The Mound People

Professor Glob is better known for The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved , about bodies preserved in the acidic conditions of Denmark's peat bogs. These bodies were those of sacrificial victims. The people whose lives Glob reconstructs in "The Mound People" are from the Bronze Age, and were buried with all their finery in oak coffins under burial mounds. The same acidic conditions which preserved Tollund Man and Grauballe Man preserved these older bodies, but less completely, so we are spared the unsettling and at times gruesome images which haunt one from the other book.

Some of the mounds were excavated in the 19th century, others more recently. Glob describes the excavations and collates the finds, which include beautifully preserved show more clothing as well as the hair of the deceased, and puts them together with metal ritual objects and Danish rock art to build a picture of the life and fertility-obsessed religion of the culture. The illustrations, though in black and white, are excellent, presented as a series of full-page "plates" distributed in a logical order through the text.

The book is fascinating both for this depiction of Bronze Age life, and for the tale it tells of archaeology in the infancy of the discipline. The writing is clear and easy to follow even through the technical detail. Glob writes with delicacy and humour and his humane spirit shines through at all times. A very enjoyable read for anyone with an interest in archaeology. show less