100%. I used to work in a museum. We had an exhibit come through all about Bog People. People killed and thrown in a bog, which preserved their bodies.
Most bodies were stabbed or hit on the head thrown into the bog with nothing on them. Not even clothing some times.
Anthrpologists: Sacrifices to the gods! Each person was chosen by a religious leader and carefully, lovingly, killed as a sacrifice to the gods to ensure the village had a good agriclutral season. Of course! So obvious.
Me: These dudes got robbed and murdered. Maybe not in that order.
I don’t know a lot about the subject, but from what I’ve heard in many cases there are indications that bog bodies were people of high social status. so not the kind of people who were likely to be assaulted by bandits, but the kind of people who might shoulder blame for societal issues. that’s (at least in part) where the assumption that they are ritual sacrifices rather than random murders comes from
If they were richer or more powerful, they’d definitely be more targeted. What they might or might not have had at the time that you’d expect today (or even in a later medieval setting) is protection. What’s the line between “the town set up a ritual designating the leader as responsible for failure” and “a bunch of people from downtown got upset and ganged up on the mayor and the landlord one night”?
100%. I used to work in a museum. We had an exhibit come through all about Bog People. People killed and thrown in a bog, which preserved their bodies.
Most bodies were stabbed or hit on the head thrown into the bog with nothing on them. Not even clothing some times.
Anthrpologists: Sacrifices to the gods! Each person was chosen by a religious leader and carefully, lovingly, killed as a sacrifice to the gods to ensure the village had a good agriclutral season. Of course! So obvious.
Me: These dudes got robbed and murdered. Maybe not in that order.
This but with bogs: “A lot of holes in the desert, and a lot of problems are buried in those holes.” -Nicky Santoro, “Casino”
I don’t know a lot about the subject, but from what I’ve heard in many cases there are indications that bog bodies were people of high social status. so not the kind of people who were likely to be assaulted by bandits, but the kind of people who might shoulder blame for societal issues. that’s (at least in part) where the assumption that they are ritual sacrifices rather than random murders comes from
That and the ritual meal of blighted rye in their stomachs.
If they were richer or more powerful, they’d definitely be more targeted. What they might or might not have had at the time that you’d expect today (or even in a later medieval setting) is protection. What’s the line between “the town set up a ritual designating the leader as responsible for failure” and “a bunch of people from downtown got upset and ganged up on the mayor and the landlord one night”?