Ballymacombs More Woman

 

       The site in Bellaghy, Co Londonderry, where human remains were found in October 2023

Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Irish bog bodies are in the news again with the discovery in October 2023 of ancient human remains in a Co Derry bog. It was found by workers at a peat extraction company at Newferry, near Bellaghy. The remains have been dated to around 343 BC to 1 BC, during the Iron Age.

Originally believed to be male, it is now thought the remains are those of a woman aged between 17 and 22 years old who has been given the name Ballymacombs More Woman. The individual had an estimated height of around 1.7m (5' 6").

The study, led by National Museums NI, has involved collaboration with organisations across Ireland, the UK and Europe, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, National Museum of Ireland, Queen's University Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University of Copenhagen, University of Glasgow, and University of Bradford.

This discovery has caused considerable excitement among archaeologists and is even more significant given that most of the bog preserved individuals that have been found from this period are male.

       The PSNI’s body recovery team at the site in Bellaghy

Photograph: Police Service of Northern Ireland/PA Wire

            The body was well preserved, but the skull was absent and was not recovered. Cut marks on the neck vertebrae indicate the cause of death as intentional decapitation, possibly as part of a ritual and sacrifice during the Iron Age period. Interestingly, part of an unidentified woven item made of plant material was also recovered from the burial site. Specialists are currently working to identify the object.

Bog Bodies

The term “Bog Bodies” is used to describe human remains which have been naturally preserved by the chemistry of Northern Europe’s bogs. Hundreds of bog bodies have been discovered in the boglands of Europe over the last few centuries, of which about 130 have been found in Ireland. Some of the human remains discovered show signs of torture and execution, with evidence of hanging, strangulation, stabbing and bludgeoning.

The Ballymacombs More Woman has been hailed as ‘one of the most important archaeological discoveries on the island of Ireland’ Photograph: Police Service of Northern Ireland/PA Wire

The oldest known bog body is the Koelbjerg Woman from Denmark, who has been dated to 8000 BC, during the Mesolithic period or Middle Stone Age. Most bog bodies – including famous examples such as Tollund Man, Grauballe Man and Lindow Man – date from the Iron Age and have been found in Northern Europe, particularly Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The newest bog bodies are those of soldiers killed in the Russian wetlands during the Second World War.

In 1950, Tollund Man’s discoverers “found a face so fresh they could only suppose they had stumbled on a recent murder.” Photograph: Smithsonian Magazine

Many bog bodies have been found in marginal areas such as ancient boundaries and wetlands. While most of Northern Europe lay under a thick canopy of forest, bogs did not and were open to the sky. In a sense, they were borderlands to what lay beyond. Radiocarbon dating shows that most bog bodies date from the Iron Age, between 500 B.C. and A.D. 100.

Other Irish Bog Bodies

In Ireland, Cashel Man was unearthed in 2011 in Cul na Mona bog in Cashel, County Tipperary.

In 2003, peat cutters found Oldcroghan Man and Clonycavan Man in two different bogs in Ireland. Both had lived between 400 and 175 B.C., and both had their nipples mutilated. The best-preserved bodies were all found in raised bogs, which contain few minerals and very little oxygen.

Kingship

Experts believe that many of the Irish Iron Age bog bodies are the remains of former kings who were sacrificed. The scarcity of such finds suggests that the sacrificial killings were only undertaken when a king’s reign had proven unsuccessful because of defeat in war, or due to famine or pestilence.

In ancient Ireland, sucking a king’s nipples was a gesture of submission and a means of placing oneself under the protection of the king. Archaeologists believe that the cutting of the nipples was part of the ritual in which he was ‘decommissioned’ from the role of king.

The archaeologist, Eamon Kelly, Keeper of Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland, points out that a key aspect of kingship was to ensure the annual success of the harvest, to safeguard crops and livestock from disease, and to prevent inclement weather, warfare, and theft.

Important discovery

Niamh Baker, Curator of Archaeology at National Museums NI, described the Ballymacombs More Woman as one of the most important archaeological discoveries on the island of Ireland".

"This important discovery gives us a glimpse into the lives of the people of our ancient past and offers insights into how they lived, interacted with their environment, and developed their cultures," she said.

Professor of Archaeology at the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen's University, Eileen Murphy, who conducted the osteological assessment which provided a biological profile for the individual and ascertained the cause of their death said:

“As is the case for so many Iron Age bog bodies, the young woman suffered a highly violent death which involved the flow of blood from her throat followed by decapitation.

The head was taken away, but the body was left where it fell only to be discovered by machine workers some 2,000 years later."

Conclusion

Ballymacombs More Woman from County Derry has been dated to 343 BC to 1 BC, during the Iron Age. The discovery is particularly significant given that most of the bog preserved individuals that have been found from this period are male. Cut marks on her neck vertebrae indicate the cause of death as decapitation, possibly as part of a ritual and sacrifice.

Other recent bog bodies from Ireland include Cashel Man, Oldcroghan Man and Clonycavan Man. Famous examples such as Tollund Man, Grauballe Man and Lindow Man, all dating from the Iron Age, have been found in Northern Europe, particularly Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.