Who knows what secrets you can find just by digging up the soil? It could be fascinating or cringe worthy just like what these archaeologists dug up.
There are a lot of history that’s buried underneath the soil waiting to be discovered. Who knows, you could make the next best discovery. So gather up your tools and start digging. But before that let’s check out what these archaeologists found on a 2000-year-old body.
10. Accidental Discovery
Archaeologists find pretty amazing and sometimes horrifying things underneath the soil. Like what they found back in 1950. But before the archaeologists came, two brothers were cutting peat from a peat bog when they discovered a body.
It was just an ordinary day for these two when they stumbled upon something cringe worthy. But before checking out what they discovered let’s find out what a peat bog is.
9. Peat Bog
A bog is a wetland that accumulates partially decayed plants or organic matter. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in some parts of the world. So we can say that the two brothers were busy at work when they stumbled upon a body.
Aside from dead bodies, which is actually rare to find at peat bogs, bog butter is usually found. Like the one on the photo above. It is made up of lard, tallow or dairy fat. It has a yellowish color and disgusting smell. It’s likely an old method of making and preserving butter, some tested lumps were made of dairy products while others were meat-based. We’ll pass on this one.
8. Dead Body
The two brothers who unearthed this body thought that this person must have been a recent murder victim. So they immediately called up the police to report the incident.
The police then consulted archaeologists because the body didn’t look ordinary and was perfectly preserved. Even its clothing was still intact.
7. Tollund Man
When the archaeologists examined the body it was no ordinary dead body. It was named the Tollund Man and is a naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC, during the period described in Scandinavia as the Pre-Roman Iron Age.
He was found in 1950 on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark, buried in a peat bog which preserved his body. This find is known as a bog body.
The Tollund Man’s physical features were so well preserved that he was mistaken at the time of discovery for a recent murder victim. Twelve years before Tollund Man’s discovery, another bog body, Elling Woman, had been discovered in the same bog. Ancient bog bodies have been found in England and Ireland.
Just look at how intact his hands are. Even his nails are still there. What mysteries lie behind this Tollund Man?
5. Ancient Man
Upon initial examination, the archaeologists suggested that the body was over 2,000 years old and most likely the victim of a ritual sacrifice. His body was in a fetal position and he wore a pointed skin cap made of sheepskin and wool, held securely under his chin by a hide thong.
There was also a smooth animal skin belt around his waist. In addition to that, the corpse had a noose made of plaited animal skin drawn tight around the neck and trailing down his back. Other than these, he had no clothing.
4. 2000-Year-Old Body
This 2000-year-old Tollund Man was buried 50 meters (160 ft) away from firm ground and buried under approximately 2 meters (6.6 ft) of peat. There was short stubble (1 mm length) on his chin and upper lip, suggesting that he did not shave on the day of his death.
Archaeologists believe the man was a human sacrifice rather than executed criminal because of the arranged position of his body, and the fact that his eyes and ears were closed.
The C14 radiocarbon dating of Tollund Man showed that he died in approximately 375–210 BC. The preserved soft tissues of his body are the result of the acid in the peat combined with the lack of oxygen underneath the surface and the cold climate of the Nordic countries. But because of the acidity of peat, the bones get dissolved rather than preserved.
Examinations and x-rays showed that the man’s head was undamaged, and his heart, lungs, and liver were well preserved. The Silkeborg Museum estimated his age as approximately 40 years and height at 5 ft 3 in, a relatively short stature even for the time. It is also likely that the body had shrunk in the bog.
2. Lindow Man
The Lindow Man also known as Lindow II and as Pete Marsh, is another preserved bog body of a man discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss in North West England. The human remains were found in August 1984 by commercial peat-cutters.
Lindow Man is not the only bog body to have been found in the area. A Lindow Woman was discovered the year before, and other body parts have also been recovered. The discovery is described as “one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 1980s”.
1. Yde Girl
It wasn’t only adults who were found in peat bogs, a little girl was also discovered found in the Stijfveen peat bog near the village of Yde, Netherlands. She was found in May 1897 and was said to be well-preserved when discovered (especially her hair), but by the time the body was turned over to the authorities it had been severely damaged and deteriorated.
Most of her teeth had been pulled from the skull by villagers as well as a large amount of hair. The peat cutting tools had also been reported to have severely damaged the body. Scans have shown that she suffered from scoliosis. She stood 4 ft 6 in which is small for a sixteen-year-old.
Who knows what the real history of these peat bog bodies holds? But we can definitely say that it was a dark one. Human sacrifice seems to be rampant and who knows what the reason for the sacrifice was. Or if the bodies found voluntarily sacrificed themselves.
The time these people lived were probably considered a dark time during history and the secrets of their time is buried with them.