Mysterious corpse-filled swamps in Denmark

The Nordic countries have dark swamps where the bodies of people who were sacrificed to the gods thousands of years ago are kept.

The train from Hamburg (Germany) to Denmark rumbled through green fields and birch forests with golden sunlight shining through the leaves, taking the group of tourists, including journalist Adam Graham, to a land where bodies were buried in mud for thousands of years.

These 2,000-year-old bogs containing corpses have been found across northern Europe, from Ireland to Finland. Photo: Alamy.

Archaeologists believe that these bodies were victims who were murdered and then thrown into the swamps to perform rituals to the gods. They were often criminals and immigrants.

Denmark has one of the highest concentrations of bogs in the world, containing the remains of people who have remained largely intact for 2,000 years. The bodies were discovered by chance between 1800 and 1960, when the country was still using peat as fuel.

To better understand these mysterious deaths, journalist Adam traveled to Vejle, a small city of just over 100,000 people located in the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, 240 km west of Copenhagen. It has a beautiful landscape and is also home to archaeologist Mads Ravn, head of the Vejle Museum. He is the curator of a fascinating collection of artifacts, including Roman coins, swords, and swastika brooches, found in the bogs and used as offerings to the gods (including the god of iron).

Talking with Mads in a dark room at the back of the museum,he saw the body of a womanHaraldskær was placed in a glass coffin. The expressions on her face showed shock, fear and shock. Adam said he was quite shy about facing the corpse.

Scientists have shown that most of the bodies buried in the mud were brutally murdered, with some having ropes around their necks. Photo: Alamy.

"She was discovered by a peat digger in the bog in 1835. We believe she lived in the 10th century, during the reign of Queen Gunhildd. She was drowned by her own husband," Mads said, scratching his beard.

However, Mads added that the body was later re-identified as being at least 2,200 years old. The woman was found completely naked, wrapped in a cloak and submerged in the bog after her death. There was food in her stomach, which is believed to have been a last meal, and was unusual for a society of that time.

Adam's next stop was Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark, and a visit to the museum.Moesgaard. Here, the coffin of a man was also found in the bog. His body was almost perfectly preserved under the deep mud, with his skin still almost intact, his face delicate. "He was a beautiful man,"archaeologist Pauline Asingh said.

"He was tied at the knees and his throat was slit by someone standing behind him. It sounds violent and barbaric, but sacrifice was an important part of people's cultural life at that time,"Pauline Asingh added.

The last stop on the journalist's journey was a small town.Silkeborg, 44 km from Aarhus. At the museumSilkeborg in the town of Tollund, there is a 2,400-year-old body of a man named Tollund. His body was also relatively undamaged and was discovered in 1950. He was believed to have died from hanging, with noose marks. The body had full lips and Adam was struck by the mysterious smile of the corpse.

In the next room in the museum is a woman named Elling, who was found 40 meters away from the man named Tollund. She is said to have also been hanged and had long, beautiful hair.

The journey was over, but what remained in Adam’s mind were the brightly colored swamps, glowing in the sun, surrounded by dense undergrowth. These places had held secrets for thousands of years, ancient customs, rituals of sacrifice and terrifying sacrifice. The swamps had preserved everything within them for millennia, a reminder of their power and authority in the ancient world.

According to VNE