Lindow Man

Name given to the body of a 4th-century BC well-born (with manicured nails) male, human sacrificial victim found in the peat bog at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, 1 August 1984. His well-preserved flesh has been subject to close scrutiny; his stomach reveals mistletoe pollen and recently eaten burnt oatcakes. His throat was cut, and he was bludgeoned, strangled, and drowned. Learned examination dismisses the suggestion that his death was a mere execution, favouring instead his sacrifice to different gods, perhaps Esus, Taranis, and Teutates.

Bibliography

• Don R. Brothwell, The Bog Man and the Archaeology of People (London, 1986; Cambridge, Mass., 1987)
• I. M. Stead et al., Lindow Man: The Body in the Bog (London and Ithaca, NY, 1986)
• Anne Ross, The Life and Death of a Druid Prince: The Story of Lindow Man, an Archaeological Sensation (London and New York, 1989)