The Mysterious Bog People

As many of you know, I’m fascinated by bog bodies. Back in 2005, there was an exhibit called the Mysterious Bog People traveling the world. The closest it got to New Jersey was Pittsburgh, which is about 8 hours away. I decided to make a trip of it and a bunch of friends decided to come along. I also decided that it would happen the weekend of my birthday, causing one friend to dub it the Bog Body Birthday Bash. A college friend of mine, who independently became fascinated with bog bodies, was asking about the exhibit since she hadn’t been able to to, so I took pictures of most of the souvenirs I got. (I didn’t take one of the book; I ate the chocolate; and I sadly lost the silver spiral bracelet a few years ago–a loss I still mourn. It was a favorite piece of jewelry and though the Met in NY used to carry the same piece, they no longer make it.) So to make a long story short (too late!), I figured I’d post the pics here as well.

“Frankenstein” Bog Mummies Discovered in Scotland

“Frankenstein” Bog Mummies Discovered in Scotland.

This is awesome in a creepy kind of way.

 

Bog Body likely ancient king

3,000-year-old bog body is likely to be sacrificed Irish king

Experts believe the body is that of an Iron Age Irish monarch

By CATHY HAYES, IrishCentral Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 7:12 AMUpdated Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 7:12 AM
 3,000-year-old bog body is likely sacrificed Irish king

Experts at the National Museum of Ireland believe the body accidentally discovered in a bog in County Laois could be that of a sacrificed Iron Age Irish king. The body displays various cuts that show the man was killed in a ritual killing associated with kingship.

An expert in the field, Ned Kelly, spoke to the Journalabout the new theories. He explained “Irish kings in the ancient period were replaced after a number of years. The old king would be sacrificed and a new king chosen. It ties in with their religious beliefs surrounding the solar deity (male) and the deity of the land (female). The king ties in with the solar cycle – the waxing and waning of the sun.

The idea was that the king was married to the sovereignty, or the land. The goddess would become old and withered and she would need a new young consort to return her to youth and vigor and beauty. So the old king would be killed and a new one take his place. They wouldn’t have been that old, either.”

The area where the body was accidentally found by turf cutters is of particular interest to historians and archaeologists as it is on the border of two ancient Irish kingdoms.

Kelly said “All of the other bog bodies were found on significant boundaries. The idea is that because the goddess is the land, by inserting bodies and other items relating to their inauguration as king along the boundaries, it gives form to the goddess.”

A more detailed examination of the body will reveal further facts about the man’s lifestyle and status. His last meal may even be preserved in his stomach.

They will be pay particular attention to the bog body’s nipples. Whether or not his nipples have been cut could indicate whether he was a king.

Kelly explained “The kissing or suckling of a king’s nipples was a gesture of submission,” Kelly said. “So by cutting the nipples, the king was being decommissioned.”

Initially the body was examined on site. They experts had believed that it was the body of a young woman and that her torso had been separated from her lower limbs. They had thought that her torso decomposed because it was wrapped in leather.

However once the body was removed from the bog and re-examined in cold storage at the  museum they realized that the body was simply in a very contorted position. What they had thought was a leather bag was in fact the man’s torso.

More on the newest bog body

3,000-year-old bog body is likely to be sacrificed Irish king

Experts believe the body is that of an Iron Age Irish monarch

By

CATHY HAYES,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 7:12 AM

Updated Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 7:12 AM

3,000-year-old bog body is likely sacrificed Irish king

Experts at the National Museum of Ireland believe the body accidentally discovered in a bog in County Laois could be that of a sacrificed Iron Age Irish king. The body displays various cuts that show the man was killed in a ritual killing associated with kingship.

An expert in the field, Ned Kelly, spoke to the Journalabout the new theories. He explained “Irish kings in the ancient period were replaced after a number of years. The old king would be sacrificed and a new king chosen. It ties in with their religious beliefs surrounding the solar deity (male) and the deity of the land (female). The king ties in with the solar cycle – the waxing and waning of the sun.

The idea was that the king was married to the sovereignty, or the land. The goddess would become old and withered and she would need a new young consort to return her to youth and vigor and beauty. So the old king would be killed and a new one take his place. They wouldn’t have been that old, either.”

The area where the body was accidentally found by turf cutters is of particular interest to historians and archaeologists as it is on the border of two ancient Irish kingdoms.

Kelly said “All of the other bog bodies were found on significant boundaries. The idea is that because the goddess is the land, by inserting bodies and other items relating to their inauguration as king along the boundaries, it gives form to the goddess.”

A more detailed examination of the body will reveal further facts about the man’s lifestyle and status. His last meal may even be preserved in his stomach.

They will be pay particular attention to the bog body’s nipples. Whether or not his nipples have been cut could indicate whether he was a king.

Kelly explained “The kissing or suckling of a king’s nipples was a gesture of submission,” Kelly said. “So by cutting the nipples, the king was being decommissioned.”

Initially the body was examined on site. They experts had believed that it was the body of a young woman and that her torso had been separated from her lower limbs. They had thought that her torso decomposed because it was wrapped in leather.

However once the body was removed from the bog and re-examined in cold storage at the  museum they realized that the body was simply in a very contorted position. What they had thought was a leather bag was in fact the man’s torso.

And in the world of bog bodies

Portlaoise bog body could be 3,000 years old

Updated: 18:57, Thursday, 11 August 2011

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html#_=1313102165308&count=horizontal&id=twitter_tweet_button_0&lang=en&original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rte.ie%2Fnews%2F2011%2F0811%2Fportlaoise.html&text=Portlaoise%20bog%20body%20could%20be%203%2C000%20years%20old%20-%20RT%C3%89%20News&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rte.ie%2Fnews%2F2011%2F0811%2Fportlaoise.html&via=rtenewshttp://www.facebook.com/plugins/send.php?api_key=245620488781718&channel=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.ak.fbcdn.net%2Fconnect%2Fxd_proxy.php%3Fversion%3D3%23cb%3Df2540170f8%26origin%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.rte.ie%252Ffbbe650d8%26relation%3Dparent.parent%26transport%3Dpostmessage&colorscheme=light&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rte.ie%2Fnews%2F2011%2F0811%2Fportlaoise.html&locale=en_US&sdk=joeyhttp://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?action=recommend&api_key=245620488781718&channel_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.ak.fbcdn.net%2Fconnect%2Fxd_proxy.php%3Fversion%3D3%23cb%3Df3e34f4368%26origin%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.rte.ie%252Ffbbe650d8%26relation%3Dparent.parent%26transport%3Dpostmessage&font=arial&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rte.ie%2Fnews%2F2011%2F0811%2Fportlaoise.html&layout=button_count&locale=en_US&node_type=link&sdk=joey&show_faces=false&width=130https://plusone.google.com/u/0/_/+1/fastbutton?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rte.ie%2Fnews%2F2011%2F0811%2Fportlaoise.html&size=medium&count=true&db=1&hl=en-US&jsh=r%3Bgc%2F23023094-78d85b58#id=I1_1313102166126&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rte.ie&rpctoken=176125169&_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe

Archaeologists say a body uncovered in a Portlaoise bog could be up to three thousand years old.

• Article
• Video (1)

1 of 4

• Bog body – Archaeologists believe the body could be up to 3,000 years old
• Discovery – The body was found by a Bord na Móna worker
• Remains – Tests will be carried out to determine the age and gender of the body
• Workers – National Museum and Bord na Móna workers have spent the day working on the remains

• 
• 
• 
• 

PlaySix One News: Bog body could be as much as 3,000 years old

Archaeologists believe a body uncovered in a Midlands bog could be up to three thousand years old.

Staff from the National Museum as well as Bord na Móna workers have spent the day working on the human remains, which were found partially buried in a leather bag in a bog just outside Portlaoise.

Ned Kelly, the head of antiquities at the National Museum, said it is possible the person could have been the victim of human sacrifice.

The body’s legs, which were not enclosed in the leather, have been preserved by the chemicals in the peat.

However it appears that the torso and head which were in the bag did not survive.

The body is the latest in a number of discoveries made in the same bog over the last number of years which includes bog butter, leather shoes and axe heads.

The remains will be removed from the site shortly and taken to the National Museum for analysis and preservation.

Radio carbon dating will be carried out on a sample taken from the body to determine the age of the person while it is also hoped the skeletal remains will show if the person was male or female.

The remains were found by a Bord na Móna worker late yesterday evening just seconds before the machine he was driving was due to pass over them and probably destroy them.

New in the world of bog bodies

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0811/portlaoise.html

 

 

(Pics and video at rte site)

Archaeologists believe a body uncovered in a Midlands bog could be up to three thousand years old.

Staff from the National Museum as well as Bord na Móna workers have spent the day working on the human remains, which were found partially buried in a leather bag in a bog just outside Portlaoise.

Ned Kelly, the head of antiquities at the National Museum, said it is possible the person could have been the victim of human sacrifice.

The body’s legs, which were not enclosed in the leather, have been preserved by the chemicals in the peat.

However it appears that the torso and head which were in the bag did not survive.

The body is the latest in a number of discoveries made in the same bog over the last number of years which includes bog butter, leather shoes and axe heads.

The remains will be removed from the site shortly and taken to the National Museum for analysis and preservation.

Radio carbon dating will be carried out on a sample taken from the body to determine the age of the person while it is also hoped the skeletal remains will show if the person was male or female.

The remains were found by a Bord na Móna worker late yesterday evening just seconds before the machine he was driving was due to pass over them and probably destroy them.

It’s Not Quite Bog Bodies

I found something today. Something I find hysterical. It’s not the product so much as the name. Little sculptures framed to make pictures. Sculptures made out of bog bits from Athlone. The name? Bog Buddies!

http://www.siopa.com/gifts/425/Celtic-Ogham-Wishes–Irish-Bog-Buddies.htm

Iron Grip

Photograph courtesy C.S. Fuchs, NLD

Found in 2005, Moora’s hand (pictured) was conspicuously absent when her body had been discovered five years earlier.

The shriveled hand, said to have been accidentally cut off by the peat-collection machine, proved key to solving the mystery of Moora’s identity.

“We did radiocarbon dating of the corpse and of the peat that was collected with [the hand] and showed it was a body from the Iron Age,” Bauerochse said.

(See more bog-body pictures.)

Published February 2, 2011

 

ThePirateJenny says: I think her nails are in better shape than mine!

Moora 2.0

Fleshing Out Moora

Illustration courtesy Caroline Wilkison, University of Dundee

“At first glance, the five results don’t look very similar because of the different hairstyles and other things,” Bauerochse said—as evidenced by this reconstruction that portrays the Iron Age teenager as slightly older.

“But if you stack the drawings one atop the other, you see that many things are remarkably consistent.”

For example, the spacing of Moora’s eyes, the position of her nose, and the shapes of her cheekbones are remarkably similar in all of the artists’ reconstructions, he said.

(Read more about Europe’s bog bodies in National Geographic magazine.)

Published February 2, 2011

Early Version of Moora

Strawberry Blonde

Image courtesy V. Minkus, NLD

Moora’s face—or one version of it—takes shape, thanks to a facial-reconstruction artist who molded artificial modeling clay around one of the plastic models of the bog body’s skull.

Skilled as they were at translating the structure of the skull into facial features, the artists still had to make educated guesses about some of Moora’s features and traits, such as her hairstyle, her hair and eye color, the shapes of her lips, and her skin tone.

“It’s about 90 percent science and 10 percent art,” Bauerochse said.

(See pictures of King Tut’s reconstructed face.)

Published February 2, 2011