The large lump of bog butter was found 12 feet below the surface of Emlagh bog near the town of Drakerath, some 50 miles north of Dublin, reports Seeker.com.
Emlagh bog is in County Meath, once the juncture of three different kingdoms. This most recent find is not the first time that bog butter has been discovered. Peat bogs were often used to preserve food items hundreds of years ago. In this particular find, UTV Ireland reports the giant lump did smell like butter, sort of, anyway, according to one man who actually held the lump.
Turfcutters unearth 2000-year-old lump of Cavan cavan_heritage qfxzy5QqZ0
— Cavan County Museum (@cavanmuseum) June 9, 2016
So why would anyone bury a big lump of butter in a bog? Generally, when other pieces of bog butter have been found, they were encased in a wooden container, like a bucket or keg, or even wrapped in animal hides. But seeing as this lump of bog butter wasn’t wrapped or encased in anything, it is presumed it was a gift to the gods.
Gizmodo says that Andy Halpin, one of the Irish National Museums’ assistant keepers assures us that the lump is “theoretically… still edible.” But on the chance that the butter was a ceremonial offering to the god of the bog, it’s better to pass on doing a taste-test.
Peat bogs have a unique chemistry that makes them excellent for the preservation of foods and even human bodies. Peat bogs are low in temperature, low in oxygen and highly acidic, making them not the best environment for bacterial growth. This gives them excellent preservation qualities.
The practice of burying butter and other fats could also have arisen as a way of protecting vital provisions from thieves and invaders. Butter was a precious commodity, and as such, needed to be protected. Butter was also used to pay taxes, rents and fines. Plus, it had other useful purposes, such as being used to aid the sick, make candles or even mix up a batch of cement. (Ó Dubhthaigh, Niall (1984). “Summer Pasture in Donegal”. Folk Life 22: 42–54).
As for bog butter, up until 2003, scientists didn’t really understand its origins. In 2004, scientists working at the University of Bristol discovered that some samples of the “butter” were of adipose/tallow origin while others were of dairy origin.
