Ireland’s Royal Bog Bodies?
Friday, November 18th, 2016November 18, 2016
Cashel Man, Ireland’s most ancient bog body, may have been a king, according to researchers who have been studying the exquisitely preserved natural mummy. The idea that Cashel Man may have been a ruler who fell out of favor is a recent theory that may help explain why he and other bog bodies are fairly common in Ireland and other parts of northern Europe.
A bog body is human remains naturally preserved through burial in a peat bog. A peat bog is a wetland in which the soil consists primarily of peat, that is, partially decayed mosses and other plant matter. Soil and water conditions in a peat bog greatly slow the decay of organic (biological) matter. Human bodies immersed in such bogs can remain remarkably well preserved for thousands of years. Many bog bodies have been found in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and other parts of northern Europe. Most bog bodies date to Europe’s Iron Age, between about 700 B.C. and 300 A.D., when Celtic peoples inhabited much of the region.
Cashel Man’s preserved corpse was discovered by bog workers near the town of Cashel in County Laois, in the central lowland of Ireland. It was found in 2011 after being uncovered and partially damaged by a peat harvesting machine. Archaeologists excavated the body, which had been buried in the bog in a crouching position thousands of years ago. Much of Cashel Man’s skin, hair, torso, and limbs were preserved, though the head and one arm were damaged by the harvesting machine and recovered later. Radiocarbon dating shows that Cashel Man lived and died about 4,000 years ago during the early Bronze Age. This makes Cashel Man the world’s oldest known bog body with intact skin.
Archaeologists determined that Cashel Man was between 25 and 45 years old when he died. Computed Tomography (CT) scans revealed injuries that show Cashel Man’s death was not from natural causes. His arms were broken and he had been struck repeatedly in the back with a sharp object, probably an axe, shattering his spine in two places. Eamonn Kelly, an archaeologist with the Museum of Antiquities in Dublin, theorizes that Cashel Man’s fatal injuries suggest he may have been a king who was killed as a human sacrifice.
In ancient Ireland, kings were at risk if such calamities as crop failures or plagues occurred during their reign. Archaeologists in Ireland believe that two other bog bodies discovered in 2003—Clonycavan Man and Old Croghan Man—may also have been kings who paid the price for ruling during troubled times. Cashel Man will eventually join Clonycavan Man and Old Croghan Man on display at the Irish Museum of Antiquities at Leinster House, the Irish parliament building in Dublin.