Cladh Hallan is an archaeological site on the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. It is significant as the only place in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. Importance and applicability Most of human history is not described by any written records. ... South Uist (Scottish Gaelic: Uibhist a Deas) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. ... The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles ( Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan Siar), also traditionally known as the Outer Isles, comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. ... Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ... A mummy is a preserved corpse that, due to shielding from decomposition by either natural or artificial means, has retained its physical form. ...
A team of scientists found two skeletons at the site, one male who had died ca. 1600 B.C., and one female who had died ca. 1300 B.C. (about the same time as King Tutankhamun of Egypt). At first the researchers did not realize they were dealing with mummies, since the soft tissue had decomposed and the skeletons had been buried. But tests revealed that both bodies had not been buried until about 1000 B.C., and that the bodies had been preserved shortly after death in a peat bog for 6 to 18 months. The preserved bodies were then apparently retrieved from the bog and set up inside a dwelling, presumably having religious significance. Archaeologists do not know why the bodies were buried centuries later. The Cladh Hallan skeletons differ from most bog bodies in two respects: unlike most bog bodies, they appear to have been put in the bog for the express purpose of preservation (whereas most bog bodies were simply interred in the bog), and unlike most bog bodies, their soft tissue was no longer preserved at the time of discovery. Tutankhamun (alternate transcription Tutankhamen), named Tutankhaten early in his life, was Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt (1334 BC/1333 BC - 1323 BC), during the period known as the New Kingdom. ... By other animals Humans are not the only species to bury their dead. ... Virgin boreal acid bogs at Browns Lake Bog, Ohio A bog is a wetland type that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material. ... Bog bodies, also known as bog people, are preserveded human bodies found in sphagnum bogs. ...
External links
BBC - History - The Mummies of Cladh Hallan (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/archaeology/mummies_cladhhallan_01.shtml)
Following the provisions of the Treasure Trove Act, all the finds from CladhHallan, including the skeletons, will be allocated to a Scottish museum after the lengthy process of analysis and reporting is completed.
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