The spotless beauty of swamp mummies

Yde girl mummies, Bocksten mummies, Tollund men . are quite intact mummies when they are found in marshes.

Speaking of mummies, we often think of mysterious stories about Egypt. However, there are many mummies that have been excavated and discovered by archaeologists all over the world, even in the swamp areas.

Let's review some of the mummies found in the swamp areas of the world below.

1. Yde girl mummy

Found in the city of Yde (Netherlands) in 1897, researchers have confirmed this mummy is a young girl. Through research, archaeologists believe that this girl died at age 16, between 54 BC and 128.

When found, the mummy was wrapped in a wool cloak and a scarf wrapped around his neck. The mummy also appears a stab in the collarbone area but that is not determined to be the cause of death.

Studies of 14 carbon isotopes on mummies indicate, this young girl died of scoliosis, most likely to have been executed and a victim in an ancient sacrifice.

2. Mummy Bocksten

In 1936, scientists discovered the mummy of a young man aged between 25 and 35 in the Bocksten marsh in Varburg (Sweden). This mummy is called Bocksten and is well preserved. Through testing, the young man was 1.7 - 1.8m tall, had an 8cm x 5cm injury on the right side of the skull, along with two large piles through his heart.

The brain as well as other parts of the body are still quite intact

The mummy wears a shirt made of medieval wool, with a cloak outside, legs covered with cloth. Next to the mummy is a cloth bag, belt and two knives.

Going into the research, scientists have found an interesting story of legend. Legend has it that this young man, Bocksten, was unjustly haunted by a dead soldier, so the villagers tied him up and used two poles through his heart. They believed that, only by doing so, the obsession and the souls of the new soldiers disappeared, never appeared in the village anymore.

3. Mummy of Tollund man

This mummy was discovered in May 1950 in a state of being buried in a peat swamp on the Jutland peninsula (Denmark).

The Tollund man is a natural mummy of a man who lived in the 4th century BC under the Roman Iron Age

The mummy of Tollund man was so perfectly preserved that when he was discovered, it was mistakenly thought that this was the victim of a recent murder. However, later studies by archaeologists have determined that this is the body of the person who died nearly 2,400 years ago.

Through the study of mummy examination, scientists said that the cause of this man's death was hanged by a rope because on his neck, there were clear grooves on the skin under his chin and 2 on the neck. However, there was no sign on the back of the neck - where there should have been marks because of the place of the noose.

4. Lindow mummy

This mummy was found in a peat swamp in Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England. The survey showed that this is a mummy of men in their 20s. On the mummy there are many serious wounds such as being strangled, hitting the head, leading to a piece of skull bone stabbing into the brain. Not only that, the man's throat was cut.

Photos of Lindow Man's mummy are displayed at the British Museum in June 2010

Conducting the measurement of the 14 carbon isotope, archaeologists learned in the stomach of this mummy contained some burnt cereals and bread. Most likely, this was his last meal before his death.

5. Warrior Alken Enge mummy

In 2012, hundreds of warrior mummies sacrificed in the wars of 2,000 years ago were discovered in a swamp in Denmark. When excavated, archaeologists discovered, the bones of these warriors were not intact, the skull was cracked, next to the mummy were many weapons such as axes, spears and sticks.

Excavation and research work will continue in the hope of discovering many things about the warriors who have been buried in the past 2000 years.

Weapons buried with warriors

Researchers are trying to sequence the events that took place here by conducting excavations around a 99ha area around it. Not only that, they also reconstructed the ancient landscape in the peat area, the Alken Enge lowland in East Jutland (Denmark) - where the mummies were discovered to learn more about these warriors.