Manuscript discovered in Irish bog

punka

Did anyone else hear this yesterday?

The National Museum has announced that an ancient manuscript has been discovered in a bog in the Midlands.

The museum said extensive fragments of what appears to be an ancient Psalter, or Book of Psalms, were uncovered by a bulldozer last Thursday.

The manuscript is believed to have been at the location for up to 1,200 years.

More here, here, and here.

Exciting stuff, eh? I'm surprised more old manuscripts haven't been found in bogs, tbh. Waiting for the day when some massive collection is unearthed somewhere, a la the Oxyrhynchus Papyri.

Archeron

Good links. I'm surprised it made news in Seattle!!
Like you say, I'm surprised there hasnt been more finds like this with the amount of bogs across the country, but its good that this has turned up. On another note though, what are the chances of the book being found opened to that specific psalm what with all thats happening in the world now?? Kinda spooky.

punka

Yeah - to be honest I'm not entirely sure about that detail. Only the Seattle one mentions that it was found opened on that page, while u.tv mentioned that Psalm 83 was the only one that was immediately legible - sounds like spin to me! Besides, though I'm not (yet) an expert on these matters, I'm unsure as to whether the page the book was opened to would be the best-preserved...

Ooh, there's a pic here.

Edit: turns out it's not the psalm numbered 83 in modern Bibles, but rather the one numbered 83 in the Vulgate, which corresponds to number 84 in the King James. And which is not about wiping out Israel. Clicky.

InFront

I wish some people in real life would read one of those links. Going by the conversation I over heard at the Luas stop this morning, doomsday is now set upon Palestine.

I think this is a very interesting document from ancient irish Christianity. It's amazing to think what else might be preserved in Irish bogland. Have there ever been routine arceollogical digs of the many bogs here? I have frequently seen or heard of these marshes being drained and reclaimed for agriculture, but never for archeology or heritage.

Or are finds of historical interest thought to be pretty rare?

Archeron

InFront wrote:

I wish some people in real life would read one of those links. Going by the conversation I over heard at the Luas stop this morning, doo***ay is now set upon Palestine.

I think this is a very interesting document from ancient irish Christianity. It's amazing to think what else might be preserved in Irish bogland. Have there ever been routine arceollogical digs of the many bogs here? I have frequently seen or heard of these marshes being drained and reclaimed for agriculture, but never for archeology or heritage.

Or are finds of historical interest thought to be pretty rare?

Good question on the digs in bogs. I done a dig when I was in school in a field beside our school. We found lots of things like bits of earthenware, metal tools etc, and that was only in a field that had been used for agriculture for centuries. Goodness knows what else could be hiding beneath the ground in land that hasnt been touched for years.

boneless

It is hard to excavate in a bog... believe me!! Bord na Mona workers and others who dig peat have been great in the past whenever artefacts or other archaeology has been uncovered. I believe they were briefed by the Archaeological Wetlands Unit of UCD in how to spot and treat finds.

If you ever get a chance, go and visit the Corlea Trackway in Offaly... it is a stretch of oak-plank road which was laid in the Iron Age and is the best preserved example of such in Europe. It was totally preserved by the bog.