It is not a remake of an old movie. Archaeologists discovered it in Denmark. It is an ancient and very well preserved skeleton. It may be a vestige of a ritual sacrifice practiced more than 5,000 years ago. That’s what the rescue of the mummy from the swamp was all about.
It was in the municipality of Egedal, near Copenhagen. It was done by researchers from ROMU, an organization representing 10 museums in Denmark. They excavated a mummy from the bog. It had the bones of both legs, a pelvis and a jawbone. The term refers to dozens of corpses found in the bogs of Europe.
Ritual offering
ROMU specified that the skeleton is not complete. “There are no direct traces of sacrifice.” But archaeologists believe that the person buried was not simply the victim of a thoughtless murder. Apparently, it was a planned ritual ceremony.
The National Museum of Denmark explained the importance of the bogs. They played an important role for the ancient peoples of northern Europe. They were believed to be “the gateway between the world of men and the world of the gods.” The bog men unearthed may have been offerings to the gods. They would date between 4,300 BC and 600 BC. That is, between the Neolithic and the Iron Age.
A Stone Age flint axe was also there. As well as remains of animal bones and pottery. The objects could have been left as part of a ritual. This also confirms the statement of ROMU chief archaeologist Emil Winther Struve. The axe had never been used before. It could have been used as an offering and not as a murder weapon.
Old customs
“The find fits into a time-tested tradition of ritually burying objects and people in the bog. This was widely done throughout antiquity. It is likely that this is a victim of such a ritual,” said Struve.
The rescue of the mummy from the swamp floated those old traditions. The body supposedly dates from the Neolithic period. “Traditions of human sacrifice date back to that time,” they said. However, other information about the skeleton is still unknown. They hope to confirm the sex, where he lived or when he died.
