Old Croghan Man

Old Croghan Man (Seanfhear Chruacháin in Irish) is the name given to a well-preserved Iron Age bog body found in an Irish bog in June 2003. The remains are named after Croghan Hill, north of Daingean, County Offaly, near where the body was found. The find is on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. Old Croghan Man was found three months after a similar find, dubbed Clonycavan Man, in County Meath.

The man is calculated (based on his arm span) to have stood 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall: which is considered to be fairly rare for the period when he lived. The man's apparently manicured nails led to speculation that he was not someone who engaged in manual labour, and possibly therefore of high status.

His last meal (analysed from the contents in his stomach) was believed to have been wheat and buttermilk. However, he was shown to have had a meat rich diet for at least the 4 months prior to his death. Scars on his lungs suggest he may have suffered from pleurisy.

Old Croghan Man is believed to have died between 362 BCE and 175 BCE, making the body over 2,000 years old. Evidence indicates that the man was in his early twenties when he was killed.

The body was naked except for a plaited leather band around his left arm. This likely indicated high status.

The man was buried at a bog (likely once a lake) at the foot of an ancient hill that was used for kingship ceremonies. A 2014 documentary suggested that the man was once a king and was sacrificed by Druids due to poor weather or harvests. These ancient tribes believed that this was caused by the failure of the king and he was responsible.

The man is believed to have died from a stab wound to the chest. He had been decapitated and had his body cut in half. He also has an injury to one arm, possible evidence that he tried to defend himself. A similar wound has been seen on the Cashel Man, who was found in 2011, also in Ireland.

...
Wikipedia