I first learned about the bog people during a History of German Culture course while in university. Over the centuries, preserved humans had been discovered in the boglands of what we now know as Germany. The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved by P. V. Glob (translated by Rupert Bruce-Mitford) centres on the human discoveries within the bogs of Denmark, although the author provided a chapter entitled Bog People in Other Countries to show that the phenomenon was more widespread, but still confined mostly to northern Europe. The question must be asked: what were people doing in bogs in the first place?
The head on the cover belongs to the Tollund Man, who lived in the fifth century BC. He was discovered in 1950 by peat cutters in Denmark. Peat is a fuel source and those who cut it out of the earth have found remarkably well preserved humans from centuries ago. In this case, the Tollund Man was likely executed by hanging, as rope was found still tied around his neck. Decomposition was halted because:
“…the acid in the water, combined with the total exclusion of air, which has tanned the skin and hair of the bodies and so preserved them for centuries.”
Scientists are thus able to analyze stomach contents and study the clothing of Iron Age people. Skeletons of other bog people show signs of injury which indicated that murdered bodies were disposed there. It was more interesting to read about those who were tossed into the bogs as human sacrifices, sometimes willingly and even while still alive. The author wrote entire chapters on two of the best preserved bodies, the Tollund Man as well as the Grauballe Man. Glob then analyzed other bodies from Denmark and Europe. The final two chapters were about how the bog people lived their daily lives, using the surviving evidence of what they ate and wore. The condition of the teeth revealed what their daily diet likely was, and the hands were so well preserved that one could determine if the person was a labourer or not. Clothing was preserved and when washed and put on display still reveals patterns and needlework that gives a striking image of how people really dressed over two millennia ago. The final chapter, entitled When Death Came, analyzed death rituals, sacrifices and items such as amulets and necklaces found with the bodies. The top left of the book cover shows a comb found with the body of the Huldre Woman. Over the centuries many of the recovered bodies were reburied however some of them, such as the three examples cited above, have been preserved for study and are on view in museums.