Ancient Irish Bog Butter Is Still Edible After 2,000 Years

If someone asked you to taste a 2,000-year-old chunk of strong-smelling butter that has just been fished out of a bog, would you accuse that person of poisoning you? If so, you would be wrong, because that butter is probably still edible, according to the experts who analyzed just such a relic in Co Meath, Ireland. The 22-pounds of butter had likely been thrown into the bog as an offering to the gods, and the peculiar underground environment ended up preserving it like a top-quality refrigerator.

If someone asked you to taste a 2,000-year-old chunk of strong-smelling butter that has just been fished out of a bog, would you accuse that person of poisoning you? If so, you would be wrong, because that butter is probably still edible, according to the experts who analyzed just such a relic in Co Meath, Ireland.

Some speculate that the 22-pound chunk of butter had been thrown into the bog as an offering to the gods. But, since finding ancient butter in Irish bogs is a common occurrence, many believe that this was their way of preserving butter and tallow over long periods. The peculiar underground environment ended up preserving the butter like a top-quality refrigerator so that it’s still relatively fresh today. The huge mass of butter was discovered in 2016. Have a look at this incredible discovery in the video below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ope0s_IKUSY

Check out more unexpected recoveries of unbelievably ancient food, like 3,000 jars of Roman fish sauce.ยป

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