The Ghost of the Murdered Kings
Within the last few years, bodies have been found in bogs all across Ireland and Northern Europe. PBS took us through a documentary, named “The Ghost of the Murdered Kings”, in hopes to find some missing information on these peculiar bodies. Although they weren’t just skeletons, the bodies were preserved due to the highly acidic waters and peat that grows there. Grobbel Man, Old Croghan Man, Clonycavan Man, and several more have been found by everyday farmers. One in particular stood out that was discovered recently, Cashel Man, who seemed to have died over 4000 years ago. The documentary showed many different archeologists finding out solutions as to why this body seems to have gashes in it, while not having much information to go off of. Identifying callus’ on their hands, hair on their head, and determining what they found as their last meal in their stomach, they found that Cashel Man (and one other body) must have been kings that were sacrificed to the gods. This was deemed significant, as they weren’t burned like the other bodies in that time era.
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Not even the Romans could overtake them, although they weren’t physically seen as super strong and mighty. They depended on their gods and goddesses for almost everything in their everyday life. A good harvest for the year or a good fight in battle were both dependent on their deities to provide. People do this a lot in our society today, they depend on others for their lives to come together perfectly. But, as soon as something goes south they turn to blame someone else. When the Celts had a bad harvest for a year they turned to blame the kings and sacrificed them due to their “mistake”. The kings didn’t have a choice whether or not the plants thrived, although they were the only ones who they could possibly blame. Thus, they got brutally murdered and given to the goddess of fertility in hopes for her to bless them with a better next
It may seem like Ghost on the Throne by James Romm is just another one of the thousands of books written about the life about Alexander the Great. The fact is it was nearly the exact opposite. Of course, Alexander the Great plays an enormous role in the book, but Ghost on the Throne told the story of the legacy Alexander the Great left behind after his death. In fact, the word “Ghost” in the title of the book refers to Alexander the Great. Throughout the book, Romm told many stories about those who ruled after Alexander the Great and the influence Alexander had on the way those people ruled. This is why the book was given the title “Ghost on the Throne.” James Romm proves the impact Alexander’s legacy had on those once under his command even after he was no longer alive. Ghost on the Throne was a very interesting read and did an excellent job explaining Alexander the Great’s legacy.
Adam Hochschild's "King Leopold's Ghost" is a lost historical account starting in the late 19th century continuing into the 20th century of the enslavement of an entire country. The book tells the story of King Leopold and his selfish attempt to essentially make Belgium bigger starting with the Congo. This was all done under an elaborate "philanthropic" public relations curtain deceiving many countries along with the United States (the first to sign on in Leopold's claim of the Congo). There were many characters in the book ones that aided in the enslavement of the Congo and others that help bring light to the situation but the most important ones I thought were: King Leopold, a cold calculating, selfish leader, as a child he was crazy about geography and as an adult wasn't satisfied with his small kingdom of Belgium setting his sites on the Congo to expand. Hochschild compares Leopold to a director in a play he even says how brilliant he is in orchestrating the capture of the Congo. Another important character is King Leopold's, as Hochschild puts it, "Stagehand" Henry Morton Stanley. He was a surprisingly cruel person killing many natives of the Congo in his sophomore voyage through the interior of Africa (The first was to find Livingston). Leopold used Stanley to discuss treaties with African leaders granting Leopold control over the Congo. Some of the natives he talked to weren't even in the position to sign the treaties or they didn't know what they were signing.
Minthorn, Armand. "Human Remains Should Be Reburied." Kennewick Man Perspectives on the Ancient One (n.d.): 42-43. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
Book Review of King Leopold's Ghost, by Adam Hochschild What some have considered to be the first international scandal of the modern era took place in the Congo from 1890 until 1910. King Leopold II of Belgium was at the head of this so-called scandal. Although Europe and the rest of the world seemed to have forgotten the victims of these crimes, there is a considerable amount of material to use when attempting to recreate the horror that took place in Leopold's Congo. This is exactly what Adam Hochschild is attempting to do by writing this book. By using the written words of mostly Europeans and Americans, which creates a distorted view of history, he wants to show that the Holocaust type event that took place in the Congo is something that should never be forgotten in our history.
Archaeologist Miranda Green has said that the injuries on the bog bodies clearly display that the effort and care that has been put into the execution of these bodies supports the hypothesis that they were not executed as a disciplinary measure, but as ritualized sacrifices. Though Miranda Green was not there at the time of the killing, she has studied the wounds on the bodies which have shown a great help in determining what happened to
Perhaps the most notorious of burial practices originating in Egypt is that of mummification. Why such an extraordinary attempt was made to preserve cadavers may seem
The Celts were much feared warriors. There were various people who were afraid of them such as Romans, Greeks, and other Mediterranean people. They were so feared because of their hand on combat and one on one fighting. Another thing that made them so feared was that they were usually a head taller than their opponents. Their bodies were very muscular, ripped, and the Celts were very athletic. ( Allen) They also surprised their opponents with their quickness. No one expected them to be fast because of how big they were but the Celts were surprisingly quick. The Celts had different ways of fighting in each area in which they lived. In the French region the Celts also referred to as “Gauls” as they were called spiked their hair with lime. Some wore helmets with horns and wings on them to show how large they were. In Spain they were master swordsman that preferred short swords. This is because they were great at close up combat. In Southern Gaul they made great armor and preferred long swords. Mainly because they weren’t afraid of their opponent’s swords penetrating the armor. Nothing really changed in Britain because they fought with chariots. The Asia Minor and Ireland they remained the same and were definitely someone to be feared. One of the many things the Celts did was cut the heads off of their opponents as a trophy. After they did this they either hung them on their horses, or wore them on their belts which struck fear into their
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions. Critics pose interesting views concerning the identity and significance of the mysterious third murderer.
A Critique of Three Kings Three Kings (1999) shows the use of various genres such as war,
Cramp, Rosemary. “Beowulf and Archaeology.” In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
There are numerous unanswered questions surrounding the Northern European Bog Bodies phenomenon including "How, or why, or even when, the bodies became immersed in quagmires." (Turner, R.C, Scaife, R.G (ed.),1995,p.169). Despite vast amounts of evidence there are still no easy answers that account for the Iron age bodies. However there are four main competing theories providing possible causes including: the Sacrifice theory, Punishment theory, Boundary theory and the Accidental death theory. All these competing theories will be further examined and critically analysed throughout this text allowing us to depict the most convincing and plausible solution for the mystery of the Iron Age Bog Bodies.
Chamberlain, Andrew, and Pearson Michael Parker. Earthly Remains: The History and Science of Preserved Human Bodies. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.
More than 5000 years ago, a mummified body was found in an Austrian glacier, and this body had many piercings, including expanded earlobes, tongue and lips. Since this day, thousands of
About 5,000 years ago one of the world’s biggest murder mysteries occurred on the Ӧtzal Alps. On September 19, 1991, a dead body was discovered on those mountains and was named Ӧtzi the iceman. This mummified man is the oldest living preserved body from the late Stone Age. Many questions were raised about this ancient discovery over the years and most have been answered, but one still has many people scratching their heads. Why was Ӧtzi murdered? The theory that makes the most sense is that he was killed by someone who had betrayed him. There is a variety of evidence that supports this and prove that it could be true.
It starts with the discovery of the body, and lasts all the way through the scientific style autopsy. It brings to light how Archaeologists have a fine line to walk, when trying to protect from harm the same object that they wish to examine. On one hand you try not to damage it, and on the other hand you need samples to learn from. The scientists used as many non-invasive tools as possible, like x-rays and CT scans. The also used surgical type scopes with cameras, and biopsy tools to gain samples from deep within the body, where it is not noticeable to the spectators who will view the body in the future. They took bone marrow samples for DNA analysis, which show that he had been exposed to lime disease, which was another find that was not expected. They found stomach content where it was discovered that he had ate approximately one hour prior to his death. The content was wheat and meat from an Ibex mountain goat. When all the evidence was gathered, and theories of what could have happened to this man were discussed. The questions of who was this man? What really happened to this man? And who killed this Man? All began to be answered. The man was dated to be in his 40’s, and is the oldest complete human remains to date. He is likely a hunter, and probably holds some type of a high rank among his peers to have possession of an ax made of cooper. It is believed that he was probably killed by