Body Found in Bog Turns Out to Be 2,000-Year-Old Cold Case

Human remains found in a bog turned out to be the body of an ancient person who may have lived more than 2,000 years ago, police announced.

The Archaeological Unit within the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Body Recovery Team discovered the body after a member of the public alerted them to the presence of bones on the surface of peatland in the vicinity of Bellaghy—a village in County Londonderry.

On initial examination, police could not be sure if the remains were ancient or the result of a more recent death.

"Therefore, we proceeded to excavate the body with full forensic considerations in a sensitive and professional manner," detective inspector Nikki Deehan said in a press release. "This approach also ensures that any DNA evidence could be secured for any potential criminal investigation. Ultimately this wasn't the case in this instance."

Over the course of three days, the Archaeology Unit recovered the remains of the individual, a police spokesperson told Newsweek. Excavations initially uncovered numerous bones, including those relating to a lower left leg and right arm.

Further investigations revealed more bones belonging to the same person. The bones of a lower left arm and a left femur were found protruding from the ground a few feet south of the surface remains, for example. Archaeologists also uncovered additional finger bones and the breastbone, among other remains

A post-mortem carried out by a forensic anthropologist revealed that the person was possibly a male age 13 to 17 at the time of death.

Little is known about how the person died, but unlike some other ancient remains found in bogs, the skeleton was well-preserved, even featuring the presence of partial skin, fingernails, toenails and possibly a kidney.

"The well-preserved nature of the body meant radiocarbon dating could be used to ascertain the time of death," Deehan said.

Radiocarbon dating revealed that the person could have died about 2,000 to 2,500 years ago. This is the first time radiocarbon dating has been used on a bog body in Northern Ireland, according to the police press release.

"It's now our only intact Northern Irish Iron Age bog body," Alastair Ruffell of Queen's University, Belfast, told the Belfast Telegraph. "There have been others, but they have been lost in the mists of time. It's a truly unique archaeological discovery."

The find is "highly significant"—not least because the body was uncovered in a tract of land with few archaeological records, Ruffell told Newsweek. The "social interest" is also significant given that the bog is located only a few miles from the birthplace of Irish poet and playwright Seamus Heaney, according to the researcher.

The ancient bog body was discovered on land owned by Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

"We are now working with National Museums NI to transfer it to them so that they can continue with further examination and preservation of the remains," John Joe O'Boyle, chief executive of the Forest Service—which is part of DAERA—said in a press release.

"I hope, in due course, the find will help us all understand better something of our very early history. Seamus Heaney, when he was writing his series of poems inspired by bog bodies, probably never expected such a find on his own doorstep. It certainly adds an important chapter to the historical and cultural significance of this hinterland and archaeological discoveries of bog bodies across Europe."

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Update 1/31/24, 9:24 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comments from a Northern Ireland Police Service spokesperson and Alastair Ruffell.