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Celtic Hist Newsletter: Lindow Man
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hist-@historicgames.com
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May 01, 2009 12:12 PDT
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The Celtic History Newsletter
Brought to you by
The Celtic Croft
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/
&
MacGregor Historic Games
http://historicgames.com
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Lindow Man
In 1984 a preserved body found at Lindow Moss (15 km south of
Manchester) re-awoke an interest in early Celtic religion and possible
sacrifices. The top half of a male body was preserved so well that
police feared it was a murder murder victim, but radio carbon dating
indicated that the body was almost 2000 years old. Similar to the "bog
bodies" found in Ireland, Denmark and Germany, it had been encased in
a layer of waterlogged oxygen-free vegetation which preserved much of
the soft tissues including skin, hair and fingernails. (Lindow man:
http://tinyurl.com/cr974c )
Lindow Man's (aka "Pete Marsh") official name is now Lindow II as
there are other finds from the area. Lindow I refers to two human
skulls, Lindow III to fragments of a headless body, and Lindow IV to
the upper thigh of an adult male (possibly the leg of Lindow II -I've
seen no indication that a DNA comparison has yet been performed). He
was the first such body found in Britain during modern times, and
comes from the end of the Iron Age, or about the 1st century CE.
Removal of the peat surrounding him revealed a healthy, well-fed,
bearded man. He was naked, except for a fox fur band around his left
arm, and a cord around his throat. About his mid-twenties when he
died, he displayed no earlier signs of disease or injury, save for
evidence of intestinal worms. An examination of his fingernails showed
no evidence that he was a laborer or agricultural worker, therefore
suggesting he may have been a man of wealth or status.
The cause of death appeared to be threefold. He was struck two, or
three times in the back of the head with something like a
narrow-bladed ax. The nature of the wound was that it was not
immediately fatal, although death probably would have followed in a
matter of hours. Then the cord that was around his neck was used to
strangle him -probably by twisting a stick under it until it was so
tight that it actually broke his neck. He was probably dead at this
point, but his throat was then also cut before he was deposited in the
bog.
Due to the complexity of his death, the theory is that Lindow II
represents a human sacrifice, the initial blow possibly delivered to
minimize suffering by rendering him unconscious. One scholar has even
suggested that the triple-death was intended to affect three gods -the
different modes of death were meant to influence different gods. Based
on he contents of his stomach and intestines, his last meal and
probable diet had been mostly of cereals. An intriguing detail was the
presence in his stomach of a few grains of mistletoe pollen. No
fragments of the plant were in evidence, so it has been speculated
that a sprig of the plant, which is said to have been ritually
important to the Druids) had been dipped in his drink, or ceremonially
brushed on his last meal.
After the scientific examinations were complete, the body was
preserved through a freeze-drying process and it placed in a
custom-made, temperature and moisture controlled, display case. He can
normally be viewed at the British Museum, however until April 2009 he
has been on display in the Manchester Museum. (A reconstruction of
Lindow Man's probable appearance in life http://tinyurl.com/cujcff )
In time, examination of trace elements in his hair and fingernails may
reveal other interesting tidbits about his life, but according to the
British Museum: "research has allowed us to learn more about this
person ? his health, his appearance and how he might have died ? than
any other prehistoric person found in Britain."
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the coming year:
The Celtic Croft Schedule of Events
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/events_list.html
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