Moor

Traveling through Lower Saxony, you can’t avoid it: the moor. The region is one of the most moor-rich landscapes in Germany. As late as the 18th century, the moor covered a staggering 6500 square kilometres. The landscape was characterized by open, treeless expanses.
The museum exhibition presents the moor as an extreme habitat. It provides a vivid impression of the interplay between the animal and plant life in the raised bog. Beetles and ants, amphibians and birds, butterflies and bumblebees all have their distinct roles in the moor’s ecosystem.

Boardwalks and roads across the moor show that humans have been traversing this landscape since the Neolithic period. They had to devise creative solutions to do so. Wooden cult figures and objects made from precious materials are displayed in the exhibition as originals. With parts of wheels and wagons found in the moor, you can see what the first vehicles in Northern Europe might have looked like. Among the world’s oldest artifacts are the axles from the moor near Lohne in the regions of Diepholz and Vechta, which are part of the exhibition. For archaeologists, moors are treasure troves of rare and everyday items from human life.

The moor bodies are, of course, among the most remarkable finds. Their preservation demonstrates the moor’s ability to conserve organisms, as some of these bodies have remained intact in the moor for over two thousand years.