Windeby I is a very well-preserved bog body discovered in 1952 in the Domsland Moor, near the village of Windeby in northern Schleswig-Holstein. Scientists studied the remains and determined that the body belonged to a female who was about 13 to 14 years old.

For many years after its discovery, the body was often called the Girl of Windeby. Early research used limited methods and misunderstood the objects found nearby, leading to incorrect conclusions about the person’s gender. Later studies corrected this mistake and identified the remains as those of a young male from the first century CE.

Windeby I is now one of the most well-known archaeological discoveries in Germany. It is displayed with other bog bodies in the permanent exhibition at Schloss Gottorf. Museum exhibits explain how the acidic, oxygen-poor peat in bogs helped preserve the body’s skin, hair, and clothing in great detail.

Discovery

The body now called Windeby I was discovered on May 19, 1952, by workers cutting peat for sale in the Domsland Moor on the Windeby estate near Schleswig in northern Schleswig-Holstein. One worker saw what looked like a human thigh bone in a freshly cut piece of peat. The team stopped their work and turned off their machines to examine the find.

When the body was identified, the peat-cutting equipment had already removed a hand, a foot, and part of a leg. These injuries are still visible on the body today. After confirming the remains were human, the workers searched the area for more pieces and told the archaeological museum in Schleswig. Museum staff recorded the discovery, removed the body as a single block of peat, and sent it to the Schleswig-Holstein State Museum at Schloss Gottorf for careful study and preservation.

A second bog body, later named Windeby II, was found about 4.6 to 4.9 meters (15 to 16 feet) away. This person, an adult man, was killed by being strangled with a branch made from hazel and pinned down with wooden stakes.

The fact that the two bodies were found close together, along with later readings of Tacitus, a Roman writer who described punishments and ritual killings among Germanic peoples, led some early researchers to suggest the two people might have been an illegal couple executed and placed in the bog. Later studies of the grave, the body, and other items found nearby have questioned this idea. However, this early interpretation remains an important part of how people have understood the bog body over time.

Condition

When archaeologists found Windeby I in the peat, the body was lying on its right side in a shallow pit about 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) wide. The head faced west, and a sprang-woven wool band had shifted over the eyes. Early writers thought this was a blindfold, but later studies showed it was originally a hairband that moved as the body shrank during preservation.

The head and hands were the most well-preserved parts. The hair, which was originally light blond, had turned reddish due to acids in the bog. The left side of the scalp appeared closely shorn, but this was later found to be caused by decay or accidental damage during excavation, not an intentional haircut. The facial tissues were so well-preserved that when the skull was opened during conservation, even the folds of the brain were still visible.

The torso was in worse condition. The chest and abdomen had collapsed, leaving ribs exposed where the skin and soft tissue had decayed. No internal organs remained. The right arm was bent toward the face, the left arm angled toward the hip, and the legs were slightly bent. Despite the damage, the body’s posture showed it had not been moved violently after death.

The body had been placed on a bed of heather and covered with layers of cotton grass. A fur cloak still covered the upper body when the find was first examined, and nearby were fragments of a ceramic vessel and pieces of textile. These details suggest the individual was intentionally placed in the bog with care, similar to burial practices at other northern European bog body sites.

The bones had lost much of their calcium, but radiographs showed Harris lines in the lower leg bones, which indicate repeated periods of childhood malnutrition. Parasitological examination found the hair had fewer head lice than usual for the Iron Age, though it is unclear if this reflects the individual’s life or the conditions of preservation.

Together, the surviving hair, wool band, clothing remnants, plant layers, and grave goods show Windeby I was deliberately placed in the bog. These details challenge earlier ideas that the person was a punished adulteress or ritual victim and instead support the idea that the burial followed Iron Age traditions.

Cause of death

A study by experts from different fields found no clear signs that the boy died from violence. The soft tissues, including the neck area, show no injuries from strangulation, cutting, or binding. The bones also have no signs of injuries that happened before death. Instead, medical and science experts believe the boy had a serious infection in his jaw. This infection likely caused pain, swelling, and stress throughout the body, and is considered the most likely reason for his death.