Original subtitles

IN THE GREEN HEART OF EUROPE,

THERE IS A TREACHEROUS LANDSCAPE WITH A DARK SECRET.

HUMANS FROM THE DEPTHS OF PREHISTORY

RETURNING TO THE WORLD OF THE LIVING.

THEIR BLACKENED SKIN AND FLAME-RED HAIR

TELL A GRUESOME TALE OF MURDER.

THESE ARE THE BOG BODIES.

WHO WERE THESE PEOPLE? WHY WERE THEY KILLED?

FOR DECADES THESE PRESERVED ANCIENT PEOPLE

HAVE BAFFLED ARCHAEOLOGISTS.

AND NO OTHER CLOTHING?

NO OTHER CLOTHING.

BUT NOW CUTTING-EDGE FORENSIC SCIENCE

IS UNLOCKING A 2,000-YEAR-OLD MURDER MYSTERY.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY HAVE SO MUCH EVIDENCE

THAT SOMETIMES YOU WON'T EVEN GET IN A CURRENT FORENSIC CASE.

IT WAS AMAZING AND OPENED OUR EYES IN RELATION

TO WHAT WE CAN SEE NOW FROM HUMAN REMAINS.

WITH REVOLUTIONARY NEW METHODS,

A GLOBAL TEAM IS UNEARTHING A SHOCKING STORY

OF VENGEFUL GODS, DARK WATER, AND HUMAN SACRIFICE.

THE RELICS OF THE PAST HOLD SECRETS...

WRITTEN IN GOLD, STONE AND BLOOD.

WE CAN UNLOCK THEM.

THESE ARE THE SECRETS OF HISTORY'S GREATEST TREASURES.

JUTLAND, CENTRAL DENMARK.

1950.

A FAMILY OF FARMERS ARE DIGGING FOR PEAT IN A REMOTE BOG.

Ole Nielsen: ONE OF THE DIGGERS HIT SOMETHING HARD

AND WAS A BIT ANNOYED ABOUT IT,

BUT HIS WIFE SAID, "NO, NO, NO, TAKE CARE,

IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING INTERESTING."

STOP. STOP, STOP.

THE OBJECT THEY STRIKE IS A HUMAN CORPSE.

IT APPEARS TO BE MALE,

AND APART FROM A CAP AND LEATHER BELT,

HE IS STARK NAKED.

SHOCKINGLY, HE ALSO HAS A NOOSE AROUND HIS NECK.

THE BODY WAS SO WELL PRESERVED,

MADE THEM BELIEVE THAT IT WAS A RECENTLY DEAD PERSON,

AND SO THEY CALLED THE POLICE.

THE POLICE CAME AND THEY LOOKED AT HIM,

AND SAID, WELL, THIS MAY BE A MURDER CASE,

BUT IT, IT'S A VERY COLD ONE,

SO YOU NEED AN ARCHAEOLOGIST, NOT THE POLICE.

THE DEAD MAN IS SHIPPED

TO THE CAPITAL, COPENHAGEN.

INVESTIGATORS AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DENMARK

CONFIRM HE WAS INDEED MURDERED,

BUT THERE IS NO CHANCE OF CATCHING THE KILLERS.

THIS CRIME TOOK PLACE MORE THAN 2,400 YEARS AGO.

BECAUSE THIS IS A BOG BODY...

A NATURAL MUMMY,

PRESERVED BY THE PEAT BOGS OF NORTHERN EUROPE.

Guinevere Granite: A BOG BODY IS A HUMAN CORPSE OF SOME SORT

THAT WAS SUBMERGED WITHIN THE BOG OR A WETLAND ENVIRONMENT

AND HAS BECOME PRESERVED

WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT THAT'S FOUND THERE.

THE COLD, ACIDIC CONDITIONS OF THE BOG

HAVE EFFECTIVELY FROZEN THIS MAN'S BODY IN TIME.

BUT INCREDIBLY, HE'S NOT UNIQUE.

DOZENS OF SIMILAR CORPSES HAVE BEEN FOUND,

OFFERING AN EXCEPTIONAL GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST.

Miranda Aldhouse-Green: I THINK BOG BODIES ARE FASCINATING,

BECAUSE YOU GET UP REALLY CLOSE AND PERSONAL

TO SOMEBODY WHO'S 2,000 YEARS OLD.

NORMALLY WE'RE DEALING WITH BURIALS THAT ARE SKELETONS,

AND THESE ARE THE ONLY BODIES IN EUROPE

WHERE YOU'VE GOT THE ENTIRE BODY,

YOU'VE GOT THE INNARDS, YOU'VE GOT THE BRAIN,

BUT MOST IMPORTANT FOR ME

IS YOU'VE GOT THEIR FACIAL EXPRESSIONS.

AND THEY'VE GOT REAL IDENTITIES.

BOG BODIES HAVE BEEN EMERGING

ACROSS A SWATHE OF NORTHERN EUROPE FOR CENTURIES,

AND INVESTIGATIONS HAVE REVEALED

ALMOST ALL WERE KILLED VIOLENTLY.

NOW, FORENSIC TECHNIQUES

BORROWED STRAIGHT FROM POLICE CRIME LABS

HAVE BROUGHT ARCHAEOLOGISTS A GIANT STEP CLOSER

TO CRACKING THESE ANCIENT COLD CASES.

AND IN 2016, A SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH.

USING ANCIENT HAIR SAMPLES

PRODUCED AN INCREDIBLE REVELATION--

A TIMELINE OF ONE VICTIM'S MOVEMENTS

OVER HER FINAL YEARS.

Aldhouse-Green: WE KNOW THAT SHE WENT ON A VERY LONG JOURNEY.

Karin Frei: MAYBE THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT GAVE THEM

SOME KIND OF SPECIAL STATUS.

THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING

SCHOLARS THOUGHT THEY KNEW ABOUT BOG BODIES.

IT NOW SEEMS VICTIMS MAY HAVE WILLINGLY GONE

TO THEIR OWN DEATHS,

IN SOME CASES TRAVELING VAST DISTANCES

AS PART OF A SACRED RITUAL.

IT FELT LIKE OPENING PANDORA'S BOX

WHEN YOU START TO, TO LOOK AT THIS AMAZING NEW INFORMATION.

THIS NEW DATA ON THE BOG BODIES

IS, IN TURN, CASTING A BRIGHT NEW LIGHT

ON A POORLY UNDERSTOOD PERIOD--

THE IRON AGE.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF BOG BODIES DATE FROM THIS TIME.

Aldhouse-Green: IRON AGE EUROPE IS A TIME BETWEEN ABOUT 700 BC

AND THE ROMAN PERIOD.

IT'S A TIME WHERE THERE WAS NO WRITING FOR THE MOST PART.

SO WE HAVE A PROBLEM, WE'RE DEALING WITH PREHISTORY,

BEFORE HISTORY, BEFORE WRITING.

AND SO AN AWFUL LOT OF THE SO-CALLED EVIDENCE

WE HAVE FOR THE IRON AGE

WE HAVE TO INFER FROM ARCHAEOLOGY.

IRON AGE ARCHAEOLOGY HAS PRODUCED

A RICH STREAM OF STUNNING OBJECTS.

BUT HUMAN REMAINS ARE SCARCE,

MEANING THE BOG BODIES OFFER A RARE INSIGHT

INTO THE WAY PEOPLE LIVED AND DIED 2,500 YEARS AGO.

Ned Kelly: A NORMAL IRON AGE BURIAL WOULD BE A CREMATION.

Peter de Barros Damgaard: THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM,

BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT THERE'S A HUGE TIME SPAN

AND A HUGE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

WHERE WE WON'T BE ABLE TO KNOW ANYTHING.

AND DURING THIS PERIOD,

MOST OF THE SKELETONS THAT ARE PRESERVED

ARE ACTUALLY THE BOG BODIES.

A PRIME EXAMPLE IS THE BODY DISCOVERED

BY THE FAMILY OF DANISH PEAT DIGGERS IN 1950.

HE WAS NAMED "TOLLUND MAN" AFTER A VILLAGE CLOSE TO HIS GRAVE.

NOW, SOME 70 YEARS AFTER HIS REEMERGENCE INTO THE WORLD,

HE IS HELPING SPECIALISTS LIKE MIRANDA ALDHOUSE-GREEN

UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT HIS TIME IN HISTORY.

Aldhouse-Green: OH, WHAT A PRIVILEGE TO SEE HIM!

FANTASTIC, ISN'T IT?

Aldhouse-Green: ISN'T HE WONDERFUL?

WHAT WE HAVE HERE ON DISPLAY

IS HIS WONDERFULLY WELL-PRESERVED HEAD.

WE HAVE HIS CAP MADE OF SHEEPSKIN,

AND YOU SEE AROUND HIS NECK,

NOW THIS LEATHER NOOSE MADE OF TWO STRAPS.

Aldhouse-Green: PLATTED TOGETHER.

YEAH, YEAH, IT'S LIKE .

Aldhouse-Green: YEAH, YEAH.

NOW QUITE LOOSE, BUT WHEN HE WAS FOUND,

IT WAS VERY TIGHT.

AND HERE.

YOU SEE A VERY SIMPLE LEATHER BELT.

Aldhouse-Green: YES. THERE'S NO...

Aldhouse-Green: NO BUCKLE OR ANYTHING.

BUCKLE OR ANYTHING.

Aldhouse-Green: AND NO OTHER CLOTHING?

NO OTHER CLOTHING.

THE FACT THAT HE DOES HAVE A FACE

MAKES US ABLE TO MEET HIM.

Aldhouse-Green: ABSOLUTELY.

AND YOU CANNOT GET CLOSER

TO A PREHISTORIC PERSON THAN LOOKING AT HIM.

RIGHT.

Aldhouse-Green: THERE IS NO CLOSER ENCOUNTER, IS THERE?

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

FOR DECADES IT WAS THOUGHT THAT TOLLUND MAN

WAS SOME KIND OF OUTCAST,

DEPRIVED OF BASIC NEEDS LIKE PROPER FOOD OR SHELTER,

AND DENIED THE RESPECT OF A DECENT BURIAL.

IF TRUE, HIS BODY SHOULD SHOW EVIDENCE OF HARDSHIP OR DISEASE.

BUT CLOSER INSPECTION REVEALS A DIFFERENT STORY.

ACTUALLY HE WAS UNHARMED

EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT HE HAD BEEN HANGED IN THIS NOOSE.

THERE WAS NO OTHER SIGNS OF DAMAGE ON HIM.

HE WAS A PERFECTLY HEALTHY MAN BETWEEN 30 AND 40 YEARS OF AGE.

HIS BODY SHOWS LITTLE EVIDENCE OF THE DAMAGE DONE

BY A LIFE OF HARD LABOR.

THE TOLLUND MAN HAS OFTEN BEEN INTERPRETED

AS BEING PROBABLY A CRIMINAL OR A COMMONER.

IN MY VIEW, I THINK HE WAS A PERSON

THAT ACTUALLY HAD A CERTAIN STATUS IN THE SOCIETY.

MOST ARCHAEOLOGISTS NOW BELIEVE TOLLUND MAN

WAS WEALTHY, POSSIBLY EVEN ROYALTY.

THE SAME EVIDENCE CAN BE FOUND ACROSS EUROPE.

INVESTIGATIONS REVEAL MOST IRON AGE BOG BODIES

DISPLAY EVIDENCE OF HIGH STATUS.

SO WHY DID SO MANY END UP AS MURDER VICTIMS

IN A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT

AT THE EDGE OF CIVILIZATION?

IN 1950,

A 2,500-YEAR-OLD HUMAN CORPSE, TOLLUND MAN,

WAS UNEARTHED IN A PEAT BOG.

HE IS JUST ONE OF MANY SO-CALLED BOG BODIES DISCOVERED

ACROSS A VAST SWATHE OF NORTHERN EUROPE.

NOW SCHOLARS ARE TRYING TO DISCOVER

WHY THESE PRESERVED IRON AGE CORPSES,

SEPARATED BY HUNDREDS OF MILES,

ALL SUFFERED SIMILAR GRUESOME DEATHS.

Aldhouse-Green: WHEN THEY'RE KILLED,

THEY ARE STRIPPED OF THEIR IDENTITY,

THEY'RE STRIPPED OF CLOTHING,

THEY ARE PUT INTO THE BOG WITH NO GRAVE GOODS,

SO THEIR IDENTITIES ARE ERASED.

NOW, USING THE SAME FORENSIC TECHNIQUES

THAT HELP POLICE SOLVE MODERN MURDERS,

AN INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF RESEARCHERS

ARE STARTING TO CRACK THESE ANCIENT COLD CASES.

LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGIST HENRY CHAPMAN

IS TAKING CORE SAMPLES AT ONE OF THESE IRON AGE CRIME SCENES--

AN ENGLISH PEAT BOG CALLED LINDOW MOSS.

Henry Chapman: THE PROCESS OF CORING IS,

IT'S QUITE STRAIGHTFORWARD IN MANY WAYS,

YOU'RE SHOVING A CHAMBER INTO THE GROUND,

AND TWISTING IT AROUND

JUST TRYING TO PULL UP A CORE OF PEAT.

WITHIN THIS SORT OF AREA,

YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SIX METERS OF PEAT.

BY GOING SORT OF VERTICALLY DOWNWARDS

YOU'RE GOING BACK IN TIME,

IN A GROSS LEVEL, YOU'RE TALKING HUNDREDS,

MAYBE THOUSANDS OF YEARS AS YOU GO DEEPER AND DEEPER.

THIS BLEAK LOCATION WAS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE

FOR ENGLAND'S MOST FAMOUS BOG BODY, LINDOW MAN.

LIKE TOLLUND MAN, HE LIVED AND DIED VIOLENTLY

SOME 2,500 YEARS AGO

BEFORE BEING DUMPED IN THE HEART OF THE BOG.

LINDOW MAN WAS BROUGHT TO THIS POINT.

WHERE HE WAS BROUGHT FROM, WE'RE NOT ENTIRELY SURE,

BUT IT'S PROBABLY EITHER FROM THAT AREA OVER THERE,

THAT SORT OF A SAND ISLAND TAKES YOU JUST OUT OF THE BOG,

WHERE THE RISE OF TREES IS...

OR ROUGHLY THE SAME DISTANCE THAT WAY.

WHEN LINDOW MAN WAS UNCOVERED IN 1984,

HE UNDERWENT THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

UNDERTAKEN TO DATE ON A BOG BODY.

BUT THIS STATE-OF-THE-ART FORENSIC INVESTIGATION

WAS ONLY POSSIBLE BECAUSE BOG BODIES RETAIN DETAILS

THAT ARE FOUND IN FEW OTHER ANCIENT BURIALS.

SO FOR INSTANCE, WE HAVE THE HAIR, THE SKIN,

THE FINGERNAILS.

WE ALSO HAVE INTERNAL ORGANS.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY HAVE SO MUCH EVIDENCE

THAT SOMETIMES YOU WON'T EVEN GET IN A CURRENT FORENSIC CASE.

THIS ASTONISHING LEVEL OF PRESERVATION

IS THANKS TO A UNIQUE NATURAL MUMMIFICATION PROCESS.

THE ACTUALLY SCIENCE BEHIND CREATING A BOG BODY

IS NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD.

BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF VARIABLES.

YOU'VE GOT THESE COLD TEMPERATURES,

YOU ALSO NEED MODERATE ACIDITY,

YOU NEED IT TO BE NUTRIENT DEFICIENT.

ALSO IT NEEDS TO BE ANOXIC, SO NOT TOO MUCH OXYGEN.

THIS PERFECT COCKTAIL OF CONDITIONS

CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN ONE ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH--

WETLANDS THAT STRETCH ACROSS NORTHERN EUROPE

FROM SCANDINAVIA TO IRELAND.

IRISH ARCHAEOLOGIST NED KELLY HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING

BOG BODIES FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.

HE BELIEVES THE WETLANDS THEMSELVES PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE

IN THIS MURDER MYSTERY.

NOT JUST SCIENTIFICALLY, BUT SPIRITUALLY.

IT'S A VERY PARTICULAR TYPE OF A LANDSCAPE.

THESE ENVIRONMENTS ARE NEITHER LAND NOR WATER;

THEY'RE A MIXTURE.

HERE YOU HAVE A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SKY AND THE EARTH,

BETWEEN THE EARTH AND THE WATER.

THE FORCE OF NATURE THAT CREATES THIS STRANGE WORLD

IS A TINY PLANT CALLED SPHAGNUM MOSS.

WE HAVE HERE A VERY, VERY TYPICAL RAISED BOG SURFACE

FESTOONED WITH THIS SPHAGNUM MOSS.

I'LL JUST TAKE UP A PIECE OF IT HERE.

SPHAGNUM MOSS IS A REMARKABLE ORGANISM.

IT RETAINS THE VAST QUANTITIES OF WATER

THAT FORM THE BASIS OF THIS WHOLE ECOSYSTEM.

IT ALSO RELEASES AN ACID CALLED SPHAGNAN INTO THE WATER

WHICH PROTECTS THE PLANT FROM BACTERIA AND FUNGI.

THIS CHEMICAL NOT ONLY PRESERVES THE MOSS WHILE IT'S ALIVE,

BUT PREVENTS IT FROM FULLY DECAYING AFTER DEATH.

AND IT HAS EXACTLY THE SAME EFFECT ON HUMAN BODIES.

IT CREATES KIND OF AN ANTIMICROBIAL BARRIER

OVER THE SKIN,

AND IT ALSO INTERACTS WITH THE KERATIN

OF THE HAIR AND FINGERNAILS.

THAT'S HOW WE GET THESE AMAZING DETAILS,

AND HOW THEY SOMETIMES LOOK LIKE THEY DIED YESTERDAY.

SPHAGNAN PRESERVES THE BODIES.

BUT CHEMICALS CALLED TANNINS, PRODUCED BY OTHER BOG PLANTS,

HELP CREATE THEIR CHARACTERISTIC DARK SKIN

AND BRIGHT RED HAIR.

IT'S ALSO THE SAME KIND OF DARK COLORING

THAT HAPPENS WITH TEA OR RED WINE OR WHISKY

THAT OCCURS AFTER THIS CHEMICAL PROCESS HAS COMPLETED.

AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM IN LONDON, ENGLAND,

THESE PROCESSES CAN BE SEEN IN THE BODY OF LINDOW MAN.

WELL, YOU CAN SEE HIS HEAD,

YOU CAN SEE HIS TORSO, OR MOST OF IT.

THE REST OF THE BODY, IT WAS PROBABLY LOST

DUE TO PEAT-CUTTING ACTIVITIES.

ALTHOUGH HE IS VERY IDENTIFIABLE AS A HUMAN,

HE IS QUITE DISTORTED IN SHAPE, AND THE REASON FOR THIS

IS ACTUALLY THE PRESSURE OF THE PEAT ABOVE HIM.

LINDOW MAN HAS SEVERAL DISTINCT SIMILARITIES

TO HIS FELLOW IRON AGE MURDER VICTIM, TOLLUND MAN.

IN TERMS OF AGE HE WAS PROBABLY MID 20s,

MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OLDER.

BY LOOKING AT SOME ELEMENTS OF HIS FINGERNAILS,

IT SEEMS THAT HE PROBABLY DIDN'T DO MUCH MANUAL WORK.

SO ALL THE INDICATIONS ARE

THAT HE WAS A FIT, HEALTHY YOUNG MAN,

PROBABLY QUITE HIGH STATUS.

LINDOW MAN'S ELITE STATUS

MAKES HIS INCREDIBLY BRUTAL DEATH ALL THE MORE SURPRISING.

ROUND HIS NECK YOU CAN SEE THIS VERY THIN CORD.

AND IT'S LIKELY THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY A GARROTE.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF HIS NECK,

THE SIDE WHICH YOU CAN'T SEE UNDERNEATH HIS HEAD,

HIS THROAT WAS SLIT.

SO WHAT WE HAVE IS A RANGE OF DIFFERENT INJURIES--

THE STRANGULATION, WE HAVE THE SLIT THROAT.

WE HAVE SEVERAL BLOWS TO THE TOP OF THE HEAD.

AS WELL AS BEING PUSHED FACEDOWN INTO THE BOG.

THIS KIND OF EXTREME VIOLENCE

IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS OVERKILL.

THE TERM "OVERKILL" LITERALLY MEANS

OVER-KILLING SOMEONE.

AND SO YOU COULD JUST DO IT IN ONE SIMPLE FASHION,

BUT YOU USE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS

OF ENDING THEIR LIFE.

WHILE LINDOW MAN'S DEATH IS CERTAINLY BRUTAL,

IT'S NOT AT ALL EXCEPTIONAL.

530 MILES AWAY, AT DENMARK'S MOESGAARD MUSEUM,

ANOTHER BOG BODY DISPLAYS

STRIKINGLY SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS--

GRAUBALLE MAN.

AS NED KELLY EXAMINES HIS REMAINS,

HE CAN SEE THIS MAN ALSO DISPLAYS SIGNS

OF A PRIVILEGED LIFE CUT CRUELLY SHORT.

THE HANDS ARE VERY WELL PRESERVED,

AND THE EXAMINATION OF GRAUBALLE MAN'S HANDS

ALSO INDICATED THAT HE WAS A HIGH-BORN PERSON

WHO DID NOT ENGAGE IN MANUAL LABOR.

LIKE LINDOW MAN,

GRAUBALLE MAN SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A LEADER IN HIS COMMUNITY,

WHO WAS KILLED IN THE MOST BRUTAL MANNER POSSIBLE.

GRAUBALLE MAN WAS SEEMINGLY

TAKEN INTO THE BOG NAKED,

HE WAS STRUCK ON THE LEG,

A VERY SAVAGE BLOW THAT DID A LOT OF DAMAGE.

THE CLIMAX OF THE ATTACK

WAS A GRUESOME CUT TO HIS THROAT, FROM EAR TO EAR.

THIS IS A HUMAN BEING

WHO DIED IN VERY TRAGIC CIRCUMSTANCES.

IT PROMPTS US TO WONDER WHY

THIS MAN WAS KILLED IN THE MANNER HE WAS.

NED NOW SUSPECTS ALL THESE VICIOUS KILLINGS

ACROSS EUROPE ARE NOT MERE COINCIDENCE

BUT PART OF AN ANCIENT RELIGIOUS CEREMONY...

A CEREMONY THAT REQUIRES A HUMAN SACRIFICE.

TOLLUND MAN, GRAUBALLE MAN, LINDOW MAN.

ALL ELITE IRON AGE PEOPLE,

SUBJECT TO BIZARRE AND SHOCKING INJURIES,

THEN LEFT FOR DEAD IN A BOG.

IT'S A MYSTERY THAT'S FASCINATED ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOR DECADES.

WHO WERE THESE PEOPLE?

WHY WERE THEY KILLED?

WHO KILLED THEM?

AND WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

RECENT FORENSIC RESEARCH

HAS LED BOG BODIES EXPERT NED KELLY

TO A FASCINATING NEW THEORY--

THEY ARE ALL VICTIMS OF HUMAN SACRIFICE.

I THINK IT'S FAIRLY CLEAR THAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH

THE REMAINS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN KILLED RITUALLY.

THIS THEORY EVOLVED FROM NED'S RESEARCH

INTO TWO EXTRAORDINARY IRISH BOG BODIES DISCOVERED IN 2003--

OLDCROGHAN MAN AND CLONYCAVAN MAN.

OLDCROGHAN MAN, WHEN HE TURNED UP,

WAS QUITE EXTRAORDINARY TO LOOK AT.

THE BODY WAS EXTREMELY WELL-PRESERVED.

YOU COULD SEE THE HANDS, YOU COULD SEE THE FINGERPRINTS.

BUT THE HEAD WAS MISSING,

AND THE LOWER PART OF THE BODY WAS ALSO MISSING.

CLONYCAVAN MAN WAS A RATHER SHRIVELED-LOOKING INDIVIDUAL

WHEN HE WAS FIRST DISCOVERED.

HE HAD A CLEARLY IDENTIFIABLE FACE, YOU KNOW?

HERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK FACE TO FACE

AT A VERY ANCIENT ANCESTOR.

LIKE SO MANY OTHER BOG BODIES,

THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THEY LIVED A LIFE OF COMFORT AND STATUS

BEFORE ENDURING A CRUEL DEATH.

IT'S A FATE THAT HAS GONE DOWN IN IRISH LEGEND

AS A RITUAL RESERVED FOR ANCIENT ROYALTY.

THE BASIC PART OF THE RITUAL IS WHAT WE REFER TO

IN THE IRISH SOURCE MATERIAL

AS THE TRIPLE KILLING OF KINGS,

OR REFERRED ELSEWHERE AS OVERKILL.

THE INJURIES HAVE A FAMILIAR RING--

BLUNT-FORCE TRAUMA...

ATTACKS WITH BLADED WEAPONS...

AND IF THEY WERE STILL ALIVE AFTER ALL THAT,

DROWNING IN A BOG POOL.

BUT COULD EUROPE'S IRON AGE ELITE

REALLY HAVE BEEN THE VICTIMS OF A HUMAN SACRIFICE RITUAL?

KEY EVIDENCE FOR THIS STUNNING THEORY

IS SOMETHING RARELY FOUND IN ANCIENT HUMAN REMAINS--

STOMACH CONTENTS.

THE ANTIMICROBIAL BARRIER CREATED BY BOG PRESERVATION

IS SO EFFECTIVE

INVESTIGATORS CAN REMOVE AND EXAMINE

THE FOOD LEFT IN A VICTIM'S DIGESTIVE TRACT.

INCREDIBLY, RESEARCHERS KNOW

WHAT THESE PEOPLE ATE 2,000 YEARS AGO,

AND IT SEEMS MANY HAD A RITUALISTIC LAST SUPPER.

Aldhouse-Green: OLDCROGHAN MAN, WHO WAS VAST,

HE WAS SORT OF 6-FOOT-5.

HE COULD ONLY HAVE SUBSISTED ON A PROTEIN-RICH DIET,

YET HIS LAST MEAL WAS ENTIRELY VEGETARIAN.

SO WE KNOW THAT SOMETIMES THESE MEALS WERE SPECIAL,

AND THEY'RE OFTEN SO-CALLED FAMINE FOOD,

AND I THINK THAT'S QUITE DELIBERATE.

IT CONSISTED OF A PORRIDGE,

SOMETHING LIKE THAT,

MADE OF BARLEY, LINSEED, OATS, AND OTHER SEEDS FROM WEEDS.

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE GROW,

BUT SOMETHING THAT WE GATHER IN NATURE.

INTRIGUINGLY, GRAUBALLE MAN'S STOMACH

ALSO CONTAINED ERGOT, A FUNGUS FOUND ON ROTTING RYE CROPS.

IN LARGE DOSES, ERGOT IS HALLUCINOGENIC,

LEADING SOME TO SUGGEST HE WAS DRUGGED

BEFORE ENDURING HIS FATE.

IF YOU CAN RESTRICT THE AMOUNT OF SUFFERING

SOMEBODY UNDERTAKES

OR MAKE SURE THEY LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS RAPIDLY,

THEY'RE GONNA KEEP TO THE CEREMONY.

THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO SOMETHING SURPRISING.

THEY KEEP TO THE SORT OF RULES OF THE RITUAL.

AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.

BUT ERGOT IS ALSO A SIGN OF FAILED CROPS.

GRAUBALLE MAN COULD HAVE BEEN FORCED TO EAT IT,

BECAUSE HE DID NOT SECURE A GOOD HARVEST FOR HIS PEOPLE.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THEY WERE HAVING A HARD SEASON

IN REGARDS TO CROPS

OR FERTILITY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY WASN'T THAT GREAT,

OR THEY WERE ABOUT TO GO TO WAR,

A LOT OF THE TIME THEY WOULD MAKE

SOME SORT OF OFFERING TO THE GODS.

NED KELLY TAKES THIS IDEA ONE STEP FURTHER.

FOR HIM, THE CHOICE OF A HIGH-STATUS VICTIM

WAS A CRUCIAL ELEMENT OF THE SACRIFICIAL RITUAL.

IN EARLY IRELAND, THE KING MARRIED THE TERRITORY,

WHICH WAS THE TERRITORIAL GODDESS.

BUT IF SOMETHING WENT WRONG,

THE KING WAS THE ONE WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE,

BECAUSE HE HAD FAILED IN HIS ROLE

TO KEEP THE BENEVOLENCE OF THE GODDESS FOCUSED FOR HIS PEOPLE.

AND THERE YOU HAVE AN OBVIOUS POSSIBILITY

AS TO WHO WOULD BE SACRIFICED.

IF LEADERS COULD NOT PERSUADE THE GODS

TO STOP A NATURAL DISASTER,

PERHAPS THEY HAD TO PAY WITH THEIR LIVES.

BUT THE QUESTION REMAINS, WHY THE BOG?

WHAT MAKES THIS THE IDEAL PLACE FOR A SACRIFICE?

Aldhouse-Green: IN IRON AGE NORTHERN EUROPE,

BOGS SEEM TO HAVE BEEN VERY SPECIAL PLACES, THIN PLACES,

A KIND OF MEMBRANE OR SKIN

BETWEEN THE MATERIAL WORLD WHERE HUMAN BEINGS WALKED

AND THE SPIRIT WORLD UNDERNEATH.

HENRY CHAPMAN'S RESEARCH HERE HAS HELPED HIM

UNDERSTAND WHY IRON AGE PEOPLE INVESTED THE BOG

WITH SUCH SPIRITUAL POTENCY.

I THINK THE REAL SECRET ABOUT UNDERSTANDING BOGS

IN PREHISTORY, IN THE IRON AGE, IS THAT THEY CHANGE.

EITHER BECAUSE OF CLIMATE SHIFT OR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,

IT WILL SUDDENLY BECOME WET, IT WILL SUDDENLY BECOME DANGEROUS.

IF YOUR LANDSCAPE CHANGES, YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER IT.

HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO IT?

HENRY SUSPECTS THESE ANCIENT PEOPLE

WERE SEEKING THE GODS' FAVOR BY OFFERING A SACRIFICE...

PERHAPS EVEN OF THEIR LEADER.

NOW, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE WORD "SACRIFICE,"

WHAT IT MEANS, THE PRINCIPLE IS THAT YOU GIVE SOMETHING,

BUT TO EXPECT SOMETHING BACK.

NOW, IF WE CONSIDER THAT THE MORE YOU GIVE...

THE MORE YOU KIND OF EXPECT TO RECEIVE, YOU KNOW,

THE BETTER THE GIFT TO THE GODS, IF YOU LIKE.

BUT THERE IS ANOTHER POSSIBLE REASON

FOR USING THE BOG AS A PLACE OF SACRIFICE.

ACCORDING TO ONE THEORY,

VICTIMS WERE NOT MEANT TO BE FORGOTTEN AFTER DEATH,

BUT DELIBERATELY PRESERVED FOR ETERNITY.

Aldhouse-Green: I DO THINK THAT THESE HUMAN SACRIFICES

WERE DELIBERATELY PRESERVED

PERHAPS BECAUSE THEY WERE MEANT TO STAY

AS PART OF THE WORLDLY LANDSCAPE.

IT MAY BE THAT THE IDEA WAS

TO STOP PEOPLE JOINING THE ANCESTORS.

MY IDEA IS THAT THESE PEOPLE WERE SPECIAL PEOPLE,

WHO SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY OF SPIRITS,

WHO HAD TO STAY ALMOST FREEZE-FRAMED WITHIN THE MARSH

SO THAT THEY COULDN'T COME BACK AND HAUNT THE LIVING.

THIS IDEA IS NOT UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED.

BUT IF TRUE, IT SUGGESTS THE BOG BODIES

ARE NOT MERE ACCIDENTS OF HISTORY,

BUT INTENTIONALLY MUMMIFIED.

WELL, WE DO FIND OTHER THINGS IN THE BOGS

SUCH AS DIFFERENT CONTAINERS WITH BUTTER IN THEM.

I THINK THEY UNDERSTOOD THE PROPERTIES OF THE BOG

IN THE SENSE OF BEING ABLE TO PRESERVE CERTAIN THINGS.

Aldhouse-Green: THEY WERE TIME LORDS.

I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING QUITE COMPLEX GOING ON

WITH THESE COMMUNITIES

WHO ARE MANIPULATING TIME AND SPACE AND REALITY.

THE WHOLE IDEA BEHIND ALL OF IT

IS GETTING CLOSER TO THE SPIRITS.

FROM IRELAND TO DENMARK,

SIMILAR RITUALS APPEAR AGAIN AND AGAIN.

FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS,

IRON AGE PEOPLE, ONCE THOUGHT TO LIVE IN ISOLATED POCKETS,

WERE LIKELY TRAVELING HUNDREDS OF MILES

FOR TRADE AND OTHER REASONS.

AND ALONG THE WAY, THEY MAY HAVE BEEN SHARING THE DETAILS

OF A BRUTAL CEREMONIAL PRACTICE.

2,500-YEAR-OLD CORPSES,

PRESERVED BY THE PERFECT MIX OF CONDITIONS

FOUND IN NORTHERN EUROPEAN PEAT BOGS,

TELL A STORY OF BRUTAL DEATH AND MYSTERIOUS RITUALS

DURING EUROPE'S IRON AGE.

THESE SO-CALLED BOG BODIES ARE SEPARATED

BY LARGE STRETCHES OF SEA AND HUNDREDS OF MILES.

YET MANY SHARE STRIKING SIMILARITIES,

INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY THEY WERE DELIBERATELY MUMMIFIED.

FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS IT SUGGESTS IRON AGE MAN

WAS MORE MOBILE THAN PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED.

Aldhouse-Green: IT USED TO BE THOUGHT

THAT PEOPLE WERE VERY STATIC

AND NEVER MOVED OUTSIDE THEIR COMMUNITIES,

BUT THE BOG BODIES ARE BEGINNING TO TELL US

THAT CERTAIN PEOPLE DID HAVE CONNECTIONS,

VERY GOOD CONNECTIONS WITH QUITE SEPARATED COMMUNITIES.

ONE CRUCIAL PIECE OF EVIDENCE

COMES FROM A PECULIAR FEATURE OF CLONYCAVAN MAN,

THE IRISH MUMMY UNCOVERED IN 2003--

HIS HAIRSTYLE.

BOG BODY EXPERT NED KELLY

LED THE INVESTIGATION INTO HIS DEATH.

THIS REVEALED THAT THE FRONT OF THE HEAD

HAD BEEN SORT OF SHAVED ACROSS FROM EAR TO EAR,

THE HAIR WAS LONGER AT THE BACK,

BUT IT WAS ALL PILED UP A BIT LIKE A MOHICAN

DOWN THE CENTER OF THE HEAD.

AND THIS WAS ALL HELD IN PLACE BY A TYPE OF HAIR GEL

THAT WAS MADE FROM OIL AND RESIN.

THE RESIN IN THIS HAIR GEL TOOK EVERYONE BY SURPRISE.

IT ONLY COMES FROM A PARTICULAR SPECIES OF PINE,

AND THE NEAREST TREE IS ALMOST 800 MILES FROM CLONYCAVAN,

IN THE PYRENEES,

THE MOUNTAIN RANGE BETWEEN FRANCE AND SPAIN.

THE FACT THAT A HIGH STATUS IRISHMAN

WAS USING IMPORTED PYRENEAN PINE RESIN

SHOWS THAT HE WAS NOT ONLY RICH, BUT ALSO WORLDLY.

I THINK IRON AGE IRELAND

DID HAVE WIDESPREAD CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER PARTS OF EUROPE.

BRITAIN WAS VERY IMPORTANT,

BUT ALSO THE WHOLE OF THE WESTERN SEABOARD DOWN TO SPAIN

AND INTO THE MEDITERRANEAN WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPORTANT.

WE HAVE EVIDENCE OF TRADE COMING UP THAT ROUTE.

NOW, A NEW BATCH OF FORENSIC STUDIES

IS DRAMATICALLY EXPANDING

ARCHAEOLOGISTS' UNDERSTANDING OF THESE NETWORKS.

MUCH OF IT IS FOCUSED

ON ONE OF DENMARK'S MOST FAMOUS BOG BODIES--

HARALDSKAER WOMAN.

Aldhouse-Green: ALL THE INDICATIONS ARE

THAT SHE WAS EXTREMELY HIGH STATUS,

SHE WAS WELL NOURISHED,

SHE WAS MIDDLE AGED, AT LEAST FOR THE IRON AGE,

YOU KNOW, ABOUT 40 YEARS OLD,

YET SHE HAD NONE OF THAT KIND OF DEGENERATIVE DISEASES

FROM REPEATED MANUAL LABOR.

THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE, AROUND THE YEAR 490 BC,

HARALDSKAER WOMAN MET HER END.

Aldhouse-Green: SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN THEN PLACED

DOWN IN THE MARSH, IN THE BOG.

AND THEN BRANCHES BROKEN OFF AND THEN PLACED OVER HER BODY,

THRUST THROUGH HER ELBOWS AND HER KNEE JOINTS.

STANDING HERE TODAY, ON A FREEZING WINTER'S DAY,

THE SNOW COMING DOWN, AND THIS BLACK WATER,

YOU CAN JUST IMAGINE HOW ATMOSPHERIC

AND HOW FRIGHTENING IT MUST HAVE BEEN.

WHEN HARALDSKAER WOMAN WAS FOUND IN THE YEAR 1835,

THE STAKES USED TO HOLD HER BODY DOWN IN THE WATER

WERE STILL IN PLACE.

ALTHOUGH LIKE MANY BODIES SHE WAS NAKED,

A CAPE MADE OF ANIMAL SKIN AND A WOOLEN CLOAK

WAS DISCOVERED NEXT TO HER.

THE FINE CHECKED PATTERN OF THE CLOAK CAN STILL BE SEEN.

Mads Ravn: AND HERE YOU SEE THE BOG BODY.

Aldhouse-Green: OH, GOODNESS. YES.

Aldhouse-Green: THAT'S AMAZING! YES, ISN'T IT?

Aldhouse-Green: YES. AND LOOKING AT HER,

I THINK, YOU KNOW, IN LIFE SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN

QUITE WELL NOURISHED, QUITE PLUMP.

YES.

THEY EVEN DESCRIBE HER AS A VERY SORT OF VOLUPTUOUS WOMAN

WHEN THEY EXCAVATED HER.

OBVIOUSLY, SHE HAS SHRINKED OVER THE LAST HUNDRED AND MANY YEARS.

Aldhouse-Green: YEAH, BUT SHE'S STILL VERY HUMAN-LOOKING.

AND FOR ME, I MEAN, EVEN AFTER SO MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

YOU CAN STILL SEE THE BONE STRUCTURE.

AND RECENT DISCOVERIES HAS SHOWN

THAT SHE HAS PROBABLY BEEN GARROTED,

AND THAT WAS RESEARCH ONLY DONE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO.

Aldhouse-Green: SO THAT'S SO INTERESTING,

BECAUSE IT TIES IN WITH SO MANY OF THE OTHER DANISH BOG BODIES,

DOESN'T IT?

YES, THAT SORT OF ADDS TO THE IDEA

THAT THAT HAS BEEN PART OF THE RITUAL, A CENTRAL PART.

Aldhouse-Green: YES, AND A PATTERN.

EXACTLY, YES.

MODERN-DAY CRIMINAL FORENSICS

HAVE UNLOCKED THE SECRETS OF ALL THESE IRON AGE TIME TRAVELERS

LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

BUT SO FAR, ONE VITAL TOOL OF SO MANY POLICE LABS

HAS ELUDED THE BOG BODY DETECTIVES--

DNA TESTING.

NOW CURATOR MADS RAVN IS TRYING TO CHANGE THAT

WITH THE HELP OF HIS COLLEAGUE, PETER DE BARROS DAMGAARD.

AT FIRST I WAS ACTUALLY QUITE RELUCTANT,

BECAUSE MOST OF THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS

THAT BECAUSE OF THE PRESERVATION ENVIRONMENT OF THE BOG BODIES,

THE DNA IS SO BROKEN DOWN THAT THERE IS NO CHANCE

THAT WE'LL EVER BE ABLE TO RETRIEVE

AUTHENTIC ANCIENT HUMAN DNA FROM THESE PEOPLE.

IRONICALLY, THE ACIDIC CONDITIONS

THAT PRESERVE THESE BODIES SO WELL

STEADILY DEGRADES THEIR DNA OVER TIME.

DESPITE THESE DAUNTING CHALLENGES,

IN 2016, MADS AND PETER MADE A STUNNING BREAKTHROUGH,

BY EXTRACTING A SMALL DNA SAMPLE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

WHAT I EXPECT IS THAT WE CAN TRACE BACK

HOW RELATED THE HARALDSKAER WOMAN WAS TO PAST POPULATIONS

OF THAT TIME ACROSS EUROPE.

SO WAS SHE ACTUALLY DESCENDING FROM SOUTHERN EUROPEANS

RATHER THAN FROM NORTHERN EUROPEANS?

IF HARALDSKAER WOMAN HAD FOREIGN ANCESTRY,

IT COULD PROVIDE ONE POSSIBLE EXPLANATION

FOR WHY SHE WAS CHOSEN FOR SACRIFICE.

BUT IN SPITE OF HIS INITIAL SUCCESS,

WHEN PETER BEGAN TO SEQUENCE THE DNA,

HE COULD NOT DECIPHER

WHICH PART OF THE HUMAN GENOME IT CAME FROM.

SO WHAT WE DO WHEN WORKING WITH ANCIENT DNA

IS RETRIEVING THESE SUPER-SHORT DNA MOLECULES,

AND THE SHORTER THOSE MOLECULES GET,

OF COURSE, THE HARDER IT GETS TO IDENTIFY WHERE THEY BELONG.

IT'S LIKE TRYING TO FIND A SINGLE WORD

HIDDEN IN THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE.

BUT THE TEAM IS CONFIDENT IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME

BEFORE THEY ACHIEVE WHAT WAS ONCE UNIMAGINABLE--

SEQUENCING DNA FROM A BOG BODY.

IT'S A LOT ABOUT STARTING THINGS,

ASKING QUESTIONS, TRYING THINGS.

AND THE ONES THAT WORK, OF COURSE,

MAKES EVERYTHING WORTHWHILE.

WHILE THE DNA WORK CONTINUES,

JUST ACROSS THE STREET,

ANOTHER INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUE

HAS ALREADY PRODUCED STUNNING RESULTS.

IT SUPPORTS A THEORY THAT IRON AGE PEOPLE

WERE NOT MERELY TRADING GOODS WITH EACH OTHER,

BUT ALSO EXCHANGING ESSENTIAL RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.

Aldhouse-Green: I SUSPECT THAT THERE WAS A PRIESTLY CONNECTION

OVER LARGE AREAS OF EUROPE

WHERE THERE WOULD BE VARIOUS CEREMONIES,

AND WHERE IDEAS, RELIGIOUS IDEAS AND PRACTICES WERE SHARED.

BUT THE TRUE SURPRISE

IS THAT THIS ADVANCED FORENSIC TECHNIQUE

SUGGESTS THESE IDEAS MAY HAVE BEEN SHARED

BY THE VICTIMS THEMSELVES.

THE LAST DECADE HAS SEEN AN EXPLOSION OF KNOWLEDGE

ABOUT BOG BODIES--

PRESERVED HUMAN REMAINS

FOUND IN THE COLD WETLANDS OF NORTHERN EUROPE.

MOST DIED IN THE IRON AGE, ABOUT 2,500 YEARS AGO,

AND ARE SPREAD ACROSS HUNDREDS OF SQUARE MILES.

MANY BEAR HALLMARKS THAT ARE

RITUALISTIC FINAL MEALS,

OVERKILL VIOLENCE,

AND POSSIBLE DELIBERATE MUMMIFICATION IN THE BOG.

IT'S CLEAR THAT THESE ARE HUMAN SACRIFICES,

SO YOU THEN HAVE TO POSE THE QUESTION,

WELL, IF SOMEBODY WAS TO BE SACRIFICED,

WHO WOULD BE SELECTED AS AN OFFERING?

ONE OF THE MORE RECENT THEORIES IS THAT VICTIMS

COULD HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FAR IN ADVANCE

AND SENT ON A PILGRIMAGE.

Aldhouse-Green: WE'RE BEGINNING TO REALIZE

FROM SCIENTIFIC ANALYSES OF SOME OF THE BOG BODIES

THAT IN THE MONTHS OR YEARS BEFORE THEIR DEATHS

THEY TRAVELED QUITE SOME DISTANCE.

SUPPORT FOR THIS IDEA COMES FROM PROFESSOR KARIN FREI

AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DENMARK.

SHE IS REEXAMINING SEVERAL BODIES

USING A TECHNIQUE CALLED STRONTIUM ISOTOPE ANALYSIS.

MOST CHEMICAL ELEMENTS HAVE

SEVERAL DIFFERENT NATURALLY OCCURRING VERSIONS

CALLED ISOTOPES.

IN THE CASE OF THE ELEMENT STRONTIUM,

EACH PART OF THE WORLD HAS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT MIX

OF THESE ISOTOPES.

SO, THE FOOD THAT WE GET VIA THE FOOD CHAINS

AND WHAT WE DRINK ACTUALLY HAS

THESE STRONTIUM ISOTOPIC CHARACTERISTICS WITHIN THEM.

SO WHEN WE EAT THEM, WE ACTUALLY INCORPORATE IT INTO OUR BODY;

INTO OUR TEETH, INTO OUR BONES, INTO OUR HAIR.

AND DEPENDING ON WHERE WE HAVE BEEN,

THEN THESE STRONTIUM ISOTOPIC COMPOSITIONS WILL CHANGE.

SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN USING ISOTOPE ANALYSIS

ON TEETH AND BONES FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS,

BUT KARIN HAS CREATED A VASTLY IMPROVED METHOD USING HAIR.

SHE IS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD

USING THIS PARTICULAR TECHNIQUE,

AND MUSEUMS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

NOW SEND HER HAIR SAMPLES FOR EXAMINATION.

WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO NOW

IS ACTUALLY TO START TO SAMPLING HAIR

FROM AN ANCIENT HUMAN REMAINS,

FROM A MUMMY, ACTUALLY, IN THIS CASE.

WE TRY TO SEGMENT ONE CENTIMETER PER TIME,

BECAUSE THE HAIR GROWS ABOUT ONE CENTIMETER PER MONTH.

AS HAIR GROWS,

IT PRESERVES A MONTH-BY-MONTH ISOTOPE RECORD.

KARIN CAN EXTRACT AND INTERPRET THIS RECORD,

CREATING A TIMELINE OF A PERSON'S POSSIBLE MOVEMENTS.

IT WAS AMAZING AND OPENED OUR EYES

IN RELATION TO WHAT WE CAN SEE NOW FROM HUMAN REMAINS.

THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS NEW TECHNIQUE

CAME FROM THE SAME BODY USED IN THE RECENT DNA STUDY,

HARALDSKAER WOMAN.

THEN I REALIZED THAT SOME OF THESE BOG BODIES

HAD BEAUTIFUL, AND SOME OF THEM VERY LONG HAIR,

LIKE FOR EXAMPLE WITH THE HARALDSKAER WOMAN.

WHEN SHE WAS DISCOVERED,

HARALDSKAER WOMAN HAD 50 CENTIMETERS--20 INCHES--

OF INTACT HAIR.

BUT AT SOME POINT IT BECAME SEPARATED FROM HER BODY.

KARIN DISCOVERED IT HIDING IN A MUSEUM VAULT IN COPENHAGEN

AND MATCHED IT TO 19th CENTURY RECORDS

TO CONFIRM THE HAIR WAS GENUINE.

SO WE HAD OVER 50 MONTHS OF THE LAST PERIOD OF HER LIFE

THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY LOOK AT AND INVESTIGATE.

SO IT'S, THIS IS MORE THAN FOUR YEARS.

AND WE COULD ACTUALLY SEPARATE MONTH PER MONTH,

SO WE COULD ACTUALLY TRACE HER MOVEMENT THROUGH THIS PERIOD.

THE RESULTS WERE TRULY ASTONISHING.

HARALDSKAER WOMAN HAD TRAVELED HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM HOME.

SHE WAS IN A KIND OF THE VOLCANIC AREA,

THAT'S THE STRONTIUM ISOTOPIC SIGNATURE THAT WE, THAT WE GOT.

AND WE DON'T HAVE THESE KIND OF SIGNATURES IN DENMARK,

SO WE HAVE TO GO ABROAD.

HARALDSKAER WOMAN

SPENT THE FINAL PERIOD OF HER LIFE

WANDERING FAR FROM HOME,

POSSIBLY TO ONE OF THE MANY PARTS OF THE BRITISH ISLES

THAT SIT ON EXTINCT VOLCANOES.

THESE ARE AREAS RICH IN ANCIENT RITUAL KILLINGS.

I THINK ESPECIALLY WE SHOULD LOOK

PROBABLY TO THE NORTH.

SO PROBABLY MORE IN SCOTLAND OR IRELAND, FOR EXAMPLE,

WHERE WE KNOW WE HAVE BOG BODIES.

BECAUSE THIS WILL MAKE SENSE WHY THEY MOVED,

BECAUSE THEY HAD OBVIOUSLY THE SAME KIND OF RELIGION SOMEHOW,

OR THE SAME KIND OF BELIEFS.

THE RESULTS MAY SUPPORT

MIRANDA ALDHOUSE-GREEN'S THEORY

THAT SOME VICTIMS TRAVELED GREAT DISTANCES AS PART OF THE RITUAL.

Aldhouse-Green: I THINK THE IDEA OF THE KIND OF SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

IS SOMETHING WHICH AGAIN INVESTS A PERSON WITH VALUE.

YOU'RE THE ONLY PERSON IN YOUR COMMUNITY

WHO'S ACTUALLY BEEN MORE THAN THREE OR FOUR MILES

OUTSIDE YOUR AREA,

SO YOU COME BACK FULL OF MYSTIQUE

AND VALUE AND VENERATION,

AND THEN IF YOU'RE A SACRIFICE,

THAT WHOLE INVESTMENT OF FOREIGNNESS AND EXOTICNESS

IS THEN WRAPPED UP AS PART OF THE GIFT.

IN THE CASE OF HARALDSKAER WOMAN,

IT APPEARS SHE ACTUALLY LEFT HOME AND THEN RETURNED TO DIE.

BUT DID SHE KNOW THAT UPON HER RETURN TO DENMARK

SHE WAS GOING TO BE SACRIFICED?

DID SHE GO TO HER GRAVE VOLUNTARILY?

WE WILL NEVER GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER FOR THAT.

I THINK THAT THEY HAD SOME KNOWLEDGE

THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH THIS JOURNEY

TO BE THE LAST JOURNEY OF THEIR LIVES.

AND MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY GOOD

AND SOMETHING THAT THEY WERE NOT NECESSARILY SEEING

AS A BAD THING.

MANY ARCHAEOLOGISTS NOW BELIEVE IT'S POSSIBLE

THAT SOME VICTIMS WILLINGLY DIED IN SUCH A BRUTAL FASHION.

IN A TIME WHEN LIFE WAS SHORT

AND PEOPLE BELIEVED FATE LAY IN THE HANDS OF FICKLE GODS,

IT'S JUST POSSIBLE THE VICTIMS

MADE A BRUTAL PACT WITH MOTHER NATURE--

DIE IN THE BOG SO YOUR PEOPLE CAN LIVE ON.

BOGS ARE VERY SPECIAL, VERY DYNAMIC PLACES.

AND IN A WORLD WHERE THE SEPARATION

BETWEEN SORT OF SECULAR LIFE AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IS NOT CLEAR CUT,

THEN THEY ARE JUST THE PLACE FOR SEEING

SORT OF THE WRATH OF THE GODS AND RESPONDING TO IT.

SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS

HAVE GIVEN RESEARCHERS A STUNNING NEW INSIGHT

INTO A DEEPLY MYSTERIOUS TIME IN HISTORY.

AND THE WORK IS FAR FROM OVER.

AS FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES,

THE BOG BODIES WILL CONTINUE TO YIELD THEIR SECRETS.

Aldhouse-Green: IT IS A VERY EXCITING TIME

TO BE AN ACADEMIC WHO'S INTERESTED IN BOG BODIES,

BODIES THAT BELONG TO PREHISTORY,

SO THEY'RE OVER 2,000 YEARS OLD,

AND YET THEY'VE STILL GOT SO MUCH NEW TO GIVE TO US.