Turf cutters unearth prehistoric lump of bog butter

The creamy white dairy product, which smells like a strong cheese and is believed to be about 2,000 years old, was unearthed by Jack Conway, from Maghera, Co Cavan, while he worked on Emlagh bog in Co Meath last week.

The find, while not unusual, has been given to the National Museum where it will be preserved.

Andy Halpin, assistant keeper in the museum’s Irish Antiquities Division, said the discovery was significant because it was found in the Drakerath area where 11 townlands and the boundaries of three ancient baronies met.

“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.”

Bog butter was often buried to preserve it to be dug up at a later date. Other research has shed light on it being buried as an offering to the gods or spirits in the hope of renewed prosperity.

Mr Halpin said the Emlagh discovery, 12 feet below the surface, may never have been intended to be unearthed as there was no evidence of a cover on it.

Finds are common in Ireland and Scotland and the product, which appears as a waxy substance, was often put in a wooden casket or animal hide first.

Turf cutter Mr Conway reported the find to Cavan County Museum before it was handed over to the National Museum where it will be carbon dated.

Top chef Kevin Thornton revealed he had tasted bog butter but archaeology experts are reluctant describing it as crumbly and with an odorous and distinctive smell like strong cheese.

“Theoretically the stuff is still edible but we wouldn’t say it’s advisable,” Mr Halpin said.