The Haraldskær Woman (or Haraldskjaer Woman) is the name of a body found in a bog in Jutland, Denmark. This body dates back to about 490 BC, during the pre-Roman Iron Age. In 1835, workers discovered the body while digging for peat on the Haraldskær Estate. The lack of oxygen and the acids in the peat bog helped preserve the body very well. Scientists found not only a complete skeleton but also the skin and internal organs. In 1977, scientists used a method called radiocarbon dating to confirm that the woman died around the 5th century BC.
Today, the Haraldskær Woman’s body is displayed in a glass-covered sarcophagus at The Cultural Museum in central Vejle, Denmark.
Details
In 1835, excavators discovered the body of the Haraldskær Woman lying on her back in a very well-preserved condition. She was not wearing any clothing, but her clothes—a leather cape and three woolen garments—had been placed on top of her. Branches and wooden poles were used to hold her body in place. Her skin and internal organs were both intact. A deep wound was found near her knee, likely caused by a sharp object such as one of the wooden poles. Her skin had a dark, brownish color due to chemicals in the peat, and her joints were preserved in a way that made them look as if she had died recently. Doctors estimated she was about 50 years old when she died and was in good health, with no signs of diseases like arthritis, which are common in people of that age.
In 1979, doctors at Århus Hospital examined the body again. By this time, the body had dried out and shrunk, with leathery, wrinkled skin. A CT scan of her skull showed she was likely about 40 years old when she died. Her body height was now measured at 133 cm (4 ft 4 in), but doctors used earlier records to estimate her original height was about 150 cm (4 ft 11 in).
In 2000, scientists from the Elsinore Museum, Cardiff University, and the University of Århus studied the body again. They found remains of unhusked millet and blackberries in her stomach. A faint groove on her neck suggested a rope might have been used for torture or strangulation. The scientists believed that acidic chemicals in the bog caused the swelling in her knee joint and that she was already dead before the branches were placed on her body. Because of the careful way she was placed and the fact that cremation was common during that time in Jutland, the researchers thought she may have been a victim of ritual sacrifice.
Relation to other bog bodies
Bog bodies have been found mainly in Northern European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and especially Denmark. The oldest known bog body is about 8,000 years old, but most of the bodies discovered in Denmark date from the Pre-Roman Iron Age to the Roman Iron Age (around 500 BC to AD 400).
As of 2006, more than 700 ancient bodies have been found in these areas. However, other estimates suggest the number may be in the thousands. Scientists struggle to determine an exact count because many bodies have been lost or destroyed over time.
Before archaeologists began searching for bog bodies, most were found accidentally during peat extraction and then reburied or discarded. After scientists learned that the acidic, oxygen-free environment of bogs helped preserve Iron Age bodies, major excavations took place in Jutland. Other well-studied bog bodies from Jutland, like the Haraldskær Woman, include Tollund Man, Grauballe Man, Elling Woman, Huldremose Woman, and the Borremose Woman.
Mistaken identity
After the body was found, early ideas about who she was focused on Queen Gunnhild of Norway, who lived around 900–1000 CE. Most bodies found in bogs suggest the person died from a violent attack or a religious ceremony. These ideas match the possibility that the body was placed in a bog instead of being buried in dry ground.
According to the Jomsvikinga Saga, Harald Bluetooth of Denmark ordered Queen Gunnhild to be drowned in a bog. Because of her royal status, King Frederick VI of Denmark-Norway later ordered a beautifully carved sarcophagus to hold her remains.
The careful handling of the Haraldskær Woman’s body explains why her remains are well-preserved. In contrast, Tollund Man, discovered later, was not properly preserved, and most of his body has been lost, leaving only his head as original remains in his display.
In 1842, the young Danish archaeologist J. J. A. Worsaae disagreed with the idea that the Haraldskær Woman was Gunnhild. A pioneer in archaeological stratigraphy, Worsaae showed evidence that the Haraldskær Woman lived during the Iron Age. Later radiocarbon dating confirmed the body was not Gunnhild, but a woman from the early Iron Age who lived about 490 BCE.
Literary references
Danish author Steen Steensen Blicher, who was also an amateur archaeologist and one of the first people to visit the site, wrote the first known literary description of the Haraldskær Woman. In 1836, he published a novella called Gravhøjen, which was a humorous story about an incorrect archaeological discovery. However, by 1841, Blicher appeared to believe the Haraldskær Woman was Queen Gunnhild, as shown in his poem Dronning Gunhild, which was a sad tribute to the queen buried in the bog. In 1846, Danish playwright Jens Christian Hostrup wrote a comedy titled A Sparrow Doing a Crane Dance (En Spurv i Tranedans), in which the ghost of Queen Gunnhild gives a magical ring to a clever tailor and causes others to ignore his actions. Hostrup’s play indirectly criticized the idea that the Haraldskær Woman was Queen Gunnhild and supported the theory proposed by Worsaae.