Bog Bodies of Europe

Discovery, Dating and Findings

3. Oldcroghan Man350-175 B.C.Found in County Offaly, Ireland in 2003

4. Lindow Man 100 B.C.-A.D. 100 Found near Manchester, England in 1984

10. Windeby Girl A.D. 1-200 Found near Windeby, Germany in 1952

11. Tollund Man 400-300 B.C.Found in Aarhus, Denmark in 1950

12. Grauballe Man 100 B.C.-A.D. 100 Found in Aarhus, Denmark in 1952

Tollund Man DiscoveryTollund Man was discovered on Monday morning on May 8th, 1950. The body was discovered by two brothers and their family who were digging for peat to be used as fuel. They believed that it must have been the victim of a recent murder since it appeared so fresh.

Actually, John Kauslund (one of the brothers who found the body) explains, it was his mother who first became aware of something unusual lying in the peat.

The brothers were skeptical of the idea that it might be a bog body they had come across, but... “Mother rolled up her sleeves and started digging in the mud. She dug into the cliff where people were standing cutting peat and said: "You can say whatever you want to but there's something strange here." She kept digging, and then she stuck her fingers in between the forehead and the cap on the Tollund Man's head.”

Tollund Man Dating and Research

Autopsy

Alimental Analysis

Dental Analysis

X Rays and Endoscopic Analysis

Carbon 14 Analysis

Preservation

Grauballe Man Discovery

The Grauballe Man is a bog body that was uncovered in 1952 from a peat bog near to the village of Grauballe in Jutland, Denmark. The body is that of a man dating from the late 3rd century BC, during the early Germanic Iron Age. Based on the evidence of his wounds, he was most likely killed by having his throat slit open. His corpse was then deposited in the bog, where his body was naturally preserved for over two millennia. His was not the only bog body to be found in the peat bogs of Jutland: with other notable examples Tollund Man and the Elling Woman.Upon excavation in 1952, it was moved to the Prehistoric Museum in Aarhus, where it underwent research and conservation. In 1955 the body went on display at the Moesgaard Museum near Aarhus, where it can still be seen today.

Grauballe Man Dating and ResearchAutopsy

Ethics

Preservation

Ct Scanning

Facial Reconstruction

Stomach Analysis

Carbon Dating

Dental Analysis

Windby Girl Discovery Windeby I is the name given to the bog body found preserved in a peat bog near Windeby, Northern Germany, in 1952. Until recently, the body was also called the Windeby Girl, because an archeologist believed it to be the body of a 14-year old girl, because of its slight build. The body was discovered by commercial peat cutters in 1952, and is now on display at The Landesmuseum in Schleswig, Germany. Unfortunately, by the time the body was noticed by the peat cutters, and before the peat cutting machinery could be shut down, a hand, a foot and a leg had been severed from the body. Despite this damage, the body had been very well preserved by the peat, and it is still an important archaeological discovery.

Windby Girl Research and Dating

Cabon Dating

DNA Analysis

Fibre chemical analysis

Osteopathic Analysis

Lindow Man Discovery Lindow Man was discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss near Wilmslow in Cheshire, North West England. The body was found on 1 August 1984 by commercial peat-cutters. Lindow Man is not the only bog body to have been found in the moss; Lindow Woman was discovered the year before, and other body parts have also been recovered. The find, described as "one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 1980s" caused a media sensation. It helped invigorate study of British bog bodies, which had previously been neglected in comparison to those found in the rest of Europe.

Lindow Man Dating and Research

Chemical Analysis

Carbon Dating

Radiography

Preservation

Ethical Considerations

Croghan Man and Clonycavan Man Discovery

Clonycavan Man is the name given to a well-preserved Iron Age bog body found in Clonycavan, Ballivor, County Meath, Ireland in March 2003. Only his torso and upper abdomen are preserved. He was found in a modern peat harvesting machine, which was possibly responsible for the severing of his lower body. He had a squashed nose and crooked teeth. Pores are visible on the nose, and he had a thin beard. Clonycavan Man has formed part of an exhibit in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin - and featured in the exhibition "Kingship and Sacrifice", 2006-2007. It has been suggested that Clonycavan Man had once been a king, being ritually sacrificed.

Old Croghan Man is the name given to a well-preserved Iron Age bog body found in an Irish bog in June 2003. The remains are named after Croghan Hill, north of Daingean, County Offaly, near where the body was found. The find is on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. Old Croghan Man was found three months after a similar find, dubbed Clonycavan Man, in County Meath.

Irish Bog Bodies Dating and Research

Radio carbon Dating

Police Autopsy and Medical Examination

Chemical Analysis

Respiratory analysis

Alimental Analysis