2,000 year old human torso of an Irish man that was found in a bog back in June of 2003.
The remains were naturally mummified and preserved so well that scientists were able to even determine his last meal after analyzing the contents of his stomach: wheat and buttermilk. For at least 4 months prior to his death, he was shown to have a meat rich diet. Based on the length of his arms, he was estimated to have been 6 ft 6 inches (1.98 m) tall which would have been extremely tall for that time period.

The man also had manicured nails which has led to speculation that he was not engaged in manual labor and was someone of high status. His body is currently on display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

While in the National Museum of Ireland my classmates and I were able to see many ancient Irish artifacts including bibles, jewelry and weapons. Majority of these artifacts date back to prehistoric Ireland. One of the exhibits we observed (my personal favorite) contained four bodies found in various bogs. The bodies were found in recent years by people who were digging for peat in the bog areas. The bog bodies are on display in individual “tomb like” areas (pretty creepy if you walked in alone). Each body has a description of the person as well as how archeologists believe they died. Something I found interesting was that each person found in the bog was murdered.

I also learned that the lack of oxygen and high amount of acid in the soil causes the bodies to be very well preserved. Upon first glance, the bodies look as if they are clumps of leather. After further examination you can see hair, finger nails and other small details. Some bodies have full sets of ribs and a vast amount of other bones. It was incredible to see how the bodies haven’t full deteriorated after being in the bog since aprx. 200 BC. There are more bog bodies that have been found in other parts of the world that I wish to see some day.