Natural Mummies?

            When someone normally thinks of Europe they think of the sprawling cities of London and Paris, or the vast green countryside. Some might even think the marshes and peat bogs that spot the landscape, not many think of mummies.  Imagine being a farmer in Denmark in 1900, just going about your daily business harvesting peat to heat your home and you come upon a shriveled up body, I know I would be surprised.

            The bodies have been preserved by the peat in the bog, basically tanning the body into leather and keeping the organs intact even thousands of years after their horrible death. Most were not wanderers, who got lost, but criminals and sacrifices. Evidence has been found on the bodies of their deaths being intentional and planned out. One man who was found probably knew of his impending death several days in advance because of several days’ worth of stubble on his face. Other bodies still had leather nooses around their necks and one still had a wooden arrow through his skull.

            When speaking about mummies most people think of Egypt and the royalty, not of commoners in Northern Europe. Those who were sacrificed or murdered were everyday people, going about their daily business when they stumbled upon misfortune.  I think these mummies are much more interesting due to the fact that there are natural and their preservation was unintended. What seemed like a punishment from their local village actually turned them into celebrities thousands of years after their death. Their bodies have given science countless chances to delve into ancient society and discover how our ancestors lived thousands of years ago.  The details preserved on the bodies show researchers what their clothing was made out of and how it was made as well as how they did their hair and what color it was.

            I enjoyed reading more into these mummies and what they have brought to modern science. My interest came after talking in class about the Egyptian mummies and I was reminded of these lesser-known natural phenomenon mummies. 

Information taken from: http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/index.html