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Permanent Exhibition

Kingship and Sacrifice

FREE

Detail of hand from 'Old Croghan Man', a bog body on display in the Kingship and Sacrifice exhibition

The exhibition is based around the theory that human sacrifice and the deposition of the victims in bogs along tribal boundaries is related to sovereignty and kingship rituals during the Iron Age.

Other related material displayed includes items of royal regalia, horse trappings, weapons, feasting utensils, boundary markers and votive deposits of butter known as bog butter.

The exhibition provides a general overview of the analyses and their significance in addition to placing the finds in a broader European context. Information is provided about Iron Age bog bodies found in Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and England.

Also featured are two other Irish bog bodies from the National Museum of Ireland collections - Gallagh Man, Co. Galway and Baronstown West Man, Co. Kildare. The archaeological significance of the bog bodies is presented and explored throughout the exhibition.

Location:


Kingship and Sacrifice is located at:
Archaeology,
Kildare St,
Dublin 2
D02 FH48


Following the discoveries of Iron Age bog bodies at Oldcroghan, Co. Offaly and Clonycavan, Co. Meath in 2003, a team of international specialists worked with the Irish Antiquities Division and Conservation Department to examine these human remains. Kingship and Sacrifice gives an overview of the results of the analysis and, along with other bog bodies from Museum collections, offers an opportunity to literally come ‘face to face’ with the past.

Archaeology

The Bog Bodies Research Project

Established in 2003 following the discovery of two Iron Age bog bodies at Oldcroghan, Co. Offaly and Clonycavan, Co. Meath.

Read more
The Bog Bodies Research Project

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Archaeology

Archaeology,
Kildare St,
Dublin 2,
D02 FH48

+353 1 677 7444