Braak Bog Figures, Ancient wooden sculptures in Braak, Germany.
The Braak Bog Figures are two oak wood carvings from the Iron Age housed at the Archaeological State Museum in Schleswig. The male figure stands taller than the female, and both show distinct carved features representing human forms.
These carvings were made in the 5th century BCE and lay hidden in peat near Braak until their discovery in 1946. The find demonstrated that sophisticated wooden sculptures existed in northern Germany during the Iron Age.
The carvings show clear gender characteristics that reveal how the Iron Age community understood the body and identity. These physical details offer insight into what people of that time valued and how they worked with wood.
The figures are displayed indoors at the Archaeological State Museum in Schloss Gottorf in Schleswig as part of the permanent collection. Visitors can view them year-round in a controlled environment designed for preservation and study.
Drill holes in the shoulder areas of both figures show they once had detachable arms that could be removed. This reveals an unexpected level of sophistication in how Iron Age craftspeople assembled wooden figures.
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