The Life and Death of a Druid Prince: The Story of Lindow Man An Archaeological Sensation. Anne Ross & Don Robins. Summit Books: New York, 1989

This is an “old“ book now as you can see from the date, written by Dr. Anne Ross, Ph.D. in archaeology and expert on the Celts, and Dr. Don Robbins, Ph.D. in solid-state chemistry and faculty of the Institute of Archaeology in the University of London. Credentials aside, the book is written for the popular audience; hence the title, “archaeological sensation.” It is, perhaps, the first of its kind, and that makes it important. Also, it’s accessible, written in the style of an historical novel, without all the archaeological jargon, and this I like.

A writerly-friend recommended it to me because I’d studied and written about Old Croghan Man for To Kill a King, another Iron Age bog body, who was unearthed by a peat cutter in June 2003. Lindow Man came first. He was discovered on Lughnasadh (August 1) 1984, and before him came the Danish bog bodies.

In this book, the authors attempt to prove that Lindow Man (called such because he was unearthed in Lindow, England) was “a Druid nobleman and priest, ritually murdered in a spectacular Celtic May Day ceremony, sacrificing his young life to appease the gods following a brutal invasion by the Roman army in what has been called ‘the darkest hour in Britain’s blackest year’.”

What do I think of their book-long argument?

There is much conjecture. They suggest this and that, refute the argument, then make their point; a strategy that stretches a paper into a sensational book for profit. At times, I hear myself saying “that doesn’t make sense” and then they go on to tell me why it doesn’t make sense, which I already know. Such is the price of publication. I can accept their key argument, but there is a lot of filler.

The “Celtic” history is compelling and highlights much that I’ve read on Druid beliefs:

• Druids were gods incarnate and could be both Druid and King.
• Bards trained for up to twenty years. They memorized secret lore in triads using complex meter and rhyme
• The Celts were not afraid of death as their spiritual beliefs were so strong so made incredible warriors. I envy them their strong beliefs.
• They believed in reincarnation, both human and animal. In the interim, the spirit would go to a happy Otherworld of physical pleasures to await rebirth.
• They performed sacrifices to ensure victory and show gratitude to the gods.
• Captives from battle were sacrificed to the gods, but there were also willing sacrifices, and self-sacrifice
• They believed in ancestor worship. The dead could be tricksters with potent power (think of the sidhe: faeries from passage graves)
• The Druids had power over the elements. Macbeth echoes this belief.

In the end, the authors give Lindow Man a name: “Lovernios” because of his fox fur armband, and assert that he was an Irish king: a well-nourished noble, unblemished and so not a warrior, with manicured hands much like Old Croghan Man; small by our standards, 5’6” and only 154 pounds, O-blood type, an insular Celt.

The authors assert there was a trade route for Wicklow gold, supervised by the Druids, that ran from Ireland through Anglesey, Wales, into England. And this is the route “Lovernios” took to arrive in Lindow. They provide several maps and offer two appendixes: one of The Druids, and a second on Celts and Germans.

They hypothesize that “Lovernios” offered himself for sacrifice on Beltane in 60AD in a desperate attempt to stop the Romans who had already taken control over much of England. This makes sense to me.

There is an excellent piece on the Celtic Queen Boudica of the Iceni. “She was flogged and her daughters raped, and she vowed bloody vengeance” (87). Boudica sacked three provincial cities, including London, but was defeated, fled, and committed suicide. I’m intrigued by Boudica and want to know more. Why hasn’t her movie been made?

The reason for sacrifice must be epic: a life and death situation, not just for one but for all. Either bad weather and crop failure equaling slow starvation, poor decision-making, or invasion. In this case, the Roman invasion of Britain could be motivation for such a sacrifice. The Roman force was just too strong.

Lindow Man ate charred pancakes, and drank water with mistletoe, as was customary for sacrifice, and died a Triple Death (as did Old Croghan Man.)  Kneeling, he accepted three blows to the head that left him stunned. Then a thrice-knotted garrot strangled him at the same time as his jugular was severed, the blood running into a cauldron, and finally he was tethered in the water as an offering. (I will note here that Old Croghan Man had defensive wounds so was not entirely willing but was also tethered in the water by withies.)

Is their argument plausible?  Indeed it is.  Since that time, the idea of Kingship & Sacrifice has been studied and written about by other archaeologists including Dr. Eamonn Kelly, who created the current exhibit at the National Museum of Archaeology in Dublin.