The Bog People

The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved

The English-language first edition cover of the book, depicting the head of Tollund Man.
Author	P.V. Glob.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	Danish English (trans.)
Subject	Archaeology Bog bodies
Publisher	Gyldendal, Faber and Faber
Publication date	1965
Published in English	1969
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)

The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved is an archaeological study of the bog bodies of Northern Europe written by the Danish archaeologist P.V. Glob. First published in 1965 by Gyldendal under the Danish title of Mosefolket: Jernalderens Mennersker bevaret i 2000 År, it was translated into English by the English archaeologist Rupert Bruce-Mitford and published by Faber and Faber in 1969. In 1966 it was translated into German by Thyra Dohrenburg and published by Winkler Werlag Munich under the title Die Schläfer im Moor (English: The Sleepers in the Bog).

The Bog People is divided into six chapters. The first is devoted to Tollund Man, and the second to Grauballe Man, two of the best known Iron Age bog bodies to have been discovered in Jutland, Denmark. The third and fourth chapters are devoted to the wider context of bog bodies first in Denmark and then in other parts of Europe. The final two chapters are devoted to a wider exposition of life and death in Iron Age Denmark.

Glob's book received positive reviews from both Barry Cunliffe in Nature and Ralph M. Rowlett in American Anthropologist. They praised Glob's arguments as well as his writing style and use of illustrations, alongside Bruce-Mitford's translation. In subsequent decades, it has received both praise and criticism from specialists in the field, who have lauded the publicity which it brought to the subject, but rejected many of Glob's conclusions as being based on insufficient evidence.

Chapter one, "The Tollund Man", is devoted to the bog body of the same name that was discovered in 1950 in Tollund Fell, Bjaeldskov Dal in Jutland, Denmark. Glob discusses the excavation of the corpse, and his own personal involvement with the operation. Outlining the find's removal to the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, he then outlines the manner in which the head was conserved for public display at the Silkeborg Museum. Alongside this he also discusses the archaeological context of Tollund Man, examining the manner in which he was executed, his clothing, and the contents of his last meal. The second chapter, entitled "The Grauballe Man", deals with the eponymous bog body found in 1952 at Nebelgård Fen, located 11 miles (18 km) east of Tolland. Like with the previous chapter, Glob discusses his own personal investigation into the body, outlining its discovery and conservation, as well as the context of his death and burial.