Ireland worker finds ancient Psalms in bog

[highlandcelt]

Ireland Worker Finds Ancient Psalms in Bog
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 5:29 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) — Irish archaeologists Tuesday heralded the discovery of an ancient book of psalms by a construction worker who spotted something while driving the shovel of his backhoe into a bog.

The approximately 20-page book has been dated to the years 800-1000. Trinity College manuscripts expert Bernard Meehan said it was the first discovery of an Irish early medieval document in two centuries.

"This is really a miracle find," said Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland, which has the book stored in refrigeration and facing years of painstaking analysis before being put on public display.

"There's two sets of odds that make this discovery really way out. First of all, it's unlikely that something this fragile could survive buried in a bog at all, and then for it to be unearthed and spotted before it was destroyed is incalculably more amazing."

He said an engineer was digging up bogland last week to create commercial potting soil somewhere in Ireland's midlands when, "just beyond the bucket of his bulldozer, he spotted something." Wallace would not specify where the book was found because a team of archaeologists is still exploring the site.

"The owner of the bog has had dealings with us in past and is very much in favor of archaeological discovery and reporting it," Wallace said.

Crucially, he said, the bog owner covered up the book with damp soil. Had it been left exposed overnight, he said, "it could have dried out and just vanished, blown away."

The book was found open to a page describing, in Latin script, Psalm 83, in which God hears complaints of other nations' attempts to wipe out the name of Israel.

Wallace said several experts spent Tuesday analyzing only that page — the number of letters on each line, lines on each page, size of page — and the book's binding and cover, which he described as "leather velum, very thick wallet in appearance."

It could take months of study, he said, just to identify the safest way to pry open the pages without damaging or destroying them. He ruled out the use of X-rays to investigate without moving the pages.

Ireland already has several other holy books from the early medieval period, including the ornately illustrated Book of Kells, which has been on display at Trinity College in Dublin since the 19th century.

[Kilted KT]

wow...sounds like quite a find. Hope it turns out to be real!

[Rex_Tremende]

Praise be!

Interesting story, thanks for posting.
You just never know what'll turn up.

Regards,
Rex in Cincinnati

[Iolaus]

Makes you wonder what sorts of things get missed!

[Tattoo Bradley]

Wow. VERY interesting. I studied a bit of theology a few years ago. Always been of interest to me. I hope it turns out to be real as well. It does unfortunately seem a bit unlikely that it would survive that long in a bog of all places.

[Retro Red]

That's really Psalm-thing! :rolleyes:

.

[Southern Breeze]

Thats simply amazing.Aparently it was written on vellum which is more durable than paper.Here's a link to the Irish Times:

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/fro...813781160.html

[Graham]

What a find, I hope one day it goes on display like the Book of Kells. I travelled to Dublin especially to see that (well, to have a guinness too), truly amazing and inspiring work.

[Nick]

Wow. VERY interesting. I studied a bit of theology a few years ago. Always been of interest to me. I hope it turns out to be real as well. It does unfortunately seem a bit unlikely that it would survive that long in a bog of all places.

Without knowing more about the bog itself it's had to be certain, but look at the Bocksten Bog Man. Granted, he died in the 14th century, and this may be from the 9th-11th, but sometimes soil composition can aid in preservation.

If this is real, I can't wait to see what's inside. As a medievalist, this is the sort of thing I live for.

Pax,
Nick

[GMan]

This whole find is very fantastic. To delve into the past is such an awesome thing.