Doorways in Time, pt. 11: The Bog Bodies -- sec. 1: Something Isn't Rotten in the State of Denmark

The most exhaustive survey that you will find of the “Bog Bodies” – the highly preserved human remains, often of ancient Iron-Age people whose lives were ended violently, that have been discovered in wetlands all across northern Europe, from Estonia to Ireland, over the past 250 years. We consider how, when, and why these often shockingly intact bodies have been found, what facts can be gleaned about who they were, and finally, when and where the practice of killing people and placing them into bogs originated (hint: it’s in the title).

In the next installment, we will discuss the competing theories as to why these Iron Age people died violently, including murder, execution, and sacrifice.

Please support this podcast at any level to hear the patron-only lectures, including the previous episode of “Doorways in Time,” examining Catalhoyuk, the oldest town site on Earth -- www.patreon.com/c/u5530632

Image: The right hand of Old Croghan Man, 300s-200s B.C., discovered in Ireland, 2003

SOURCES:

Books:

Miranda Aldhouse-Green, “Bog Bodies Uncovered: Solving Europe’s Ancient Mystery”;

Ross & Dobins, “The Life and Death of a Druid Prince: The Story of Lindow Man, an Archaeological Sensation”;

Karin Sanders, “Bodies in the Bog and the Archaeological Imagination”;

Stead, Bourke, & Brothwell, eds., “Lindow Man: the Body in the Bog”;

Melanie Giles, “Bog Bodies: Face to Face with the Past”;

Peter Glob, “The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved”;