Lindow Man

From: Lindow Moss, Cheshire (found in 1985)
Date: mid-1st century AD

This young man from the north of Britain met a horrific death. Archeologists think that he was probably a human sacrifice made by the Druids, who killed him as a present to the gods. He may have gone willingly to his death.

Before he was killed, it is thought that he was given some special bread and a drink containing mistletoe. He was then taken to the marsh. First a couple of blows from something heavy smashed his skull, then he was strangled with a thin length of cord. By now he was probably dead, but even so his throat was cut then finally he was placed face down in the bog.

The wet conditions have preserved his body remarkably well – you can even see the hairs on his head.