Monument record 1473/0/4 - Lindow IV Bog Body, Lindow Moss

<1> Turner R C (ed), 1989, Lindow III - The Story So Far (Unpublished Report). SCH1930.

On 14th June 1988, the skin of the buttocks and part of the left leg of an adult male were recovered from the peat company's elevator. These remains are thought to be the missing parts of Lindow Man (CHER 1473/0/2) having been recovered from the base of a peat stack circa 15m west of the findspot of his upper body. Over the intervening four years, these remains must have been moved up to four times, despite this, they were In good condition, with the knee joint particularly well preserved. From the pattern of oxidation of the joint, it would imply that the the leg was flexed during its burial in the peat. Furthermore, on 12th September 1988, most of the right thigh and distal and proximal ends of the femur were found in the bucket of a digger close to the location of the other remains; the only part of Lindow Man missing is his left foot.

<2> 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). The various body parts are now thought to represent two individuals, one formed by the remains of Lindow II and IV; the other Lindow I and III. Both were young adult males who appear to have met a violent end. There is evidence both bodies were painted in a blue, clay-based, copper paint; this could indicate that both individuals were Celtic warriors. Insect assemblages from both bodies showed no evidence for carrion fauna suggesting that they were rapidly submerged in the peat. The date of Lindow Man is likely 1st century AD and Lindow III the 2nd century AD.

<3> Carver, M, 1993, In Search of Cultural Archaeology Investigations in Honour of P. Rahtz, 'Lindow Man and other British bog bodies', R.Turner , p.10 (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 (middle Iron Age) and the radio-carbon dates for the bodies which indicate a late Iron Age/Roman date. Discusses theories to explain how the later bodies came to lie on the earlier peat surface.

<4> 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.

<5> Various, Newspaper articles relating to the discovery of the Lindow bog bodies (Newspaper-Magazine). SCH9544.

<6> 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, in 1987, 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)

<7> Various, Written Communication to the HER, 22/02/2024 (Written Communication). SCH3756.

There are two NGR's recorded for Lindow IV, one was generated from the NGR originally recorded in the SMR. The other is based on the rectification of a plan of the 1987 trenches (trenches 1-3), which also included the findspots of Lindow I, II and III and an approximate extent of the sand islands. Although the findspot of Lindow IV was not depicted on the plan, the peat stack from which the remains were thought to derive was was located approximately 15m west of Lindow II. (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.

<8> Hyde, Matthew and Pemberton, Christine, 2002, Lindow and the Bog Warriors, p.21-39 (Book). SCH9548.

<9> 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.