The Life and Death of a Druid Prince: The Story of Lindow Man, an Archaeological Sensation

200 Pages·1989·28.642 MB·English

by  Anne Ross, Don Robins

When a well-preserved human torso was
discovered by a peat cutter in the Lindow
Moss of the English Midlands on August 1,
1984, it set off an archaeological investiga­
tion as exciting as any detective story.
Using state-of-the-art technology and pos­
sessing expert knowledge of ancient Celtic
customs and beliefs, Dr. Anne Ross and Dr.
Don Robins reconstruct the rich life and
violent death of the 2,000-year-old who
came to be known as Lindow Man and was
hailed as the archaeological discovery of
the decade. A fascinating series of investi­
gations revealed that Lindow Man was a
Druid nobleman and priest, ritually mur­
dered in a spectacular Celtic May Day cere­
mony, 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.”
As the facts emerge, Celtic Britain
under the Roman occupation comes
sharply into focus—especially the grim
determination of the Romans to destroy
the powerful and mysterious Druid reli­
gion. Caught up in this human tragedy, one
can truly come to know the heroic man
who gave his life to save his people and his
culture, and who now speaks from the
watery grave where he lay mute for nearly
twenty centuries. The Life and Death of a
Druid Prince: The Story of Lindow Man,
an Archaeological Sensation, is both a
thrilling human drama and a spellbinding
scientific detection.

THE
LIFE AND DEATH
OF A
DRUID PRINCE
The Story of Lindow Man,
an Archaeological Sensation
ANNE ROSS and DON ROBINS
SUMMIT BOOKS
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Copyright © 1989 by Anne Ross and
Don Robins
All rights reserved
including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
Originally published in Great Britain by Rider,
an imprint of Century Hutchinson, Ltd.
summit books and colophon are trademarks
of Simon ir Schuster Inc.
Designed by Edith Fowler
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 987654321
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Ross, Anne, Ph. D.
The life and death of a Druid prince : the story of
Lindow Man, an archaeological sensation / Anne Ross
and Don Robins,
p. cm.
“Originally published in Great Britain by Rider”—
T.p. verso.
Includes bibliographical references (p.
1. Lindow Man. 2. Iron age—England.
3. England—Antiquities.
I. Robins, Don. II. Title.
GN780.22.G7R67 1989
936.2—dc20
ISBN 0-671-69536-3 90-9616
CIP
Contents
authors’ note 7
PROLOGUE
The Riddle of the Blackened Bread 9
one The Silent Witness 15
two Face to Face with a Druid 34
three Lovemios Revealed 53
four The Fox’s Earth 60
five The Black Year 79
six The Golden Twist 101
EPILOGUE
The Triple Echo 128
APPENDIX ONE
The Druids 130
APPENDIX TWO
Celts and Germans 157
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 168
BIBLIOGRAPHY 170
INDEX 174