Bord na Móna - Source Issue 8 - (Page 8)
KINGOF THE
Paul Riordan, head of Feedstock and Ned Kelly from the National Museum at the scene of the find
BOGS
An Iron Age kIng – most lIkely sAcrIfIced – wAs dIscovered In A Bord nA mónA Bog. HIs Body, up to 2,500 yeArs old, HAs plenty to tell
I
n August, a Bord na móna bog at coolnamona, portlaoise, co. laois, offered up an archaeological treasure. An Iron Age bog body – most likely that of a king or clan chieftain - was discovered by Jason phelan, a milling operator, in a find of international importance. for Jason, it was his very own c.s.I. moment. “the harvester had gone ahead and I was milling for the next crop,” said Jason, whose father, gerard, works for Bord na móna at kilberry. “I was on the lookout for tree stumps and other objects and had been looking over my left shoulder. then I moved and looked over my right shoulder and copped something sticking out of the bog, I thought it might be
leather from a car seat.” when he turned the miller to come back along the ditch, he stopped the tractor to investigate. “I saw the shape of two legs coming up. I rang my team leader and said, ‘I might be cracking up, but you should come and see this, I think I’ve found a bog body.’” the two workers could make out five toes on one foot, so they were confident they had a find on their hands. His team leader contacted his manager, who contacted seamus o’rourke, the Archaeological liaison officer who contacted the national museum. “we covered the body back up with a large peat bag and dampened it with water from the bog and put damp peat back on it to recreate the environment it was in,” said Jason, a qualified
carpenter and one of just three night stewards in Ireland – a night steward works with young offenders and visits residences at night to check in with the youth. “It was brilliant to find it and I know from training what the protocol was. we’re all vigilant usually, but even more so now!” that protocol was established in a draft code of practice between the company, the national museum of Ireland and the department of environment and local government. peatlands are an important archaeological resource, with highly acidic water, low temperatures and a lack of oxygen helping to preserve bog bodies over thousands of years. “employees are aware that they can find objects on the surface, in the drains, or in the machinery,” said enda mcdonagh, environmental manager. If an
8 | Source Winter 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bord na Móna - Source Issue 8
Bord na Móna - Source Issue 8
Table of Contents
Business Round-up
King of the Bogs
New Divisions
Going Digital
Water, Water Everywhere
Focused Growth
Change is Afoot
Cool Running
Project Update
Heritage Corner
Nationwide
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