Pauline Asingh

In the spring of 1952, a peat cutter working in a Danish bog sunk his spade into something that didn’t feel quite right (he said latter it felt like a buried soccer ball). It turned out to be the blackened body of a man. “Bog bodies” had been found intermittently for years, but for this one a local the local postman happened to turn up before the crowd of spectators had a chance to disturb the corpse. The postman talked to the doctor and the doctor called the world’s expert on bog bodies, a man with the appropriate name of P.V. Glob. Professor Glob showed up and supervised the excavation of the body, measured the stratigraphy of the site, took pollen analysis samples, and generally arranged things to make this the most well-documented bog body ever found.


This book details re-investigations and reinterpretations of Grauballe Man on the 50th anniversary of his disinterment. It’s a collection of papers from various specialists, and therefore of uneven quality and interest, but by and large the whole thing is fascinating.


I was interested to find that previous bog bodies had been re-interred in consecrated ground, sometimes after hurried archaeological study, but special permission was obtained from the local bishop to put Grauballe Man on display. The local museum conservator didn’t know quite what to do with him; after consultation with leather workers, Grauballe Man was tanned in an oak-bark tanning solution. Later investigators comment that this method, while crude by modern standards, was quite effective. Unfortunately the conservator’s next project was not as successful. Local residents, clergy, and the conservator himself held that Grauballe Man should be displayed “with dignity”. Long immersion in a bog decalcifies bones; as a result Grauballe man came out of the peat looking like a special effect from a bad horror movie. The conservator went a little overboard restoring Grauballe man to a “dignified” look; unfortunately for future investigators, the “restoration” included extensive packing with modeling clay and wax to “restore” skin contours and skin treatment with Turkey Red Oil and lanolin to make the skin look “realistic”.


The modeling clay caused particular problems for modern re-investigation as it proved to be radio-opaque and blocked x-raying much of the body. X-raying was already complicated because bone decalcification made the hard skeleton more x-ray transparent than a modern body while absorption of iron compounds made the skin, muscles, and internal organs more opaque. Nevertheless the intrepid radiologists pressed ahead and produced fine x-rays and CAT scans.


The re-investigation clarified and changed a number of the original conclusions. The 1952 examiners found a skull fracture, a fracture of the fibula, and a massive throat cut. The interpretation was that Grauballe man had been knocked unconscious with a blow to the head then had his throat cut. However, the modern x-rays showed no skull fracture; instead the cranium had decalcified to the extent that all the bones had separated, and the apparent fracture was just the soft bones caving in. The current interpretation is that Grauballe man was knocked to his knees by a blow to the shins, fracturing one, then had his throat cut by someone standing behind. The throat cut was clean and severed arteries, veins, the trachea and the esophagus with a single stroke; the cutter must have had a large, sharp weapon, been determined, and perhaps had some practice.


Another previous theory was contraindicated by re-examining Grauballe Man’s gut contents. The 1952 investigation had identified more then 50 species of plant seeds; Dr. Glob concluded that this tremendous diversity must have been a specially-prepared ceremonial last meal and that Grauballe man was sacrificed to a vegetation or fertility deity. Subsequent discovery of preserved Iron Age food stores, however, showed that this was typical food for the poor, often the leftovers from threshing; investigators described it as “fairly nourishing but not very palatable” or “prison fare”.


A general discussion of bog bodies builds on Glob’s previous work. These are definitely homicides. Whether they represent human sacrifices or executions is not as clear. Tacitus records that the ancient Germans punished cowards and those who displayed “carnal lust” by submerging them in bogs. No bog body displays all the characteristics, but they are usually naked or unusually dressed (just a cloak or sheepskin, for example). Death was by violence in the cases where cause of death can be identified, but the methods vary, with garroting, hanging, throat cutting, decapitation, and beating to death all attested. The bodies were often “pinned” in the bog under logs or with stakes (Grauballe man wasn’t). Most are men but there are a few women. Because of the lack of associated grave goods, the social level of the bodies usually can’t be identified; Grauballe man, however, had no calluses on his well-preserved hands and feet, suggesting he was from an upper social level.


The translation suffered slightly from numerous spelling errors; “chromatography” is repeatedly spelled “cromatography” and there are all sorts of variations of Turkey Red Oil, Turky Red Oil, Tyrky Red Oil, and so on. However, there are no cases where the text is unclear as a result. There’s a color photo section with large photographs of Grauballe Man and other bog bodies; this would be great to leave on your coffee table to drive away unwanted visitors, or to show to your kids if you wanted them to have nightmares for the rest of their lives.… (mehr)