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A bog body is a cadaver that has been naturally mummified in a peat bog.

Such bodies, sometimes known as bog people, are both geographically and chronologically widespread, having been dated between 8000 BC and the Second World War. The common factors of bog bodies are that they have been found in peat and are at least partially preserved. Due to the unusual conditions of peat bogs – highly acidic water, low temperature, and a lack of oxygen – the soft tissue of bog bodies can be remarkably well-preserved in comparison to typical ancient human remains. The natural protein keratin, present in skin, hair, nails, wool and leather, is resistant to the acidic conditions of peat bogs. The number of bog bodies in existence is disputed, however, a recent study finds the number of documented bog bodies to be close to 122. The latest known bog bodies are those of soldiers killed in the wetlands of the Soviet Union during the Second World War.

The preservation of bog bodies in peat bogs is a natural phenomenon and not the result of human mummification processes.

Researchers discovered that preservation also requires that the body is placed in the bog during the winter or early spring when the water temperature is cold – i.e., less than 4 °C (39 °F).

The oldest bog body that has been identified is the Koelbjerg Man from Denmark, which has been dated to 8,000 BC, during the Mesolithic period. The oldest fleshed bog body is that of Cashel Man from Ireland, which dates to 2000 BC during the Bronze Age.

The overwhelming majority of bog bodies – including examples such as Tollund Man, Grauballe Man and Lindow Man – date to the Iron Age and have been found in northwest Europe, particularly Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Sweden, Poland, and Ireland.

Glob believed that these were "offerings to the gods of fertility and good fortune." It is therefore widely speculated that the Iron Age bog bodies were thrown into the bog for similar reasons and that they were therefore examples of human sacrifice to the gods.

Records of such finds go back as far as the 17th century, and in 1640 a bog body was discovered at Schalkholz Fen in Holstein, Germany. The first more fully documented account of the discovery of a bog body was in 1780 at a peat bog on Drumkeragh Mountain in County Down, Ireland; it was published by Elizabeth Rawdon, Countess of Moira, the wife of the local landowner. Such reports continued into the 18th century: for instance, a body was reportedly found on the Danish island of Fyn in 1773, whilst the Kibbelgaarn body was discovered in the Netherlands in 1791. With the rise of antiquarianism in the 19th century, some people began to speculate that many of the bog bodies were not recent murder victims but were ancient in origin. In 1843, at Corselitze on Falster in Denmark, a bog body unusually buried with ornaments (seven glass beads and a bronze pin) was unearthed and subsequently given a Christian burial. Worsaae, who argued that the body was Iron Age in origin, like most bog bodies, and predated any historical persons by at least 500 years. The first bog body that was photographed was the Iron Age Rendswühren Man, discovered in 1871, at the Heidmoor Fen, near Kiel in Germany.

Until the mid-20th century, it was not readily apparent at the time of discovery whether a body had been buried in a bog for years, decades, or centuries. For bog bodies, ground-penetrating radar can be used to detect bodies and artefacts beneath the bog surface before cutting into the peat.

Countering Dieck's supposed findings of more than 1,400 bog bodies, a more recent study finds the number of documented bog bodies to be closer to 122.

Quick Facts

• The number of bog bodies in existence is disputed, however, a recent study finds the number of documented bog bodies to be close to 122.
• The common factors of bog bodies are that they have been found in peat and are at least partially preserved.
• The first more fully documented account of the discovery of a bog body was in 1780 at a peat bog on Drumkeragh Mountain in County Down, Ireland; it was published by Elizabeth Rawdon, Countess of Moira, the wife of the local landowner.
• Due to the unusual conditions of peat bogs – highly acidic water, low temperature, and a lack of oxygen – the soft tissue of bog bodies can be remarkably well-preserved in comparison to typical ancient human remains.
• The latest known bog bodies are those of soldiers killed in the wetlands of the Soviet Union during the Second World War.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Bog body". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.