Lindow Man: bog body
- Gallery: Room 50
- Culture: Iron Age
- Date: 2 BC - 119 (circa)
- Object type: bog body
- Materials: human tissue; human skin; human bone
- Museum number: 1984,1002.2
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This severed right leg is part of the remarkably preserved human remains known as Lindow Man, or Lindow II. Discovered in 1984 in a bog near Manchester, it offers a rare glimpse into life in Iron Age Britain. The cold, acidic, low-oxygen environment of the peat preserved not just the bones, but also the skin, hair, and internal organs.
Lindow Man died violently, with multiple injuries to his head and neck. He was around 25 years old at the time and had trimmed facial hair and neatly filed nails. Just before death, he had eaten a simple meal of bread and possibly mistletoe berries.
Because so many parts of the body were kept separately, he is now displayed in pieces across different collections. His discovery sparked one of the most detailed scientific investigations into an ancient human body. Through careful chemical treatment, including freezing and freeze-drying, experts have preserved him for study and display.
See it in person
Lindow Man: bog body is on display in Room 50 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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