The Moor and Fen Museum in
Elisabethfehn, Germany (40 miles west of Oldenburg, near Barßels) has no
mummies on exhibit or in the backroom but it explains the workings of a bog so well that this is
museum worth visiting, especially if you have an interest in bog
mummies.
In a series of displays
spread among three main rooms and a large outdoor area (with an artificial
bog, no less), the museum explains how bogs are created, how they grow and
mature, and how they provide an important habitat for plants and animals
and important products for humans. The museum takes great pains
to make certain that visitors understand that bogs are irreplaceable
wetlands. Of course, bogs
have also produced a number of mummified bodies over the centuries, thanks
to the special chemical nature of bogs. Though the museum does not possess
a bog body, it does display hair samples from four bodies and photographs
of a number of bodies.
All display labels are in
German, but the museum staff is friendly and will explain whatever you
would like to know in English. English brochures can be requested at the
ticket desk.
