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Ancient human remains discovered in Meath bog

Archaeological human remains have been found in a bog in Co Meath. The discovery was made over th...
Newstalk
Newstalk

14.24 16 Sep 2014


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Ancient human remains discover...

Ancient human remains discovered in Meath bog

Newstalk
Newstalk

14.24 16 Sep 2014


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Archaeological human remains have been found in a bog in Co Meath. The discovery was made over the weekend by Bord Na Mona workers at Rossan bog.

A team of archaeologists and conservators from the National Museum of Ireland have been investigating the discovery over the past few days.

The find consists of the lower leg and foot bones of an adult - but it is not known whether they are male or female.

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The exact date of the remains will be established by radiocarbon dating.

This is the second bog body from Rossan bog. The remains were found close to the discovery in 2012 of a bronze Age bog body of an adult, which was radiocarbon dated to between 700 and 400 BC.

Further analysis of the human remains will take place in the National Museum of Ireland's conservation laboratory in Dublin.

The remains that were found in Rossan bog

"The oxygen-free conditions that prevail in bogs assist in the preservation of organic material such as human tissue. The survival of such remains allows for more detailed research into past lives than if only the bone was to survive," the National Museum of Ireland says.

Bog bodies have been found across northern Europe from Ireland to Scandinavia. Many show evidence for violent death and are believed to be sacrificial offerings connected to kingship and sovereignty.

Maeve Sikora of the Irish Antquities Division, who led the Museum's fieldwork team, said "I would like to thank the staff at Bord na Móna for reporting the find so quickly and for their assistance on site".

The director of the National Museum of Ireland, Raghnall Ó Floinn, welcomed the new discovery saying "every new find helps to bring us closer to understanding the lives and beliefs systems of our ancestors".


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