A bog body estimated to be up to 3,000-years-old has been discovered on bogland in the Irish midlands.
The National Museum of Ireland has described the discovery, in County Laois, as ‘very exciting’.
Initial examinations of the prehistoric remains, believed to be the result of a human sacrifice, indicate it could be a woman’s body.
A spokesman for Ireland’s National Museum confirmed to the Irish Times that the find is one of very few bog bodies discovered in situ. As a result not only the remains but its intact environment can be studied.
Keeper of the Museum’s Irish antiquities division Ned Kelly told the paper that there have been over 100 bog bodies found in Ireland.
Many, he said, were not well preserved and some were just parts of bodies removed from their sites and found inside milling machines.
“At present we can see a pair of legs, which are quite well preserved, probably the best preserved part of the body,” said Kelly speaking at the County Laois site.
“On preliminary examination we can be reasonably certain that it is a late prehistoric bog body.
“At this stage we do not know the precise age or gender of the individual, but the body could be that of a young woman.
“This was probably a ritual deposition of a human sacrifice.”
The body was discovered by an employee operating a milling machine on bogland situation between the towns of Portlaoise and Abbeyleix.
The Irish Times reports that the torso and head, which were in a leather bag, did not survive but the legs were not enclosed by the bag and were preserved by chemicals in the peat.
Work ceased in the area when the discovery was made and the National Museum of Ireland and police were contacted.
Kelly added: “We’ve had a number of other finds in this bog in the past, including bog butter and a pre-historic bronze axe, so the area is of known archaeological interest.”
reported that a Bord na Mona (peat harvesters) worker spotted the body just seconds before his machine was due to drive over the remains, probably destroying them.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.tommymccarthy | Aug 16, 2011, 07:08 AM EDT
This was probably a ritual deposition of a human sacrifice 1 of you Yankee mouth pieces,let Ireland handle its own problems without people from the colonies trying to give advice,you are the people that sailed away so shut up
Towngate | Aug 15, 2011, 05:12 AM EDT
Jacers: How far back does 'celtic' go? 3 - 5000 years is a long road. We can't know who or what this was or the circumstances of the death. ~ ~ ~ I like your idea of a modern-day sacrifice - but surely not poor Portia777 - but in case you hadn't noticed; the whole Irish Nation has already been sacrificed on the Altar of Mammon!
alphonsus123 | Aug 14, 2011, 03:25 PM EDT
Or on the other hand it could be a male?
jacersagain | Aug 13, 2011, 09:47 PM EDT
The apparent morbid death of this lady in the bog is inescapable. It was clearly part of the old Celtic way of life, the one that Portia777 wants us all to return to - the one where all Celtic druidic men in dresses decided which young beautiful woman (or hag of a mother-in-law) should be offered for sacrifice. Maybe we should, after all, follow Portia’s advice and return to those ancient Celtic days’ practices... what if I nominate Portia777 to be the first modern-day sacrifice to save us all from the horrible news and events that we all are suffering from? I wonder how she’d feel about fine Celtic warriors in short dresses, or perhaps solemn Druids in long dresses, cutting her in half with a deft sweep of a colg or claíomh. Ar dheis Dé go mbeidh anam an bhean tragóideach seo.
themurphia | Aug 13, 2011, 02:48 PM EDT
sirpeter:I'll leave the Gardai/Police to dcide theat...you may be one or both...who knows...?
Towngate | Aug 13, 2011, 02:21 PM EDT
FGreggMeagher: The 'Gallows Humour' tone of many of the comments here do not in any way show disrespect for any human life. Indeed, that is a part of human life itself,and should be celebrated as an emotional escape route from the horrible reality that this individual appears to have experienced. After such a long time, we are unlikely to ever establish the facts, so should remain unemotional and non-religious ( in the Christian sense, especially ~ as this predates the 'coming of christ'. Much more interesting is: who the remains 'belonged' to; how and why are they where they are. Was what we now like to call Ireland connected by a landbridge eastwards? What was 'Ireland' called then ~ when only a few small tribes had settled there...? Lets hope the boffins at The National Museum can provide some answers.
FGreggMeagher | Aug 13, 2011, 12:49 PM EDT
Maybe my comment will be inappropriate here after reading the others. However, I value the 'Life', and respect the same, of whomever this individual was. Too bad that we will never know the facts concerning her life or her fate. In some way, due to the found remains, she is still an integral part of our reality and presence. I sincerely hope that she did not experience in a woken state her suffering, if in fact she was sacrificed. RIP.
adrienrain | Aug 13, 2011, 10:22 AM EDT
Why human sacrifice? Maybe she just got lost on the way home from the pub.
sirpeter | Aug 13, 2011, 05:55 AM EDT
@themurphia.So how long is your record of threats of violence towards you? I suspect the whole neighbourhood which won't be much help.
GoogieLaRue | Aug 12, 2011, 11:59 PM EDT
The original Bogger no doubt.
JerryLynch | Aug 12, 2011, 08:37 PM EDT
I was readin in a Bog Blog that she may have been a former friend of Whitey Bulgar. I'd also check her dental records to see if they matched Amelia Erhart's.If there were any $100 bills preserved with the body, it might be D. B. Cooper?
peterson | Aug 12, 2011, 07:02 PM EDT
I bet she found obuma's real birth certificate !!
seanomelbourne | Aug 12, 2011, 06:43 PM EDT
I suppose someone will blame the IRa, looks like a knee capping
nosoupforU | Aug 12, 2011, 06:03 PM EDT
Sacrifice Cathil
EphraimKibbey | Aug 12, 2011, 05:36 PM EDT
Sadly, she probably met her end that her people could trust their gods to supply them with an adaquate harvest or a victory over a neighboring tribe. Good thing we are not still that deluded. Now how do we fix the economy?
bootsjoyce4 | Aug 12, 2011, 05:32 PM EDT
Irish Hide and Go Seek Champion!
newcanaan | Aug 12, 2011, 04:58 PM EDT
they found her id, it was Joan rivers. RIP
mandrake | Aug 12, 2011, 04:20 PM EDT
she said she was only going out to buy a packet of cigarettes, see smoking does kill you
themurphia | Aug 12, 2011, 03:22 PM EDT
I suppose your sense of humour depends on the type of *bar* you are used to frequenting..as Judge Judy says...'No matter how smart you think you are you are not half as smart as me'...My mamma didn't raise no idiots...!
themurphia | Aug 12, 2011, 02:48 PM EDT
I expect she did something heinous like told some bollically challenged sh*t for brains to stop stalking/harassing her...however his pathetic *little* (tee hee) ego couldn't accept the rejection so he had to keep making barely disguised threats all the while digging his own grave metaphorically speaking...stoopid is as stoopid does...Wind your d*ck in d*ckhead...Ugh!Ugh!Ugh!
eiregirl | Aug 12, 2011, 01:30 PM EDT
There are no chemicals in moss to perserve the body. The moss grows in dampness, creating a layer of the plant as you all know. As it grows it doesn't allow bacteria to penetrate through, therefore no bacteria can break down what is in the bog area, or underneath the moss so this is why the body(ies) are perserved in such a unique way. The tanning colour comes from years of lying in that environment. It's a case of lack of bacteria and not chemicals as it was...3,000 yrs ago.
Portia777 | Aug 12, 2011, 01:08 PM EDT
Where is the logic in this being a hu man sacrifice?
Towngate | Aug 12, 2011, 12:36 PM EDT
Ms.Gail ... we usually post with our tongues firmly stuck in our cheeks here. I'm 'sorry for your loss' if she is your multi-grand mother, but if you mean 'rip' as R.I.P. you see on headstones,it is worth remembering that this death took place 1000 years before Christ was supposed to have been born! Another thought is that this partial carcass was spotten by chance before the Bord na Mona (The Turf or Peat Board) drove his milling machine over it. So I wonder how many others have not survived the process and are now squished up in bales of Briguettes (processed and condensed peat sold as fuel for open fires) waiting like many before to heat up the home and waft the scent of burning Irish 'Turf' (and people) across the countryside in the sweet evening air.
Ms.Gail | Aug 12, 2011, 11:51 AM EDT
This article seems to have brought out those with a sense of humor! Since she could be my great* granny, I say rip and thanks for the info you'll provide to us. Thanks Irish Central for reporting these finds.
newcanaan | Aug 12, 2011, 11:27 AM EDT
i hope its my mother in law
RobbCobb | Aug 12, 2011, 11:24 AM EDT
I love the stuff that's found in the bog - pretty freaking amazing!
southcountykelly | Aug 12, 2011, 09:53 AM EDT
Re: Bog body find...A ghostly voice was overheard upon the find, "Oh, for peats sake, what's all the fuss? Did anyone find my bogweiser beer?
themurphia | Aug 12, 2011, 09:52 AM EDT
No woman would be that dense...she would have deposited it with the head honcho for the Prosecution......Less of 'the mother in law'you 21st century man...!Women a re more likely to be 'the 'mother' of all law/yers'
antoman | Aug 12, 2011, 09:10 AM EDT
@themurphia-If its written on some goat skin and clutched in her hand.There's a good chance the tanic acid will have preserved that too.Not to diminish her demise but I've said in this forum several times not to bury the mother-in-law in a bog.It preserves her.Sure you may aw well phone up the State pathologist and give her the mother-in-law.
themurphia | Aug 12, 2011, 08:54 AM EDT
I hope she left a message with the lawyers and Gardai identifying her assailant...that's what I'd do...always a good thing to keep a record of threats of violence iimplied or otherwise!That reminds me I have a report to finish...to finish a reporter...!
antoman | Aug 12, 2011, 08:38 AM EDT
The mother-in-law no doubt.
Towngate | Aug 12, 2011, 08:24 AM EDT
An Irish woman with a bag pulled over her head and thrown into a bog .... she must have annoyed somebody ...!
colmwexford | Aug 12, 2011, 05:34 AM EDT
An exciting find alright. For anyone else who is interested in these recent bog body discoveries I've done a blog post on the subject over at http://irisharchaeology.ie/archives/721