Archaeology

Bog bodies

Otterskin cape from Co. Antrim

The discovery of human remains in peatlands is always of great public interest. This is because peat preserves not only the skeleton but also the skin, hair, internal organs and clothing of the bog body. This enables scientists to analyse the stomach contents, diseases, date of death and how the person died.

Examining the fabric, weave, colour and stitching techniques of clothing and leather items is particularly valuable for dating the body.

Some bog bodies were deliberately buried in the peat, as they have been discovered wrapped in blankets and laid out flat. Some of these burials were probably suicides or strangers who died in transit, because until relatively recently such deaths were not given a Christian burial. Other bodies are clearly the victims of murder by a blow to the head, throat cutting or beheading.

Lindow man

Due to mechanised peat-cutting in modern times bodies are now frequently identified in segmented parts, such as the feet, the head or part of the trunk. This was the case with the Lindow man, a bog body discovered in an Essex bog in 1988.

There are records of 89 bog bodies found in Ireland since the early 19th century, 25 of which are from Northern Ireland. The majority are from the 17th century with a small number of prehistoric bodies. While the number of 17th century bodies found in blanket and raised bogs is comparable, all the prehistoric bodies have been found in raised bogs. The absence of any discoveries in fen peat is not surprising, as there is usually only a very shallow layer of peat in fens.

Members of the public should report any suspicion of a bog body so archaeologists can recover and record it as scientifically as possible.

Map of bog bodies recorded in Northern Ireland peatlands

Click on a marker on the map above, to find out more about the archaelogical finds.