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Tacitus- Chapter 38 in Germania, "found on art by and depictions of the Germanic people, and worn by bog bodies."

Commentary from modern investigations-  "Osterby Man has featured the Suebian knot on its coat of arms since 1998, and this Suebian knot indicates that Osterby Man died in the late Iron Age or the Roman period, and the radiocarbon dating also indicates a date between 75 and 130 CE, but then, the hair sample used was taken from the private collection of the German archaeologist, Alfred Dieck and may be unreliable."  

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An insight into the history of Bog Bodies in courtesy of the National Geographic.

Q1: What is a bog body?
   a) Body environmental evidence about bogs and people
   b) Human remains preserved in a peat bog
   c) Misspelling of Bach body, refers to the human remains of a German composer
   d) A mummified body dumped in hole of mud.


Q2: Where are bog bodies found?
   a) Denmark, Germany and England
   b) Italy, France and Spain
   c) Peru, Chile and Ecuador
   d) China, Japan and Korea


Q3: Why were the people in the bogs put there?
   a) Ritual human sacrifice
   b) Executions
   c) Simple human murder
   d) All of the above and perhaps other reasons


Q4: What was the environment like when the bog bodies were placed in the earth?
   a) Cemetery area on a hill
   b) Marsh or pond
   c) Peat bog
   d) They were not originally placed in the earth


Q5: Are the Bog Bodies more preserved than the Egyptian mummies?
   a) No, they are more skeletal
or
   b) Yes, they have more soft tissue

Q6: What prevented the Bog Bodies from decaying?
   a) The conditions in the peat bog (the acidic nature of bog water and micro-organisms discourage decay)
   b) The embalming process (being wrapped in linen and having the internal organs removed)
   c) The weather conditions
   d) They were not prevented from decaying


Q7: Are there bog bodies in Australia?
   a) Yes
or
   b) No


Q8: Which of the following forensic methods are commonly used on 'Bog Bodies'?
   a) Finger print analyses
   b) MRI scans
   c) CAT scans
   d) All of the above


Q9: Did the bog bodies suffer violent deaths?
   a) Yes
or
   b) No

Answers:

Q1: B   Q2: A   Q3: D   Q4: B   Q5: B   Q6: A   Q7: B   Q8: D   Q9: A






 TASK: Try and locate the countries where the bog bodies were found like Germany, Denmark, England, Netherlands and else where. Your starting point is Australia so try and search the globe for the countries. HAVE FUN DISCOVERING!




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Osterby Head

What is Osterby Head?
Osterby Head also known as Osterby Man is a decapitated bog body that was found in 1948 in Osterby Germany, only the skull and the hair had survived.

The site discovery
It was May the 28th when two peat cutters working two feet below the surface in a bog when they found something which was unexpected. They found what is now the Osterby Head wrapped in cape of roe deer skin. They further searched for the body, but concluded with only the head.

Scientific research on the head
Research was conducted on the head at Landesmuseum in Schleswig  where they determined that the head belonged to man aged between 50 to 60 years old, furthermore not only has the head been lopped off at the neck but the head been struck with a sharp instrument.
Radiocarbon dating was used on the head and indicated that the man died in the late Iron Age or the Roman period between 75 - 130 CE. 

Interpretation of his death 
Other Iron Age bog bodies that were found were also beheaded, thus it is not possible to determine the exact reason on what the cause of death was but theories suggest that Osterby Man was sunk into the bog as judicial punishment or it was a sacrifice but because of his age it might have been an honorable death.

Forensic analysis
The skull of Osterby Man had been broken into several pieces and the acids that were in the bog 
decalcified (reduced quantity of calcium salts) the bone of the skull which shrunk and became a dark brown in colour. The hair and small sections of the scalp are very well preserved in their condition but the skin and soft tissues have disappeared off the face. There is also a large wound on left side of the head, this had indicated that the skull was depressed by an instrument about 12 centimeters in diameter. 
The hair however is thin and is about 28 centimeters long, it has an reddish brown colour from the acids in the bog but microscopic analysis had further indicated that the actual colour of the hair was dark blond and that the man also had some white hairs

Hairstyle
The hair is unusually well preserved, the hair itself is tied to the right of the head in a 'Suebian Knot'.
An extract from Tacitus describes:  " in Chapter 38 of his Germania as a characteristic of free men among the Germanic tribe of Suebi."

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osterby_Man

http://www.mummytombs.com/bog/osterby.htm