Lindow Man - Conservation

Conservation

It was feared that once Lindow Man was removed from the peat which had preserved him for nearly 2,000 years, the body would start to decay. Steps were thus taken to ensure the survival of the remains. After rejecting methods used to preserve other bog bodies, such as the "pit-tanning" used on Grauballe Man which took a year and a half, freeze-drying was settled on. In preparation, the body was covered in a solution of 15% polyethylene glycol 400 and 85% water to prevent it from becoming distorted. The body was then frozen solid and the ice vaporised to ensure Lindow Man did not shrink. Afterwards, Lindow Man was put in a specially constructed display case to control the environment and carefully maintain the temperature at 20 °C (68 °F) and the humidity at 55%. Lindow Man's permanent home is at the British Museum, although before the remains were taken there, people from North West England launched an unsuccessful campaign lobbying for the body to be kept in Manchester. He has been on temporary display in other venues: at the Manchester Museum on three occasions, April to December 1987, March to September 1991, and April 2008 to April 2009; and at the Great North Museum in Newcastle from August to November 2009. The 2008–09 Manchester display, titled "Lindow Man: A Bog Body Mystery Exhibition at the Manchester Museum", won the category "Best Archaeological Innovation" in the 2010 British Archaeological Awards, run by the Council for British Archaeology. There has been controversy over the display of the remains: the body of Lindow Man has usually been objectified rather than treated as a person, leading some people, such as neo-druid Emma Restall Orr, to question whether the body should be displayed. This is part of a wider issue about the treatment of human remains and their use as information sources by museums and archaeologists.