Bog Bodies — An Iron Age Murder Mystery
The riddle of these ancient deaths haunts scholars to this day
“Bog bodies” is a term used to describe cadavers found in peat bogs throughout Northern Europe — from icy Scandinavia to Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.
Thanks to a combination of special conditions — highly acidic water, low temperature, lack of oxygen as well as accumulated dead plant material — these corpses are excellently preserved. Some of them still have their nails, hair, and skin almost intact, even after several thousand years, as the oldest bodies are dated to as early as 8000 BCE.
However, they’re being so well preserved is not the only reason for the firm hold these ancient remains have over scholars and curious laity alike to this very day. The fact that almost each of these persons died exceedingly violent deaths continues to intrigue and bewilder many.
Traces of violent trauma have been found on most of the corpses. The most prevalent causes of death were strangulation and stabbing, but there have also been cases of bludgeoning, hanging, decapitation, and even disembowelment. Some bodies had traces of mutilation around the nipples, while others were pinned to the ground by forked sticks. Many were found with ropes and wires with which they were strangled still wrapped tight around their necks.
A practice of “overkill” was comparatively frequent, as some were killed several times, in various ways. It’s almost as if someone was taking extra special care that they were dead beyond doubt and would stay that way.
But the question of why lingers on.
There have been several theories in the past several decades that have been trying — some with more and some with less success — to solve the mystery of bog people and their brutal deaths.
1. Sacrifice theory
The idea which is most prevalent in scientific circles is that all of those people were sacrificed to the fertility goddess or some other deity in its likeness, usually as a consequence of a particularly meager harvest, or a freezing winter that promised nothing but hunger and death. Human sacrifice was not uncommon in the period and was mostly used as a means of ensuring a good crop.
As many of the bodies were found with curious pieces of headgear or other ritual objects such as twigs and rocks placed on top of the body, often in a formation of a cross, that could indicate that it is more than likely that the bog bodies indeed ended up in the slimy pits as part of some kind of ritual.
Moreover, across Europe, bogs were traditionally considered sacred places that hide many fantastic secrets and hold gates to whimsical worlds and beings, such as fairies, goblins, and wraiths of all shapes and sizes. As such, they could just as well be the perfect spot for ritual sacrifice.
There’s also an abundance of votive offerings such as bronze and sometimes gold jewelry, as well as weapons and even a sort of butter (still spreadable today, after more than 2000 years of soaking in a soggy environment) found in many European bogs and marshes, serving as proof of the high ritualistic value bogs had for Iron Age Europeans.
Despite the many facts that could point in the direction of ritual sacrifice, the evidence remains inconclusive.
2. Violent crime theory
Having in mind that Homo sapiens is a species with a special disposition for bloodshed, it’s not too hard to imagine that these deaths were far more banal and ordinary than we’d like to think. Perhaps these unfortunate souls did not perish as an offering to the Great Mother but fell victim to an entirely human hand and human motives.
After all, bogs are not only a perfect ritual ground. They also tend to engulf the bodies and all other traces of crime in their moist depths, hiding them for good (or at least until someone stumbles upon them several millennia later). And ancient people couldn’t have been unaware of this.
3. Death punishment theory
Another theory, born as a love child of Tacitus’ Annals and Nazi ideology, was that these people were neither victims nor sacrificial lambs, but common criminals, perpetrators of heinous crimes or moral offenses. As such, they had met the end they had well deserved, their deaths suited to perfection to the crime they had been guilty of.
That idea was perfectly aligned with the context of Nazi rule and the Aryan myth they were so very fond of. Making connections between the way the Nazi government dealt with all those deemed corrupt, degenerate and subhuman and the supposed practices of their glorious Aryan ancestors could further legitimize any and every atrocity committed in the present as well as in the future.
However, notwithstanding Ahnenerbe’s desperate attempts to make history fit like a glove to their system of values and their vision of a perfect future for humanity, there’s no evidence whatsoever that would indicate that there’s at least a quantum of truth in this theory.
It could well be said that this hypothesis — much like everything considering the myth of a nation made entirely of Übermensch — was a complete sham.
In the end, there remain far more questions than there are answers.
Why did the bog people die? Were they part of a sacrificial rite? If so, were they willing to die for the sake of those who were left behind? Or did they protest and object to the bitter end?
Why were some of them killed over and over again? Was there an actual purpose for these deaths, or were they as meaningless as death often is? Were they but victims of a common crime that holds no more air of hallowed mystery than any other everyday misdeed of human nature?
Many of these riddles are doomed to remain unsolved. However, there is always hope that the progress of science and new examination techniques that are less invasive while being much more efficient, will help in unearthing at least some of the secrets the bog people have carried to their clammy graves.
If you liked this, and/or are a nerd about all things concerning history like yours truly, feel free to check this one out, too.
