18 January 2006

Rebuilding the bog men

A TV programme detailing work done at the University of Dundee to reconstruct the face of a man 2,500 years old will be shown on Friday night.

The forensic art department at the University of Dundee used digital technology to piece together the face of Clonycavan man, who was discovered in a Peat Bog in Ireland.

Dr Caroline Wilkinson, a forensic anthropologist, and her team in the forensic art unit in the University's School of Life Sciences produced a facial reconstruction from CT scan data of Clonycavan man. The chemical composition of a Peat bog mummifies bodies so that the skeleton deteriorates but the skin is preserved, so the team had to find a way of reconstructing the face of the bogman using primarily soft tisue information.

Using a state-of-the-art computer system, which enables Dr Wilkinson to feel the surface of the skin and "re-inflate" the tissues, the facial appearance of the bog body was revealed. Finally Caroline Needham, a forensic artist in the team, added skin tone, glass eyes and hair to a resin replica of the head to depict the likely appearance of this Iron Age Irish man.

The peat-building sphagnum moss embeds remains in cold, acid and oxygen-free conditions that immobilise bacteria.

"The way peat wetlands preserve bodies has been described as a process of 'slow-cooking' which tans them dark brown," Timewatch producer John Hayes-Fisher said.

Clonycavan man, who is named after the area in Ireland where he was found, is thought to be a young male no more than 5ft 2in tall. Beneath his hair, which retains its unusual 'raised' style, was a massive wound caused by heavy cutting object that smashed open his skull. Analysis of the hair showed that Clonycavan man's diet was rich in vegetables in the months leading up to his death, suggesting he died in summer.

It also revealed that he had been using a type of Iron Age hair gel; a vegetable plant oil mixed with a resin that had probably come from south-western France or Spain.

Ned Kelly, head of antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland, says, "The man appeared to attempt to give himself greater stature with a type of hair gel."

From his studies on these bog bodies and others, Ned Kelly has developed a new theory which explains why so many remains are buried on important political or royal boundaries.

"My belief is that these burials are offerings to the gods of fertility by kings to ensure a successful reign," Mr Kelly told the BBC's Timewatch programme.

"Bodies are placed in the borders immediately surrounding royal land or on tribal boundaries to ensure a good yield of corn and milk throughout the reign of the king."

Dr Caroline Wilkinson from the forensic art unit says, "The available evidence suggests that this is the most likely appearance of Clonycavan man. This case was particularly challenging as the body had been deformed and compressed by the peat bog burial conditions, so it all the more remarkable that we can now be face-to-face with an inhabitant of the Iron Age."

Timewatch, Meet the Bog Bodies, will be broadcast on Friday on BBC2 at 9pm.

For more information contact:

Dr Caroline Wilkinson
Senior Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology
School of Life Sciences
MSI/WTB Complex
University of Dundee
Dow Street
Dundee DD1 5EH

or

Anna Day
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Tel: 01382 384768
Email: a.c.day@dundee.ac.uk