The Swamp Girl, a 2,000-Year-Old Murder Case
The eerie story of a young girl that lost her life and was found thousands of years later
In 1897, two men working in a wetland in the northeast of the Netherlands made a shocking discovery. The men were extracting peat, sometimes called turf, a natural material used in agriculture. While digging the ground they encountered what they believed to be some sort of leather bag. When they realised it was in fact the remains of a human being they tried to hide it and left.
The news of the mysterious find spread quickly, however, and the authorities rushed to the location in the wetland. They came too late; local villagers had damaged the find and it was in very bad condition. The remains were brought to the local museum and were examined. What they discovered was something they did not expect. The remains were those of a young girl, who would later be named the Girl of Yde, named after the location where she was found.
The following is the description of the local mayor:
“The skin is bluish, the head still almost intact, only the right cheek is injured … the mouth open, exposing the teeth. Long reddish hair on the left side of the skull; on the right the head seems clean-shaven … Neck, shoulders, upper body (only skin and bones of course) still fit together well; the arms are still partly present. … Furthermore … a foot, the nails of which are still present on the toes; a hand, all fingers complete, thumb still fitted with nail. Also dug up: a hip bone, knee bone and other bones … The foot and hand are relatively small and the bones are not coarse either, so that I would almost think of a woman here. Among the remains were found: a … piece of worked cloth … and a cloth or band … which had been wrapped a few times around the neck.” (21st of may, 1897)
This was not the first time human remains were found at a peatland in the Netherlands. Organic material submerged in this material is not exposed to oxygen and therefore decomposes very slowly. Sometimes remaining intact for hundreds of years. This, however, was the first time that the remains of a human were discovered that seemed to be the victim of murder. Forensic research determined that she most probably died due to a stabbing wound in her neck. She was also choked with the rope found around her neck.
Who was she?
Initially, the remains were estimated to be from the year 500. A few decades later, a carbon dating study determined that the girl had probably lived between 54 BC and 128 AD. The study also concluded that she was 16 years old when she passed away. An examination of her spine indicated that she was around 140 cm tall and suffered from scoliosis, so her back was bent heavily. She probably had trouble walking since she was a young girl.
The girl of Yde lived in a small community of farmers who had to work hard to sustain themselves. A good harvest was never guaranteed and sometimes there was hunger. Wolves, bears, wild boars, and deer roamed the surrounding forests. Not far from the community where the girl lived was a swampy wetland. This is where the girl was on her last day alive. Why was she there? Children were perhaps not even allowed to go near the swamp. It was most likely a place full of gods, mystery, and most of all fear for the community. It might have been the first time she was there.
Only priests might have crossed the border into the swamp. They came there to talk to the gods and spirits. They went to this mystical place to express their gratitude for a good harvest or to beg for better times. Sacrifices were common in these communities. Sometimes a deer or maybe a little sculpture. But on some occasions, the people took extreme measures in order to please their gods.
A human sacrifice
The times were weary in the northeast of the Netherlands around the time the girl lived. What happened among their horizon scared the villagers. They would have heard stories about the Romans in the regions towards the south. Perhaps they had met with traders who had already seen Roman soldiers on their reconnaissance missions. What would the villagers do if they came? Would they fight? Would they even have a chance? Maybe the only thing they could do was please the gods. What would please the gods more than a young woman who had just reached the age of reproduction?
Perhaps this was the reason she was chosen. Or maybe the fact that she was deformed was enough reason for the villagers and priests to use her as a human sacrifice. On her last day, one side of her head was shaved, probably during a ritual in the village or at the edge of the swamp. When she arrived at the swamp, a rope was wrapped around her neck three times. While she was choked, she was stabbed in her neck, and as she was most likely still alive, she was dropped in a hole in the swamp.
The exact circumstances of her death are hard to determine. Was it an honour for the girl and her family that she was chosen as a sacrifice to the mighty gods? Or was she scared? We will never know. We only know for certain that her community deliberately took her life and offered her to the gods. The swamp took her and there she remained, only to be rediscovered 2,000 years later. What happened to the community after she was sacrificed we do not know. The generations after her most likely forgot about her. But history did not.
