Old Croghan Man (Irish: Seanfhear Chruacháin code: gle promoted to code: ga) is a well-preserved Irish Iron Age bog body discovered in June 2003. The remains are named after Croghan Hill, which is located north of Daingean, County Offaly, near the location where the body was found. The remains are currently on display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

Old Croghan Man was discovered three months after a similar find, now known as Clonycavan Man, which was uncovered in County Meath.

Identity and dating

Old Croghan Man is thought to have lived during the Irish Iron Age. Scientific tests suggest he died between about 362 BC and 175 BC, which means he was more than 2,000 years old when he passed away. His bones and soft tissue show he was a young adult in his early twenties at the time of his death.

Based on the length of his arms, scientists estimate he was between 182 cm (5 ft 11.5 in) and 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) tall. This height was considered very tall for the time he lived. His well-kept nails led researchers to believe he did not perform manual labor, which may indicate he held a high social position.

Analysis of the food in his stomach showed his last meal included wheat and buttermilk. However, evidence suggests he ate a diet rich in meat for at least four months before he died. Scars on his lungs suggest he may have suffered from an illness that caused inflammation in his lungs.

Death

The man was buried in a bog (likely once a lake) at the base of an ancient hill where kingship ceremonies took place. A documentary from 2014 suggested that he may have been a king or prince who was sacrificed by druids because of poor weather or poor harvests. These ancient groups may have believed that bad weather or poor harvests were the king’s fault.

When the body was discovered, the man was not wearing clothing except for a braided leather band around his left arm. This likely showed he held a high position in society. Evidence suggests he died from a stab wound to his chest. His body was also cut in half, and his head was removed. He had an injury on one arm, which may have happened when he tried to protect himself. A similar injury was found on the Cashel Man, another body discovered in 2011 in Ireland.

The body showed deep cuts under each nipple. Scientists have proposed several possible explanations for these cuts. Some believe the damage occurred after death due to the conditions in the bog. Others think the cuts were made while the man was alive as a form of torture. Another theory suggests the cuts were made intentionally before or after death as a symbolic act. Eamonn Kelly of the National Museum of Ireland proposed that the cuts were meant to show the man was no longer a ruler. Other scientists believe that people like Old Croghan Man and other bog bodies were sacrificed to gods of fertility or harvest. These people were killed and buried to ask for good harvests of grain and buttermilk.

Discovery

Old Croghan Man was found in June 2003 during peat cutting near the base of Croghan Hill in County Offaly, in the Irish midlands. Workers noticed the upper body and arms in a freshly cut ditch, stopped their work, and told officials about the discovery.

This find happened a few months after another Iron Age bog body, Clonycavan Man, was discovered in a different bog in County Meath by peat cutters.

When Old Croghan Man was first seen, only his torso and upper arms were present. His head and lower body were missing. Later studies showed that his body had been cut at the neck and waist during the Iron Age, and later drainage and peat cutting had disturbed the area. In the ditch wall, archaeologists found a group of fingernails and a small piece of hazel branch, possibly used for tying.

Experts from the National Museum of Ireland helped recover and preserve Old Croghan Man. He later became a key display item in the museum’s exhibition titled Kingship and Sacrifice.

Like many bog bodies from northern Europe, Old Croghan Man was preserved by the cold, wet, and acidic conditions of the peat. The bog had little oxygen and was full of sphagnum moss, which slows or stops bacteria that break down soft tissue. This helped protect his skin, soft tissues, and some internal organs.

The preserved torso includes large areas of skin, the upper arms and shoulders, and organs like the lungs and stomach, which were studied for signs of illness and his last meals. The missing head and lower body, along with torn and compressed areas on the remaining parts, suggest both the original cutting of the body and later damage from drainage and peat cutting.

Old Croghan Man was not wearing clothing when found, but he had a braided leather arm ring around his left arm. The ring was made from waterlogged leather, fiber strands, and four bronze pieces. According to Louise Mumford of the National Museum, the leather was woven together through many small slits.

The ring was first cleaned to remove peat from the leather. To prevent further decay and mold, it was stored in a 20% glycerol and de-ionized water solution for two weeks in a process called consolidation. After drying and further chemical treatment to stop corrosion, the ring was placed back on the body for display.

The hazel branch near the fingernails may have come from a hoop, stake, or binding used when the body was placed in the bog, but its exact purpose is unknown. The arm ring and other limited finds support the idea that Old Croghan Man was a high-status person, and his death and burial were part of an Iron Age ritual connected to Croghan Hill.

Related mythology

Croghan Hill is called Bri Eile in Irish stories. In "The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn," it is written that during a certain time, there was a very beautiful young woman in Bri Eile, which means the magical hill of Bri Eile. Her name was Ele. The people of Ireland were in conflict over her. One man after another tried to marry her. Every year on Samain, the courtship happened because the magical hills of Ireland were always open during Samain. On Samain, nothing could be hidden in the magical hills. To each man who tried to marry her, this happened: one of his people was killed. This was done to mark the event, and no one ever discovered who was responsible.