The exhibition, Kingship and Sacrifice, is the result of the findings of the National Museum of Ireland’s Bog Bodies Research Project, which was established in 2003 following the discovery of two Iron Age bog bodies at Oldcroghan, Co. Offaly and Clonycavan, Co. Meath.

The remains were dated to between around 400 BC and 200 BC and they were in a remarkably good state of preservation. The Bog Bodies Research Project scientifically examined and documented the human remains in question using a multi-disciplinary team of international experts.

Thirty-five specialists, many of whom had vast experience in the field of bog body research, worked in conjunction with staff from the Irish Antiquities Division and Conservation Department of the Museum. A wide variety of analyses were carried out, including: CT and MRI scanning; palaeodietary analysis; fingerprinting; histological; and pathological analysis.