Archaeologists have found the well-preserved remains of a teenage boy in a peat bog in Northern Ireland. The remains are at least two thousand years old.
Police discovered the swamp body in the village of Belaji in October 2023 after a report of the discovery of bones. Parts of skin, nails, and possibly kidneys were also preserved.
Initially, police were unable to determine whether the boy had died recently or much longer ago. Research shows that the remains are between 2,000 and 2,500 years old. Police Inspector Nicky Deehan said: “This is a unique archaeological find for Northern Ireland.”
It is unclear how the boy died. He was between thirteen and seventeen years old when he died. The swamp body will be transferred to the museum for further research.
Human remains in peat are well preserved due to the high acidity of peat soil. This is the first time a bog body has been found in Northern Ireland, but it has happened several times in other countries in northern Europe.
In the Netherlands, a Yde girl and a Weerdinge couple were found in the Drenthe peat.
