Weerdinge

They were found naked. The more intact Weerdinge man had a large wound on his chest, through which his intestines spilled out. Both they’re heads were mostly missing. How did they die? The two most probable interpretations are that: (1) If he had been sacrificed ( the more intact male), he may have been disemboweled so that the presiding priest(ess) could read his entrails as a form of divination. (2) He was disemboweled in battle and then buried with his partner (also killed in battle or sacrificed to accompany the slain hero).

The death of the second body is still not known. How were the bodies preserved? The chemicals found in the bogs in northern europe have preserved the bodies. Bibliography- The Van Der Peats: Joan and Darby or John and Darby? 2002. Retrieved:March 6, 2009

Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands: The Weerdinge Men|  | Double bog body finds are quite rare, so the Weerdinge Men are special–in even more ways than that. Found in the Bourtangermoor in 1904 by peatcutter Hilbrand Gringhuis, the bodies were long thought to be those of a man and woman. They were called the Weerdinge couple, and they were even given names: Darby (for the man) and Joan. But another look at the poorly-preserved bodies (important identifying features are missing from both–including heads and genitalia) almost 100 years later revealed that they were both men.

What scientists have found particularly interesting about the man on the right (arm crossed over the abdomen) is the material on his chest: his intestines have emerged from a stab wound to his chest. a prisoner of war and that he was sacrificed so that his entrails could be read to divine the future. It’s hard to understand what type of future could be read from this technique, but it was part of the culture of some early peoples of Europe, according to Roman historians. Scientists have wondered about their relationship. Were they soldiers? Were they brothers or father and son?

You might think that DNA analysis would reveal all. But the chemicals found in the bog destroy all traces of DNA in bog bodies and make it impossible to determine any genetic relationship between the two men. | | Encyclopedia The Weerdinge men . were two naked bog bodies found in Drenthe Drenthe Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east. -History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a… the Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders… , in the southern part of Bourtanger Moor in 1904. Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years.

Raw, i. e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years “Before Present” ,… shows that the two likely died between ca. 160 BC to ca. 220 AD. At first, it was believed that one of the two bodies was female, which led to the name “Weerdinge couple”, or, more popular, “Mr. and Mrs. Veenstra”, veen being the Dutch term for bog Bog A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens…. nd “Veenstra” being a very common Dutch surname. Pathology The more complete Weerdinge man had a large wound on his chest, through which his intestines spilled out. Some observers believe that this points to a ritualistic purpose for the killing. Strabo Strabo