Ireland worker finds ancient Psalms in bog

[GMan]

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

[Ruanaidh]

A truly remarkable find. One wonders what else is concealed in those ancient bogs.

[RockyR]

A truly remarkable find. One wonders what else is concealed in those ancient bogs.

Bogs are to ancient treasures what couch cushions are to change!

[Pour1Malt]

a book in a bog for hundreds o years?

yeah, richt!



:rolleyes:

[macwilkin]

This thread reminds me of the Steamboat Arabia. For those who might not be familiar with the story of the Arabia, in 1856, the steamboat hit a snag in the Missouri River and sunk with a full cargo (222 tons). Over the years, the river changed course, the wreck of the Arabia lay buried in a corn field. The mud actually preserved the cargo of the steamboat -- pickled food that will still edible, perfume (which has been reproduced), weapons, clothing, hardware & tools -- you name it.

The Arabia's story is now told in an excellent museum in Kansas City, and it is literaly a treasure-trove to reenactors/living historians of the Middle 19th century:

www.1856.com

I highly recommend it!

Of course, another example of soil preserving an artifact is the "Ulster" tartan, which was found in 1956:

On 28 April 1956, the Coleraine Chronicle reported the discovery by a farm labourer of ragged clothing dug out of an earth bank on the farm of Mr William Dixon, in the townland of Flanders, near Dungiven, County Londonderry.
The find consisted of a woollen jacket or jerkin, a small portion of a mantle or cloak, trews or tartan trousers, and leather brogues. This was the style of clothing worn by men in those parts in the 16th or early 17th century.
Archaeologists from the Ulster Museum were invited to analyse the discovery. A block of peat containing fragments of the clothing was examined by Mr A G Smith of the Department of Botany at Queen’s University, revealing a high concentration of pine pollen. Scots pine had been introduced into Ireland in the 1600s. The likelihood was that the tartan cloth was at least that old.

Peaty loam destroys flesh and bone while preserving fabrics like wool and leather. No body was found, though it is possible that the site marked a grave.
Audrey Henshall from Edinburgh’s National Museum of Antiquities examined the woollen cloth, which had been well preserved. Its reddish brown staining was due to its being buried for hundreds of years in peat.

-- http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/tartanandkilts.asp

Regards,

Todd

[Southern Breeze]

I'm not meaning to get off-topic but the Arabia was the first thing I thought of also. I've visited the museum twice and still don't think I've seen everything.

There have also been bodies found preserved in peat bogs. Some of these have, I think been dated back to the Iron Age.

[macwilkin]

I'm not meaning to get off-topic but the Arabia was the first thing I thought of also. I've visited the museum twice and still don't think I've seen everything.

There have also been bodies found preserved in peat bogs. Some of these have, I think been dated back to the Iron Age.

Well, we are in the "off-topic" section after all... :mrgreen:

I never get tired of visiting the Arabia -- I always see something I hadn't before. And to top it off, there is a great brew-pub only a short walk away from the museum!

T.