Often derided as evidence of a backward nation, Ireland’s bogs reveal instead that our ancient ancestors were a sophisticated people rich in culture — albeit with a taste for savage ritual killings. Dan Buckley goes back in time

THE skulls of tens of thousands of Irish butchered in 16th and 17th-century battles were exported to Britain where they were ground up and consumed by the English aristocracy, including monarchs, in the belief they could cure illnesses and heal wounds.