Several well-preserved ancient bog bodies have been found in Irish bogs - but now a bog BUTTER has been found.
A worker has found a massive 22lb lump of butter dating back 2,000 years buried in an Irish bog - which is still edible.
Jack Conway, a turf cutter from Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, discovered the prehistoric dairy product, which 'smelled like cheese', while working on Emlagh bog last week.
Burying butter was often done to preserve it but experts claimed it could have been buried as an offering to the gods - so that they might keep that area safe.
It was unearthed in the Drakerath area of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, where the boundaries of three ancient baronies met.
Worker finds a 2,000 year old 22lb hunk of butter buried deep in an Irish bog (and yes it is still edible)
Jack Conway discovered the ancient lump while working on Emlagh bog
Experts say the find might have been an offering to the gods or spirits
The product was found 12 feet underground and said to 'smell like cheese'
By Ekin Karasin For Mailonline
14 June 2016
Daily Mail
A worker has found a massive 22lb lump of butter dating back 2,000 years buried in an Irish bog - which is still edible.
Jack Conway, a turf cutter from Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, discovered the prehistoric dairy product, which 'smelled like cheese', while working on Emlagh bog last week.
Burying butter was often done to preserve it but experts claimed it could have been buried as an offering to the gods - so that they might keep that area safe.
Jack Conway, a turf cutter from Maghera, Northern Ireland, UK, discovered the prehistoric dairy product (pictured), which 'smelled like cheese', while working on Emlagh bog in the Republic of Ireland last week
It was unearthed in the Drakerath area of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, where the boundaries of three ancient baronies met.
Andy Halpin, assistant keeper in the museum's Irish Antiquities Division, told The Irish Times: 'These bogs in those times were inaccessible, mysterious places,' he said.
'It is at the juncture of three separate kingdoms, and politically it was like a no-man's-land - that is where it all hangs together.'
He added: 'Theoretically the stuff is still edible - but we wouldn't say it's advisable,' Mr Halpin said.
Bog butter was often used to preserve butter but experts claimed it could have been buried as an offering to the gods - so that they might keep that area safe (From left Savina Donohoe, curator of Cavan County Museum, Jack Conway, and Andy Halpin, assistant keeper, Irish Antiquities Division)
Mr Conway found the butter 12 feet below the ground and reported it to Cavan County Museum.
It was then transferred to the National Museum to be carbon dated.
Savina Donohoe, curator of Cavan County Museum, told UTV Ireland: 'It did smell like butter.'
'After I had held it in my hands, my hands really did smell of butter.
She added: 'There was even a smell of butter in the room it was in.'
There was no discovery of a cover over the bog butter, which led Mr Halpin to suggest the artefact was possibly not intended to be dug up.
Similar discoveries are said to be common in Scotland and Ireland.
Such finds are common in Ireland and Scotland. Bog butter is sometimes found encased in wooden containers or animal hide, to protect it as well.
WHAT IS BOG BUTTER?
Bog butter is butter that has been buried in peat.
The earliest known examples date back almost 2,000 years, but there are records of people burying butter as recently as the 1800s.
Burying the butter was a good method of preserving it - as butter made in ancient times without salt expired quickly.
The low oxygen conditions of the bog could help preserve it.
A worker has found a massive 22lb lump of butter dating back 2,000 years buried in an Irish bog - which is still edible.
Jack Conway, a turf cutter from Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, discovered the prehistoric dairy product, which 'smelled like cheese', while working on Emlagh bog last week.
Burying butter was often done to preserve it but experts claimed it could have been buried as an offering to the gods - so that they might keep that area safe.
It was unearthed in the Drakerath area of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, where the boundaries of three ancient baronies met.
Worker finds a 2,000 year old 22lb hunk of butter buried deep in an Irish bog (and yes it is still edible)
Jack Conway discovered the ancient lump while working on Emlagh bog
Experts say the find might have been an offering to the gods or spirits
The product was found 12 feet underground and said to 'smell like cheese'
By Ekin Karasin For Mailonline
14 June 2016
Daily Mail
A worker has found a massive 22lb lump of butter dating back 2,000 years buried in an Irish bog - which is still edible.
Jack Conway, a turf cutter from Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, discovered the prehistoric dairy product, which 'smelled like cheese', while working on Emlagh bog last week.
Burying butter was often done to preserve it but experts claimed it could have been buried as an offering to the gods - so that they might keep that area safe.
Jack Conway, a turf cutter from Maghera, Northern Ireland, UK, discovered the prehistoric dairy product (pictured), which 'smelled like cheese', while working on Emlagh bog in the Republic of Ireland last week
It was unearthed in the Drakerath area of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, where the boundaries of three ancient baronies met.
Andy Halpin, assistant keeper in the museum's Irish Antiquities Division, told The Irish Times: 'These bogs in those times were inaccessible, mysterious places,' he said.
'It is at the juncture of three separate kingdoms, and politically it was like a no-man's-land - that is where it all hangs together.'
He added: 'Theoretically the stuff is still edible - but we wouldn't say it's advisable,' Mr Halpin said.
Bog butter was often used to preserve butter but experts claimed it could have been buried as an offering to the gods - so that they might keep that area safe (From left Savina Donohoe, curator of Cavan County Museum, Jack Conway, and Andy Halpin, assistant keeper, Irish Antiquities Division)
Mr Conway found the butter 12 feet below the ground and reported it to Cavan County Museum.
It was then transferred to the National Museum to be carbon dated.
Savina Donohoe, curator of Cavan County Museum, told UTV Ireland: 'It did smell like butter.'
'After I had held it in my hands, my hands really did smell of butter.
She added: 'There was even a smell of butter in the room it was in.'
There was no discovery of a cover over the bog butter, which led Mr Halpin to suggest the artefact was possibly not intended to be dug up.
Similar discoveries are said to be common in Scotland and Ireland.
Such finds are common in Ireland and Scotland. Bog butter is sometimes found encased in wooden containers or animal hide, to protect it as well.
WHAT IS BOG BUTTER?
Bog butter is butter that has been buried in peat.
The earliest known examples date back almost 2,000 years, but there are records of people burying butter as recently as the 1800s.
Burying the butter was a good method of preserving it - as butter made in ancient times without salt expired quickly.
The low oxygen conditions of the bog could help preserve it.