Archaeology Magazine - January 1973 - 74

THE

ASSOCIATION
PROGRAMS

FOR CULTURAL
EXCHANGE
IN EUROPE
FOR 1973

BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY July 12-August 27 Cost $790
Seminar at Merton College, Oxford, followed by site excavation in
England, Scotland or Hebrides. Open to college students and recent
graduates.
HOLIDAY
2-3 weeks.
April
May
June
July
August
September

STUDY PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS
Cost from S500
Folklore of Castile
Chateaux of the Loire
Central European Baroque
The Hebrides * English Furniture
The Normans * Scottish Tower Houses
Early Renaissance * Rome

For information,write: Associationfor Cultural Exchange,539 West 112thSt.,
New York,N. Y. 10025or call (212) 666-1605.
number of errors of usage,an occasional
lack of agreement between subject and
verb and even one or two misspellings).
In spite of the aboveremarks,the book
is surelythe product of responsiblescholarship; it is attractively prepared and
representsa pleasant introductionto the
prehistoricantiquitiesof Hungary.
T. W. Jacobsen
Indiana University
The Bog People:
Iron-Age Man Preserved
by P. V. Glob. Translated by Rupert
Bruce-Mitford. 200 pages, 79 photographs, 2 maps, bibliography.Cornell
University Press, Ithaca, New York
1969 $7.50
Accurate reconstruction of prehistoric
cultures depends on the preservationof
archaeologicalevidence and the ability
of the archaeologistto recoverthe greatest possible amount of this evidence.
Prehistoriansare literally at the mercy
of the elements, and only the understandingof natural destructiveprocesses
and technical aids for the recovery of
evidencegivesthem a chance of success
in their endeavors.Most archaeologists
have to workwith poorlypreservedsites.
An unusual example of nearly total
preservationoccursin northwestEurope
where bogs have sealed artifacts, clothing and human bodiesin a wet and airless tomb, or low temperatures prevented decay. In the last 200 years almost700prehistoricbodies,mostof them
showing signs of violent death, have
been found in this area. In his intensive
- P. V.
study- here under discussion
Glob brings together detailed informa74

tion about many of the bog finds in
Denmark and elsewhere,including his
own observationsas principal investigator at Tollund and Grauballe. He supplies authentic backgroundand interpretation. On the basis of archaeological
data and classical written sources, he
reconstructsthe way of life and religion
of the Iron Age people.He believesthat
the bodiesfound in bogswere victimsof
a ritual murder and sacrificeto a fertility goddess,Nerthus.
In addition to the archaeologicalrecovery, Glob's book contains much informationof the anatomical,histological
and roentgenographic examination of
the bodies. Of special interest are the
discussionof the well-preservedbrains
and references to a surprisinglylarge
number of other prehistoricbrains. The
preservationof the Tollund and Grauballe men was so perfect that the species
of plants they ate for their last meal
could be identified in the contents of
their stomachsand intestines,whichwere
intact.
Investigation showed that the bog
water, saturated with soil acids, was an
essential factor in the preservation of
theseancientfindswhichhave frequently
emerged from the peat to the surprise,
terror and wonderment of the peatcutters who sometimesbelieved that it
was evil incarnate, the Devil himself,
that they were seeing.
This fascinatingvolumeis richly illustrated with 79 excellent photographs
and is exciting reading for experts as
well as for the general public.
Stephen Foltiny
New
Princeton,
Jersey

The Treasure of Sutton Hoo:
Ship-Burial for an
Anglo-Saxon King
by Bernige Grohskopf. xx, 168 pages,
color frontispiece, 22 photographs, 1
drawing, 3 maps, 1 plan, appendix,
glossary,bibliography.Atheneum, New
York 1970$6.95
The excavation near Ipswich in 1939
of a ship burial honoringa seventh-century East Anglian ruler not only disclosedan invaluablecollectionofjewelry
and weaponsbut also revealedthe high
level of culture and craftsmanshipof
Anglo-Saxonroyal society.The attempt
to composea perceptiveand popularaccount of the discoveryof the Sutton Hoo
ship burial and to bring this most notable of Anglo-Saxonfindsto the attention
of American readers is certainly a reasonable one.
The present volume,unfortunately,is
disappointing.It offersa somewhatfragmented treatment of the find and also
underestimates the intelligence of its
readers. Gratuitously patronizing remarks are unnecessaryin a work of this
type; e.g., "Few people have found a
buried treasure right in the front yard,
as it were" and "when opening such
moundsthe archaeologistdoesnot simply
grab a shoveland heave to."
Despite this tone, the author does
succeed in capturing the tension and
romance surrounding the excavation
which took place on the eve of World
War II. Though the volume includes
no originalresearch,Mrs. Grohskopfhas
surveyedmost of the scholarlypublications on Sutton Hoo and has included
newspaperaccounts of the dig and interesting summariesof her conversation
with several of the excavators.
More attention to the significanceof
the burial would have materially improved the book'sbalance.For example,
a ten-page chapter entitled The Questions raisesthe issueswhichmostconcern
archaeologists and historians: Whose
memorialis it? When did it take place?
What relationships does it reveal betweenEast Angliaand Sweden? Though
several possibleanswersto these as-yetunresolved questions are presented
briefly, little attention is given to the
effect these issues have had upon attitudes toward the burial or generalviews
of Anglo-Saxonhistory. Discussionof
these matters would be more relevant
than the lengthy digressionin Chapter
1 which purports to be A Glimpse of
England in the Seventh Century but
which is in fact a casual overviewof
500 years of Saxon life, includingsuch

Archaeology Magazine - January 1973

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - January 1973