The intestines of a more than 2000 years old peat-bog man: microscopy, magnetic resonance imaging and 14C-dating

The intestines of Grauballe Man, who is a 2400-old late Iron Age body found in a raised bog in the central part of Jutland, Denmark, was examined by microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging. Plant roots found in the tissue were radiocarbon dated by AMS.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a uniform structure of the tissue, without any recognizable individual layers. Low signal areas with a diameter of less than 1 mm in diameter appeared with individual distances of 3–10 mm. Microscopy revealed that only the connective tissue layer just under the intestinal mucous membrane was left. The low signal spots observed by MRI turned out to be formed by plant roots penetrating the tissue. AMS 14C-dating of these indicated that penetration appeared not more than 200 years after the body was laid in the bog.