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