Monument record 1473/0/3 - Lindow III Bog Body, Lindow Moss

<1> Turner R C, 1987, Preliminary Report of the Lindow Moss Excavations 1987 (Unpublished Report). SCH2720.

The third bog body from Lindow Moss was first discovered at the peat company depot, in February 1987. Work over the next days recovered some 70 parts of the body by hand-sorting already excavated peat. Preservation of the tissue was good, but survival of the bone was less impressive with the longer bones soft. Two parts of the body were lifted in blocks, one containing a hand, the other an arm (note: this was later identified as a leg). According to the peat workers, the turf heap from which the body parts were recovered, comprised peat dug from either side of where the heap lay. The body was found approximately 55m north of the find spot of Lindow I. After the discovery was made, an excavation of an area of peat 10m x 6m (Trench 1), with the turf heap at its centre, was undertaken to establish the local bog history and the stratigraphic position of the body (see ECH6985). Additionally, two further trenches investigated two sand islands which lie at the western fringes of the moss and close to the finds of the Lindow III and the other bog bodies. Principal aims were to look for activity contemporary with the bodies and to investigate the relationship of the sand islands with the surrounding peat land. Although no evidence was found for structures or other finds contemporary with the bodies, a scatter of Neolithic flints were recovered, also a soil horizon containing charcoal and sealed by a layer of peat circa 1m in depth, was recorded. This is thought to represent human clearance of vegetation for agriculture or settlement purposes.

<2> Ancient Monuments Laboratory, 1988, Pollen and Preliminary Plant Macrofossil Analysis of Peat Columns from Lindow Moss, Cheshire, AML Report 111/88; Author - Nick Branch (Unpublished Report). SCH8819.

As part of the programme of excavation in 1987, work was undertaken to record in detail the composition of the peats within the vicinity of where the body was uncovered. Detailed pollen analytical work was carried out from September 1987 to March 1988 which revealed a number of phases of inferred human activity. The study further identified, through pollen and plant macrofossil analysis, a major vegetational change at Lindow Moss which is correlated with the Recurrence surface of approximately 500 BC and found in peat bogs throughout North-West Europe. This surface/horizon is believed to be due to a major climatic deterioration.

<3> Various, Written Communication to the HER, Housley R, 1988 (Letter to Ian Stead) (Written Communication). SCH3756.

C14 dates on the body by Oxford University suggest a Romano-British date (see also sources 6 and 8).

<4> Turner R C (ed), 1989, Lindow III - The Story So Far (Unpublished Report). SCH1930.

Unpublished collection of interim reports on the 1987 excavations at the site of the findspot of Lindow III. Includes the initial preliminary report (source 1/SCH2720), also updates, including the find of Lindow IV (1988), and progress on research of other bog bodies in the UK and abroad. Also included are other intial reports/findings from specialist research into Lindow III, including radio-carbon dating of body and analysis of pollen and insects (beetles) found in the peat samples taken from around the body.

<5> Cheshire County Council, 1992-1995, Cheshire Past, Issue 2, 1993, p.10-11, Turner, R., The Lindow Moss bog bodies: further research (Newsletter). SCH870.

Considers progress of research into the bog body known as Lindow III (found 1987), Lindow Man (found 1984), and Lindow I (found 1983), also Lindow IV (found 1988). Discussion that the various body parts could represent two adult males, one formed by the remains of Lindow II and IV; the other Lindow I and III. Both appear to have met a violent end with Lindow III potentially beheaded then dispatched to the bog. He was circa 5 foot 5 inches tall, of slim build and had a malformed thumb. No internal organs survived apart from his gut which contained crushed hazelnuts and wheat bread. There is evidence that his body was painted in a blue, clay-based, copper paint and subsequent analysis of Lindow Man found a similar group of chemicals in his skin; this could indicate that both individuals were Celtic warriors. The fact that the fingernails of both bodies were well rounded and showed no evidence of manual work may support this theory. There was no evidence of carrion fauna found in the insect assemblages examined from around the bodies suggesting that they were rapidly submerged in the peat. The bodies were preserved by a tanning agent produced by the decaying sphagnum moss. The most likely date for Lindow III is the 2nd century AD and for Lindow II, the 1st century AD. Research on bog bodies found across Northern Europe indicates that some were potentially the victims of ritual sacrifice.

<6> Various, Current Archaeology, Vol 136, Oct/Dec 1993, p.147, 'Another Lindow Date' (Journal/Periodical). SCH1031.

Oxford date list includes a date for body Lindow III. Eight samples were prepared from bone or skin, in each case the material dated was a mixture of amino-acids extracted from hydrolysed gelatin. Dating of three samples given to Harwell concur with the Oxford dates. The mean date achieved was cal.AD 65-205 or cal.AD 25-230 depending on whether the standard error is one or two sigma, therefore giving a probable Romano-British date, although a late Iron Age date remains a possibility.

<7> Carver, M, 1993, In Search of Cultural Archaeology Investigations in Honour of P. Rahtz, p.9-18, 'Lindow Man and other British bog bodies', R.Turner (Book). SCH1467.

Article discussing discovery of the Lindow II and III bog bodies and their problematic dating with the discrepancy of their stratigraphic position in the peat and the radio-carbon dates. Although Lindow III was not found in situ, it was possible to deduce the stratigraphic position of the body in the peat as an arm (leg) was found in an intact lump of peat; the short stratigraphic column of this lump of peat was linked to the main peat column taken during the excavations. Lindow III was found at a similar level in the peat as Lindow II dating to the middle Iron Age. He lay on a peat surface not within a pit or cutting, approximately 0.10m above the Grenzhorizon, dating to the early Iron Age. Radio-carbon dates published by Oxford for Lindow III give a mean date of 1790+/-49 BP (AD 120-340 cal, with 95% confidence). Harwell's dates concur with this date. The single date produced by Oxford for the head (Lindow I), assumed to be the head of Lindow III, is 1740+/-80 BP, which correlates to the Lindow III dates. The article also discusses theories to explain how the later bodies came to lie on the earlier peat surface.

<8> Turner R. C. & Scaife R. G. A (eds), 1995, Bog Bodies. New Discoveries and New Perspectives (Book). SCH4324.

Study pulling together the various strands of research undertaken as part of the Lindow bog bodies phenomenon.
Although Lindow III was not found in situ, a single fragment of the body (at first thought to be an arm, but later found to be a leg) was recovered in an intact 25 cm block of peat. Pollen analysis enabled correlation of the block of peat with the pollen profile derived from peat columns taken from the area of the probable find of the body. Four two metre long columns of peat were taken from the open east-facing side of the trench, cores were also taken from the surrounding area. Results showed that the body was not placed in a pit/cutting but on the peat surface. It lay in a peat layer, 10-15 cms above the Grenzhorizont layer, which was radio-carbon dated to circa 300 BC. Two theories explaining why the Lindow II and III bodies lay on peat dating to the mid-Iron Age include that the bodies were pushed into bog pools with basal deposits dating to the mid-Iron Age. Another that the felted pool peat was cut and rolled back with the body then inserted and covered by the peat mat. Peat bogs do not follow the normal rules of stratigraphy of dry land sites; their layers grow rather than accumulate. This problem of the discrepancy between depositional environment and date of bodies is also encountered with some of the German and Danish bog bodies.
Other radio-carbon dates produced from the peat columns dated the base of the peat to the late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (circa 3700 BP) and the top, the early Saxon period (circa 1488 BP). The pollen evidence indicates mixed deciduous woodland dominated by Quercus and Corylus, with a major phase of agricultural land use (arable and possibly pastoral agriculture) occurring between circa 400BC to third/fourth centuries AD. Following this there was a regeneration of secondary woodland, indicating decreased agriculture, at least locally.
The beetle fauna from around the bog body suggests that the corpse was deposited in a wet Sphagnum bog with pools of rather acid water, bordered by bog flora of cotton grass, mosses and heather. As with the Lindow II body, the complete absence of carrion fauna (beetle or fly) indicates that the body was rapidly submerged.
Four samples were taken from Lindow III for the purposes of radio-carbon dating; these comprised two skin samples and two bone samples. The samples were sub-divided and given to the Oxford and Harwell labs. The Oxford lab produced eight dates and the Harwell three; combining all 11 gave a mean date of 1885+/-35 (cal AD 65-205, 1 sigma; cal AD 25-230, 2 sigma).
As part of the study of Lindow III, samples of skin taken from the shoulder area, were examined by electron probe xray microanalysis, revealing an excess of aluminium, silica and copper, with traces of titanium and zinc. Skin and bone samples were also investigated from Lindow II and the following cations identified: magnesium, iron, copper, manganese and nickel. Although the chemical 'footprints' of the two bodies were different, the presence of certain elements could relate to metal-element, clay-based paints applied to their bodies. Previous work on Lindow II had included a test for the dye indigotin, the colourant in woad, with negative results.
Analyses of the contents of the gut of Lindow III show the main constituents were hazelnuts and a smaller amount of wheat/rye; other seeds and charcoal fragments found were probably incidental and derived from weeds associated with crops or introduced during the processing/cooking of the food. As with Lindow II, ova of the intestinal parasite 'Trichuris' were found, likely the human whipworm.
It is now generally accepted that Lindow II died between 2nd century BC and 119 AD, and for Lindow III, 25 - 230 AD. The dates of the Lindow bodies place them in the early Roman period, the time of the Roman conquest of the north-west of England. At this time, the area of Lindow area was under Brigantian control. Whilst the Roman invasion completely changed the political organisation of the region, the basic pattern of life probably largely continued, with a pattern of dispersed settlements or farmsteads. The Lindow bodies could be interpreted as ritual sacrificial killings, with Lindow II suffering a triple death (blow to head, garrotting and slit throat); triplism is a common Celtic religious symbol and also could allude to the three Celtic gods: Esus, Taranis and Teutates. Lindow III was potentially be-headed in the context of the Celtic cult of the head. Peat bogs were important for providing a range of resources to supplement those from dryland such as bog iron, fuel, pine trunks retrieved from the bog and cut into spills provided lighting, a variety of animal and plant food stuffs. They could be treacherous places, but also mysterious, with phenomena such as 'will-o'-the-wisp' caused by methane escaping from decaying peat which can ignite causing flames.

<9> Various, Newspaper articles relating to the discovery of the Lindow bog bodies (Newspaper-Magazine). SCH9544.

<10> Leah, MD; Wells, CE; Appleby, C; Huckerby, E, 1997, The Wetlands of Cheshire (North West Wetlands Survey 4), p.48-9 (Monograph). SCH3260.

Monograph synthesising archaeological and paleoecological studies undertaken on and around the wetlands of Cheshire, including Lindow Moss. Discusses the discovery of the Lindow bog bodies and the investigations on the two near by sand islands, which project into the western fringes of the moss, that occurred following the find of Lindow III. The raised islands were considered good candidates to find evidence of activity contemporary with the bodies.
(see ECH6985 for the 1987 excavations on the sand islands)

<11> Various, Written Communication to the HER, 22/02/2024 (Written Communication). SCH3756.

There are two NGR's recorded for Lindow III, one was generated from the NGR originally recorded in the SMR in the 1980s (source 12). The other is based on the rectification of a plan of the 1987 trenches (trenches 1-3), which also included the approximate findspots of Lindow I, II and III, as well as the extent of the sand islands. (The trench plan is published in 'Bog Bodies. New Discoveries and New Perspectives', 1995, Turner and Scaife, Fig.5, p.15. SCH4324). It is important to note that only Lindow II was found in situ, the findspots of Lindows I, III and IV are subjective to a degree.

<12> Cheshire Historic Environment Record, 1980s/90s, SMR printout, CHER 1473_0_3 Lindow III, 18/01/1989 (Other Interpretation Materials). SCH9511.

<13> Hyde, Matthew and Pemberton, Christine, 2002, Lindow and the Bog Warriors, p.25-26 (Book). SCH9548.

<14> Velson Horie, 2019, Part II: Excavation and conservation of bog bodies: Resurrecting Lindow Man, Journal of Wetland Archaeology, Vol.19, Issue 1-2, 2019, Bog Bodies Special Edition (Article in Journal). SCH9549.

First-hand account, by the conservator from Manchester Museum involved, of the discovery and excavation of four sets of human remains (Lindow I-IV) from Lindow Moss in the years 1983–1988.

<15> Henry Chapman, 2015, The Landscape Archaeology of Bog Bodies, Journal of Wetland Archaeology, Vol 15, 2015 - Issue 1, p.109-121 (Article in Journal). SCH9751.

A landscape archaeology approach to the study of bog bodies by presenting newly modelled data relating to the spatial positioning of those discovered from Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England. It is argued that, by exploring the spatial positioning of the body within its contemporaneous landscape setting, it is possible to enrich previous approaches to their interpretation and to improve our understanding of the cultural context of the death of these individuals and the decisions surrounding their deposition within bogs.