Mysterious Death In The Iron Age

 Igor Bukker

Almost a year and a half ago, human remains were found in a peat bog near the village of Bellaghy in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The condition of the body suggested that it was the victim of a ritual murder committed during the Iron Age, some 2,000 years ago. Initially, it was believed that the remains belonged to a teenager, but scientists recently established that they were a young woman, which makes the find even more unique, since most of the "bog bodies" found in Europe were male.

The discovery was made by experts from the Ulster Museum and several universities. According to the latest research, the woman was between 17 and 22 years old, and her height (about 170 cm) was unusually tall for that time. Radiocarbon analysis showed that death occurred between 350 BC and the beginning of our era, when the territory of modern Ireland was inhabited by tribes of the Gaelic culture.

The remains have been dubbed the Ballymacombe Woman, after the location where they were found. The body was recovered from the bog in October 2023 by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Initially, the force believed it could have been a modern murder, but radiocarbon dating has disproved this theory, confirming that the woman died more than 2,000 years ago. 

According to experts from the Ulster Museum, there were cut marks on the woman's neck vertebrae, which indicates a deliberate decapitation. The head was not found during the excavations. Scientists believe that it may have been taken during the murder, presumably for ritual reasons typical of that period in northwestern Europe and Ireland.

Professor of archaeology at Queen's University Belfast, Eileen Murphy, confirmed that the woman's death was extremely violent: her throat was slit and then decapitated. The head was removed from the scene, and the body was left in the bog, where workers found it 2,000 years later. Further studies of the remains could provide information about the woman's diet, movements and origins. This is especially important because there is very little information about everyday life in the Iron Age.

Such finds are not uncommon in Northern and Northwestern Europe. In recent years, about a thousand bog bodies have been studied, many of which were victims of violent deaths, often associated with rituals. However, the exact motives for these rituals remain a mystery, since there are no written sources from that time. The oldest bog bodies date back to 9000-7000 BC, but the peak of this type of burial occurred during the Iron Age and Roman periods. The leading theory is that they were ritual sacrifices to appease the gods, ensure the fertility of the land, or punish those who broke taboos. Accidental drowning could also have occurred, but they do not explain the violent injuries found on the bodies.

- Pravda.ru