Reinterpreting the latest research and discoveries, and featuring a ground-breaking study of Worsley Man, this book brings the bogs to life through both natural history and folklore, revealing them as places that were rich and fertile yet dangerous. It also reflects on the debate over whether bog bodies should be displayed at all.

The ‘bog bodies’ of north-western Europe have captured the imaginations of poets and archaeologists alike, allowing us to come face-to-face with individuals from the past. Their exceptional preservation permits us to examine minute details of their lives and deaths, making us reflect poignantly on our own mortality. But, as this book argues, the bodies must be resituated within a turbulent world of endemic violence and change. Reinterpreting the latest continental research and new discoveries, and featuring a ground-breaking ‘cold case’ forensic study of Worsley Man, Manchester Museum’s ‘bog head’, it brings the bogs to life through both natural history and folklore, revealing them as places that were rich and fertile yet dangerous. The book also argues that these remains do not just pose practical conservation problems but also philosophical dilemmas, compounded by the critical debate on if – and how – they should be displayed.

An electronic edition of this book is freely available under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.