Anthropology
Related: About this forumEight-Foot-Tall, 1,600-Year-Old Statue of Pagan Deity Found in Ireland
Eight-Foot-Tall, 1,600-Year-Old Statue of Pagan Deity Found in Ireland
The well-preserved wooden sculpture may have been part of a ritual site where animal sacrifices were carried outmal sacrifices were carried out
By Livia Gershon
SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
AUGUST 17, 2021 12:40PM
Researchers have recovered an eight-foot-tall, 1,600-year-old wooden sculpture from a bog in the Irish townland of Gortnacrannagh. As Pat Flynn reports for the Clare Herald, Archaeological Management Solutions (AMS) discovered the artifact while conducting excavations ahead of a road construction project.
The Iron Age figure was made from a split oak trunk. It has what appears to be a human head and a series of horizontal notches carved along its body.
The Gortnacrannagh Idol was carved just over 100 years before St. Patrick came to Ireland; it is likely to be the image of a pagan deity, says dig leader Eve Campbell, an archaeologist at AMS, in a statement. Our ancestors saw wetlands as mystical places where they could connect with their gods and the Otherworld, a supernatural realm in Celtic mythology.
Campbell says the team also found animal bones and a ritual dagger at the site, suggesting that animal sacrifices may have taken place there.
Per the Irish Examiners Greg Murphy, only 11 similar sculptures have been found in Ireland to date. The Gortnacrannagh statue is the largest discovered so far. Ancient wooden artifacts are frequently found in bogs because the wet, anaerobic conditions help preserve them.
More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1600-year-old-wooden-idol-found-ireland-180978453/
wyn borkins
(1,109 posts)Why are (nearly all) recently found or unearthed ancient items always detailed as some form of deity or a religious ritual item? Can they not simply be a drunken artifact or a comic-book hero or someone's mother or father in-law or even a self-image? On the other hand, I do love me some 'supernatural realms of Celtic mythology'...plus, I happen to own every album Enya ever made.
Response to Judi Lynn (Original post)
Cartoonist This message was self-deleted by its author.
Warpy
(113,130 posts)They might have suppressed this and others, but Sheela na Gig's presence is still all over Europe, including Ireland.
Edit: I should issue a warning, don't look her up if you're excessively prim. She's not for the repressed or faint hearted.