“The Irish ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’”

July 26, 2006

Don’t know if I’d call them that, but unquestionably the find is important.

Fragments of an ancient manuscript, possibly more than 1,000 years old, have been uncovered in a bog.

The discovery of the Psalter or Book of Psalms in the south Midlands has already been hailed by experts as the greatest find from a European bog.

The find is said to be one of the most significant discoveries in European and world archaeology in decades and has been referred to as the Irish equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Specialists have said it is impossible to know how the manuscript ended up in the bog, but believe it may have been lost in transit or dumped after a raid possibly 1,000-1,200 years ago — while estimates date the book to 800AD.

Wow.

A version of the story with many more details is here.

Technorati Tags: Ireland, Dead Sea Scrolls, manuscript, psaltery, bog

Posted in Current events, History