Ancient "Bog" Body Unearthed in Germany

"A body found in a peat bog in northern Germany, first thought to be a murder victim, turned out to be a sensational archeological find: the 2,700 year old mummified corpse of a teenage girl."-- Deutsche Welle, see link to the right for more details of this extraordinary find of a 2,700 year old preserved bog body found in a peat bog in northern Germany.

Bogs contain extraordinary preservative qualities which have kept ancient remains intact for thousands of years. We have unearthed numerous bog bodies over the years, from unwary travelers, to victims (or willing participants) of ritual sacrifice.

The materials and artifacts recovered from bogs gives us insight into life in the wetlands. Bogs could be deadly places. Travelers frequently disappeared in the bogs as they tried to cross them. Bogs were often impassable with their spongy and uneven surfaces. People would construct track ways (wooden planks or a membrane of woven branches) across the bogs so as to connect with other villages.