Tollund Man Essay

Hi, I’m Xander Moore, the assistant director of the Museum, and it is a real pleasure to welcome you here to the Museum of the Dead for our exhibition of Bog Bodies.

Peat bogs are ideal locations for the preservation of organic matter. They have low temperature, low oxygen, and a highly acidic pH. These variables work together to stop the breakdown of flesh. Peat is also a useful fuel for burning, which is why people dig around in peat bogs.

We begin the tour with, to your left, Tollund Man. Tollund man can usually be found in the Silkeborg Museum, but is here today for our special exhibition. This bodies’ discovery involved peat diggers calling the police because they thought they’d found a crime scene in Denmark in 1950. Despite appearances, Tollund Man lived in the fourth century BC. He was found with a rope around his neck. X-rays showed that his neck was not broken; he was hanged but died of strangulation rather than a quick drop. The body was in such good condition that the contents of its guts could be examined. His last meal was some type of porridge and he also suffered from a worm

This is partly because his throat had been cut from ear to ear. Several bones in his body were broken, but it’s possible that this happened after death from the weight of the peat above. Grauballe Man died around 55 BC. Because of Grauballe Man’s unusually well-preserved hands, we can tell that he never did manual labor. His nails were well–cared for and trimmed. His fingerprints could even be taken. Grauballe Man was discovered wearing only a cap and belt. It is possible that he was buried naked or that his clothes were destroyed by the conditions in the bog. The most startling aspect of Grauballe Man is his red hair. Analysis, however, shows that it was once much darker and was changed by the bog to its current colour.

Next on the opposite side of Grauballe Man is Elling