Lindow Woman
Encyclopedia
Lindow Woman, also known as Lindow I, is the name given to the partial remains of a female bog body
, discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss, near Wilmslow
, northwest England, on 13 May 1983 by commercial peat-cutters. The remains were a skull fragment, with soft tissue and hair attached.
Police were called to investigate. For some years, a local man, Peter Reyn-Bardt, had been under suspicion of murdering his wife in the 1950s, and of disposing of her body. Thinking that the skull fragment came from his wife's body, Reyn-Bardt confessed to her murder, and was sent for trial at Chester Crown Court in December 1983. Carbon-14
dating of the skull fragment returned a date of 1740 ± 80BP (c.AD250). Reyn-Bardt was convicted of his wife's murder, even though no trace of her body was found.
In 1984 the same bog yielded Lindow Man
, the most extensive bog body
yet found in England.
Bog body
Bog bodies, which are also known as bog people, are the naturally preserved human corpses found in the sphagnum bogs in Northern Europe. Unlike most ancient human remains, bog bodies have retained their skin and internal organs due to the unusual conditions of the surrounding area...
, discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss, near Wilmslow
Wilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...
, northwest England, on 13 May 1983 by commercial peat-cutters. The remains were a skull fragment, with soft tissue and hair attached.
Police were called to investigate. For some years, a local man, Peter Reyn-Bardt, had been under suspicion of murdering his wife in the 1950s, and of disposing of her body. Thinking that the skull fragment came from his wife's body, Reyn-Bardt confessed to her murder, and was sent for trial at Chester Crown Court in December 1983. Carbon-14
Carbon-14
Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with a nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues , to date archaeological, geological, and hydrogeological...
dating of the skull fragment returned a date of 1740 ± 80BP (c.AD250). Reyn-Bardt was convicted of his wife's murder, even though no trace of her body was found.
In 1984 the same bog yielded Lindow Man
Lindow man
Lindow Man, also known as Lindow II and as Pete Marsh, is the preserved bog body of a man discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss near Wilmslow in Cheshire, North West England. The body was found on 1 August 1984 by commercial peat-cutters...
, the most extensive bog body
Bog body
Bog bodies, which are also known as bog people, are the naturally preserved human corpses found in the sphagnum bogs in Northern Europe. Unlike most ancient human remains, bog bodies have retained their skin and internal organs due to the unusual conditions of the surrounding area...
yet found in England.