Editing Peat (section)

==== Bog bodies ====
{{See also|Bog body}}
Naturally mummified human bodies, often called "[[bog bodies]]" have been found in various places in Scotland, England, Ireland, and especially northern Germany and Denmark. They are almost perfectly preserved by the [[Tanning (leather)|tanning]] properties of the acidic water, as well as by the antibiotic properties of the organic component sphagnan.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Painter |first=Terence J. |title=Lindow man, tollund man and other peat-bog bodies: The preservative and antimicrobial action of Sphagnan, a reactive glycuronoglycan with tanning and sequestering properties |journal=Carbohydrate Polymers |date=1 January 1991 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=123–142 |doi=10.1016/0144-8617(91)90028-B |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0144-8617%2891%2990028-B |access-date=29 October 2023 |issn=0144-8617}}</ref> A famous example is the [[Tollund Man]] in Denmark. Having been discovered in 1950 after being mistaken for a recent murder victim, he was exhumed for scientific purposes and dated to have lived during the 4th century BC. Before that, another bog body, the [[Elling Woman]], had been discovered in 1938 in the same bog about {{Convert|60|m}} from the Tollund Man. She is believed to have lived during the late 3rd century BC and was a ritual sacrifice. In the Bronze and Iron Ages, people used peat bogs for rituals to nature gods and spirits.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NOVA &#124; The Perfect Corpse &#124; PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bog/ |website=pbs.org}}</ref>