2,000-year-old butter buried in swamp is still edible

A group of grass cutters working in a peat bog in Ireland discovered a 2,000-year-old lump of butter. Smelling like cheese, the lump was found 4m below the surface of the bog near the town of Drakerath, 80km north of Dublin.

According to experts, the butter is in perfect condition. "The bog has excellent preservation capabilities due to its low temperature, good oxygen levels and acidic environment," said a representative of the Ravan County Museum. It is likely that the butter was buried in the bog as a gift to the gods rather than for preservation purposes.

2,000-year-old butter found in Irish bog. Photo: Sonja Smith.

Andy Halpin of the National Museum of Ireland, where experts dated and analyzed the butter, said the dairy product was never dug up after it was buried. The ritual burial theory is further supported by the fact that the butter was not wrapped.

"In ancient times, the swamp was a mysterious place that was difficult to access. This swamp was located at the intersection of three separate kingdoms and it was like a no-man's land," Halpin shared.

The discovery of the butter is not the first of its kind. Scientists have collected hundreds of packages of butter from bogs in Ireland, some in wooden boxes, along with many intact wooden objects, swords and ornaments.

Sphagnum moss, common in swamps, often grows over any object below the surface of the swamp, encasing it in a cool, anaerobic environment that suffocates bacteria and prevents decomposition.

According to Halpin, the newly found butter is still technically edible. "But our advice is not to taste it," Halpin said.

According to VNE