Thursday, April 26, 2012

Peat Bog Discoveries!

April 26, 2012
Bodies weren’t the only things that peat bogs have preserved! Several trepanated skulls, which are skulls that have holes drilled in them have been found in bogs. Trepanning can be referred to as trephining or trephination is a surgical inventions in which a hole in scraped or drilled into the human skull which exposes the dura mater. This process is done to treat health problems that were related to intracranial diseases but it is believed in the medieval times that this “operation” was performed to remove a blood clot or a less-tangible thing, such as a spirit from a human being.
The image below shows a wheel that was discovered in the Netherland along with another one identical to it. It is roughly 2.5 feet in diameter and carved from a single piece of oak. This wheel has been dated back to 2700 B.C, making it one of the oldest wheels ever found in Europe.
In 2006, a man who was operating a backhoe in an Irish peat bog came across a Book of Psalms (a Psalter). The book had been buried for more than a thousand years, but the writing in it was still legible. Located nearby was a leather carrying pouch and it was assumed it contained the book at one time. Over the years, other satchels and wooden vessels have been found in bogs.


Other artifacts such as swords and weapons have been found, along with a 9 foot-long dugout canoe! You never know what you might find when exploring peat bogs!

Bibliography
Madrigal, A. (2009, August 21). Bogosphere: The Strangest Things Pulled Out of Peat Bogs. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from Wired Science: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/bogosphere/
Riggs, R. (2009, January 27). Weird Stuff Found in Bogs. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from Mental Floss: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/22104




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