The Bog Men Mysteries Only Starting to Be Solved

S. Landis, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Aug 30, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Bodies have been found in the bogs of Europe for a long time. Tales have abounded since their ancient origin was discovered in the nineteenth century. Archaeologists have speculated on their origin and possible uses in the rites of the people of North and Northwestern Europe during the Iron age which started about two centuries before the birth of Christ.

Anti-bacterial conditions and the lack of oxygen in the bogs of Northern Europe have allowed the bodies of the bog men to be preserved until dug up by researchers or occasionally workers looking to dig up peat for fuel.

Theories abound about why the bodies were found buried in the bogs in the first place. Often their peaceful pose stands in stark contrast to the manner in which they died. The most widely accepted theories have to do with spirits or gods inhabiting the bogs and the victims may have been sacrificed to win the favor of the god or to placate a troublesome spirit.

Theories surrounding the bog bodies have in the past been made inaccurate because researchers relied on the work of the Roman writer Tacitus and the Germania. Tacitus may be credited with being the first "modern" historian, but the Germania was based off of largely second and third-hand accounts and the purpose was more to shame current Roman culture than to accurately describe the practices of the ancient Germanic peoples. Other Roman authors say the victims were sacrifices to celebrate military victories, condemned criminals or people punished for what the people considered to be social perversions such as homosexuality. No modern scientist is exactly sure how the bodies ended up in the Bogs, except that they likely did not fall in by accident. The oldest known example, who died approximately 8,000 years ago, Koelbjerg Woman, shows no other signs of trauma and may have just simply drowned.

Other theories about how specific examples have often been wrong because damages to the body that might have been interpreted as torture or mutilation occurred centuries after the victim's original death. New technologies such as radiocarbon dating, 3d imaging, and CT scans have helped place how approximately when the victims died and which injuries were original and likely the cause of death and which ones were caused later and sometimes by the careless application of tools by those trying to study the ancient victims.

Sources:

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0709/bog-bodies/bog-bodies-p3.html

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/koelbjerg.html

Published by S. Landis

Born early in one February morning in 1977, the world has since graced me with its presence View profile