Secrets of the Irish Bog Men

The remains of two men preserved in the peat bogs of central Ireland were unveiled this month in Dublin. Peat wetlands in northwest Europe are well-known for their bog bodies, the cold, acidic, oxygen-free conditions preventing decay and mummifying human flesh.

One bog body, named Oldcroghan Man, was preserved so perfectly that his discovery sparked a police murder investigation before archaeologists were called in. Living well over 2,000 years ago, he was in his early 20s, and stood 6 feet 6 inches (198 centimeters) tall. You can still see his fingerprint whorls.

"He had very well manicured nails, and his fingertips and hands were indicative of somebody who didn't carry out any manual labour," says said Isabella Mulhall, the museum's Bog Bodies Project coordinator. "So we presume he came from the upper echelons of society. He had no scars on his body either, just the equivalent of two small paper cuts to one of his hands".

National Geographic News