Girls from the Uchter Moor
The girl from the Uchter Moor , called Moora , is a bog corpse . Their remains were found in 2000 and 2005 during peat cutting work in the Great Moor in the Lower Saxony district of Nienburg / Weser near Uchte . It is the remains of a young girl who died in the pre-Roman Iron Age around 650 BC. Lived. It is the oldest bog body in Lower Saxony to date.
Finding circumstances
The bog body was discovered in the Großer Moor in the Uchter district of Darlaten. The site is a bog area in which peat was extracted manually for a long time and on an industrial scale since the 1970s . The find took place in two stages, although its historical significance was only recognized five years after the first discovery.
Location: 52 ° 30 ′ 14.1 ″ N , 8 ° 48 ′ 33.3 ″ E
First find
On September 6, 2000, the operator of a peat cutting machine noticed a human leg bone in the excavated peat . After stopping his machine, he found more skeletal parts, as well as pieces of a skull bone with hair. The mining company immediately reported the find to the local police, who seized the found bones and handed the case over to the criminal police in Nienburg / Weser . Assuming an unexplained death , detectives examined the site on the same day and uncovered other bones from the body . Due to the circumstances of the find, the criminal police initially assumed two theories:
- He is the crew member of an Allied aircraft that crashed in World War II , of which there were several in the Nienburg region. An airplane wreck was found about 1.5 km from the site in the post-war years. A moor corpse was also found in 1979 about 20 km further north in the Maasener Moor. She was identified as the rear gunner of a US Air Force bomber that crashed in 1944 .
- There has been a homicide with a body buried in a drainage ditch. Employees of the mining company remembered that a dam for peat florets with drainage ditches on both sides used to run at the site. According to the first police investigation, the body could have been deposited in the ditch parallel to the dam. In the 1970s, the dam was leveled and the trenches filled in so that the body would have been buried.
In a first forensic assessment, the sex was assumed to be female. An archaeological relevance of the find was taken into account by the criminal police, but an assessment of the lay time was hardly possible based on the external state of preservation alone. The changes typical of bog corpses (brown to black coloration of the skin, red coloration of the hair) appear after a few years.
On September 11, 2000, the body parts were sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf . The forensic examination should provide information about the identity of the dead, the cause of death and the length of time they were in hospital. The previously suspected gender and age of the girl was confirmed in advance on October 6th by the Hamburg forensic medicine department at the age of 16 to 21. Based on these data and the fact that no dental treatment was visible on the teeth found, the find was linked to the disappearance of 16-year-old Elke Kerll from Loccum . The missing person, who also did not require any dental treatment during her lifetime, disappeared without a trace on the morning of December 14, 1969 on the way home from a visit to the disco. However, the results of several DNA examinations and comparisons with the mother's DNA material in 2002 and 2003 confirmed that the girl from the Uchter Moor is not the missing person , whose fate has not been clarified until today (2018). The person in charge of the DNA analysis at the University of Göttingen then pointed out the possible archaeological relevance of the find in her report to the criminal police. Since there was no further evidence of crime, the murder investigation was stopped and the find was initially forgotten. The body parts were stored for years in the evidence chamber of the Hamburg forensic medicine, where they shrank significantly due to the lack of preservation measures and the uncontrolled drying that this caused.
Second find
Around four years later, on January 5, 2005, a peat worker discovered the remains of a mummified right hand near the old site, in the 80 cm deep transition layer from black to white peat. This time the criminal police called in informed the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation , whose employees immediately examined the find and confirmed that the find was old. The site has been extensively excavated over an area of 60 square meters . Numerous bones, teeth and areas of skin were recovered and merged with the old finds from 2000. Investigations of the site using georadar and metal detectors did not reveal any further findings. No metal parts, leftover clothing or other items were found. The fund was officially presented to the public in June 2005 and received wide media coverage. A public survey initiated by the NDR on the naming of the girl from the Uchter Moor resulted in around 900 suggestions and led to the popular name Moora .
description
The corpse was severely divided by the peat cutting machine and relocated from its original location. Almost the entire skeleton of the body, parts of the skull with attached scalp and hair, the fully mummified right hand, other small areas of skin, numerous teeth as well as toenails and fingernails are present. All bones are largely decalcified, shrunk, partly deformed and have a dark brown color due to their storage in the acidic moor environment . However, your collagen structure has been superbly preserved. The hair adhering to the part of the skull, still about 14 cm long, has a red color due to the action of the moor. The right hand has also shrunk significantly and is 13 cm long and only 5 cm wide. The skin, bones, tendons and joints are well preserved, as are the papillary ridges of the fingers. Fingerprints that could still be dactylographically evaluated could still be photographed from them and classified with the police fingerprint identification system AFIS . They have the typical for most of the current Central European pattern type Ulnarschleife on.
Investigations
An archaeological- paleoecological project group was formed to research the find , which includes the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation , the University of Göttingen , the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and the Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research . The studies are funded from a research funding program of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture in the amount of 500,000 euros .
Findings
Living environment
The earlier landscape during the girl's lifetime was reconstructed by means of paleo-ecological surveys. To this end, around 5,000 drilling and height points were evaluated and drilling profiles examined for pollen and spores. According to this, the Uchter Moor was around 2,600 years ago smaller than it is today. Because of the lower bog thickness, peaks of mineral soil protruded from the bog like islands. The area was populated and there was pasture farming and grain cultivation.
Dating
The horizon of the find layer in the transition from black to white peat points stratigraphically to a laying down at the turn of the ages. By means of some C14 dating carried out at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel , the time of death of the girl could be between 764 and 515 BC. Around 650 BC. BC, to be dated. It is therefore the oldest bog body found in Lower Saxony to date.
Bog corpse
The paleopathological examinations of the remains of the bog corpse using various imaging methods yielded numerous findings. Derived from the long bones, the girl was about 1.50 cm tall during her lifetime. The sex of the corpse could be confirmed as female by DNA analysis. A fully developed wisdom tooth in the lower jaw and the not yet ossified cranial sutures and other skeletal features suggest an age between 16 and 19 years of age. The deformation of the lower jaw and the fracture of the upper jaw are probably due to the earth pressure in the bog or the rough treatment by the peat removal machine. The brownish discolored teeth decalcified from the moor are still in some of the tooth sockets. Both shins show eleven clear Harris lines on the X-ray , which indicate stoppages in the girl's bone growth as a result of malnutrition , serious illness or stressful situations. Ten of these lines are at regular, close intervals to one another, whereas one line is somewhat offset. In her development, the girl must have already lived through several regularly recurring periods of hunger. Comparative density measurements of the right and left extremity bones showed a density distribution pattern typical for left-handers . The density and microstructure of the cervical vertebrae, which is unusual for young people of this age, suggests that Moora often carried heavy loads on her head. The bones of the upper and lower legs indicated an as yet unexplained disease, which was infectious or caused by malnutrition. The skull had two fractures that had already healed. A fibroosseous tumor was found in the skull that could have been fatal in later years. There was also evidence of meningitis , which was probably caused by tuberculosis .
Cause of death
Since the corpse was severely damaged and relocated by the peat cutting machine, its original position in the moor could not be observed directly, so no reliable information on the type of laying down can be made. The damage patterns on the body parts, however, indicate that the body was lying parallel to the working direction of the peat removal machine and the remains of black and white peat adhering to all body parts indicate that it was lying in a horizontal orientation. No traces of violence that would indicate an unnatural cause of death were diagnosed on the bones of the skeleton. Whether Moora had an accident in the moor, was buried or buried there, cannot be determined with certainty. However, the lack of leftover clothing and grave goods speaks against a normal death or a normal burial.
Skull and face reconstruction
From the computed tomography data obtained from the individual bone parts was using computer-aided 3D skull virtually reassembled visualization. Based on the data the State Office made by a company for medical preparations in a process as well as in the reconstruction of the gold hoard of Gessel was applied, a replica of the skull in plastic by 3D printers create. Here, the use was made 3D printing in the digital Fabricating method. Several scientists then made facial reconstructions using different methods . Two full sculptures, a drawing and two computer animations were created.
meaning
The discovery of the girl from the Uchter Moor is the first finding of a bog corpse in Lower Saxony since 1955. Since the industrial mechanization of peat extraction, the chance of discovering bog corpses has decreased, as these are overlooked in the mechanized process. During the girl's lifetime, cremations were the usual form of burial and therefore human remains from this era are only available in the form of charred bone fragments or ashes, which provide little material for further anthropological analysis. Due to the quality and quantity of the available organic material, this find offers a unique opportunity to gain further archaeological insights into this epoch using modern scientific analysis methods. From 2008, the girl's remains were the subject of a three-year interdisciplinary research project with the participation of numerous institutes, such as the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation, the Department of Prehistory and Protohistory at the University of Göttingen , the Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research , the Institute for Forensic Medicine and the Institute for Medical Informatics at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. They brought new knowledge about the living conditions of the people at the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age .
presentation
After completing the investigations, Moora will be exhibited next to the Red Franz in the Lower Saxony State Museum in Hanover . However, a discussion has arisen as to whether the bog body should be presented in a local museum in Uchte in order to create a tourist attraction near the place where it was found. This is not actually intended because of the complex storage requirements. When detecting Moora of was early in heimatkundlich and tourist oriented Moor Information Center Uchter Moore pointed out that as the station of the Moor railway acts Uchter bog. The center, an observation tower on the edge of the moor and the railway with its approximately 10 km long network of routes through the moor were built in 2006. The exhibition of the moor information center shows the moor landscape of the Uchter moor and the peat extraction, a larger archaeological area on moora, which in the May 2011 was expanded.
From September 21, 2018 to January 6, 2019, Moora's right hand, which was found in 2005, was displayed in the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin in the exhibition Moving Times. Archeology shown in Germany , which took place on the occasion of the European Cultural Heritage Year 2018.
Film reports
- The case: The girl in the moor , film by Michael Heuer, 2007
- The Last Witness - The Dead from the Moor , ZDF television program Adventure Knowledge , 2011
- Terra X - Germany's super excavations , ZDF television broadcast, 2012
literature
- Andreas Bauerochse, Alf Metzler: cause of death unclear. The girl from the Uchter Moor in: Archeology in Lower Saxony , pp. 96-100, 2006
- Andreas Bauerochse, Henning Haßmann , Klaus Püschel (eds.): "Moora" - the girl from the Uchter Moor, a moor corpse from the Iron Age from Lower Saxony . Marie Leidorf, Rahden / Westf 2008, ISBN 3-89646-970-3 .
- Andreas Bauerochse, Henning Haßmann , Klaus Püschel (eds.): "Moora" - the girl from the Uchter Moor a moor corpse from the Iron Age from Lower Saxony II./Natural scientific results In: Materialhefte about the prehistory and early history of Lower Saxony Volume 47 . Marie Leidorf, Rahden / Westf 2018, ISBN 978-3-89646-980-9 .
- Samtgemeinde Uchter Moor (ed.): Moormemento: Das Große Uchter Moor . Uchte 2015 (information brochure on the Uchter Moor and the moor body find).
- Henning Haßmann : "Moora", the girl from the Uchter Moor - her environment, her life, her face . In: State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (ed.): Reports on the preservation of monuments in Lower Saxony . 2011, ISSN 0720-9835 , p. 46–47 ( niedersachsen.de [PDF; 165 kB ; accessed on November 12, 2016] issue 2).
- Henning Haßmann: New Moora exhibition in the Uchter Moor . In: State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (ed.): Reports on the preservation of monuments in Lower Saxony . 2011, ISSN 0720-9835 , p. 47–48 ( niedersachsen.de [PDF; 165 kB ; accessed on November 12, 2016] issue 2).
Web links
- Moora - the girl from the Uchter Moor. Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation , accessed on November 12, 2016 (detailed page on the research project).
- Martin Dalladas: Computer-aided reconstruction of the bog body “Moora”. Possibilities and first results of the computer-aided reconstruction of the bog body “Moora” with virtual reality techniques. University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf , January 21, 2011, archived from the original on August 28, 2011 ; Retrieved December 5, 2011 .
- Thomas Brock: Researchers reconstruct the face of a bog body. In: Spiegel Online . January 20, 2011, accessed December 5, 2011 .
- Moora Center in Warmsen. Mooratorurismusverein eV, accessed on December 5, 2011 .
- Chr. Schmidt-Häuer: The girl in the moor. In: Zeit Online . September 30, 2006, accessed on December 5, 2011 (detailed report on the suspected connection with the case of the missing Elke Krell).
- “Moora” should get a face. In: Stern.de . September 16, 2005, accessed December 5, 2011 .
- Thilo Jordan: The "girl" from the Uchter Moor. In: Archeology Online. 2005, accessed December 5, 2011 .
- Images and text in National Geographic (English)
- Swamp of the Vampires in: Der Spiegel from June 27, 2005
Individual evidence
- ↑ Coordinates according to the Uchte Moorbahn map, determined with Top50 Lower Saxony.
- ↑ Elke Kerll case from 1969 at "Aktenzeichen XY" at ndr.de on May 5, 2018
- ↑ Silke Röhling: Moora was left-handed and carried heavy loads on her head. (PDF, 572 kB) Press release. (No longer available online.) Lower Saxony State Museums Braunschweig, December 17, 2008, archived from the original on July 14, 2014 ; Retrieved December 5, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Thomas Brock: Moor corpses. Witnesses of past millennia . In: Archeology in Germany, special issue . Theiss, Stuttgart 2009, p. 62 . ISBN 3-8062-2205-3
- ↑ Thomas Brock: Researchers reconstruct the face of a bog body. In: Spiegel Online . January 20, 2011, accessed December 5, 2011 .
- ↑ Michael Thomas: teenage bog body gets face. In: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung . January 20, 2011, accessed December 5, 2011 .
- ↑ The moor railway and the moor adventure trail. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007 ; Retrieved December 5, 2011 .
- ↑ Ms. Minister likes horror stories in: Mindener Tageblatt from June 1, 2011 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Turbulent times. Archeology in Germany at the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation
- ^ Reports on the preservation of monuments 2011/2
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Girls from the Uchter Moor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Moora |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bog corpse |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 7th century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 650 BC Chr. |
| Place of death | at Uchte |