Haraldskr Woman

Haraldskr Woman
The Haraldskr Woman (or Haraldskjaer Woman) is a bog body found naturally preserved in a bog in Jutland, Denmark dating from around 490 BC (pre-Roman Iron Age).[1][2] Labourers discovered the body in 1835 while excavating peat on the Haraldskr Estate. Scientists settled disputes regarding the age and identity of this well-preserved body in 1977 when radiocarbon dating determined conclusively that her death occurred around the fifth century BC.[3] The anaerobic conditions and acids of the peat bog contributed to her excellent preservation. Not only was the intact skeleton found, but the skin and internal organs were as well. This find is one of the earliest bog bodies archaeologists have studied. Her body lies in state in an ornate glass-covered sarcophagus inside St. Nicolai Church in central Vejle, Denmark, where it is on permanent display.[4]
Haraldskr Woman on display in a glass-covered sarcophagus in Vejle, Denmark

Mistaken identity
After discovery of the body, early theories of her identity centered on the persona of the Norwegian Queen Gunnhild, who lived around AD 1000. Most of the bog bodies recovered indicate the victim died from a violent murder or ritualistic sacrifice. These theories are consistent with the body being hurled into a bog as opposed to burial in dry earth. According to the Jomsvikinga Saga, the Danish king Harald Bluetooth ordered Queen Gunnhild be drowned in a bog.[5] Based upon the belief of her royal personage, King Frederick VI of Denmark commanded an elaborately carved sarcophagus to hold her body.
St. Nicolai Church in Vejle, Denmark

This careful treatment of the Haraldskr Woman's remains explains the excellent state of conservation of the corpse;[6] conversely, Tollund Man, a later discovery, was not properly conserved and most of the body has been lost, leaving only the head as original remains in his display.

In 1842, the young Danish archaeologist J. J. A. Worsaae disagreed the Haraldskr Woman was Gunnhild.[7] A pioneer in archaeological stratigraphy, Worsaae presented evidence the Haraldskr Woman dated from the Iron Age. Later radiocarbon dating confirmed the body was not Gunnhild, but rather a woman of the early Iron Age who lived about 490 BC.[8][2] Though no one proved the Haraldskr Woman has any royal lineage, her body lies in state in a display in the north transept of Saint Nicolai Church.

Haraldskr Woman

Details
Excavators found the body of the Haraldskr Woman in a supine position in an excellent state of preservation. She was naked and her clothes, consisting of a leather cape and three woolen garments, had been placed on top of her.[9] Hurdles of branches and wooden poles pinned the body down.[10] The complete skin envelope and the internal organs were both intact. The body had a lancing wound to the knee joint area, where some object (possibly one of the sharp poles) penetrated to some depth.[11] Her skin was deeply bronzed with a robust skin tone due to tannins in the peat, and all the body joints were preserved with overlying skin in a state as if she had died only recently. Doctors determined she had been about 50 years old when she died and in good health without signs of degenerative diseases (such as arthritis) which are typically found in human remains of that age.[] In 1979, doctors at rhus Hospital undertook a further forensic examination of the Haraldskr Woman. By this time, the body had desiccated, shrunken, and the skin was leathery, severely wrinkled and folded.[12] A CT-scan of the cranium more accurately determined her age to be about 40 years old at the time of her death.[13] The body height now measured only 1.33m (4ft 4in), but doctors used the original 1835 descriptions to estimate she would have stood about 1.50m (4ft 11in).[14] In 2000, Lone Hvass of the Elsinore Museum, Miranda Aldhouse-Green of Cardiff University, and the Department of Forensic Science at the University of rhus performed a re-examination of the Haraldskr Woman.[] Forensic analysis The body of the Haraldskr Woman revealed stomach contents of unhusked millet and blackberries. Her neck had a faint groove as if someone applied a rope for torture or strangulation. The scientists concluded bog acids caused the swelling of the knee joint and that the woman was probably already dead before the branches pinned her down.[] Because of her careful placement, and since cremation was the prevailing mode of interment during that period in Jutland, the examiners determined the Haraldskr Woman was a victim of ritual sacrifice.[]

Haraldskr Estate in 1857

Relation to other bog bodies

The principal locations where bog bodies have been discovered are the Northern European countries of Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland and especially Denmark.[15] The oldest of these bodies dates to about 8000 BC, although the majority of specimens in Denmark are from the Pre-Roman Iron Age to Roman Iron Age era (about 500 BC to AD 400).[16] As of 2006 more than 700ancient bodies have been discovered in these sites,[17] although other estimates have placed the number in the thousands. It is difficult for scientists to ascertain a precise number because many of the bodies have been lost or destroyed.[18] Before archaeologists began actively searching for bog bodies, the bodies were discovered mostly during the routine extraction of peat, and then reburied or discarded.[19] After the discovery that systematic conservation of Iron Age bodies was attributable to the acidic

Haraldskr Woman anaerobic environs, major excavations have occurred in Jutland.[20] Other bog bodies recovered on the Jutland peninsula which have undergone as extensive an analysis as the Haraldskr Woman include Tollund Man, Grauballe Man, Elling Woman, Huldremose Woman and the Borremose Woman.[21][22]

Literary references
Danish author Steen Steensen Blicher, an amateur archaeologist and one of the first to visit the site, made the first literary reference to the Haraldskr Woman.[23] In 1836, he published his novella Gravhjen which was a parody about a mistaken archaeological find. However, by 1841 Blicher seemed to have changed his mind about the Haraldskr Woman's identity when he wrote the poem Dronning Gunhild, a lament for the dead queen in the bog.[24] In 1846, the Danish playwright Jens Christian Hostrup wrote his comedy, A Sparrow Doing a Crane Dance, (En Spurv i Tranedans), in which the ghost of Queen Gunnhild gives a magical ring to a scheming tailor and makes everyone blind to his actions.[25] Hostrup's play indirectly satirized the theory that the Haraldskr Woman was Queen Gunnhild, and became the first major public endorsement of Worsaaes hypothesis.

References
[3] Archaeological Institute " Haraldskaer Woman: Bodies of the Bogs (http:/ / www. archaeology. org/ online/ features/ bog/ gunhild. html)", Archaeology, Archaeological Institute of America, December 10, 1997. [9] Hvass, Lone, Dronning Gunhild - et moselig fra jernalderen, Sesam, (1998), p. 26. ISBN 87-7801-725-4 [10] Aldhouse-Green, Miranda, Boudica Britannia, Pearson Education, 2006 pp. 95-96. ISBN 1-4058-1100-5 [15] Lang, Karen E., Tales from the Bog, National Geographic Magazine, September (2008) [16] Fischer, Christian: Tollundmanden. Gaven til guderne. Mosefund fra Danmarks forhistorie. Hovedland 2007. [17] Hirst, Kris K. "Bog Bodies" (http:/ / archaeology. about. com/ od/ bterms/ g/ bogbodies. htm), Archaeology, About.Com [18] Knudsen, Anne, Moselig, Weekendavisen, Nr. 40, 5-11, Oct. 2007. [20] Hamerow, Helena, 2003. Early Medieval Settlements: The Archaeology of Rural Communities in North-West Europe 400-900 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=r9W7nHtm4K0C& printsec=frontcover& source=gbs_ge_summary_r& cad=0#v=onepage& q& f=false), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-924697-1 [22] Andersen, S., Geertinger, P., "Bog Bodies Investigated in the Light of Forensic Medicine", Journal of Danish Archaeology Vol. 3 (1984), p. 111-119. [25] Hostrup, Jens Christian, En Spurv i Tranedans, Folkecomedie i 4 akter, (1846)

Further reading
van der Sanden, Wijnand (1996). Through Nature to Eternity - The Bog Bodies of Northwest Europe. Amsterdam: Batavian Lion International. pp.41, 44, 48, 65, 88, 99, 131, 145. ISBN90-6707-418-7. Turner, Richard; Scaife, Robert (1995). Bog Bodies: New Discoveries and New Perspectives. London: British Museum Press. ISBN0-7141-2305-6. Brothwell, Don (1986). The Bogman and the Archaeology of People. British Museum Publications. ISBN0-7141-1384-0.

External links
Tales from the Bog (http://illuminations.berkeley.edu/archives/2002/article.php?volume=1&story=1), illuminations magazine, University of California, Berkeley Bog-bodies-links (http://www.florilegium.org/files/LIFE-STEPS/bog-bodies-lnks.html) A collection of links to bog body articles at Stefan's Florilegium The Perfect Corpse (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bog/) Nova series for PBS television, 2008 Coordinates: 554210N 92622E

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Haraldskr Woman Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=546012799 Contributors: 2600:1010:B002:E5C:2035:B8CD:6C84:C013, 83d40m, Adlerschlo, Andreas Kaganov, Anlace, Attilios, Bdefore, Berig, Briangotts, Bubeck, Bullenwchter, CactusWriter, CatherineMunro, Cool Blue, Covalent, DavidOaks, Deanlaw, Dimadick, Fnielsen, Gef05, Gourami Watcher, Haabet, Habhab38, Harizotoh9, Hayden120, Hemmingsen, Hoyahey, IlyaHaykinson, J-roo, Jbhood, Jengirl1988, Johnbod, JustDerek, Koavf, LilHelpa, Lillyundfreya, Ludde23, Lugnuts, MER-C, Malleus Fatuorum, Mayuchama, Mortense, Ms2ger, Myscrnnm, NCurse, Nev1, Nyttend, Olivier, Omar77, Pesl, Peter6480, Phoogenb, Pschemp, Queezbo, Rklawton, Ryanmcdaniel, Sarah, Sonia, T@nn, Tek022, Tombright, Ufwuct, Ukexpat, Valentinian, Varoon Arya, Wetman, 40 , anonymous edits

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File:Dronning Gunhild (moselig).JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Dronning_Gunhild_(moselig).JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0 Contributors: Vstgten File:Stnicolaschurch.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Stnicolaschurch.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: Original uploader was Anlace at en.wikipedia File:Haraldskaerestate.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Haraldskaerestate.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was Covalent at en.wikipedia File:Gunhild or Lady of Haraldskr.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gunhild_or_Lady_of_Haraldskr.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: McLeod

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