Peat's Preserving Power: Unearthing Ancient Remains in Remarkable Condition
The following article, originally published in The Liberator on July 26, 1834, explores the extraordinary ability of peat bogs to preserve animal and human remains for centuries, defying the natural process of decay.1 From human bodies in England to ancient warriors and their horses, these accounts reveal the remarkable antiseptic properties of peat, attributed to its unique chemical composition. This historic piece not only highlights fascinating discoveries from the 17th and 18th centuries but also underscores the scientific curiosity of the era, offering a glimpse into how early observers sought to understand the natural world. The full transcript is presented below, preserving the original language and context of this intriguing report.
MISCELLANEOUS.
ANIMAL BODIES IN PEAT. The property possessed by peat to preserve animal matter from putrefaction is very wonderful. It is probably owing to this circumstance that fleshy portions of the Mastedon and other animals have been so long preserved in peat bogs. It is stated in the Philosophical Transactions of 1734, that two human bodies were preserved in peat for fifty nine years. In January, 1675, a farmer and his maid servant were crossing the peat moors in Derbyshire, Eng. They were overtaken by a great fall of snow, and both perished; their bodies were not found until the 3d of may in the same year; and being then offensive, the coroner directed them to be buried on the spot in the peat. Here they remained thirty-nine years, when the curiosity of some countrymen induced them to open their graves. The bodies appeared quite fresh; the skin was fair and of its natural color, and the flesh as soft as that of persons just dead. They were afterwards frequently exposed as curiosities, until in 1716, they were buried by order of the man’s descendants. At that time the man was perfect, his beard was strong, the hair of his head short, and his skin hard and of a tanned leather color, like the liquor he was lying in. In the beginning of the last century, the perfect body of a man in the ancient Saxon costume, was discovered in peat in Yorkshire. It soon perished, however, on exposure to the air.
In 1747 the body of a woman was found six feet deep in a peat moor in Lincolnshire. The antique sandals on her feet afforded proof that she had been buried there for many ages; yet her nails, hair and skin are described as having shown scarcely any marks of decay. On the estate of the Earl of Moria, in Ireland, a human body was dug up, a foot deep in gravel, covered with eleven feet of moss;—the body was completely clothed, and the garments made of hair. Before the use of wool was known in that country, the clothing of the inhabitants was made of hair, so that it would seem that this body had been buried at that early period; yet it was fresh and unimpaired.
At the battle of Solway, in the time of Henry 8th, (1542) an unfortunate troop of horse was driven into a morass, which instantly closed upon them. The tale was traditional, but is now authenticated,—a man and horse in complete armor, having been many years afterwards discovered by peat-diggers in the place where the affair happened. This anti-septic property of peat is derived from the carbonic and gallic acids which issue from decayed wood.
Peat formerly covered extensive tracts in England. It is still found in various situations,—often in valleys or plains from three to forty feet deep; it also occurs upon the sides of mountains. The tops of mountains, upwards of 2000 feet high, in the Highlands of Scotland, are said to be covered with peat of an excellent kind.—Portsmouth Journal.
“Miscellaneous,” The Liberator (Boston, Mass.), July 26, 1834, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84031524/1834-07-26/ed-1/seq-4/.