The bog corpses from Bjældskovdal

Abstract

The bog corpses from Bjældskovdal

In all, three bog corpses have been found at Bjældskovdal, which ties about 10 kilometres northwest of Silkeborg. The first corpse was found in 1927 but was not studied, as the peat covered it up; the second is the Elling Woman, who was found in 1938; and the third is the Tollund Man, who was found in 1950 (fig. 1). Along with the corpses, artefacts from most prehistoric periods have also been found here (1).

Bjældskovdal was once a raised bog, and the preservation of the bog corpses may be explained by the special physical and biochemical composition of this type of bog -particularly by the lack of oxygen and the high concentration of antibiotics. However, other conditions in the raised bog also play a part in preserving organic material (2, 3, and 4), in contrast to low bogs and to a transitional form between the two types in which only the skeleton of buried corpses has been found. A distribution map of all bog finds (fig. 2) (3) shows that they are found everywhere in Denmark except for western Jutland. There is a concentration of finds in central Jutland, where the soft parts of the corpses have not dissolved, whileas on Funen and Zealand the majority of corpses have been transformed into skeletons. This variation corresponds to the geographical distribution of different types of bogs. (fig. 3) (5).

Due to the growing interest in Danish bog corpses, the need for new examinations has been great (6, 7, and 8) but as the find material has not been augmented since the discovery of the Grauballe Man in 1952, opportunities have been scarce. However, one opportunity did arise in 1978 in connection with the Elling Woman, (9, 10, 11, and 12) who had been stored in the Anthropological Laboratory of the University of Copenhagen while her clothing was kept at the First Department of the National Museum. This corpse was subjected to a thorough examination carried out by two radiologists, Chief Physician Bent Langfeldt and Dr. Jørn Raahede; a specialist in forensic medicine, Dr. Markil Gregersen; and a specialist in forensic odontology, Professor Dr. H. P. Philipsen. The author of this article undertook the archaeological investigation.

THE ELLING WOMAN

The corpse, found in 1938 by a farmer, Jens Zakariassen, was excavated by H. C. Broholm, keeper at the National Museum (fig. 4, 5, 6, and 7). The corpse lay outstretched on its back with its feet to the south. The peat wall revealed that the corpse had been buried in a former peat pit, probably contemporary with the woman. The depth beneath the surface of the bog was 1.05 m. The corpse was not conserved but had just dried in so that today it resembles a mummy. The medico-legal, radiological, and odontological examinations proved the corpse to be that of a woman around 30 years old. No bone deformation by disease could be determined (13). The Carbon-14 Dating Laboratory of the National Museum fixed the year of death at 220 ± 40 B.C. (K-2876 and K-2877). The coiffure of the Elling Woman, whose hair must have been about 90 cm long, may be seen in fig. 8 a-b­c and 9.

The corpse was clad in a fur cape, while a piece of leather, probably from a cape, was wrapped around its feet. The cape was made of sheepskin with the fur worn inward (16). The drawing (fig. 10) represents the cape spread out and pieced together after conservation. The front edges of the cape were reinforced by folding the edge over double. One of the small holes in the front edge contains the remains of the string which held the cape together. A likely reconstruction is suggested (fig. 11). The cape was originally 90 cm long and the neck opening was about 70 cm. The leather piece which had been wrapped around the legs measures 64 x 74 cm and consists of several pieces of cowhide sewn together. Along with other smaller pieces of leather, it could have comprised a cape similar to the one worn by the corpse (fig. 12).

The cloth belt

A cloth belt was wound around the corpse. It is 4 cm wide, and 67 cm long but may originally have been longer. It is made of sheepswool and both warp and weft yarns were left-twist spun. The colour of the belt today is brown, due probably to the effect of the bog (16 - fig. 169).

The leather halter

Among the loose pieces of leather was a halter, of which a length of 40 cm has been preserved (fig. 13). The halter is made of a strip of leather folded over lengthwise and sewn. The width is about 1 cm. One end terminates in an ingenious slip knot; the other end has been torn in recent times. As the autopsy revealed a distinct groove around the neck of the corpse caused by hanging (fig. 5) it is likely that this leather halter had been used to hang the woman.

THE TOLLUND MAN (fig. 14-17)

In connection with the examination of the Elling Woman, the investigation of the Tollund Man, published by Knud Thorvildsen (19) was studied once more. New results include the observation that his fingerprints and footprints resemble those of about 2% of all cases received by the Central Bureau of Identification of the Danish Police (fig. 15 and 16). There are two scars on the right sole of the foot, one from a surface cut and another from a stab. Both lesions seem to have been incurred when the Tollund Man walked barefoot and stepped on sharp objects.

Carbon-14 dating of the Tollund Man (K-2814 a + b) (21) fixed the year of death as 210 ± 40 B.C.

DISCUSSION OF THE DANISH BOG FINDS

Today there are 9 Danish bog corpses which have been dated by Carbon-14 (fig. 18). The Carbon-14 datings clearly show that the 9 corpses, which may be assumed to typify Danish bog corpses, can be dated to the end of the later Bronze Age and the Pre-Roman Iron Age (24). There are of course exceptions to this chronology, as the Danish corpses include same from other periods (25, 26, and 29). Among the dated corpses, there are same which comprise part of a larger complex sacrifice, such as the bog find from Rappendam (27), which has been Carbon-14 dated to the 5th century A. D. However, the background for these complex finds seems to differ from that of the finds consisting only of a single buried corpse with or without accompanying objects. The complex group also differs in that the majority of the people sacrificed seem to be women and children (31) whileas the group of corpses buried singly does not seem to be dominated by any particular sex or age.

The bog corpses may have been executed as punishment for a crime committed or perhaps as punishment followed by sacrifice to the gods or, as a third possibility, purely as a sacrifice to the gods -that is, the victim may have been an innocent person who had not disobeyed the laws of society in any way but had been chosen as a votive gift to the gods in expression of either gratitude or appeasement.

The article disregards Roman sources and instead concentrates on investigating the violence and the finding conditions which form the background of the 9 Carbon-14-dated Danish bog corpses.

The fact that these corpses have been Carbon-14-dated does not, of course, mean that they constitute any special group but rather that they are particularly interesting as they include the most carefully studied corpses. Along with the Tollund Man and the Elling Woman, the corpses are: the Grauballe Man (6), the Haraldskær Woman (37), the Borremose Corpse 1946 (38), the Borremose Corpse 1947 (39), the Borremose Corpse 1948 (40), the Huldremose Woman (42), and the corpse from Krogens Møllemose (46).

In the study, the aspects of primary interest were the finding conditions, the cause of death, violence in connection with death, and whether or not the corpse was buried accompanied by objects. The survey concludes that most of the corpses were buried naked, except for the Huldremose Woman, the Elling Woman, and the Tollund Man. Only the Grauballe Man was buried with absolutely no clothing -the other corpses lay either upon or next to what had probably been their daily attire.

In 5 out of 9 cases, the cause of death could be determined: the corpse from Krogens Møllemose, the Elling Woman, and the Tollund Man had been hung; the Grauballe Man's throat had been cut; and the Borremose corpse 1948 had been killed by a blow in the head. The survey also shows that the violence committed, at least that which can be identified today, does not seem to have exceeded what was necessary to persuade the victim to participate in the execution »voluntarily«. This observation is made with regard to the cranium and leg fractures inflicted on the Borremose corpse 1946 (38) and the Grauballe Man (34). The Borremose corpse 1948 (40) had been killed by a violent frontal blow on the head. However, it is noteworthy that the survivors buried the corpse surrounded by cotton-grass which they had picked and placed on a bed of birch bark (41). This does not indicate that the violence was torture intended as punishment, but rather that it was a necessary part of the execution/sacrifice. The Tollund Man had been hung; here it is significant that after the hanging the survivors laid him out in the bog, placed him in a sleeping position in the peat pit, and closed his mouth (23) and probably also his eyes, which gives him a peaceful appearance. This care would certainly not have been shown him if he had been considered a criminal.

CONCLUSION

A distribution map of all known bog corpses and skeletons in Denmark shows a striking correspondence with the picture of contemporaneous activity in the peat bog in the Pre­Roman Iron Age which is based on finds of sacrificed or lost clay vessels. It is thus important to note that the greater part of western Jutland with its many raised bogs has only produced few finds of bog corpses; a very similar picture is drawn by the lack of bog finds of pottery or other objects which could reflect peat-digging (fig. 19) (47). However, western Jutland was not uninhabited in the Pre-Roman Iron Age, as shown by the many finds of cemeteries, houses, fields, etc. (48).

The correspondence between finds of bog corpses and traces of activity in the bogs, that is, digging for peat or bog iron ore, indicates that it is logical to interpret the bog corpses as thank offerings to the god or gods who would have been disturbed by the activities of the people of the Pre-Roman Iron Age.

Christian Fischer