The Elling Woman is a

bog body A bog body is a human cadaver that has been naturally mummified in a peat bog. Such bodies, sometimes known as bog people, are both geographically and chronologically widespread, having been dated to between and the Second World War. Fischer 199 ...

discovered in 1938 west of

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The

Tollund Man The Tollund Man (died 405–380 BC) is a naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 5th century BC, during the period characterised in Scandinavia as the Pre-Roman Iron Age. He was found in 1950, preserved as a bog body, near Si ...

was later discovered just c. away, twelve years after the Elling Woman's discovery. The Elling Woman was mistakenly described as a man in

P.V. Glob Peter Vilhelm Glob (20 February 1911 – 20 July 1985), also known as P. V. Glob, was a Danish archaeologist. Glob was most noted for his investigations of Denmark's bog bodies such as the Tollund Man and Grauballe Man, mummified remains of Iron ...

's book, ''

The Bog People ''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 M ...

'', when it was published in 1965.

Discovery

Later known as the Elling Woman, the body was discovered by a local farmer, Jens Zakariasson, who at first believed that the remains were of a drowned animal. The body was wrapped in a sheepskin cape with a leather cloak tied around her legs. The face of the woman was poorly preserved, and there were no traces of organs inside of the body.

Examination

The Elling Woman is believed to have been

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

, like the

. The estimated year of death was dated to approximately 280 BCE in the

Nordic Iron Age Iron Age Scandinavia (or Nordic Iron Age) was the Iron Age, as it unfolded in Scandinavia. Beginnings The 6th and 5th centuries BC were a tipping point for exports and imports on the European continent. The ever-increasing conflicts and wars ...

, also around the time of the Tollund Man; however, it is not possible to confirm whether or not they were both killed at exactly the same time. It also initially might have been impossible to tell the sex of her body, if the hair had not been preserved, although

X rays An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nbs ...

were taken of her pelvis, which proved she was female. In 1978, the body was reexamined with

radiographs Radiography is an imaging technology, imaging technique using X-rays, gamma rays, or similar ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation to view the internal form of an object. Applications of radiography include medical radiography ("diagnos ...

, from which the sex was determined to be female and the original age-at-death estimate of 25 years was found to be accurate. This body is often identified by the

braid A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...

on her head, which was tied into an elaborate knot. Elling Woman is believed to have been a

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

. Demineralization, which often occurs with bog bodies, was found to be the initial cause of what was first understood as apparent

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...

in the remains.

References

{{Bog body 1st-millennium BC births 1st-millennium BC deaths 1938 archaeological discoveries Archaeological discoveries in Denmark Bog bodies Deaths by hanging Prehistory of Denmark