IRISH-AMERICAN-L Archives

From: "Kathleen O'Donnell-Grone" <>
Subject: Bog Bodies - Iron Age in Ireland
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 08:15:10 -0700

What a discovery! The Irish were the first to use hair gel! ;) Enjoy!
Kathleen

Iron Age 'David Beckham' unmasked
[image: Remains of Clonycavan man] The remains enabled scientists to
accurately recreate his face
*Scientists at Dundee University have helped to recreate the face of a
man dubbed the Iron Age David Beckham because of evidence he gelled his
hair.*

Clonycavan Man, named after the area he was found, was one of two bodies
discovered in a peat bog in the Republic of Ireland in 2003.

The chemical composition of the peat mummified the body, enabling scientists
to recreate his face.

The Timewatch programme on BBC Two on Friday will investigate the find.

The first body dropped off a peat cutting machine in February 2003 in
Clonycavan, near Dublin. The forearms, hands and lower abdomen were missing,
believed to have been hacked off by the machine.

The second was found in May the same year in Croghan, about 25 miles from
Clonycavan.

The bodies, which had been tied down, tortured and were probably slain in a
ritual sacrifice. Research indicated they lived about 2,300 years ago.

*Glass eyes*

Clonycavan Man has been recreated with slicked back, gelled hair and
striking good looks.

The chemical composition of the peat bog mummifies bodies in such a way that
the skeleton deteriorates but the skin is preserved.

[image: Reconstructed face] Clonycavan Man: The Iron Age 'David Beckham'

Forensic anthropologists and forensic artists at Dundee University used a
state of the art computer system to recreate the facial appearance of the
Iron Age man and then add glass eyes, skin tone and hair.

The head has been constructed from the crushed skull and soft tissue of the
bog body.

It appears the man used a type of Iron Age hair gel - vegetable oil mixed
with resin - perhaps to give the impression of height as he was only 5ft 2in
tall.

Forensic evidence was recovered from every part of the bodies.

*'Brutal time'*

The contents of their stomachs told of their last meal, the chemicals in
their hair enabled an understanding of their diet and their skeletons
offered clues about their age.

Scientists in Wales, Ireland and Denmark also took part in the face
reconstruction.

Timewatch producer John Hayes-Fisher said: "This is enormously significant
in terms of European archaeology, as bog bodies are so terribly rare.

"What really shocked me while making the programme, though, was discovering
the unnecessary violence with which some of these young men were killed. The
Iron Age really was quite a brutal time."

*Timewatch: The Bog Bodies will be shown on BBC Two at 2100 GMT on Friday,
20 January. *

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4629888.stm
____________________________________________________

(Article 2)

The body of 'Old Croghan Man' and 'Clonycavan Man' were miraculously
preserved in a peat bog - nothing has been seen like this for decades.

With only one bog body found in the last 50 years, human-remains experts
had all but given up hope of finding any more. To find one would have been
remarkable. To find two is astonishing and without precedent or parallel.

Forensic evidence is found in every part of the bodies. The contents of
their stomachs tell of their last meal; the chemicals in their hair enable
an understanding of their diet; and their skeletons locate their age – a
staggering 2000+ years old.

Clues to their social status come from the immaculately preserved
fingerprints and nails, as well as 'Clonycavan Man's' hairstyle.

Producer John Hayes-Fisher says: "This is enormously significant in terms
of European archaeology, as bog bodies are so terribly rare.

"What was extraordinary, though, was looking into the face of someone
living in the British Isles 300 years before the birth of Christ, and to see
his eyes, his ears, his hair and even his teeth filled me with a sense of
wonder.

"What really shocked me while making the programme, though, was discovering
the unnecessary violence with which some of these young men were killed. The
Iron Age really was quite a brutal time."

During Timewatch: The Bog Bodies, the head of Clonycavan Man is digitally
'inflated' and a model cast is created that allows viewers to see his face
as it would have been moments before he died.

*Notes to Editors*

Timewatch: The Bog Bodies will be shown on BBC TWO at 9.00pm on 20 January.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/print/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/01_january/07/time.shtml
If anyone knows when this will be shown on PBS or an American Network let me
know. We don't have cable here in the Black Hills and I don't have
satellite. ;( Kathleen

--
"All that we call human history - money, poverty, ambition, war,
prostitution, classes, empires, slavery - is the long terrible story of man
trying to find something other than God which will make him happy." Mere
Christianity, C.S. Lewis

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• Bog Bodies - Iron Age in Ireland by "Kathleen O'Donnell-Grone" <>