The head remains missing: researchers examined the remains of a victim from a brutal ritual.

In Ireland, archaeologists have uncovered the decapitated remains of a woman who lived 2,000 years ago. Researchers note that she was a victim of ritualistic murder.

https://focus.ua/technologies/695245-golovu-tak-i-ne-nashli-uchenye-issledovali-ostanki-zhertvy-zhestokogo-rituala2025-02-25 07:45:29

Researchers have found that the human remains discovered in an Irish bog in October 2023 belonged to a young woman, rather than a teenage boy as previously thought. According to scientists, this was a ritual sacrifice that sheds new light on Iron Age religious practices in Ireland, writes Live Science.

Over the past year, researchers from various museums and universities have collaborated to uncover more details about the discovered remains. Their studies revealed her gender, age, height, and cause of death.

"As is the case with many Iron Age bog bodies, the young woman suffered a violent death. Her throat was cut, and then she was beheaded," said Eileen Murphy, an archaeologist from Queen's University Belfast.

The decapitated body was found in a peat bog near Bellaghy in Northern Ireland when human remains were spotted on the surface. Preliminary studies indicated that the remains are at least 2000 years old, and a forensic anthropologist initially identified the individual as a male aged between 13 and 17. However, after further analysis at the National Museum of Northern Ireland, scientists discovered new details and accurately identified the gender.

The results showed that at the time of death, the woman was between 17 and 22 years old, and her height was approximately 1.7 meters. She lived between 343 BC and 1 AD, during the Iron Age in Ireland. Cut marks on her cervical vertebrae indicate that she died from decapitation, and fragments of fabric were found near the body.

Niam Baker, curator of archaeology at the National Museum of Northern Ireland, emphasized the significance of this discovery, noting that most bog bodies from this period found in the British Isles are male. This makes the discovered remains an exceptional find.

Research from the National Museum of Ireland links Iron Age bog bodies to human sacrifices, possibly related to sovereignty and kinship rituals.

In 2011, Ned Kelly, a former curator of antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland, suggested that such violent killings were likely carried out during difficult times as sacrifices to the Celtic goddess of the land, aimed at ensuring ongoing fertility and prosperity.

Although the woman's head has not been found, scientists hope that further scientific studies, particularly ancient DNA research, will provide more information. As Murphy stated, investigations will continue moving forward.

We also reported on the discovery of the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II. This is the first discovery of a royal tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh since the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.