Old Croghan Man

The remains are named after Croghan Hill, north of Daingean, County Offaly, near where the body was found.

The man's apparently manicured nails led to speculation that he was not someone who engaged in manual labour, and possibly therefore of high status.

The latter theory, put forward by Eamonn Kelly of the National Museum of Ireland, suggests that the mutilation was a symbolic gesture to mark the man as a rejected ruler.

[8] Other theories suggest that Oldcroghan Man and other bog bodies were sacrifices to gods of fertility or harvest,[7] and killed and buried to ensure good yields of cereals and buttermilk.

[8][9][10] The arm-ring found with the body was made from waterlogged leather, strands of fibres and four bronze mounts.

To prevent further decay of the waterlogged leather work and mould growth the arm-ring was stored in a 20% solution of glycerol and de-ionised water for two weeks in a process called consolidation.

After drying and further chemical cleaning and treatment to prevent corrosion, the arm-ring was returned to the body for display.