All the forensic reconstruction of how they died is also very cool!

Irish Bog Mummy Used Hair Gel

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20060116/bogmummy_arc.html

Quote :

"Jan. 19, 2006— Evidence for Iron Age male vanity has emerged from an Irish peat bog, according to archaeologists who discovered the savagely murdered bodies of two prehistoric men. Named after the places in central Ireland where they were found in 2003 — Croghan Hill and Clonycavan — the bog men, both over 2,300 years old, revealed surprising fashion customs: one used hair gel to keep his hairdo in place and the other had dainty, well-manicured fingernails on lifelike hands. A young male just five feet, two inches (160 centimeters) tall, Clonycavan Man died from a severe head wound with an axe. His forearms, hands and lower abdomen are missing: most likely, they were hacked off by a peatcutting machine. "Clonycavan Man's hair style was swept upward on top of his head, perhaps to add a few inches to his height. The hair was held in place by a type of 'hair gel' which was composed of a mixture of pine resin and vegetable oil," Bog Bodies Project coordinator Isabella Mulhall told Discovery News. Gathering 35 specialists from six countries, the 18-month-long project involved analysis of the bog people which included CT and MRI scanning, fingerprinting, palaeodietary, and histological and pathological investigations. It emerged that the resin used in the gel came from as far away as France or Northern Spain. "The gel was an exclusive commodity, clearly not available to all. We suspect, therefore, that Clonycavan Man was from the higher echelons of society," Mulhall said. The other bog body, Oldcroghan Man, has turned to be the tallest Iron Age body discovered. Although his head and lower limbs are missing, his arm span indicates that his height was a whopping six feet six inches (198 centimeters). His extremely well manicured nails indicate he also was a wealthy man, untroubled by manual labour. Both men were horribly tortured before they were killed, possibly as ritual sacrifices. Oldcroghan Man died in his early 20s, stabbed through the chest. Holes cut in his upper arms suggest a rope was threaded in order to restrain him, while a defensive injury on his arm indicates he saw the attack coming. Radiocarbon dating showed that Oldcroghan Man lived between 362 B.C and 175 B.C., and Clonycavan Man from 392 B.C. to 201 B.C. The bodies, especially Oldcroghan Man, were so well preserved that they were first examined by a police homicide unit before archaeologists revealed that the murder occurred 2,300 years ago. The exceptional preservation of bog bodies, found across northern Europe, comes from the unique bog chemistry. Soon after the bodies were tipped into the peat bogs, the ubiquitous peat-building Sphagnum moss began growing, embedding them in cold, acid- and oxygen-free conditions that immobilized bacteria and tanned the bodies. The result is exceptionally well-preserved mummies. Theories about the bog people's deaths abound; they have been described as executed criminals, human sacrifices or just murder victims. According to bog expert Ned Kelly, keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum in Ireland, the Oldcroghan and Clonycavan discovery have helped to develop a new theory. In a BBC documentary which will detail the finding on Friday, Kelly notes that both bodies, as well as other 40 bog bodies found in the past, were discovered along ancient kingdom boundaries. "My belief is that these burials are offerings to the gods of fertility by kings to ensure a successful reign," Kelly said in the BBC documentary. Oldcroghan Man and Clonycavan Man will go on public display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin in May. "

1/21/2006 5:36:39 PM

Thats pretty cool.

1/21/2006 5:40:48 PM

gg

1/21/2006 5:43:34 PM

^^ and ^

husband and wife?
bf and gf?
father/mother and son/daughter?

1/21/2006 5:48:10 PM

Quote :

"Sex : M"

and

Quote :

"Sex : M"

I would hope not


So this poor kid was able to be murdered with a huge blow to the head, have his arms and lower body chopped off but his hairdo remained intact? that must be some powerful stuff!

1/21/2006 5:53:47 PM

no shit man...

pine resin, that's hardcore right there!

1/21/2006 6:14:44 PM

Quote :

" The bodies, especially Oldcroghan Man, were so well preserved that they were first examined by a police homicide unit before archaeologists revealed that the murder occurred 2,300 years ago. "

oh, so that means the cops can be lazy, eh?

the perpetrators of these heinous crimes must be brought to justice!

but seriously, these are now the oldest known metrosexuals

[Edited on January 21, 2006 at 6:36 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2006 6:35:35 PM