Elling Woman
Elling Woman | |
|---|---|
ritual sacrifice) | |
| Body discovered | 1938 Silkeborg, Denmark |
The Elling Woman is a bog body discovered in 1938 west of Silkeborg, Denmark. The Tollund Man was later discovered just c. 60 m (200 ft) away, twelve years after the Elling Woman's discovery.[1] The Elling Woman was mistakenly described as a man in P. V. Glob's book The Bog People, when it was published in 1965.[2]
Discovery
Later known as the Elling Woman, the body was discovered by a local farmer, Jens Zakariasson, who at first believed that the remains were of a drowned animal. The body was wrapped in a sheepskin cape with a leather cloak tied around her legs.[3] The face of the woman was poorly preserved, and there were no traces of organs inside of the body.[4]
Examination
The Elling Woman is believed to have been
In 1978, the body was reexamined with radiographs, from which the sex was determined to be female and the original age-at-death estimate of 25 years was found to be accurate.[4] This body is often identified by the 90 cm (35 in) braid on her head, which was tied into an elaborate knot.[4] Elling Woman is believed to have been a human sacrifice.[5]
References
- ^ Archaeological Institute of America: Violence in the Bogs. Archaeology.org. Retrieved on 15 September 2011.
- ^ Glob, Peter V. The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved, Trans. Rupert Bruce-Mitford. Ithaca, New York: Faber and Faber Limited, 1969. Print.
- ^ Vandkilde, Helle (2003). "Tollund Man". In Bogucki, Crabtree (ed.). Ancient Europe 8000 B.C. – A.D. 1000: Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World. Vol. 1. London: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 27.
- ^ a b c d Gill-Robinson, Heather (2005). The Iron Age Bog Bodies of the Archäologische Landesmuseum Schloss Gottorf. p. 63.
- ^ Silkeborg Museum (2004). "Elling Woman". Denmark. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.