Weerdinge Men
{{Short description|Bog bodies found in Drenthe, Netherlands}}
File:Paar van Weerdinge, Drents Museum, 1904 VII2A.jpg
The Weerdinge Men is the name given to two bog bodies found in 1904 in Weerdinge, Drenthe, in the southern part of Bourtange moor, in the Netherlands. Radiocarbon dating shows that they likely died between 160 BC and 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 and "Veenstra" being a common Dutch surname.{{cite news|title=Mummy Exhibit Shows Off Interactive Side|last=Nephin|first=Dan|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-110791280.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629075621/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-110791280.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2014|access-date=16 May 2014|newspaper=AP Online|date=6 July 2005}}{{subscription required}}
Pathology
The more complete Weerdinge Man had a large wound on his chest, through which his intestines spilt out. Some observers believe that this points to a ritualistic purpose for the killing. Strabo, a Roman historian, recounts tales of Iron Age Europeans attempting to divine the future by "reading entrails."[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bog/iron-nf.html NOVA | The Perfect Corpse | Bog Bodies of the Iron Age | PBS] The cause of death of the other Weerdinge Man is unknown.
See also
References
{{coord|52|50|48|N|6|57|24|E|region:NL-DR_type:landmark|notes={{cite book | last = van der Sanden | first = Wijnand | authorlink = Wijnand van der Sanden | title = Mens en moeras: veenlijken in Nederland van de bronstijd tot en met de Romeinse tijd | publisher = Drents Museum | location = Assen | year = 1990 | pages = 62 Fig 14 | isbn = 90-70884-31-3 }}|display=title}}
{{Bog body}}
Category:1904 archaeological discoveries