In 1950 in a Peat Bog at Tollund, Near Silkeborg in The
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554 TOLLUND MAN AND OTHER BOG BURIALS The map of Europe reveals that large areas of bog are to be found in Denmark (especially in Jutland) and in northern Germany. In these regions the encroachment of vegetation has converted lakes into deposits of peat. By geologic standards the alteration is regarded as relatively rapid. To this process the comparatively shallow glacial lakes are quite susceptible; and the regions just mentioned were all subject to glaciation during the Pleistocene epoch. The peat bogs thus created are filled with vegetable debris, which forms an acid soil highly favorable to the preservation of human soft tissues. Accordingly, some of the most interesting discoveries in human paleontology have been made in the bogs of northern Europe. The num- ber of these cadavers (the so-called Moorleichen) is estimated at some- what less than 700, of which i66 are from Denmark. In 1950 in a peat bog at Tollund, near Silkeborg in the Danish pe- ninsula of Jutland, a singularly well-preserved human cadaver was found.' It is remarkable not only because of the relatively good condi- tion of the soft tissues but also because of the startling lifelike appear- ance of the face (see accompanying figure). The cadaver is that of an adult male. It was found under about seven feet of peat and was lying on its right side, with lower limbs drawn upward toward the torso. One hand was placed immediately above the knees, the other was near the chin. The body was unclothed, except for a pointed sewn hat made of fur and a belt made of hide. Around the neck there was a tightly fastened rope made of hide and formed into a noose. This rope had produced deep linear impressions at the side of the neck and under the chin; the knot had left no mark. The rope was a meter long and its free end had been cut off sharply. These facts signified that the man had been hanged and then cut down. Since the cervical vertebrae were decalcified, confirmatory roentgen evidence of vertebral damage could not be obtained. The well-preserved intestinal tract contained the remains of a meal 1. Thorvildsen, K.: The Tollund Man. Fred Mallett, transl. Silkeborg, Silkeborg Museum, 1962. 16 pp. Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. TOLLUND MAN AND OTHER BOG BURIALS 5 5 5 Head of Tollund Man. Reproduced by courtesy of the National Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark. Vol. 46, No. 7, July 1970 5 5 6 TOLLUND MAN AND OTHER BOG BURIALS eaten between I2 and 24 hours before death. It consisted of a sort of porridge containing such vegetable materials as barley and flaxseed. There were no residues of meat. It was inferred that death had occurred during the winter. The cadaver of Tollund Man is dated at I-2OO A.D. In the opinion of Thorvildsen,2 on whose account these notes are based, Tollund Man and a cadaver found nearby in a peat bog at Grauballe were victims of ritual manslaughter, the alternative possibility being that they were criminals and were executed. There are several passages in the Germania of Tacitus (ca. 98 A.D.) which throw light on the death of Tollund man, without being fully decisive; one of these is quoted by Thorvildsen.3 There are also a few smaller Tacitean fragments that deserve consideration, since Tollund man is thought to have lived at a time not very distant from that in which Tacitus wrote. The Roman historian says of the German tribes as a whole that many men who had survived a war terminated their disgrace with a noose 4i.e., cowardice in battle might be punished by hanging. Any large punishment such as capital punishment, imprisonment, or even a blow, might be administered only by priests.5 Tacitus also remarks that when the death penalty was exacted, the manner of its imposition differed according to the crime. Traitors and deserters were hanged from trees, whereas cowards and persons of vicious habits were plunged in the mud of marshes with a hurdle on their heads.0 If trees were customarily used for hanging, it is reasonable to infer that Tollund man was hanged on solid ground and was later thrown or buried in the bog where the body was found. We may add this inference to the collection of observations made by the archaeolo- gists. From another statement in the Germani7 it is apparent that among the Germans-with whom Tacitus includes the inhabitants of Holland, Denmark, and Sweden-the dead were usually cremated.7 Finally, in telling of tribes that lived in and about the peninsula of Jutland, Tacitus says that in general they worshipped a divinity called 2. Thorvildsen, op. cit., pp. 14-15. 3. Tacitus, Germansia 40; Thorvildsen, op. cit., pp. 14-15. 4. Tacitus, Germania 6. 5. Tacitus, Germania 7. 6. Tacitus, Germania 12. The use of a hurdle to add ignominy to punishment is also mentioned in Livy, I. 51. 9. 7. Tacitus, Germania 27. Bull. N.Y. Acad. Med. TOLLUND MAN AND OTHER BOG BURIALS 5 5 7 Nerthus or Mother Earth-in commune Nerthum, id est Terram matrem colunt-and believed that she intervened in the affairs of human beings.8 It is therefore probable, as Thorvildsen believes, that Tollund Man was sacrificed to this divinity. If Tacitus is right in stating that capital pun- ishment could be inflicted by the priesthood only, the distinction be- tween judicial and sacerdotal execution must have been tenuous. Addendum. Since the above was written I have received the volume by P. V. Glob, The Bog People; Iron-Age Man Preserved, translated into English by Rupert Bruce-Mitford.9 In this clear and well-written account the reader will find much additional information. S.J. S. Tacitus, Germania 40. 9. London, Faber and Faber, 1969, 200 pp., 76 illus., 2 maps. Vol. 46, No. 7, July 1970.