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Cast into Northern European wetlands, bog bodies have long appeared as opaque to archaeologists as their dark and watery graves. But new clues are coming in the centuries-old mystery of their origins.

Bog bodies, which are also known as bog people, are the naturally preserved human corpses found in the sphagnum bogs in Northern Europe. Unlike most ancient human remains, bog bodies have retained their skin and internal organs due to the unusual conditions of the surrounding area.

Archaeologists have unveiled two Iron Age "bog bodies" which were found in the Republic of Ireland.
The bodies, which are both male and have been dated to more than 2,000 years old, probably belong to the victims of a ritual sacrifice.