Archaeologists are used to the ethical questions involved with bog bodies.....but what about tourist tat?
An industrious company has set up to sell "Bog Buddies", little characters and motifs (men, women, sheep, hearts, shamrocks) carved from bog materials. Not a terrible idea considering the lack of enterprise following the recession, and the fact that tourists will buy anything. They look nice enough when framed, but really, there doesn't seem to be a great deal of skill in the carving, and certainly not enough to justify the €14 price tag for the smallest piece in the cheapest box, or €40 for a small framed heart.
I also wonder if they really thought through the name "bog buddies" - did they actively seek association with millenia-old corpses?
