Old Croghan Man (Irish: Seanfhear Chruacháin) 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 in County Offaly, near the location where the body was found. The discovery is displayed at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

Old Croghan Man was discovered three months after another 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 show he died between about 362 BC and 175 BC, which means he was more than 2,000 years old. His bones and soft tissue suggest he was a young adult in his early twenties when he died.

Scientists used his arm span to estimate his height, which was between 182 cm (5 ft 11.5 in) and 198 cm (6 ft 6 in). This was much taller than most people at that time. His well-kept nails suggest he might not have done hard physical work, and maybe he had an important position in society.

The food found in his stomach showed his last meal was wheat and buttermilk. However, he ate a lot of meat for at least four months before he died. Scars on his lungs show he might have had a disease called pleurisy.

Death

The man was buried in a bog (which was probably once a lake) at the base of an ancient hill where important ceremonies for kings were held. A 2014 documentary suggested that he might have been a king or prince who was killed by druids because of bad weather or poor harvests. These ancient groups may have believed that the king was to blame for these problems.

When the body was discovered, the man was not wearing any clothing except for a braided leather band around his left arm. This likely showed that he had a high position in society. Scientists believe he died from a stab wound to his chest. His body was cut in half, and his head was removed. He also had an injury on one arm, which may mean he tried to fight back. A similar injury was found on the Cashel Man, another body discovered in Ireland in 2011.

The body had deep cuts under each of his nipples. Experts have proposed several ideas to explain this. One possibility is that the cuts happened after his death because of the conditions in the bog. Another idea is that the cuts were made while he was alive as part of torture. A third theory is that the cuts were made intentionally (either before or after his death) for symbolic reasons. Eamonn Kelly, a researcher from the National Museum of Ireland, suggested that the damage might have been a way to show that the man was no longer a ruler. Other experts believe that people like Old Croghan Man and other bog bodies were sacrificed to gods connected to farming or harvests. They were killed and buried to ask for better crops and more 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 cutting peat noticed the upper body and arms in a newly dug ditch, stopped their work, and told officials about the discovery.

This find happened only 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 visible. His head and lower body were missing. Later research showed that his body had been cut at the neck and waist during the Iron Age, and later drainage and peat cutting damaged the area further. In the ditch wall, archaeologists found a group of fingernails and a small piece of a hazel branch, possibly used for tying.

Experts from the National Museum of Ireland helped recover and preserve Old Croghan Man. He is now displayed in the museum’s exhibition titled Kingship and Sacrifice.

Like many bog bodies from northern Europe, Old Croghan Man was preserved because the peat was cold, wet, and acidic. The bog had little oxygen and was covered with sphagnum moss, which slows or stops bacteria that break down soft tissues. 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. These were studied for signs of illness and to learn about his last meals. The missing head and lower body, along with torn and crushed areas on the remaining parts, suggest the body was originally cut and later damaged by 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 and other materials. To stop further decay and mold, it was stored in a solution of 20% glycerol and purified water for two weeks. After drying and further cleaning, the ring was placed back on the body for display.

The hazel branch found near the fingernails may have been part of a hoop, stake, or binding used when the body was placed in the bog. Its exact purpose is unknown. The arm ring and other small finds support the idea that Old Croghan Man was a person of high status, 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 myths. In "The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn," it is written that during a time, there was a very beautiful maiden living in Bri Eile, which means the fairy hill of Bri Eile. Her name was Ele. The people of Ireland were in conflict over her. Many men tried to win her hand in marriage. Every year on Samain, the attempts to win her hand took place because the fairy mounds of Ireland were always open on Samain. On Samain, nothing could be hidden in the fairy mounds. Each man who tried to win her hand faced this: one of his people was killed. This was done to celebrate the event, and no one ever discovered who was responsible.