Even his day-old stubble can still be seen. Scientists were able to examine his digestive tract and discovered that he ate slightly burned porridge with barley, flax, wild weed seeds, and some fish as his last meal.

    Iron Age people believed that bogs were a gateway between the world of humans and the world of the gods. Today, you could say, bogs act as a gateway between us and our ancient ancestors.

Source:

Editors of National Geographic. “Raising the Dead. Bog Bodies of Northern Europe.” National Geographic History, September/October 2023, pages 48-53.