Book of Psalms from the Middle Ages Discovered in Ireland

[Phidippides]

I just caught this story about a worker who unearthed a book of Psalms from a bog he was digging in in Ireland.  The book apparently dates from the years 800 to 1000 A.D.  The story alluded to the fact that when the book was found, it was open to a Psalm 83, regarding attempts to destroy Israel.

Read about the story here.

[Stumpfoot]

There's two sets of odds that make this discovery really way out. First of all, it's unlikely that something this fragile could survive buried in a bog at all, and then for it to be unearthed and spotted before it was destroyed is incalculably more amazing."

Thats a quote above from the article. How do you suppose the book  survived that long in a bog? it's a thousand plus years old! No telling how long it was in the bog.

[Phidippides]

Good question - how was it able to survive in that bog? 

I think I might know the answer.  A few months ago I watched a show on the History Channel or on PBS where archaeologists had discovered a well-preserved body of a Celt somewhere in Ireland or Scotland.  They theorized that the person had actually been tortured and killed (they found evidence of this on his body) and then staked into the bottom of what was a marsh many hundreds (maybe over a thousand) years ago.  The chemical makeup of the bog/marsh actually preserved the body quite well, almost in mummification-like form.  Eventually I believe that the bog/marsh became peat, which is a kind of earth that is traditionally used as a burning fuel.

Perhaps the book was preserved in a similar fashion - by accident.  This might especially be true if the cover and pages were made of leather or some type of animal skin.  The chemical compound in which the book was buried likely saved the book in the end.

[Hobilar]

I thought that this was some sort of hoax, but then I read the same story in a National newspaper today (admittedly-it was in 'The Sun').

Perhaps the story is true after all-But I would take anything that I read in 'The Sun' with a very large 'Pinch of Salt'

[Stumpfoot]

I thought that this was some sort of hoax, but then I read the same story in a National newspaper today (admittedly-it was in 'The Sun').

Perhaps the story is true after all-But I would take anything that I read in 'The Sun' with a very large 'Pinch of Salt'

We'l' have to ask Phid where he saw the story. I take it The Sun in the U.K. is your equivilent of the Enquirer here?

[Phidippides]

I saw it on Yahoo! News under and Associated Press article.  It appears to be legitimate, since the AP is one of the most respected names in news.  I hadn't thought that The Sun was tabloid-esque, despite its website which strangely offers things like "See more pics of this girl on our super cyber site".   

[Phidippides]

A few months ago I watched a show on the History Channel or on PBS where archaeologists had discovered a well-preserved body of a Celt somewhere in Ireland or Scotland.  They theorized that the person had actually been tortured and killed (they found evidence of this on his body) and then staked into the bottom of what was a marsh many hundreds (maybe over a thousand) years ago.  The chemical makeup of the bog/marsh actually preserved the body quite well, almost in mummification-like form.  Eventually I believe that the bog/marsh became peat, which is a kind of earth that is traditionally used as a burning fuel.

I saw a rebroadcast of this show on NOVA on PBS.  It was really quite fascinating.  At least one of the bodies they studied dated to the Iron Age and based on forensics they were able to determine that the person lived an upper-class lifestyle (well fed, no manual labor) and was strangely tortured and killed and pinned to the bottom of the bog.  The mystery was why this all happened, and one theory held that it was done as a way of "appeasing" the gods by having one of the society's "fortunate sons" to be sacrificed.

Did anyone else catch this episode?