Earlier this year, a strong storm uprooted a 215-year-old tree. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the event until something quite shocking was found: a 1,000-year-old-skeleton.
The young man’s remains were discovered tangled in the roots of the tree when it blew over sometime before May near Collooney in County Sligo, Ireland. That’s when an archaeologist hired by Ireland’s National Monuments Service excavated the remains.
The lower leg bones remained in the grave, but the upper part of the body was tangled up in the roots, according to Marion Dowd of Sligo-Leitrim Archaeological Services.
Researchers have learned that nearly 1,000 years ago; this young Gaelic man died quite the violent death. Carbon dating suggests that the man, who was thought to between 17 to 21 years old, lived sometime during the years 1030 to 1200.
He also appeared to have knife wounds to his ribs and his hands.
It appears the man received a formal Christian burial as his head lain to the west with the corpse lying on its back. The discovery was made in a rural area. Records from the 19th-century suggest the presence of a church and graveyard in the general area. However, no traces of the church or graveyard remain.
Researchers have learned quite a bit from this skeleton. See more in the following clip.
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