New bog body discovered in Meath
A new, partially intact bog body has been discovered by Bord na Mona workers in Co Meath.
Archaeologists from the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) have confirmed that it is working on a find of human remains in a bog near the border with Co Westmeath, at Rossan bog.
Archaeologist Maeve Sikora told the Irish Examiner that workers from Bord na Mona came across the remains.
“Archaeologists and conservators from The National Museum of Ireland have been on site investigating the findspot of archaeological human remains in a bog in Co. Meath, near the border with Co. Westmeath,” Ms Sikora said.
#NMIreland can confirm bog body remains of adult discovered last weekend at Rossan Bog, Meath. pic.twitter.com/ahTHcJS9uD
— National Museum of Ireland (@NMIreland) September 16, 2014
“The site was reported to the National Museum by Bord Na Móna workers.
“The exact date of the remains is not known at this time but we will be conducting research in the coming months.
“A bog body found previously in this bog was radiocarbon dated to the prehistoric period. The remains do not comprise a complete bog body.”
The discovery seems to be of the lower leg and foot bones of an adult, but archaeologists are not yet sure whether the remains are male or female.
A bog body found in the same area in 2012 was radiocarbon dated to between 700 and 400 BC, and the same method will likely be used to date the new discovery.
"The oxygen-free conditions that prevail in bogs assist in the preservation of organic material such as human tissue," the museum explained in a statement.
"The survival of such remains allows for more detailed research into past lives than if only the bone was to survive."
