Monument record 1472/0/0 - Lindow Moss

<1> Leah, MD; Wells, CE; Appleby, C; Huckerby, E, 1997, The Wetlands of Cheshire (North West Wetlands Survey 4), p.46-63 (Monograph). SCH3260.

Lindow Moss, or Common, located to the south-west of Wilmslow, was investigated by the North West Wetlands project, an archaeological and paleoecological study of the varied wetlands of Cheshire, undertaken between 1993-95. It is one of a series of wetlands in eastern Cheshire in an area extending from Wilmslow in the north to Macclesfield in the east and Sandbach and Congleton in the south. Within this region a variety of wetland types are present from small basin mires west of Macclesfield to large mosses such as Lindow Moss and Danes Moss (CHER 2589).

Despite being one of Cheshire’s largest wetlands, the documentary evidence for Lindow Moss is sparse and incomplete. It has been claimed that the moss was once as extensive as c.610 hectares and the numerous Lindow place-names illustrate its importance as a topographic feature. The moss was divided into moss rooms which were assigned to every farm and principal house in the parish. These turbaries, where peat was cut for fuel, were divided by trenches rather than hedges. Large scale enclosure began in the late eighteenth century, by which time dessication of the peat deposits was already apparent. Peat cutting for domestic use had taken place on the moss for centuries, but it is not clear when commercial cutting began, though it may be as late as the early twentieth century.

As with Danes Moss, Lindow Moss was first investigated palaeoecologically by H J Birks in 1962. He undertook a study from the south-western lobe of the moss (SJ 820807) which revealed peat deposits 3.5m deep (gyttjas, reed peats, carr brushwood peats, Eriophorum and S imbricatum peats) and demonstrating vegetational history originating in the Flandrian II period (circa 6000 to 4000 cal BC) and culminating in the nineteenth century. Clearance episodes were also suggested in the pollen record, indicating that human activity had a major impact on the landscape from the Neolithic period onwards. More recent palynological studies on the upper stratigraphy of Lindow Moss have been undertaken by Branch and Scaife (1995) as part of the research following on from discovery of the bog bodies in the 1980s. They studied the top 1.9m of peats (late Neolithic/Bronze Age/early Medieval) from a site close to the island of sand on the western side of the moss (SJ 82008060). Conclusions included that in the early Bronze Age the environs on the moss were largely wooded with some areas of open agriculture and evidence of secondary woodland regeneration as a result of clearance activity. Additionally, in the Iron Age to Romano British period, there is evidence of increased anthropogenic disturbance with a larger quantity and wider range of herb pollen types and indicators of open/disturbed ground.

Commercial peat cutting activity at Lindow Moss led to the significant discovery of four Iron Age/Roman 'bog bodies' (CHER 1473/0/1-4), potentially representing the remains of just two individuals, found within its upper, sphagnum-rich peat deposits. These comprise 'Lindow I', a head in 1983; the upper half of a body in 1984, 'Lindow Man' or 'Lindow II'; the remains of a body in 1987, 'Lindow III' (possibly the same individual as 'Lindow I'); and the remains of two legs in 1988, 'Lindow IV' (thought to be further remains of 'Lindow II'). The discovery of the remains resulted in a number of palaeoenvironmental analyses of the peat deposits, including palynology, plant macrofossils, charcoal , rhizopods and radiometry.

At the same time as excavations were undertaken in 1987 at the presumed site of the Lindow III body, investigations were also conducted on sand islands that project from the peat on the western fringes of the moss. A charcoal rich layer sealed by 1m of peat was recorded and is thought to relate to the clearance of vegetation; it gave a radiocarbon date of 3970-3640 cal BC. Also, on the larger, eastern sand island, a scatter of flints were recovered; these may be broadly contemporary with the clearance episode. The 1987 excavations demonstrated the presence of macroscopic charcoal in quantity at the interface between a paleosol developed on the sandy mineral ground and overlying fen-carr peats. This was interpreted as the effects of Neoloithic burning of vegetation which produced a podsol and encouraged development of a heath vegetation sometime around 3970-3640 cal BC, a date very similar to that recorded Elm Decline at Red Moss. Fen-carr woodland subsequently encroached up the sand island resulting in paludification or formation of peat land. The significance of the findings is that they demonstrate that human activity was directly affecting the mire enviornment in the Neolithic and was aiding the spread of the mire across drier parts of the site by encouraging acidification and degradation of the soils.

The North West Wetland study examined the active peat cuttings at Lindow Moss which included looking for any archaeological remains (none identified) and recording of the peat stratigraphy. Significantly, numerous pine stumps were recorded in the peat, some of which showed clear signs of burning. Thirty-eight cores were taken across the site, with thirty-four of these located in the surviving peats to the south of the landfill site; the remaining four investigated relict stratigraphy surrounding the landfill in the northern extent of the mire. The most extensive contiguous relict peats (up to 7.15m) were found to be the area from which the bog bodies were recovered, where up to circa 3m of overlying material had been removed, suggesting original depths of up to 10m. This indicates much deeper peat survival than originally thought. Away from this central area, surviving peats varied mostly between 2m and 5m depth.

The stratigraphic evidence indicates that the moss may have originated in as an extensive area of fen, fen-carr and reedswamp within hollows (possibly kettle holes) in the mixed deposits left by the last glaciation. It is probable that the development of the peat dates from the early Flandrian period, facilitated by flooding. The moss has a complex vegetation history; in drier phases trees have spread onto the site moss (including several phases of pine woodland between 6810-6450 and 2881-2460BC); during wetter phases the moss has been a more open landscape dominated by heather and cotton grass. The upper peats are interrupted in places by deposits indicating localised wetter conditions (pools). Macroscopic charcoal was also present in the peat cores taken as part of the study illustrating that burning was affecting the local vegetation of the site throughout much of history of the mire.

<2> Stead I M & Turner R C, 1985, Lindow Man, Antiquity, Vol 59, p.25-9 (Article in Journal). SCH9739.

Lindow Moss was originally an extensive peat bog, covering c.600 ha, which formed in a glacial hollow.

<3> Dodgson J McN, 1970-2, 1981, The Place-Names of Cheshire, p.230 (Book). SCH3228.

The earliest documentary reference is from 1423 when the right of turbary (the digging of peat for fuel) was confirmed by the lords of Mobberley and Wilmslow, the two parishes that share the moss.

<4> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, Vol. 2, p.59-75, 'Lindow Common as a Peat Bog: Its Age and its People', Norbury W, 1884 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

Before the discovery of the bog bodies, only two antiquities were noted, a decomposed skeleton of a boar from the Lindow Moss, and a roadway of logs of timber placed end-to-end with sleepers across, continuing for some length up the moss (see 1472/0/2). Norbury commented at how fast the moss was being cultivated and also described the stratigraphy of the bog with the forest layer at the bottom.

<5> Birks H J B, 1965, Pollen Analytical Investigations at Holcroft Moss, Lancashire, and Lindow Moss, Cheshire, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Jul, 1965), p.299-314 (Article in Journal). SCH1518.

Stratigraphical soil investigations undertaken at Lindow Moss (also Holcroft Moss) described and the results of pollen analyses presented. The organic deposits date from the Atlantic Period (Zone VIIA) and the lower part of each moss records reed swamp, succeeded by carr woodland and Sphagnum bog. The main upper part of each pollen analysis shows episodes of forest clearance and regeneration which are related to the archaeology and settlement history of the area.

<6> Earwaker, J P, 1877-1880, East Cheshire Past & Present (Book). SCH1080.

There are records of men and cattle being lost on this peat bog.

<7> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Second Edition, 1882, p.130 (Book). SCH1389.

Describes the digging of turves to burn during the year. Also that in the mosses, 'especially in the black', are fir trees found under ground (some six foot deep or more), with roots and branches, some think that they have been there since 'Noah's flood'. The trees are sometimes found using a long spit of iron, then they are chopped and cleaved into small pieces and used as a candle.

<8> Various, Various, Cheshire Life, May 1938, p. 6-7,'Cheshire Life in the Good Old Times: Occasional Papers of a Cheshire Squire' (Journal/Periodical). SCH837.

Article containing extracts from the original manuscripts of Samuel Finney, Squire of Fulshaw, circa 1738.
The large tract of ground called 'Lindow' is bounded by Mobberley and Morley on the west and north, by Hough, Fulshaw and Chorley on the east, and forms a triangle of some 300 Cheshire acres. Recently, some 50 acres have been taken, enclosed and improved for the use of the Poor House. The unimproved moss provides scanty nourishment to a few cows, scabbed tits and lean sheep and geese. The moss has sunk several feet in the last 30 years. It contains tree trunks of oak, birch and scotch fir. Each house has a portion of the moss, called a 'Moss Room' for 'firing', with a rule that everyone gets their turves in a straight line. Cows and sheep sometimes slip into the moss pits and ditches, and two men have been lost in the moss. A skeleton was found by people getting sand in Morley Gorses. If trade and population continue to increase, in 50 years no Lindow will remain.

<9> 1881-1900s, Cheshire Notes and Queries, Vol.1, p.230, 'A Tale about Lindow Common', Rotherwood C (Journal/Periodical). SCH558.

Recollections by the author of Lindow Common since 1832. There were no fences. The outsides, including Fulshaw Common, were hard, sound land, but the bog on all sides was divided into mossrooms or turbaries, one of which was assigned to every farm and principal house in the parish. The turbaries were divided by trenches, not hedges. Sheep belonging to different householders used to graze on the common and, thereafter, cattle. Patches of the common are gradually being enclosed.

<10> Various, Various, Cheshire Life, April 1935, 'Peat Gathering in Cheshire: The Peat Bog at Lindow, Near Wilmslow', M.Chettle (Journal/Periodical). SCH837.

Description of the hand-digging and drying of Cheshire peat in 1935. It is cut into square slabs, the width of a spade and placed in round stacks, seven or eight feet high, to dry. The peat cutters rent small patches of the bog from the landowner and work individually.

<11> Worthington-Barlow, T, 1853-1855, Lancashire & Cheshire Historical Collector, 1853, p.42-46, 'History of Wilmslow Parish - Lindow Common' (Journal/Periodical). SCH1877.

'Lindo' is an Anglo-Saxon word signifying a watery place. The moss is referred to as 'Linden' in an early deed of the de-Fulshaw family. Place names evidence indicates the moss was once surrounded by woods, there is also mention of Fulshaw and Pownal woods in ancient charters. In the last century there have been two fires during hot summers. Two men, Nat Bell and Radcliffe, died in the moss whilst returning home full of ale. The common is home to many vipers (adders) and once a year a Viper catcher is employed. (contains much information as documented by S.Finney, see source 8)

<12> Higham N J, 1984-9, Professor Nick Higham's Aerial Photographs, 1988/1/5/5A-6A (Aerial Photograph). SCH7659.

<13> Ancient Monuments Laboratory, 1988, Pollen and Preliminary Plant Macrofossil Analysis of Peat Columns from Lindow Moss, Cheshire, Nick Branch; AML Report 111/88 (Unpublished Report). SCH8819.

Following the discovery in 1987 of a third body at Lindow Moss, an excavation was undertaken in order 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.

<14> Stead I M et al, 1986, Lindow Man - The Body in the Bog, p. 86-9 (Monograph). SCH1932.

Macrofossil plant remains were analysed from two peat monoliths taken in 1984 during the recovery of the Lindow Man bog body. Results indicated that for several decades before Lindow Man was put on the bog surface wetness conditions were 'spongy', with a water table a few centimetres below the surface. However, for a short time before his death and for some decades after, the surface of the bog became distinctly wetter with widespread pools full of aquatic bog mosses. This indicates there was a change to a wetter and/or cooler climate. At the time of his death, the bog would have been very difficult to walk upon.

<15> Turner R. C. & Scaife R. G. A (eds), 1995, Bog Bodies. New Discoveries and New Perspectives, p.10-12 (Book). SCH4324.

Discusses the history of the moss. Hand-digging of peat continued well into the twentieth century. In the 1960s, a peat extraction company was established to work the last surviving area of raised bog, the remotest part of the bog straddling the parish boundary, covering c.60 ha, about one tenth of the original size of the moss. The company continued to cut the peat by hand until the 1970s after which mechanical excavators were used. The modern workings invlove digging long trenches or mossrooms, 7m wide and up to 200m long. Alternate rooms being dug to a depth of 1m with the peat stacked between to dry out for 6 months to a year.

<16> Hyde, Matthew and Pemberton, Christine, 2002, Lindow and the Bog Warriors (Book). SCH9548.

A study of Lindow Moss, its topography, history, natural history, peat industry, the find of the Lindow bog bodies, and the people who have lived and worked around the moss.

<17> Dr Jonathan Lageard, 2024, People & Peat: Peat cutting and other history from Lindow Moss, Exhibition Posters and Powerpoint (Other Interpretation Materials). SCH9761.

Exhibition about Lindow Moss including the landscape, archaeology, peat-cutting industry and social history.