Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-01T15:01:42.900Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bog Bodies in Context: Developing a Best Practice Approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2019

Henry Chapman Open the ORCID record for Henry Chapman [Opens in a new window] ,
Roy van Beek Open the ORCID record for Roy van Beek [Opens in a new window] ,
Ben Gearey Open the ORCID record for Ben Gearey [Opens in a new window] ,
Ben Jennings Open the ORCID record for Ben Jennings [Opens in a new window] ,
David Smith Open the ORCID record for David Smith [Opens in a new window] ,
Nina Helt Nielsen Open the ORCID record for Nina Helt Nielsen [Opens in a new window]  and
Zena Zein Elabdin
Henry Chapman
Affiliation:
Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Birmingham, UK
Roy van Beek
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Ben Gearey
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University College Cork, Ireland
Ben Jennings
Affiliation:
School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, University of Bradford, UK
David Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Birmingham, UK
Nina Helt Nielsen
Affiliation:
Museum Silkeborg, Denmark
Zena Zein Elabdin
Affiliation:
Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Birmingham, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Bog bodies are among the best-known archaeological finds worldwide. Much of the work on these often extremely well-preserved human remains has focused on forensics, whereas the environmental setting of the finds has been largely overlooked. This applies to both the ‘physical’ and ‘cultural’ landscape and constitutes a significant problem since the vast spatial and temporal scales over which the practice appeared demonstrate that contextual assessments are of the utmost importance for our explanatory frameworks. In this article we develop best practice guidelines for the contextual analysis of bog bodies, after assessing the current state of research and presenting the results of three recent case studies including the well-known finds of Lindow Man in the United Kingdom, Bjældskovdal (Tollund Man and Elling Woman) in Denmark, and Yde Girl in the Netherlands. Three spatial and chronological scales are distinguished and linked to specific research questions and methods. This provides a basis for further discussion and a starting point for developing approaches to bog body finds and future discoveries, while facilitating and optimizing the re-analysis of previous studies, making it possible to compare deposition sites across time and space.

Les corps des tourbières figurent parmi les découvertes les plus célèbres du monde. Les études utilisant des techniques médico-légales constituent une large part des recherches menées sur ces vestiges humains souvent très bien conservés mais le milieu dans lequel ces découvertes ont été faites a été largement négligé. Ceci vaut tout autant pour le milieu physique que pour l'environnement culturel et constitue un problème considérable, étant donné que cette pratique de déposition de corps se manifeste sur une vaste échelle temporelle et spatiale; l’évaluation du contexte est donc d'importance primordiale pour nos modèles d'interprétation. Les auteurs de cet article proposent des lignes directrices de pratique exemplaire visant à analyser les momies des tourbières dans leur contexte à partir d'une synthèse sur l’état actuel des recherches et d'une présentation de trois études de cas récentes concernant l'Homme de Lindow en Angleterre, Bjældskovdal au Danemark (Homme de Tollund et Femme d'Elling) et la Fille d'Yde aux Pays-Bas. Les auteurs identifient trois échelles spatiales et chronologiques liées à des questions de recherche et de méthode spécifiques. Ces lignes directrices peuvent servir de base à des discussions plus approfondies et à la mise en pratique de stratégies permettant de mieux comprendre les corps des tourbières connus et encore à découvrir, de réexaminer les résultats d’études antérieures et ainsi de comparer les sites de dépôts à travers le temps et l'espace. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Die Moorleichen gehören zu den bekanntesten archäologischen Funden in der ganzen Welt. Meist haben sich die Untersuchungen von diesen oft außergewöhnlich gut erhaltenen Menschenresten auf forensische Aspekte konzentriert, während die Umgebung der Fundstätten weitgehend unbeachtet geblieben ist. Das gilt sowohl für die ‚physische‘ sowie für die kulturelle Landschaft und stellt ein wesentliches Problem dar, weil die zeitlich und räumlich sehr weit verbreiteten Moordeponierungen zeigen, dass die Beurteilung deren Kontexte von höchster Bedeutung für unsere Erklärungsmodelle ist. In diesem Artikel werden Richtlinien für eine beste Praxis der Kontextanalyse von Moorleichen vorgeschlagen; dies folgt eine Bewertung des aktuellen Forschungsstandes und eine Darstellung von drei neueren Fallstudien, die den Lindow-Mann in England, die Moorleichen von Bjældskovdal in Dänemark (Tollund-Mann und Frau von Elling) und das Mädchen von Yde in den Niederlanden betreffen. Man kann zwischen drei zeitlichen und räumlichen Skalen unterscheiden und diese mit bestimmten Fragestellungen und Methoden der Forschung verknüpfen. Solch ein Verfahren bildet die Grundlage für weitere Diskussionen und ein Ansatzpunkt für die Entwicklung von neuen Ansätzen in der Erforschung von bekannten und zukünftigen Moorleichen, erleichtert sowie optimiert die Neubewertung von älteren Untersuchungen und ermöglicht zeitliche und räumliche Vergleiche zwischen verschiedenen Moordeponierungen. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords

bog bodiesEuropelandscapescalar analysispeatlandssite locationcorps des tourbièresEuropepaysageanalyse multiscalairetourbièresemplacements de sitesMoorleichenEuropaLandschaftSkalenanalyseMooreLage der Fundplätze
Type
Article
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , May 2020 , pp. 227 - 249
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Armstrong, K., Cheetham, P. & Darvill, T. 2018. Tales from the Outer Limits: Archaeological Geophysical Prospection in Lowland Peat Environments in the British Isles. Archaeological Prospection, 2018: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/arp.1725Google Scholar
Asingh, P. 2007. The Bog People. In: Asingh, P. & Lynnerup, N., eds. Grauballe Man: An Iron Age Bog Body Revisited. Moesgaard: Jutland Archaeological Society, pp. 290–315.Google Scholar
Asingh, P. & Lynnerup, N. eds. 2007. Grauballe Man: An Iron Age Bog Body Revisited. Moesgaard: Jutland Archaeological Society.Google Scholar
Bandel, J., Brennan, A., Halice, H., van der Meulen, K., Nicolay, J., Rooke, M. et al. 1995. Speurtocht naar de vindplaats van ‘het meisje van Yde’. Paleo-aktueel, 6: 94–95.Google Scholar
Barber, K.E. 1995. Peat Stratigraphy and the Lindow Bog Body: A Reconsideration of the Evidence. In: Turner, R.C. & Scaife, R.G., eds. Bog Bodies: New Discoveries and New Perspectives. London: British Museum, pp. 50–51.Google Scholar
Bauerochse, A. & Niemuth, A. 2012. 3D-Landschaftsmodellierung und Umweltrekonstruktion. Telma, 42: 19–26. https://doi.org/10.23689/fidgeo-2958Google Scholar
Bauerochse, A., Haßmann, H., Püschel, K. & Schultz, M. eds. 2018. ‘Moora’ – Das Mädchen aus dem Uchter Moor: Eine Moorleiche der Eisenzeit aus Niedersachsen II. Naturwissenschaftliche Ergebnisse (Materialhefte zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Niedersachsens 47). Rahden: Marie Leidorf.Google Scholar
Becker, K. 2013. Transforming Identities: New Approaches to Bronze Age Deposition in Ireland. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 79: 225–63. https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2013.8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bermingham, N. & Delaney, M. 2006. The Bog Body from Tumbeagh. Bray: Wordwell.Google Scholar
Birks, H.J.B. 1965. Pollen Analytical Investigations at Holcroft Moss, Lancashire, and Lindow Moss, Cheshire. Journal of Ecology, 53: 299–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bottema, S. 1995. Het ontstaan van het veentje van het meisje van Yde (Dr.). Paleo-aktueel, 6: 96–98.Google Scholar
Bradley, R. 2000. An Archaeology of Natural Places. London & New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Branch, N.P. & Scaife, R.G. 1995. The Stratigraphy and Pollen Analysis of Peat Sequences Associated with the Lindow III Bog Body. In: Turner, R.C. & Scaife, R.G., eds. Bog Bodies: New Discoveries and New Perspectives. London: British Museum, pp. 19–30.Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2009. Bayesian Analysis of Radiocarbon Dates. Radiocarbon, 51: 337–60. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200033865CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brothwell, D. 1986. The Remains of Lindow Woman. In: Stead, I.M., Bourke, J.B. & Brothwell, D., eds. Lindow Man: The Body in the Bog. London: British Museum, pp. 52–53.Google Scholar
Brothwell, D. & Gill-Robinson, H. 2002. Taphonomic and Forensic Aspects of Bog Bodies. In: Haglund, W.D. & Sorg, M.H., eds. Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory, and Archaeological Perspectives. Boca Raton, London, New York & Washington DC: CRC Press, pp. 119–32.Google Scholar
Brück, J. 1999. Ritual and Rationality: Some Problems of Interpretation in European Archaeology. European Journal of Archaeology, 2: 313–44. https://doi.org/10.1179/eja.1999.2.3.313Google Scholar
Buckland, P.C. 1995. Peat Stratigraphy and the Age of the Lindow Bodies. In: Turner, R.C. & Scaife, R.G., eds. Bog Bodies: New Discoveries and New Perspectives. London: British Museum, pp. 47–50.Google Scholar
Burmeister, S. 2013. Moorleichen – Sonderbestattung, Strafjustiz, Opfer? Annäherungen an eine kulturgeschichtliche Deutung. In: Müller-Scheeßel, N., ed. ‘Irreguläre’ Bestattungen in der Urgeschichte: Norm, Ritual, Strafe…? Frankfurt: Römisch-Germanische Kommission des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, pp. 485–506.Google Scholar
Chapman, H. 2015. The Landscape Archaeology of Bog Bodies. Journal of Wetland Archaeology, 15: 109–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14732971.2015.1112592CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapman, H.P. & Gearey, B.R. 2013. Modelling Archaeology and Palaeoenvironments in Wetlands: The Hidden Landscape Archaeology of Hatfield and Thorne Moors, Eastern England. Oxford: Oxbow.Google Scholar
Clarke, C.M., Utsi, E. & Utsi, V. 1999. Ground Penetrating Radar Investigations at North Ballachulish Moss, Highland, Scotland. Archaeological Prospection, 6: 107–21. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0763(199906)6:2<107::AID-ARP121>3.0.CO;2-03.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowie, T., Pickin, J. & Wallace, C. 2011. Bog Bodies from Scotland: Old Finds, New Records. Journal of Wetland Archaeology, 10: 1–45. https://doi.org/10.1179/jwa.2011.10.1.1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischer, C. 1980. Moseligene fra Bjældskovdal. KUML, Årbog for Jysk Arkæologisk Selskab, 1979: 7–44.Google Scholar
Fischer, C. 2012. Tollund Man: Gift to the Gods. Stroud: The History Press.Google Scholar
Fontijn, D.R. 2002. Sacrificial Landscapes: Cultural Biographies of Persons, Objects, and ‘Natural’ Places in the Bronze Age of the Southern Netherlands, c. 2300–600 bc (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 33/34). Leiden: University of Leiden.Google Scholar
Fredengren, C. 2018. Becoming Bog Bodies: Sacrifice and Politics of Exclusion, as Evidenced in the Deposition of Skeletal Remains in Wetlands. Journal of Wetland Archaeology, 18: 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/14732971.2017.1408596CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gearey, B.R. & Caseldine, C.J. 2006. Archaeological Applications of Testate Amoebae Analyses: A Case Study from Derryville, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Journal of Archaeological Science, 33: 49–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2005.06.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gearey, B.R. & Chapman, H.P. 2004. Towards Realising the Full Archaeo-environmental Potential of Raised (Ombrotrophic) Mires in the British Isles. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 23: 199–208. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0092.2004.00209.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill-Robinson, H.C. 2005. The Iron Age Bog Bodies of the Archaeologisches Landesmuseum, Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig, Germany (unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg).Google Scholar
Glob, P.V. 1969. The Bog People: Iron Age Man Preserved. London: Faber & Faber.Google Scholar
Hesse, S., Grefen-Peters, S., Peek, C., Rech, J. & Schliemann, U. 2010. Die Moorleichen im Landkreis Rotenburg (Wümme): Forschungsgeschichte und neue Untersuchungen. Archäologische Berichte des Landkreises Rotenburg (Wümme), 16: 31–88.Google Scholar
Kama, P. 2016. Place-lore Concerning Bog Bodies and a Bog Body Concerning Place-lore. Journal of Wetland Archaeology, 16: 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14732971.2016.1215664CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, E.P. 2006. Secrets of the Bog Bodies: The Enigma of the Iron Age Explained. Archaeology Ireland, 20: 26–30.Google Scholar
Kelly, E.P. 2012. An Archaeological Interpretation of Irish Iron Age Bog Bodies. In: Ralph, S., ed. The Archaeology of Violence: Interdisciplinary Approaches. New York: State University of New York Press, pp. 232–40.Google Scholar
Leah, M.D., Wells, C.E., Appleby, C. & Huckerby, E. 1997. The Wetlands of Cheshire (Lancaster University Archaeological Unit, North West Wetlands Survey 4). Lancaster: Lancaster University.Google Scholar
Martens, J. 1994. Refuge—Fortified Settlement—Central Place? Three Years of Archaeological Investigations at the Borremose Stronghold (1988–1991), an Enclosed Settlement from the Pre-Roman Iron Age of Himmerland. Ethnographisch-Archäologische Zeitschrift, 35: 241–73.Google Scholar
Needham, S. 1988. Selective Deposition in the British Early Bronze Age. World Archaeology, 20: 229–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, N.H., Philippsen, B., Kanstrup, M. & Olsen, J. 2018. Diet and Radiocarbon Dating of Tollund Man: New Analyses of an Iron Age Bog Body from Denmark. Radiocarbon, 60: 1533–45. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2018.127CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norbury, W.H. 1884. Lindow Common as a Peat Bog: Its Age and its People. Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 2: 59–75.Google Scholar
Oldfield, F., Higgitt, S.R., Richardson, N. & Yates, G. 1986. Pollen, Charcoal, Rhizopod, and Radiometric Analyses. In: Stead, I.M., Bourke, J.B. & Brothwell, D., eds. Lindow Man: The Body in the Bog. London: British Museum, pp. 82–85.Google Scholar
Plunkett, G., Whitehouse, N.J., Hall, V.A., Charman, D.J., Blaauw, M., Kelly, E., et al. 2009. A Multi-proxy Palaeoenvironmental Investigation of the Findspot of an Iron Age Bog Body from Oldcroghan, Co. Offaly, Ireland. Journal of Archaeological Science, 36: 265–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2008.09.014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ravn, M. 2010. Burials in Bogs: Bronze and Early Iron Age Bog Bodies from Denmark. Acta Archaeologica, 81: 106–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0390.2010.00307.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ravn, M. 2011. Bog Bodies: A Burial Practice During the Early Iron Age? In: Boyle, L., ed. The Iron Age on Zealand: Status and Perspectives (Nordiske fortidsminder 8). Copenhagen: Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, pp. 83–89.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Blackwell, P.G., Bronk Ramsey, C., et al. 2013. IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal bp. Radiocarbon, 55: 1869–87. https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16947CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schleifer, N., Weller, A., Schneider, S. & Junge, A. 2002. Investigation of a Bronze Age Plankway by Spectral Induced Polarisation. Archaeological Prospection, 9: 243–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/arp.194CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Troels-Smith, J. 1952. Untitled field note book relating to stratigraphic analysis and sampling at Bjaeldskovdal (Archive Number A4020). Copenhagen: National Museum of Denmark.Google Scholar
Turner, R.C. 1986. Discovery and Excavation of the Lindow Bodies. In: Stead, I.M., Bourke, J.B. & Brothwell, D., eds. Lindow Man: The Body in the Bog. London: British Museum, pp. 10–13.Google Scholar
Turner, R.C. 1995. The Lindow Bog Bodies. In: Turner, R.C. & Scaife, R.G., eds. Bog Bodies: New Discoveries and New Perspectives. London: British Museum, pp. 10–18.Google Scholar
van Beek, R., Maas, G.J. & van den Berg, E. 2015. Home Turf: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Long-term Development, Use, and Reclamation of Raised Bogs in the Netherlands. Landscape History, 36: 5–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Beek, R., Candel, J.H.J., Quik, C., Bos, J.A.A., Gouw-Bouman, M.T.I.J., Makaske, B., et al. 2019 (online first). The Landscape Setting of Bog Bodies: Interdisciplinary Research into the Site Location of Yde Girl, the Netherlands. The Holocene, https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683619838048CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Plicht, J., van der Sanden, W.A.B., Aerts, A.T. & Streurman, J.J. 2004. Dating Bog Bodies by Means of 14C-AMS. Journal of Archaeological Science, 31: 471–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2003.09.012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Sanden, W.A.B. 1990. Mens en moeras. Veenlijken in Nederland van de Bronstijd tot en met de Romeinse tijd. Assen: Drents Museum.Google Scholar
van der Sanden, W.A.B. 1994. Het meisje van Yde. Assen: Drents Museum.Google Scholar
van der Sanden, W.A.B. 1996. From Nature to Eternity: The Bog Bodies of Northwest Europe. Amsterdam: Batavian Lion International.Google Scholar
van der Sanden, W.A.B. 2013. Bog Bodies: Underwater Burials, Sacrifices, and Executions. In: Menotti, F. & O'Sullivan, A., eds. The Oxford Handbook of Wetland Archaeology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 401–16.Google Scholar
West, I.E. 1986. Forensic Aspects of Lindow Man. In: Stead, I.M., Bourke, J.B. & Brothwell, D., eds. Lindow Man: The Body in the Bog. London: British Museum, pp. 77–80.Google Scholar