Ancient Tree Topples in Ireland, Researchers Make Startling Find

A stock photo of a tree (Shutterstock)

When an old tree toppled during the storm, it revealed an interesting find.

Tangled in the massive tree roots was the skeletal remains of a teenager.

The young man of Collooney, Co Sligo in Ireland had several wounds.

But the teen didn’t die recently. According to archaeologists, the teen passed away about 1,000 years ago.

Archaeologists say the tree stood for more than 200 years before toppling in a recent storm to reveal the skeleton.

“As excavations go, this was certainly an unusual situation,” Dr. Marion Dowd of Sligo-Leitrim Archaeological Services told the Irish Times.

“The upper part of the skeleton was raised into the air trapped within the root system. The lower leg bones, however, remained intact in the ground. Effectively as the tree collapsed, it snapped the skeleton in two,” Dowd explained.

“Preliminary analysis has indicated that the remains consist of young man who was between 17 and 25 years old when he died. His bones contained several injuries which had been inflicted by a sharp blade, possibly a sword or knife. He had obviously suffered a violent death, but whether these wounds were related to an ancient battle or a personal dispute remains unknown. The body was subsequently buried in a shallow east-west oriented grave and radiocarbon analysis indicates that this occurred sometime between 1030 and 1200 AD,” says Irish Archaeology of the finding.

Radiocarbon dating indicates he died between 1030 and 1200 AD, and he was given a Christian burial. The identity was not revealed, but researchers have estimated that he was between 17 and 20 years old when he died.

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“This burial gives us an insight into the life and tragic death of a young man in medieval Sligo,” Dowd said.

Elaborating on the man, “We can assume that the young man came from a local Gaelic family (because the Anglo-Norman invasion didn’t occur until 1169 and our radiocarbon date suggests the burial pre-dates this),” Dowd told CNN.

The researcher continued: “So it could be a local conflict/battle, or personal dispute, that resulted in his death.”

Dowd said that a church and a graveyard may have been in the general area, Dowd said, citing records. However, those don’t remain.

King Edward IV Jewel Found?

An English woman unearthed a rare hat pin from 1485 which might have belonged to King Edward IV, who reigned during the 15th century.

Lisa Grace spotted the jewel, which is reportedly in pristine condition, while she searched a field in Lincolnshire, reported the Daily Mail. She used a metal detector to locate it.

Experts told the publication that the jewel was made sometime in the 1400s and was designed as a sun, which was the personal emblem of King Edward IV. They think it might have been lost in battle, and there were many in Lincolnshire around that time.

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“The jewel does bear a striking resemblance to the one in a well-known portrait of Edward IV from the Musee Calvet,” an official with Duke’s told the news outlet. He said it may have belonged to a courtier.

“The fact is we shall never know but it clearly belonged to someone of high status in the upper echelons of medieval society,” the official, named only as Mr. Schwinge, added.

According to the publication, museums and collectors may pay between $13,000 to $20,000 for the hat pin.