Yde Girl (English: /ˈɪdə/) is a bog body discovered in the Stijfveen peat bog near the village of Yde, Netherlands. She was found on May 12, 1897, and was very well-preserved when discovered, especially her hair. However, by the time the body was given to the authorities two weeks later, it had been badly damaged and started to decay. Most of her teeth and hair had been removed from the skull. The tools used to cut the peat had also caused serious damage to the body.

Discovery

The body was found on May 12, 1897, in the Stijfveen bog between the villages of Yde and Vries in the province of Drenthe. While cutting peat, Hendrik Barkhof and Willem Emmens noticed something that looked like a piece of leather buried in the peat. When they looked more closely, they saw it was preserved human skin and hair. They were very frightened and covered the remains with peat and left the area. Three days later, a newspaper learned about the discovery and reported the news.

On May 21, the mayor of Vries contacted the Drents Museum in Assen and gave a detailed description of the body. He noted long hair, skin that looked blue from peat, an open mouth with visible teeth, and an injury on the right cheek. The upper body and shoulders were tightly together, along with parts of both arms and one hand with all fingers. The feet were present, some still having nails attached. A thigh bone and other bones were nearby. A piece of fabric and a long wool band wrapped around the neck were also found.

Before museum staff arrived, the remains were exposed to air and handled by workers, which caused some damage. Some parts were also taken away, making the body even more damaged. When museum director J. H. W. Joosting arrived with officials, the thigh bone was missing, most of the teeth were gone, and much of the hair had been pulled out or lost due to drying.

The remaining parts were collected into a crate and taken to the museum in Assen. An oak log found at the discovery site was left behind. When the remains arrived at the museum, the body and textiles were laid out to dry, a common practice at smaller museums at the time.

Joosting suggested moving the remains to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden for study, but the Drents Museum refused, wanting to display the body themselves. The Yde Girl was shown without further research.

The body shows the kind of preservation found in northern European peat bogs. Special chemicals in the peat bonded with skin proteins, making the skin dark and tough. The low-oxygen environment slowed decay. When exposed to air, the skin dried and tightened.

The upper body and shoulders were better preserved than the lower body, pelvis, or abdomen. The hair was about 21 centimeters long and originally blonde but turned red-gold from peat. Most of the hair was on the left side of the head, while the right side was bare. Later studies suggested this might be because one side was exposed to air longer than the other.

Most bones had softened or dissolved because acidic peat water removes calcium. Surviving bones showed a curved spine, an uneven pelvis, and a right leg that may have turned inward, confirmed later by scans. A small stab wound was found below the left collarbone, but it was not the cause of death. The wool band around the neck had been wrapped three times, with a knot below the left ear.

Small traces of moss, sedge, and peat were found on the body and textiles, typical of raised bogs. A pollen sample from the 20th century suggested the person died during the growing season. Later tests gave a more precise time range.

Few items were found with the body, but the surviving textiles show details about clothing in the Iron Age Netherlands. The body was wrapped in a wool cloak that was once light-colored and had narrow stripes, likely dyed with plant-based colors. The fabric had many weaving flaws, was worn, torn, and repaired, suggesting it was used for a long time before being placed in the bog. Today, only two main pieces of the cloak remain.

A long wool band wrapped around the neck was found. It was originally about 215 to 220 centimeters long and made using a special weaving method called sprang, which creates elastic fabric by linking threads. The band had 37 warp threads, and about 125 centimeters of it survives today. The loops and knot position show how it was tightened around the neck.

No jewelry, metal items, or personal belongings were found with the body. An oak log was nearby, but its purpose is unknown. Plant remains, including sphagnum moss, heather, and other bog plants, were found. These plants are typical of raised bogs and confirm the body was placed on the bog surface, not lost accidentally.

Examination

Carbon-14 tests showed that Yde Girl died between 54 BC and 128 AD when she was about 16 years old. She had long reddish-blonde hair, but one side of her head was first thought to have been shaved before death. Recent studies of Windeby I, however, suggest that the shaved hair seen in some bog bodies may simply mean one side of the head was exposed to oxygen for a slightly longer time. Scans revealed she had scoliosis, a condition that curves the spine. She was 137 centimetres (4 ft 6 in) tall, which is shorter than average for a sixteen-year-old.

Her body was found wearing a wool cape and a woolen band made using a braiding method called sprang, wrapped around her neck. This suggests she may have been executed or sacrificed.

A stab wound near her collarbone was found, but it was not the cause of her death. It is believed she may have died while unconscious, as no defensive wounds were found on the hand recovered from her body. This contrasts with a similar case in Germany, the Kayhausen Boy, who had a cut on his left hand from what seems to have been a defense attempt.

Like most bog bodies, her skin and features are preserved because of tannic acid in the marsh water. When Yde Girl was uncovered, workers accidentally damaged her skull. Today, only her torso, head, right hand, and feet remain intact. The rest of her body was not preserved or was damaged by tools used to cut peat.

Exhibit

The Yde Girl's remains were displayed publicly, and further study of her bones did not happen until 1992. Richard Neave, from the University of Manchester, used a CT scan to examine her skull and determined her age based on her body structure and historical evidence.

The Yde Girl became well-known worldwide when Neave created a reconstruction of her face. He used methods from plastic surgery and forensic science. Because parts of her body were not well-preserved, some features, such as her nose, were estimated rather than known for certain. The Yde Girl and her reconstructed face are shown at the Drents Museum in Assen.

The Yde Girl, along with Roter Franz and the Weerdinge Men, were taken on a global museum tour during the early and mid-2000s. This exhibition caused protests in Canada, where rules prevent the display of Indigenous people's remains. Many experts and members of the public believe showing the dead in museums is inappropriate.