Should we cut ‘bog bodies’ a little respect?

IT’S a moral quandary, even a ghoulish issue, some might say. The respect that ought to be accorded skeletal human remains that turn up in long-forgotten cemeteries and, especially, in bogland excavations continues to exercise people.

With such ancient remains now on public display, people are asking themselves if it is right that they should go and see what are, after all, the bones of real people — no matter how old they may be.

At present, the National Museum is exhibiting the remains of three so-called ‘bog bodies’, which can tell archaeologists and other experts a fascinating story about kingship and Irish prehistory. The remains of three adult men are on view.