Lindow man
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lindow Man is the name given to the naturally-preserved bog body of an Iron Age man, discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss, Mobberley, near Wilmslow, Cheshire, northwest England, on 1 August 1984 by commercial peat-cutters. At the time, the body was dubbed 'Pete Marsh' (a pun on 'peat marsh') by local journalists. The body has been freeze dried for preservation and is now on display at The British Museum, London.
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[edit] Scientific analysis
Forensic analysis has revealed many interesting details about his body and how he may have died. In life, scanning electron microscopy revealed, his beard and moustache hairs had "stepped" ends, the indication of a trimming with fine shears rather than with a single knife or razor blade. His well-muscled symmetrical body revealed that he had not been hardened by manual labor, and his nails were groomed, suggesting that he was of elite standing (Ross and Robins 1989). He stood about 1.68m tall although this is a rough estimate as his legs were destroyed by peat cutting machinery. He wore a foxfur armband.
[edit] Archaeological interpretation
Lindow Man is dated by Carbon-14 sometime between 2BC and AD119. The body is most notable for the manner in which he died. His killing is supposed to have begun with three blows to the head, followed by one incision into his throat. Lastly, a knotted cord fitted tightly to the neck and twisted, was found around his neck. He was found face down in an already mature bog at Lindow Moss. All of the foregoing may be suggestive of ritual slaying. Opinion is divided as to whether this was a human sacrifice, an execution or both. Details of the practice of human sacrifice among the Celts are debated, as all literary accounts were written by their enemies.
The bog's acidity had preserved the contents of his stomach: his last meal consisted largely of burnt cereal grains, wheat, bran, and barley, implying a sacrificial offering rather than an ordinary supper. The presence of mistletoe pollen in the victim's stomach is highly suggestive, given the many Druidical associations with mistletoe. Mistletoe is a poisonous plant known to cause convulsions, and is unlikely to have been ingested accidentally. The manner of death is also well-documented in later Celtic commentaries. However, as discussed by Gordon Hillman (1986) pollen found in his gut most likely represents pollen which was caught on the stigmas of flowering cereals, which was thereafter stored and eaten with the grain.
Dr Anne Ross has suggested that Lindow man was a druid, as this would explain the evidence of minimal hard labour. She proposed that he was sacrificed, possibly at beltain, after a symbolically burnt meal of grain bread.
[edit] Other finds
A fragment from another body, Lindow Woman, was discovered in the Moss in 1983.[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ The finding of Lindow Man was not the only instance of human remains being discovered in Lindow Moss. The previous year, in 1983, the same peat workers uncovered a partially decomposed skull. Following the preliminary forensic report, the police concluded that the skull was that of a European female between the ages of 30 and 50, prompting a local man to confess to the murder of his wife some 20 years earlier. Peter Reyn-Bardt confessed that he had indeed killed his wife, dismembered her, and buried her in the Lindow Moss bog. Subsequently, the Oxford University Research Laboratory for Archaeology carbon-dated the skull and determined that the skull was not that of a woman, but of a man who had died almost 2000 years earlier. Based on the strength of his confession, however, Mr. Reyn-Bardt was convicted of murder. [1].
[edit] References
- Ross, Anne and Don Robins. 1989. The Life and Death of a Druid Prince. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-74122-5
- Presenting the historical and archaeological reasoning, for the ideas of Lindow Man's social status, and suspected reasons for death. While not an exhaustive overview of the archaeological procedures used in the uncovering of the peat bog body, Ross and Robins attempt to provide insights to the Celtic and Druidic worlds of Lindow Man's age.
- Stead, Bourke, and Brothwell (ed.) 1986, Lindow Man: the body in the bog. London. Cornell University Press. See pages 90 - 114 for information regarding diet.
- A collection of essays regarding the results from examinations of the Lindow Man. Anatomical features, forensic studies, diet and environment, artefacts, and theories regarding his death are but a few of the topics covered in this extensive collection written by experts in their fields. Does not focus on druid rituals, just facts.
