Posted on 08/02/2006 6:00:09 PM PDT by annie laurie
LONDON: For decades it has been a man's privilege to scoff at the lengths to which women will go to make themselves look beautiful. But go back a few thousand years, and the male of the species went to extraordinary lengths to look good.
Scientists examining prehistoric bodies found in the peat bogs of Ireland have discovered evidence of careful grooming on male corpses.
One of the bodies, dug up in 2003 at Clonycavan, near Dublin, had mohawk-style hair, held in place with a gel substance. The other, unearthed three months later 40km away in Oldcroghan, had carefully manicured fingernails.
The findings on the bodies, which are 2300 years old, suggest that despite living in the Iron Age, ancient man had some modern concerns.
"The message I'm getting is that although they were living in a different time, a different culture, eating different things and living in a different way, people are people - they're the same in their thinking," said Rolly Read, head of conservation at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
Dr Read, one of a team of scientists from Britain and Ireland to carry out the research, said the examination of the bodies had provided valuable insights into life in the Iron Age.
The hair product the man used, for example, was a gel made of plant oil and pine resin imported from southwestern France or Spain, showing trade between Ireland and southern Europe was taking place almost 2500 years ago.
Although hundreds of bodies have been found in bogs in northern Europe's wetlands, where they were preserved by the peat's chemical composition, many have not been given detailed examination until now, as techniques to preserve the remains had not been perfected.
As well as having groomed nails and coiffured locks, the corpses reveal evidence of a good diet.
But while the males discovered in the digs may have been particular about their appearance, their fates were less than pretty. Both bodies, thought to be those of men in their 20s, show signs of suffering painful deaths.
As with several other bodies found in bogs, the man at Oldcroghan was beheaded.
It has been a long-running mystery for archeologists why bodies ended up in peat bogs and why so many appear to display signs of violent death. Explanatory theories range from punishment by execution for crimes to evidence of ritual slayings as human sacrifices.
Eamonn Kelly, keeper of Irish antiquities at the National Museum, has developed a theory based on the discovery that nearly all the Irish examples were placed in the borders surrounding royal land or on tribal boundaries.
"These people may have been hostages or deposed kings or candidates for kingship who have been sacrificed to ensure a successful reign for a new king, and this was done as part of a kingship ritual and as a fertility offering to the gods," he said.
Another theory, prompted by the writings of Roman historian Tacitus from around the same era, is that the perpetrators of "shameful crimes" were put into the bog to trap their souls in a watery limbo, where the body did not rot.
The two most recent bodies have now been freeze-dried for long-term preservation. They form part of the Kingship and Sacrifice exhibition, which is on display at the National Museum of Ireland.
Ping :)
Maybe they got offed simply for being annoying Metrosexuals
Men who were thrown into bogs tended to be freaks.
If that's ruling, mark me down for peonage.
Dismembered body
Old Croghan man was also young - probably in his early to mid 20s - but much taller than his counterpart from 25 miles away. Scientists worked out from the length of his arms that he would have stood around 6ft 6in tall (2.0m).
He had been horrifically tortured before death. His nipples had been cut and he had been stabbed in the ribs. A cut on his arm suggested he had tried to defend himself during the attack that ended his life.
The young man was later beheaded and dismembered. Hazel ropes were passed through his arms before he was buried in the bog.
Food remains in his stomach show that Old Croghan man had eaten milk and cereals before he died. But chemical analysis of his nails showed that he had more meat in his diet than Clonycavan man.
This suggests that he died in a colder season than Clonycavan man, when vegetables were more scarce. It may also explain why his remains are better preserved.
One gets the impression Old Crog' wasn't well liked.
Practice of Beheading Metrosexuals Dates from the Iron Age
"Scientists examining prehistoric bodies found in the peat bogs of Ireland have discovered evidence of careful grooming on male corpses."
Maybe that's why they ended up in the peat bog.
Most likely English...
It's good to be peon.
Stiffed somebody on a drug deal.
Yet another reason to be cremated. Who wants to be found in a thousand years and accused of being a metrosexual.
I reeeeeally don't want to know what it was.
"he had more meat in his diet...may also explain why his remains are better preserved."
Old Irish butcher shop sign, also found in bog:
"You can't beat our meat!"
Oog not watch Queer Eye for Cave Guy. Carson try to make Oog look like woman. Oog tell Carson where to shove bottle of hair product. Carson seem to think good idea; maybe Oog not get message across.
Yep. Staying under the radar has a freedom all it's own
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