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Bog Bodies in Context: Developing a Best Practice Approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2019

Henry Chapman Open the ORCID record for Henry Chapman [Opens in a new window] ,
Roy van Beek Open the ORCID record for Roy van Beek [Opens in a new window] ,
Ben Gearey Open the ORCID record for Ben Gearey [Opens in a new window] ,
Ben Jennings Open the ORCID record for Ben Jennings [Opens in a new window] ,
David Smith Open the ORCID record for David Smith [Opens in a new window] ,
Nina Helt Nielsen Open the ORCID record for Nina Helt Nielsen [Opens in a new window]  and
Zena Zein Elabdin
Henry Chapman
Affiliation:
Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Birmingham, UK
Roy van Beek
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Ben Gearey
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University College Cork, Ireland
Ben Jennings
Affiliation:
School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, University of Bradford, UK
David Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Birmingham, UK
Nina Helt Nielsen
Affiliation:
Museum Silkeborg, Denmark
Zena Zein Elabdin
Affiliation:
Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Birmingham, UK
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Abstract

Bog bodies are among the best-known archaeological finds worldwide. Much of the work on these often extremely well-preserved human remains has focused on forensics, whereas the environmental setting of the finds has been largely overlooked. This applies to both the ‘physical’ and ‘cultural’ landscape and constitutes a significant problem since the vast spatial and temporal scales over which the practice appeared demonstrate that contextual assessments are of the utmost importance for our explanatory frameworks. In this article we develop best practice guidelines for the contextual analysis of bog bodies, after assessing the current state of research and presenting the results of three recent case studies including the well-known finds of Lindow Man in the United Kingdom, Bjældskovdal (Tollund Man and Elling Woman) in Denmark, and Yde Girl in the Netherlands. Three spatial and chronological scales are distinguished and linked to specific research questions and methods. This provides a basis for further discussion and a starting point for developing approaches to bog body finds and future discoveries, while facilitating and optimizing the re-analysis of previous studies, making it possible to compare deposition sites across time and space.

Les corps des tourbières figurent parmi les découvertes les plus célèbres du monde. Les études utilisant des techniques médico-légales constituent une large part des recherches menées sur ces vestiges humains souvent très bien conservés mais le milieu dans lequel ces découvertes ont été faites a été largement négligé. Ceci vaut tout autant pour le milieu physique que pour l'environnement culturel et constitue un problème considérable, étant donné que cette pratique de déposition de corps se manifeste sur une vaste échelle temporelle et spatiale; l’évaluation du contexte est donc d'importance primordiale pour nos modèles d'interprétation. Les auteurs de cet article proposent des lignes directrices de pratique exemplaire visant à analyser les momies des tourbières dans leur contexte à partir d'une synthèse sur l’état actuel des recherches et d'une présentation de trois études de cas récentes concernant l'Homme de Lindow en Angleterre, Bjældskovdal au Danemark (Homme de Tollund et Femme d'Elling) et la Fille d'Yde aux Pays-Bas. Les auteurs identifient trois échelles spatiales et chronologiques liées à des questions de recherche et de méthode spécifiques. Ces lignes directrices peuvent servir de base à des discussions plus approfondies et à la mise en pratique de stratégies permettant de mieux comprendre les corps des tourbières connus et encore à découvrir, de réexaminer les résultats d’études antérieures et ainsi de comparer les sites de dépôts à travers le temps et l'espace. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Die Moorleichen gehören zu den bekanntesten archäologischen Funden in der ganzen Welt. Meist haben sich die Untersuchungen von diesen oft außergewöhnlich gut erhaltenen Menschenresten auf forensische Aspekte konzentriert, während die Umgebung der Fundstätten weitgehend unbeachtet geblieben ist. Das gilt sowohl für die ‚physische‘ sowie für die kulturelle Landschaft und stellt ein wesentliches Problem dar, weil die zeitlich und räumlich sehr weit verbreiteten Moordeponierungen zeigen, dass die Beurteilung deren Kontexte von höchster Bedeutung für unsere Erklärungsmodelle ist. In diesem Artikel werden Richtlinien für eine beste Praxis der Kontextanalyse von Moorleichen vorgeschlagen; dies folgt eine Bewertung des aktuellen Forschungsstandes und eine Darstellung von drei neueren Fallstudien, die den Lindow-Mann in England, die Moorleichen von Bjældskovdal in Dänemark (Tollund-Mann und Frau von Elling) und das Mädchen von Yde in den Niederlanden betreffen. Man kann zwischen drei zeitlichen und räumlichen Skalen unterscheiden und diese mit bestimmten Fragestellungen und Methoden der Forschung verknüpfen. Solch ein Verfahren bildet die Grundlage für weitere Diskussionen und ein Ansatzpunkt für die Entwicklung von neuen Ansätzen in der Erforschung von bekannten und zukünftigen Moorleichen, erleichtert sowie optimiert die Neubewertung von älteren Untersuchungen und ermöglicht zeitliche und räumliche Vergleiche zwischen verschiedenen Moordeponierungen. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords

bog bodiesEuropelandscapescalar analysispeatlandssite locationcorps des tourbièresEuropepaysageanalyse multiscalairetourbièresemplacements de sitesMoorleichenEuropaLandschaftSkalenanalyseMooreLage der Fundplätze
Type
Article
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , May 2020 , pp. 227 - 249
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2019

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