There are numerous unanswered questions surrounding the Northern European Bog Bodies phenomenon including "How, or why, or even when, the bodies became immersed in quagmires." (Turner, R.C, Scaife, R.G (ed.),1995,p.169). Despite vast amounts of evidence there are still no easy answers that account for the Iron age bodies. However there are four main competing theories providing possible causes including: the Sacrifice theory, Punishment theory, Boundary theory and the Accidental death theory. All these competing theories will be further examined and critically analysed throughout this text allowing us to depict the most convincing and plausible solution for the mystery of the Iron Age Bog Bodies.
Kelly (2006, p30) supports the restricted Boundary theory based on archaeological evidence of Iron age bog bodies found in Ireland stating that the bodies were "votive offerings along boundaries" which could be "interpreted as having a protective function" within the tribes additionally ensuring the fertility of their land and the health of the people . Multiple evidence of Iron age bog bodies in Ireland have been found in close proximity to barony boundaries including that of Old Croghan man who was found whilst digging a drain through what is now known as town land and a parish boundary as stated by Kelly (2006,p26) is this " purely coincidental"?
Also Clonycavan man who laid directly along the county border of Meath and Westmeath, dividing the ancient territories of Brega and Mide. Recent research of Iron age bog Bodies in Ireland clearly isolates forty different locations in which bog Bodies were found in close propinquity to important primarily barony boundaries (Kelly, 2006). Nevertheless the Boundary theory is restricted and bias...
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...bodies.', in Turner, R.C, Scaife,R.G (ed.) Bog bodies: new discoveries and new perspectives. London: British museum Press, pp. 168-182.
Brothwell,D.R (1986) 'Clues to Murder', in Brothwell,D.R (ed.) The bog man and the archaeology of people . London: British Museum, pp. 22-44.
Chamberlain,A., Pearson,M. (2001) 'Bog Bodies', in Chamberlain,A., Pearson,M. (ed.) Earthly Remains: the history and science of preserved human bodies. London: British Museum, pp. 44-82.
Connolly,R.C (1985) 'Lindow man: British Prehistoric Bog Bodies', Anthropology Today, 1(5), pp. 15-17.
Green,M.A (2001) 'Dying for the Gods: human sacrifice in Iron Age & Roman Europe ', in Green,M.A (ed.) Suffocation: drowning, strangling and burial alive. Stroud: Tempus, pp. 111-135.
Kelly,E.P (2006) 'Secrets of the Bog Bodies: The Enigma of the Iron Age explained', Archaeology Ireland, 20(1), pp. 26-30.
Minthorn, Armand. "Human Remains Should Be Reburied." Kennewick Man Perspectives on the Ancient One (n.d.): 42-43. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
The Farming of Bones. New York: Penguin, 1999. Dye, R. Ellis. “Goethe’s ‘Der Fischer’ or the Non-rescue.” Germanic Review 64.2 (1989): 51-57.
Tragically, the butchered upper-torso of Winter’s once-robust body was stumbled upon by his father, who had noticed the absence of his son since Sunday, March 11 (Smith 2002, 25-26). Unsurprisingly, an investigation occurred to obtain the identity and whereabouts of the murderer. When the various pieces of the body are found in differing areas of the town, theory begins to formulate that the murder was conducted by one of the two butchers in town; Adolph Lewy, a Jew, and Gustav Hoffman, a Christian, due to the precision of the cuts made upon Winter’s body (Smith 28).
Archaeologist Miranda Green has said that the injuries on the bog bodies clearly display that the effort and care that has been put into the execution of these bodies supports the hypothesis that they were not executed as a disciplinary measure, but as ritualized sacrifices. Though Miranda Green was not there at the time of the killing, she has studied the wounds on the bodies which have shown a great help in determining what happened to
The barrow, which is on a farm called Benty Grange, a high and bleak situation to the right of the road from Ashbourne to Buxton, near the eighth milestone from the latter place, is of inconsiderable elevation, perhaps not more than two feet at the highest point, but is spread over a pretty large area, and is surrounded by a small fosse or trench. About the centre and upon the natural soil, had been laid the only body the barrow ever contained, of which not a vestige besides the hair could be distinguished. Near the place which, from the presence of hair, was judged to have been the situation of the head, was a curious assemblage of ornaments, which, from the peculiarly indurated nature of the earth, it was impossible to remove with any degree of success. The most remarkable are the silver edging and ornaments of a leathern cup, about three inches diameter at the mouth, which was decorated by four wheel shaped ornaments and two crosses of thin silver, affixed by pins of the same metal, clenched inside.
Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 19." Forum Romanum. 1901. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. .
On the morning of May 3, 1983, an eight year old Irish boy named Sean O’Leary wandered around a peat bog, accompanying his father who worked nearby in the fields. He was completely clueless to the secrets the mud was holding. As he explored the bog he encountered upon what he claimed was a forgotten toy. Once home when presented the object to his father, they realized the “forgotten toy” was a cadaver’s hand! Unbeknownst to them, this well-preserved body part came from a body that had been buried in a swamp a thousand years earlier, a common practice at that time all across Northern Europe. What can be learned about the culture and rituals of early northern Europe from the preserved bodies of these so-called bog people? What theories best explain the deaths of the bog people? What are some of the most important similarities and differences found among the bodies? With a better knowledge of the history of millions of people stake, these questions merit further discussion.
In this book, Dr. Bass takes us behing the scenes of the Body Farm. An engaging storyteller, he reveals his hardest and best cases. While this book tells about Bass’s life, it is centered around the Body Farm itself because it tells of how it was started. This book is very informative and it tells you that even though it is a dead body, it can still tell many tales and it can mean a lot to history, This book shows just how the dead can come to
Bruttmann, Tal. Mass Graves and Killing Sites in the Eastern Part of Europe. The Final Solution
However, the artefacts brought to England from Benin in 1897 were an anomaly. The craftsmanship and sophistication were such that some were reminiscent of the beautiful figures in the Hofkiche, Innsbruck 1502-1563 (plate 3.1.12. Visited...
Clarke, D., & Maguire, P. (200). Skara Brae: Northern Europe's best preserved neolithic village ; (p. 14). Edinburgh: Historic Scotland.
The Age of the Clans: The Highlands from Somerled to the Clearances by Robert Dodgshon. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. .
Tithe Applotment Books for Northern Ireland, ca. 1822—1937. Ireland: Land Commission. Parish of Dromore, Tyrone. FHL microfilm 258456.
"Robert waited—holding his breath—thinking they were going to be buried alive. But the heaving stopped at last and it appeared that whatever was going to collapse had done so." (Findley, 122)
...wn to 4,000 acres. The undertakers, mostly landowners from England and Wales, were bound by gain, to plant ninety families that would constitute the full gambit of the English ‘social pyramid’. They also undertook not to lease to Native Irish. Success fell far short of ambitions. The grants proved too enormous for on undertaker to supervise and much of the New English planters never materialised. As a consequence, and the willingness of the Irish tenancy to pay higher rents, most of the displaced native Irish returned to the land. This had the unforeseen modernising effect of placing the Gaelic Irish into the newly created English social structure. As a result of the vast military activity all over the island, huge areas of impenetrable terrain was opened up. This had the knock on effect of improving travel, communications and trade over the majority of the island.