Humanity on Display

What does his skin feel like?

The acidic conditions of the bog tan skin to the dark brown-black color you see here. It can also dye human hair a startling shade of red, although of course in the Old Croghan Man’s case there is no hair to be observed. As peat moss dies, it leaches calcium out of bones, leaving the skin without a supportive internal structure and creating a “wrinkly” appearance. When bodies are first removed from a bog, they are waterlogged which makes them pliable and soft but not elastic, similar to the feel of wet leather. Removing them from the bog, however, results in the drainage or evaporation of the water, which over time can create a shrunken appearance that emphasizes the wrinkles in the skin. Museums preserve these bodies for display via freeze-drying, rendering the skin dry and hard. That is the texture that can be seen on the Old Croghan Man, as well as on other bog bodies.

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