‘Lindow Man: His People And His Landscape’

The course will be held in the autumn term of 2024 with 12 lectures on a Thursday evening commencing September 12th, through to December 5th with a half-term holiday in the week beginning October 28th. There will be two Saturday morning field visits on October 5th and November 16th respectively.

This 12-week course will revisit the discovery of Lindow Man, an almost intact Iron Age bog body, in August 1984, now displayed in the British Museum, London. Leading experts in the field will explore recent progress in situating our knowledge of Lindow Man in the wider context of bog body discoveries in the UK and North West Europe and the society of which he was part. In the 40 years since his discovery on Lindow Moss the landscape itself has changed greatly and the cutover peat bog in which he was found is now on the threshold of restoration. The course will examine the evolution of the Lindow Moss landscape through time and the influence of climate change on that. Contributions by visiting lecturers will be supported by field visits and workshop sessions. The course will be curated by Professor Emeritus John Handley OBE, with expert advice from Professor Melanie Giles FSA, both from the University of Manchester. Melanie is the author of the widely acclaimed recent book ‘Bog Bodies – Face to face with the past’.  

Week 1: Thursday 12th September 2024:

Key-note talk: Bog Bodies: Face to face with the Past: Melanie Giles followed by an introduction to the course, Lindow Moss and the ‘Lindow Man season’ – John Handley/Melanie Giles/Pippa Jones 

Week 2: Thursday 19th September:

Lindow Man, his discovery, investigation and curation – Sophia Adams, Curator: First Millenium European and Roman Conquest Period Collections, The British Museum, London 

Week 3: Thursday 26th September:  

Worsley Man, a case study in forensic archaeology – Melanie Giles 

Week 4: Thursday 3rd October: 

Landscape history to the time of Lindow Man (1) – peat cores, stratigraphy and pollen analysis – Jonathan Lageard, Manchester Metropolitan University 

Saturday 5th October 10am: Field Visit 1:

Field Visit (1) to the cutover peat bog on Lindow Moss to examine Lindow Man findspot, peat stratigraphy, sub-fossil pine trees and mossland ecology - Jonathan Lageard, Hannah Lederer and John Handley

Week 5: Thursday 10th October:

Landscape history to the time of Lindow Man (2) – sub-fossil pine trees, tree ring analysis and radiocarbon dating – Jonathan Lageard, Manchester Metropolitan University 

Week 6: Thursday 17th October:

‘Exquisite things and everyday treasures: interpreting deposition in the bog’ – Melanie Giles 

Week 7: Thursday 24th October: 

Reflections on the curation and display of Bog Bodies: the Manchester Museum experience and international comparators – Melanie Giles

Half-term holiday: week of 28th October

Week 8: Thursday 7th November:  

The Celtic Year: Concepts of time in the Iron Age: rhythm of life in Iron Age Britain - Melanie Giles; 14C dating in peat bogs and bog bodies - Seren Griffiths, Manchester Metropolitan University

Week 9: Thursday 14th November:

Landscape history in the early modern era (1650-1800) - peat cutting, moss rooms, enclosure and the Lindow Workhouse - Nye Merrill-Glover, University of Bristol; plus The Volunteer Rifle range, Jon Kelly, Wilmslow Historical Society

Saturday 16th November: Field Visit 2

Field Visit (2) Lindow Moss Heritage Trail, including the cutover peat bog at Lindow Moss to examine keystone plant species for nature recovery (Cotton grasses and Sphagnum mosses), and the Lindow Moss restoration scheme- John Handley, Simon Caporn, Anthony Jones, Nye Merrill Glover, Jon Kelly 

Week 10: Thursday 21st November: 

Lindow Moss – state of the modern landscape and prospects for restoration of the cutover peat bog – Simon Caporn, Manchester Metropolitan University and John Handley 

Week 11: Thursday 28th November:  The Past in the Present: New perspectives on biodiversity loss and ecological restoration – Anna Gilchrist, University of Manchester 

Week 12:  Thursday 5th December:  The future of Lindow Moss: John Handley followed by a short presentation on the programme of events which have marked this anniversary year for the discovery of Lindow Man.  

Q&A session with all contributors invited

Gallery of contributors with biographies