While carrying out preventive excavations on the site of future housing in Egedal (Denmark), archaeologists discovered a 5,000-year-old skeleton, dating from the Neolithic period.
Even more astonishing, it would be remains of a human sacrifice.
The discovery was made by researchers from ROMU, an organization bringing together ten Danish museums, reports Business Insider relayed by Slate.
A flint ax dating from the Stone Age and animal bones were found in the same place.
"The ax has never been used," says an archaeologist.
“So that supports the theory that it was used as an offering.
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🔴ÚLTIMA HORA ARQUEOLÓGICA: Hallan una "momia de pantano" de 5000 años de antigüedad en la ciénaga de Egedal, en Dinamarca.
Además de los restos humanos (pelvis, ambas piernas y la mandíbula) también se han encontrado los objetos utilizados para el ritual.
Abro mini 🧵 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/iKBzUh4mjZ
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A bog mummy
The human skeleton is not complete.
The archaeologists were only able to find the bones of the two legs, a pelvis and a jaw.
The body is however very well preserved, since it was found in a peat bog, an acidic and oxygen-poor environment which naturally mummifies the bodies.
This skeleton would thus be a bog man, the name given to the many bodies (more than a thousand) found in peat bogs in northern Europe.
These are most often remains dating from the Iron Age, but some of the remains found date from the Neolithic, or even the Mesolithic, such as the Koelbjerg man.
They represent remains of great interest for archaeology.
According to the researchers, the ancient civilizations of Northern Europe considered peat bogs as gateways between the world of humans and that of the gods, hence the many discoveries of human and animal bodies, or even objects, in the peat.
As for the recently discovered skeleton, its sex, its city of origin or its date of death remain unknown.
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Archeology
Denmark
Body
Discovery
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