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Bog bodies, also known as bog people, are preserved human bodies found in sphagnum bogs. Under certain conditions, the acidity of the water, the cold temperature and the lack of oxygen combine to tan the body's skin and preserve the skeleton. Some bog bodies have been dated at more than 10,000 years old.

Preserved bodies of humans and animals have been discovered in bogs in Britain, Ireland, northern Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. Records of such finds go back as far as the 18th century. It is not readily apparent if a body has been buried in a bog for years, decades, or centuries. However, during the 20th century, forensic and medical technology was developed which allow researchers to more closely determine their age.

Unlike most ancient human remains, bog bodies have skin and internal organs as well as skeletons. Scientists have been able to study their skin, reconstruct their appearance and even determine what their last meal was by their stomach contents.

Many bog bodies show signs of being deliberately buried in the bog. Forensic examinations of some bog bodies suggest they were ritually slain and placed in the bog as part of the ritual, possibly as an execution for a crime, as a human sacrifice (See also: Celts and human sacrifice), or even as a primitive method of embalming significant individuals (as with the "mummies" of Cladh Hallan). Some bog bodies, such as Tollund Man from Denmark, have been found with the rope used to strangle them still around their necks.

Famous bog people

• Grauballe Man, found 1952 in Nebelgård Mose, a bog in Jutland, Denmark.
• Tollund Man
• Lindow Man
• The mummies of Cladh Hallan, Scotland

Sources

The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved, by P.V. Glob. Reprinted 2004.

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