Dublin, Dublin, Dublin...

I spent a goodly portion of my time in Dublin at least a little bit lost. All the roads curve and bend around the River Liffey, occasionally disappearing altogether only to reappear a block down. I should be used to this, growing up near a river town, but this was on an utterly massive scale.

As such, it took me almost an hour and a half to find the National Museum of Archaeology. At least the walk was nice -- the tourist and shopping districts of Dublin are distinctly...ornate, actually. All the buildings seem to be lovingly-maintained ye olde brick[e], or lovingly-designed towers of steel and glass (which can be pretty, if the architects are allowed to do their job properly). There were also more than a few street musicians -- all at least fairly good, and several playing reels I recognized. Street vendors lined the, er...streets...mostly selling jewelry of one sort or another. A lot of it was kitschy junk, but there were a few selling sterling silver. Claddaghs, predictably, were a common motif, but sun and dragon knot designs were aplenty as well.

But the museum!

Dublin's "National Museum" is actually several buildings nowhere near each other. The Archaeology Museum was small-ish, but the exhibits were meticulously laid out as well as unique. The main attraction for me was the "Kingship and Sacrifice" display -- that is to say, the bog bodies.

I've always been a little bit uneasy about the display of human remains, particularly those like the Egyptian mummies, which were originally preserved for religious reasons and intended not to be disturbed. The bog bodies are something of a different case.

First, I should probably explain what a "bog body" is. The easy explanation is that it's a type of mummy, but most people hear "mummy" and think pyramids and sand. The better explanation might be that a bog body is a human body preserved by the acid and temperature of the northern bogs. In the best cases, they'll still be partially clothed, hair and fingernails will be intact, and you might even be able to read the expression on the preserved face (The Wikipedia entry on bog bodies has a photograph of Tollund Man, who is beautifully preserved). Think leather, if your stomach isn't strong enough.

The bit that icks most people out about the bog bodies is that many of them died violent ritual deaths. Triple-deaths are common -- i.e., the sacrificial victim was strangled, stabbed, and drowned all at once. Also, a lot of the remains aren't in the best of condition. Several were mangled upon discovery via farm equipment, leaving dessicated organs trailing beneath severed torsos.

I'll spare the worst of the description, as I've been informed that most people do indeed find the whole concept more gross than interesting.

The actual displays were fantastic, though. As I said, the display of formerly interred human bodies makes me uneasy. The Dublin museum had the most respectful arrangement I have yet seen. Walking into the exhibit, not a single corpse can be seen -- just the grave goods found near them, maps, and descriptions of what the bodies mean as well as a few photos. To actually see the bodies, you have to enter tiny rooms-within-rooms, spiral-shaped divisions cut into the floor; you walk a ramp slightly downward in order to reach the body in question. It's dim, and quiet, and womb-like. Perhaps this is a bit creepy to some, but I merely found it sobering.

(Also, it's probably a good way to help parents prevent very young children from accidentally discovering the bodies -- I could see them figuring in more than a few childhood nightmares.)

After leaving the museum, I spent the rest of the day wandering around the tourist district and buying gifts for my family.

As a final note, I've decided that the Irish take on Mexican food is decidedly odd. I had a "Mexicana" crepe for lunch, which was delicious and included both smoked chicken and guacamole, but the whole thing was drizzled with a sweet-spicy chili sauce that tasted distinctly Japanese. Seriously. It was like a mild version of the sauce Sushi.com in Ann Arbor drizzles over their spicy rolls. Delicious...but bewildering.