| Windeby I Human Mummy | |
| |
| Biographical Information | |
|---|---|
| Name(s) | Windeby I -previously identified as Windeby Girl |
| Age | 16 |
| Sex | Male |
| Status | unknown |
| Height | 165 cm or 5'5" |
| Source | |
| Culture | German |
| Date(s) | 41 BCE to 118 CE. |
| Site | Windeby |
| Current Location | |
| Location | The Landesmuseum, Germany |
| Catalog # | |
Windeby I is the name given to the bog body found preserved in a peat bog near Windeby, in northern Germany, in 1952. Initially, the body was identified as Windeby Girl, believed to be the body of a pubescent girl, because of its slight build. Heather Gill-Robinson, a Canadian anthropologist and pathologist, used DNA testing, however, to show the body was actually that of a pubescent boy. The body was radiocarbon-dated to between 41 BCE and 118 CE.
Mummification[]
The body was discovered by commercial peat cutters in 1952, and is now on display at The Landesmuseum at the Schloß Gottorf in Schleswig, Germany. Unfortunately, by the time the body was noticed by the peat cutters, and before the peat-cutting machinery could be shut down, a hand, a foot, and a leg had been severed from the body. The body had been very well preserved by the peat, and despite this damage it is an important archaeological discovery.
Studies[]
Stable isotope analysis done on hairs from the body suggests that Windeby I had a primarily vegetarian diet with little to no meat eaten, possibly due to social status.
Pathology[]
X-rays done on Windeby I in 1958 revealed 11 distinct Harris lines, which suggests a history of malnutrition or disease. Further analysis done in 2003-2004 found evidence of a dental abscess and an extensive dental infection. The infection caused damage to the mandible, but there is evidence of possible bone regrowth. It's possible that the infection may have contributed to Windeby I's death.
Additional[]
The body had what was thought to be a woolen blindfold tied across the eyes. The "blindfold" is in fact a woolen band, made using the sprang technique, that was probably used to tie back the boy’s shoulder-length hair, but had slipped down over his face after death. Although speculation has suggested murder, it has been determined death was more likely the result of malnutrition or disease.
Windeby II was discovered in the same bog 20 days after Windeby I.
External Links[]
References[]
- Gill-Robinson, Heather Catherine (2006). The iron age bog bodies of the Archaeologisches Landesmuseum, Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig, Germany. Manitoba: University of Manitoba. ISBN 978-0-494-12259-4.(Doctors thesis)
- Gebühr (2002) p. 47; cited in the corresponding article on German Wikipedia
- Diezel, Hage, Jankuhn, Klenk, Schaefer, Schlabow, Schürtrumpf, Spatz (1958). Zwei Moorleichenfunde aus dem Domlandsmoor. Praehistorische Zeitschrift (in German) 36 (Berlin: de Gruyter). pp. 186 Fig 1.ISSN 0079-4848.