On the morning of May 3, 1983, an eight-year-old Irish boy named Sean O'Leary wandered through a bog, accompanying his father who was working in the fields nearby. He had no idea what secrets the mud held. While exploring the bog, he came across what he claimed was a forgotten toy. Once home, when they presented the object to his father, they realized that the “forgotten toy” was the hand of a corpse! Unbeknownst to them, this well-preserved body part came from a body buried in a swamp a thousand years earlier, a common practice at that time throughout Northern Europe. What can we learn about the culture and rituals of early Northern Europe from the preserved bodies of these so-called bog people? Which theories best explain the deaths of bog dwellers? What are the most important similarities and differences found between the bodies? With greater knowledge of the history of millions of people at stake, these questions merit further investigation. These corpses found throughout Northern Europe are known as bog bodies. They were mainly found in Ireland, England, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. More than 2,000 bodies and body parts have been found in European peat bogs. The particularity of these corpses is that they were naturally mummified. Fungi and bacteria break down corpse tissues, but conditions such as acidic water, low temperatures and lack of oxygen in bogs prevent them from growing. The most famous bodies are Tollund's man, Grauballe's man, Windeby's girl, Lindow's man and Damendorf's man. , Yde Girl, Karwinden Man, Huldremose Women, Gallagh Man, Elling Women, Haraldskaer Women, Koelbjerg Women, Clonycavan Man and Oldcroghan Man. Many bodies still appear to have recently died; ...... middle of paper ......mbs.com/market/books/bog/bodiesfrombog.htm>.Deem, James M.. Bog Bodies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print “The Deviants and the Bogs: The Bog Bodies of Northern Europe.” The Deviants and the Bogs: The Bog Bodies of Northern Europe. Np, and Web. December 20, 2013. .Lobell, Jarett. “The man from Tollund.” Archeology May. - June 2010: 1. Print. “Tales from the Bog”. Tales from the Bog. Np, and Web. December 19, 2013. “The people of the bog”. National Geographic August 1, 1997: 5. “The Bog People” print. National Geographic August 1, 1997: 5. Print. Wilcox, Charlotte. Mummies and their mysteries. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1993. Print. Wilcox, Charlotte. Bog Mummies: Preserved in peat. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone High-Interest Books, 2003. Print.