The Landscape Archaeology of Bog Bodies

Abstract Bog bodies are well known from sites across north-western Europe, particularly from Ireland, Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. The often exceptional organic preservation of these human remains has led to comprehensive forensic studies that have explored a range of factors relating to the individual, from aspects of demography to cause of death and circumstances of deposition. However, there has been surprisingly little analysis of the landscape context of these bodies at the time of their deposition. This paper promotes a landscape archaeology approach to the study of bog bodies by presenting newly modelled data relating to the spatial positioning of those discovered from Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England. It is argued that, by exploring the spatial positioning of the body within its contemporaneous landscape setting, it is possible to enrich previous approaches to their interpretation and to improve our understanding of the cultural context of the death of these individuals and the decisions surrounding their deposition within bogs.