Aug. 31, 2009 -- Irish workers have discovered one of the earliest examples of packaged and preserved food. An oak barrel dating back to about 3,000 years ago has been found filled with exceptionally well-preserved butter. Cut out of a trunk, the three-foot-long, almost one-foot-wide butter barrel weighs 35 kilograms (77 pounds) and comes complete with a lid. The butter was found by peat workers John Fitzharris and Martin Lane, who spotted it as they harrowed the Gilltown bog in County Kildare, Ireland. "We knelt down and felt something hard and started to dig it out with out bare hands. We could smell it, and it was attracting crows," Fitzharris told local reporters. Now housed at the conservation department of the National Museum of Ireland, the barrel and its buttery contents are being cleaned and analyzed. Related Content:
The aim is to "conserve both the vessel and the butter. It is hoped that through further tests the species of the wood will be identified and the vessel dated through radiocarbon dating," the museum said in a statement. The newly found barrel is typologically similar to a number of vessels already in the museum's collection, which have been dated to the Iron Age 500 B.C. - 500 A.D. Split along the middle due to the expansion of butter over time, the barrel features tool marks from a knife, chisel, adze or axe. Inside, the butter has turned white and is now adipocere, a kind of wax. "It's rare to find such a well preserved butter barrel, with the lid intact and attached. It is an invaluable addition to the national collection," Padraig Clancy, assistant keeper at the National Museum of Ireland, told Discovery News. Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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