A new exhibition featuring bog bodies dating back more than 2,000 years has opened at the National Museum, Kildare Street, Dublin.The visually powerful exhibition, entitled Kingship & Sacrifice, was officially opened yesterday by Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue.
It features a number of exhibits that describe the wealth of information gained from a detailed analysis of the two early Iron Age bodies after a major international research effort.
Clonycavan Man and Old Croghan Man, were discovered in 2003 in counties Meath and Offaly respectively. Bog bodies are only infrequently unearthed, so to have recovered two in a single year was remarkable, according to museum staff.
More importantly, the two bodies were in an exceptional state of preservation and the museum quickly initiated a bog bodies research project to learn as much as possible about the two. The project involved a highly detailed forensic analysis of the remains by an international team involving 35 specialists.
It has yielded a great deal of information about the men and how they died in ritualised killings. It is now believed that both were murdered as part of a kingship rite that required human sacrifice.
The research also indicates that the placement of the bodies near regional boundaries helped define a king's territory. The exhibition, will enable the public "to literally come face-to-face with their ancient ancestors", the Minister stated at the launch in Kildare Street.
"The exhibition will enable the bodies to be viewed with dignity. The remains of these people have come to us as ambassadors of their times. They will be treated as such," he stated. The museum is open from 10am - 5pm Tuesday to Saturday and from 2pm - 5pm on Sundays.