Bog body deaths reveal a gruesome trend throughout history

Due to their unique environment, peat bogs naturally preserve human remains and keep them in remarkable shape for hundreds to thousands of years.

But how did so many individuals end up in bogs in the first place?

A new study published this week in the journal Antiquity investigates 266 historical bog sites, and reveals some violent results.

For the study, researchers collected data on the causes of death, demographics, and frequency of bog remains over 10,900 years in Europe.

Of the bodies with discernable causes of death, many died during that time from violent causes — be it stabbings, decapitations, blows to the head, or a combination of actions.

Those gruesome trends continued in more recent years.

19 percent of all bog deaths between 1100 and 1900 A.D. showed signs of violence, including several shootings.

However, there were also many suicides and accidental deaths in the bogs, showing that it wasn’t only deadly conflict that sent people to their graves.

And the vast majority of remains did not reveal a clear cause of death — leaving even more questions to be answered about how they perished.