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    U NUSUAL  F INDINGS
     
    During the investigation into the case of the Lindow bogman scientists made a number of other interesting discoveries. Firstly, the Lindow man had worn a beard – facial hair is almost unheard of in other bog bodies. His hair had been cut a few days before his death, his fingernails were clean and he was taller than average – 170 centimetres (5 ft 7 in). These observations led scientists to believe that the bogman was a privileged member of society, the clean fingernails and evidence of grooming meant he was not a labourer, and the lack of injuries (apart from those he incurred during death) meant that he was not a warrior either. The archaeologists concluded that the Lindow bogman was either an aristocrat, a druid or a king who had probably been chosen for sacrifice during the summer festival of Beltane.
     
    B ELTANE
     
    The Beltane festival took place on 1 May and marked the centre point on the Celtic calendar between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice, like the festival of Samhain (the ancient Celtic equivalent of halloween). The festival of Beltane was seen as a time of year when the other world and its inhabitants were particularly close at hand. It was treated as an ideal time for transition and purification. Traditionally, Beltane included a human sacrifice in order to ensure a good summer’s harvest. Historians believe that the ceremony began with the building of a large bonfire. In the fire, an oatmeal cake called a bannock was baked and a small portion of it was deliberately charred. The bannock was broken into small pieces, put in a bag and passed around. The unfortunate person who chose the charred piece of bread became the sacrifical victim, and was usually burnt on the bonfire. The Lindow bog man’s last meal was found to be a charred oatmeal substance, but he had escaped a death by fire – why?
    Prominent archaeologist Anne Ross believes that the Lindow bogman was certainly a prominent member of society – either a druid priest or a king, who chose to be sacrificed in ad 60, in order to stave off violent attacks by the Romans who were attempting to wipe out the Celts around this time. Given his position in society, it is unlikely that he would have been sacrificed in the same manner as a commoner – and a more respectful execution was planned instead.
    In a way, the Lindow bogman succeeded in his mission to ensure that the Celtic traditions lived on.
    If Andy Mould had not found the remains of the Lindlow bogman on that summer’s day in 1983, perhaps an important element of Celtic history, that of the Beltane sacrificial ritual, would have been lost forever.
     
    T HE  V IKINGS
     
    The Vikings have lived on in the history books as a people committed to bloodthirsty and depraved violence. Life for a typical Viking was hard and short. The ancient Norse people worshipped a pantheon of war-like gods, and like many other civilisations, they believed in spilling human blood in order to ensure abundant crops, victory in battle and the continuing health and wealth of their people.
     
    T HE  C ULT OF THE  V OLVAS
     
    The volvas were a group of high priestesses who were considered by some to be higher in status even than the gods themselves. An old Norse story describes Odin (head of all Norse Gods) consulting a volva for advice, whereby she taunts him – unafraid of his wrath. The volvas are generally portrayed as aged women who dressed in white robes – a Viking forerunner to our witch, and one of their main roles was to predict the future. A human sacrifice, usually a prisoner of war, was awarded to the volva’s. They would sprinkle his blood in order to prophesy coming events during a ceremony or ‘Blot’.
     
    B LOT
     
    The blot was a sacramental meal or feast with a sacrifice at its centre, called a ‘blota’. The oldest form of the word ‘blot’ means ‘to summon with incantations’, ‘to worship with sacrifice’ or ‘to strengthen’.