The main question associated with bog bodies for scientists is precisely why they died. For some, the cause of death is quite clear. For example, a swamp was found in which more than 380 remains of ancient warriors rested. It was found that all the remains belong to men, mostly adults, and date back to the 1st century AD. Researchers believe that those who died in battle were collected from the battlefield and thrown into the swamp, where they mummified.
In other places, the remains of only one swamp mummy were most often found. As these single bodies were analyzed, conclusions were drawn regarding the causes of their death. Some scholars believe that many of them were killed in ritual sacrifices. Sacrifices may have been made during hard times, including famine and extreme weather. Dr Miranda Oldhouse-Green, emeritus professor of archeology at Cardiff University, explained that these ritual killings also served as a link in the communities. “The ceremony was the key to bringing communities together, and the ritual killings were as exciting as Roman gladiator fights,” she says.
As for the Iron Age bodies, most of them have two things in common: they were young and they had some form of disability. For example, a girl from Ide suffered from severe scoliosis, which stunted her growth, but may also have led to her being seen as “touched” by the deity. “In some traditional societies, such people were believed to have shamanistic powers that allowed them to move between the material and spiritual worlds,” Oldhouse-Green explained.
