Lindow Man
The body in the bog

In 1984 the well preserved body of a man who lived 2000 years ago was found in a Cheshire peat bog. Much more than just his skeleton had survived many centuries of burial in the ground: his skin, fingernails and hair were all in remarkably good condition. For the first time, it is possible to see the face of an ancient Briton….

… At the moment, the best estimate, based on the mathematical combination of the more reliable dates, suggests that Lindow Man died in the first century AD. It appears, then, that he lived at the end of the celtic iron age, or in the early decades of the Roman occupation which began in AD 43…

How was the body preserved?
Lindow Man’s body survived so well because of the chemistry of the bog. The ‘microenvironment’ in which he lay was completely waterlogged, lacked oxygen, and contained organic acids derived from the partially decayed plant material which made up the growing peat. These conditions inhibited many of the biological processes which usually break down bodies, such as attack by bacteria, worms, insects, etc. The skin was also ‘tanned’ by the organic acids and so was preserved as a kind of natural leather. However, the same acids also attacked the mineral content of his bones, which were badly decomposed.