(Image source: Irish Times)

BY: STEVEN HSIEH

Not exactly the creature from the Black Lagoon.

But archaeologists say a body found – preserved by an Irish bog – could be up to 3000 years old.

The human remains, discovered by a turf-miller are thought to be that of a woman.  The body is missing a head and torso – but its legs are well preserved by chemicals in the peat.  A reporter for RTE explains…

“What we have here are two legs, basically sticking out of the bog.  This is the person’s heel and their foot going forward this way – and the leg, the calf muscle going back into the bog here.  This is the other foot here, going down into the bog, and the other leg, going back into the bag here." 

Ned Kelly – the head of antiquities at the Irish national Museum – told BBC the likely cause of death.

“On preliminary examination we can be reasonably certain that it is a late prehistoric bog body… This was probably a ritual deposition of a human sacrifice." 

Kelly also praised the workers who spotted the body.  The driver of a turf-milling machine would’ve almost certainly destroyed the biological artifact had he not been so careful.  Kelly says…

“They all responded very, very quickly and acted absolutely correctly. What we’ve got is very exciting… This is reasonably well preserved and completely in situ, so we can get information we couldn’t get before." 

The bog where the body was found – called Portlaoise – is no stranger to archeological treasures.  Ireland’s male-geared Web site JOE explains.

“Bog butter, leather shoes and axe heads dating back thousands of years have been found deep down in the bog." 

According to the Irish Peatland Conservation Council --- peaty bogs -- have turned out to be excellent depositories for human history.

“For thousands of years the bogs, through their extraordinary preservative qualities have kept ancient remains intact that would have otherwise perished on dry land; such as the bodies of unwary travellers trapped in the bog, or prehistoric track ways; and sometimes even whole villages and farms." 

The Irish Times reports the body will be removed to the Irish National Museum for research as soon as possible.