This essay argues that the depiction of women in Seamus Heaney’s poems “Bog Queen” and “Punishment” results from the male gaze in three ways: the narrative viewpoint, stereotypical characterization, and the objectification of the female body. The following essay analyses the poems through an ecofeminist perspective that enables examination of the female characters as personifications of nature – “Bog Queen” as Mother Earth and the victim of “Punishment” as Nerthus, the fertility goddess. The analysis explores three areas; historical context, ‘The Feminine Principle,’ and Nussbaum’s list of ‘Feminist Perspectives on Objectification’ to answer how the male gaze is present in the three aspects. The male gaze is argued to be attributed to an androcentric narrative that presents a man and country’s sense of revenge, stereotypes that are totems of the male fantasy, and dehumanizing sexual objectification that enables appreciation of the dead bodies of women.

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Studies of human sacrifice during the Iron Age in the Nordic countries have long been based on historical literary sources. Scientific studies of human sacrifice often lack archaeological material in the form of human skeletons. This is because of the difficulty in detecting injuries on human bones that can be linked to lethal violence. Studies of bog bodies have mainly been done on bog mummies and therefore studies of wetland skeletons have lagged behind. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether it is possible to find archaeological evidence for historical literary sources' claim that people in the Nordic countries were sacrificed alive during the Iron Age. The aim is also to investigate during which periods of the Nordic Iron Age these human sacrifices took place. It is hoped that this thesis will make an archaeological contribution to research on Nordic human sacrifice and thus pave the way for more interdisciplinary studies of the subject.

Examination of peat samples collected from hummocks and hollows within a confined bog reveals that peat collected from different locations, designated by surface topography, vary in ash content, ash alkalinity, initial Kjeldahl nitrogen content, and fixed and total nitrogen after ammoniation with an ammonia-air mixture. The values of these properties have shown hummocks and hollows to be true entities having characteristic ranges of certain properties. The results have shown that, although peat is heterogenous with respect to certain properties, use can still be made of determined values if ranges of these values are recognized and utilized. Misinterpretations and meaninglessness of results are possible if this is not done. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Northern peatlands have acted as persistent sinks of CO2 throughout the Holocene largely owing to their ability to maintain shallow water table depths that limit decomposition rates and supports the growth of keystone vegetation including Sphagnum mosses. There is concern, however, that the future success and ecosystem function of these northern peat deposits may be at risk to climate change, where temperatures and evaporation rates are predicted to increase substantially in the next century. While numerous studies have examined the hydrology and carbon dynamics in large expansive peatland systems where a water table (WT) is ever-present, relatively little research has been done on small scale peat-accumulating systems where their vulnerability remains unknown. One region where a broad spectrum in the scale of peat accumulation is present is in the bedrock depressions of Canadian Shield rock barrens, which are of special importance as many peat deposits here provide habitat to species at risk including the Blanding’s Turtle and the Massassauga Rattlesnake. This study examines the controls that govern water storage dynamics and moss water availability in 18 different peat-accumulating depressions that vary in size, catchment area, and sediment composition. The magnitude of WT variability was often several times greater in shallower bedrock depressions (<50 cm deep) as compared to deeper ‘bogs’ (>60 cm deep). The magnitude of depression WT variability appeared to be closely linked to the WT depth (WTD), the relative proportions of different sediment types within the depression, and the depth dependant specific yield (Sy) of each sediment type. Sites which contained large fractions of Polytrichum moss or mineral soil – which were more common in shallow depressions ¬¬– had the greatest WT variability due to the lower porosity and Sy of this sediment as compared to Sphagnum peat. Sphagnum dominated ‘vernal pools’ (30-50 cm deep) had a WT variability two to three times greater than Sphagnum dominated bogs at WTDs > 20-25 cm, which may be related to exceptionally high ash concentrations near the base of vernal pools which reduced peat porosity and Sy as compared to more organic-rich peat. As compared to bogs, pits (<15 cm deep) and vernal pools had greater rates of WT decline during drying intervals, deeper average WTDs when a WT was present, and extended periods of WT absence during the summer months. As such, moss growing in pits and vernal pools generally had lower near-surface water availability as compared to bogs, though the importance of depression depth in determining the timing of moss stress is also dependant on the hydrophysical properties (Kunsat and moisture retention) of the moss species in question. WT dynamics and moss water availability were generally weakly correlated to depression catchment size, although during wetter periods of the year the rate of WT recession was moderated in pits and vernal pools which had an upslope depression that could provide sustained water inputs for multiple days after rainfall. The results of this study suggest that depression depth may be a first order control in determining peatland vulnerability to future regime shifts induced by external forcings or disturbances. Furthermore, this study suggests that systematic differences may exist between the hydrophysical properties of peat in shallow vs. large bedrock depressions, potentially resulting from contrasts in fire frequency/severity, and/or the degree of humification/compression among geological settings. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Canada is home to one of the largest reservoirs of organic carbon stored on land in the world, in unique ecosystems called peatlands. Peatlands are formed in wetland environments where a thick layer of organic matter has accumulated over time due to the average rate of vegetation growth on the surface of peatlands exceeding the rate of decomposition of the underlying organic matter. This net accumulation of organic matter over time has caused peatlands to act as a long term sink of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas that is a primary driver of global warming. The ability of peatlands to have slow decomposition rates and support the growth of key peatland vegetation, most notably various species of ‘peat moss’, is highly dependent upon their ability to keep their water table (i.e. the surface below which pore spaces in the organic matter are saturated with water) close to their growing surface. There is concern, however, that a warmer and dryer climate in the future could cause deeper water table positions in peatlands, thereby increasing decomposition rates, decreasing the growth rate of peat moss, and potentially turning peatlands into a net source of carbon dioxide. Most peatland studies to date, however, have focused on water storage/movement and carbon exchange in large, deep peatland systems, whereas relatively little research has been conducted on smaller peatlands. As such, the vulnerability of these smaller peatlands to future climate change remains uncertain. One region where peatlands exist over a wide range of different sizes and landscape positions is in bedrock depressions of the Canadian Shield, which are of special interest as they also provide habitat for species at risk including the Blanding’s Turtle and the Massassauga Rattlesnake. This study looked at how the water table positions and water availability to different species of peat moss compared over the growing season between 18 peatlands of different sizes and landscape position (i.e. peatlands with a relatively ‘small’ and ‘large’ area upslope of them). This study finds that deeper peatlands (with organic matter layers > 60 cm deep) usually had a shallower water table over the summer months than shallower peatlands (< 50 cm deep), primarily due to differences in the properties of the organic matter underlying their growing surfaces. Furthermore, each of the 12 studied peatlands < 50 cm deep lost their water table for a considerable amount of time during the summer (when their water table position dropped below the underlying bedrock of the depression), whereas each of the six peatlands > 60 cm deep had a water table present for the entire growing season. Surprisingly, a peatland’s position on the landscape seemed to have a relatively minor effect on determining the depth/presence of its water table. As deeper peatlands usually had a water table that was closer to the growing surface and was always present, more moisture was available to the peat moss growing at their surface than for peat moss in shallower depressions, though this moisture availability also depended upon the growth form of the different species of peat moss (some species of peat moss were better at accessing subsurface water than others). Through its impact on water table positions and moisture availability for peat moss, peatland depth is likely a primary control governing peatland vulnerability climate change, with shallower peatlands being more vulnerable to warmer and dryer conditions in the future.

Bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) are a small freshwater turtle ranging east of the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Georgia, in small, patchily distributed (<10ha) groundwater fed wetlands. Despite their name, these wetlands are more appropriately identified as seep meadows or fens owing to their reliance on groundwater, with bogs being typified by precipitation as the major hydrologic input. Groundwater inputs are not only important in taxonomically classifying wetland type, but also contribute in important ways to bog turtle natural history. Bog turtles ectothermically regulate body temperature by utilizing thermally buffered groundwater inputs during seasonal extremes. Perennially saturated wetland areas disrupt the establishment of facultative wetland vegetation or woody vegetation that may induce wetland succession, maintaining adequate bog turtle habitat. Further, groundwater input mechanistically contributes to microtopographic variation, providing viable nesting locations. Hydrologic studies pertaining to these wetland habitats has been limited in scope, and often attempts to define hydrologic regimes by use of a centrally placed monitoring well. Several studies that have comprehensively monitored these seep meadow wetlands show hydrologic regime variability at intrasite scales. In this thesis, I sought to confirm the spatially variable nature of hydrologic regimes in bog turtle wetlands. Finding that hydrologic conditions were location-dependent, I then tested whether a seep to non-seep hydrologic gradient, or the defining physical components therein, explained variation in bog turtle population density across a wetland. In Chapter II, I observed wetland conditions in summer extremes to categorize wetland areas based on surface saturation into seep, always wet, and sometimes wet locations. I placed multiple water level monitoring wells within these categories at six bog turtle wetlands and used observed water level data to test for spatial hydrologic variability at within- and across-site scales, finding that hydrologic regime can vary at short distances (<10m), and that alike categorized wells differed in groundwater inputs across-sites. I then used observed water level monitoring data during the growing season to test initial observer-based classifications. These classifications were then reorganized using the amount of time water remained near the soil surface, the degree of fluctuation that water level experienced, and differences in thermal exchange with ambient air temperature and thermally buffered groundwater input. I created a method to delineate spatially variable hydrologic regimes based on groundwater discharge by using several seep-associated features. Soil water temperature, depth to resistive soil layer, and specific conductivity were tested for sampling applicability across seasonal extremes, and for co-occurrence in constrained ordination with spatially explanatory covariates. I found that spatial gradients for relative measures of each seep-associated feature were largely consistent across seasons and that all seep-associated features were more often correlated than any other spatial arrangement. Constrained ordination model results were visualized to depict the seep to non-seep hydrologic gradients found within these wetlands. These gradients were then tested against observed water level data for their predictive capability, finding mixed results across seasons and that hydrologic gradients as modeled could likely be improved with additional explanatory information. Depending on where groundwater is entering a wetland, habitat conditions might vary for bog turtles. Seep areas create perennially saturated or mucky soil conditions, with locations further from groundwater discharge experiencing total or some degree of drying out in the growing season. Bog turtle habitat associations recorded in literature suggest that bog turtles are typically found in or near these soft mud or open water areas. Constant groundwater input near these seeps also leads to rivulet formation. Cool, gently flowing water weaves between hummocks of vegetation near these locations, creating pathways for easy movement, elevated platforms for turtles to bask, and muddy substrates to which turtles can retreat to. Because of the habit conditions afforded by these seep areas, I hypothesized that turtle density might be higher with seep occurrence as influenced by the underlying wetland hydrologic gradient. In Chapter III, I tested whether bog turtle population density was a function of hydrologic features across seep to non-seep gradients, relative soil water temperatures, the depth of substrate above a consolidated soil layer, and relative soil moisture conditions. In the summer of 2022, I trapped at six bog turtle wetlands and tracked 24 bog turtles with radiotelemetry. I used a spatially explicit capture mark recapture framework to estimate density and used data developed for hydrologic datasets in Chapter II to examine density associations. Bog turtle density relationships to hydrologic covariates varied across wetlands and supports the view that bog turtles in their active season are not particularly sensitive to specific hydrologic regime conditions, but rather utilize the entirety of wetland conditions. / Master of Science / Bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) are a small freshwater turtle ranging east of the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Georgia, in small, patchily distributed (<10ha) groundwater-fed seep meadows and fens. Groundwater inputs create these wetlands and conditions necessary for bog turtle survival. Hydrologic studies in these wetland types are limited but hint towards a reliance on groundwater input as contributing to hydrologic regimes that are locationally dependent. In this thesis, I sought to confirm the spatially variable nature of hydrologic conditions in these wetlands by focusing on ground water entry points and testing whether seeps, or associated seep characteristics, influenced bog turtle population density across a wetland. In Chapter II, I used water level monitoring wells to establish that hydrologic regimes in bog turtle wetlands are spatially variable and characterized these regimes by the resulting saturated to dry surface conditions. I then selected wetland features hypothesized to be associated with groundwater discharge locations and provided evidence that these features occur together and are seasonally constant. These features were then used to delineate hydrologic gradients and tested for whether they could predict conditions observed in water level monitoring. Hydrologic gradients drawn from seep to non-seep locations had limited ability to predict observed hydrologic regimes. Ground water seeps are considered to contain necessary habitat conditions for bog turtles as thermal and predatory refugia, a mechanistic disturbance favoring herbaceous vegetation over woody vegetation, and provide processes that establish microtopographic variation favorable to bog turtle nesting behavior. In Chapter III, I used delineated gradients from the preceding chapter to assess underlying hydrologic conditions that explain where turtles are more likely to be found within their habitat, and whether these associations were shared across bog turtle populations. Bog turtle density across wetlands differed by hydrologic-associated features, and findings suggest that site-wide variability in conditions is the more important aspect of bog turtle wetlands than a specific hydrologic regime.

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Reptile populations are in decline worldwide, with turtle species showing some of the largest drops in population. The bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) is considered one of the rarest North American turtle species, and this rarity is made more severe by anthropogenic factors. The wetland habitats that are used by bog turtles contain seepage areas and soil saturation that are characteristic of specific types of wetlands, suggesting that bog turtle rarity may in part be attributed to narrow habitat requirements. In this dissertation, I have sought to spatially and temporally characterize the hydrology and soils of wetlands that are used by bog turtles in an effort to determine how these factors are related to the species' habitat requirements, movement, and activity. In Chapter 1, I evaluated hydrology over a continuous 28-month period using shallow groundwater wells in six wetland fens known to be used by bog turtles for breeding and six apparently similar, but unused, wetlands. The saturated surface area near wells was measured and correlated with depth to the water table. Overall, water tables remained high, with mean monthly depth to the water table for all 12 wetlands remaining > -35 cm (depth below surface datum is negative). Bog turtle breeding wetlands had significantly higher mean water tables and surface saturation than wetlands where no turtles were encountered, particularly during and after the two-year drought occurring in 2007 and 2008. Findings of Chapter 1 suggest that relatively small differences in water table hydrology can affect bog turtle biology and use of wetlands. Bog turtles access soils and move through them to thermoregulate, find cover, and hibernate. Most wetlands used by bog turtles are also grazed by livestock that can modify soil strength. In Chapter 2, I identified dominant soil series and sampled surface soils from wetlands used by bog turtles and similar, but unused, wetlands. Samples were analyzed for organic carbon content and particle size distribution. Organic carbon content was greater in areas that were always wet (10%) than temporarily wet areas (5%). Somewhat higher organic carbon contents were present in wetlands that were used by bog turtles (8.8%) than wetlands where turtles were never encountered (5.7%). Soil textures were sandy loams and silt loams on all the study wetlands. Based on measurements of soil strength made with a static cone penetrometer, bog turtles selected wetland locations with low-strength soils. The mean and variability of soil strength were no different between grazed and ungrazed areas. The physical qualities of surface soils in bog turtle wetlands are dependent on consistently high water tables. In Chapter 3, I described three field studies in which I deployed temperature loggers to measure and contrast ambient air and soil temperatures to turtle carapace temperatures during activity and hibernation. I used temperature signatures to evaluate the timing and cues of spring emergence and to recognize thermoregulatory activities during periods of turtle activity. Mean daily turtle temperatures (n=16 turtles) during the coldest portion of two winters ranged between 1.3°C and 6.1°C, with one turtle experiencing 14 continuous days at temperatures between -1°C and 0°C when ambient temperatures dipped below -10°C. Water tables remained within 10 cm below the soil surface throughout the winter, preventing freezing temperatures for shallow hibernating turtles. Soil temperatures at 10 cm depth were a primary cue for spring emergence. Daily mean summer turtle temperature (n=8) was 20.8°C. My findings indicated that the presence of water near the surface and the ability for turtles to submerge themselves in mud are important for thermoregulation. In Chapter 4, I used radio telemetry to evaluate bog turtle activity (distance moved / hour), linear range, and the pathways used for dispersal. I also investigated bog turtle activity during sampling periods with either wet or dry hydrology. Mixed model analysis indicated that turtles were much less active between 18:30 and 09:30 relative to the daytime and that turtles were most active during times when hydrology was categorized as wet during 2008 when moderate to severe drought was the dominant condition. Sex was not a factor in turtle activity. Bog turtle paths during large movements (≥ 80 m) were mostly contained to areas within 80 m of USGS 7.5â quadrangle mapped streams. Turtles made large movements more frequently during dry conditions. Results suggested that drying conditions can stimulate bog turtles to either remain inactive in sparsely available saturation or to move long distances to find wetter conditions. Future conservation efforts should focus on allowing safe dispersal among habitats by reducing obstructions and risks to travel near streams. I n chapter 5, I used GIS-derived data to compare land cover, stream order, topographic wetness index inverse, presence of hydric soils, and presence of National Wetland Indicator (NWI) wetlands on bog turtle occupied wetlands (n=50) to the same variables on apparently unoccupied (n=48) wetlands or random areas (n=74) along streams. Occupied areas differed from random areas in having near zero values of the topographic wetness index inverse (indicating areas with low slopes and large upstream drainage areas that are more prevalent in wet portions of the landscape), the presence of > 50% low vegetation typical of non-forested agricultural areas, and presence of 3rd order streams. I used significant regression coefficients to create a GIS layer of high quality bog turtle habitat over the landscape, and tested this layer with bog turtle field survey data collected in 2009 independently of model building data. The resulting model has the potential to quickly rule out large portions of the landscape as potential bog turtle habitat. Finally, in Chapter 6, I provided general recommendations for managing bog turtle habitats in Southwestern Virginia. Managing bog turtle wetlands must emphasize the maintenance of high water tables, while avoiding inundation. Maintaining connectivity among wetlands used by bog turtles is an important aspect to consider when developing bog turtle conservations plans associated with development and other land use changes. Educating landowners and enforcing existing wetland laws are imperative for effective bog turtle management in Southwestern Virginia. / Ph. D.

I sydsvenska Sverige finns en utbredd sägentradition om nedpålade döda som spökar, på svenska kallade ”pålgastar” (pile ghosts). De nedpålade döda sägs spöka på platsen där de pålades, ofta i mossar. Att människor pålats i mossar sedan långt tillbaka i tiden vet vi tack vara arkeologiska fynd av pålade kroppar, framför allt från järnåldern. Den gängse föreställningen är att de döda pålades för att inte spöka. Denna föreställning bygger framför allt på sägner. Ändå spökar de pålade i sägnerna. Syftet med uppsatsen är att med hjälp av närläsning av sägner om pålade döda undersöka om sägnerna kan förklara varför människor pålades i mossar och om pålen kan ha haft något annat syfte än att förhindra den döde från att gå igen. Med hjälp av retroperspektiv metod kommer jag fram till att pålen i sägnerna förknippas med de döda, men inte bara med de som pålats. Pålen tycks användas som ett verktyg för att kommunicera med de döda eller med den andra sidan. Kanske har mossen fungerat som ett gränsland mellan de levandes värld och de dödas, där pålen använts för att tala med den döde i mossen. Sägnerna om de pålade i mossar kan ha uppkommit som förklaringssägner till de pålar och lik man funnit mossarna. Pålarnas funktion som rituella verktyg har i så fall fallit i glömska. Kopplingen mellan kommunikationen med de döda och pålarna har dock levt kvar i sägnerna. / In southern Sweden, there is a widespread legend tradition of piled-up dead people who then return to haunt the living, known in Swedish as "pålgastar" (pile ghosts). The piled-up dead are said to haunt the place where they were piled, often in bogs. We know that people have been piled up in bogs since long ago thanks to archaeological finds of piled bodies, especially from the Iron Age. The common belief is that the dead were piled up so as not to haunt the living. This belief is based mainly on legends. Yet, in the legends, the piled ones are haunting the living. The purpose of this paper is to examine, by means of close reading of legends about the piled-up dead, whether the legends can explain why people were piled up in bogs and whether the pile may have had some other purpose than to prevent the dead from walking again. Using the retrospective method, I conclude that the stake in the legends is associated with the dead, but not only with those who were staked. The stake seems to be used as a tool to communicate with the dead or with the other side. Perhaps the bog has functioned as a borderland between the world of the living and the world of the dead, where the stake has been used to talk to the dead in the bog. The legends of the stakes in bogs may have arisen as explanatory legends for the stakes and corpses found in the bogs. In that case, the function of the stakes as ritual tools has been forgotten. However, the link between communication with the dead and the stakes has survived in the legends.