2015:044 - CLOONMACDUFF, Sligo

In January 2015 a large beech tree on the Cooper (Markree) estate, Cloonmacduff townland, fell over during a storm. Part of a human skeleton was brought up entangled in the root system. In May of that year, the National Monuments Service was made aware of the find and commissioned a rescue excavation of the remains.

The upper part of the skeleton—from the skull to the mid section of the femora—had been trapped by the tree roots and raised up into the air at a 90° angle. The skeleton had effectively been ‘snapped’ in two by the strength of the collapsing tree: the lower part of the femora and remainder of the leg bones lay undisturbed in situ in the ground.

The individual had been placed in a supine position, lying east-west with the head to the west. The hands had been placed over the torso.

Osteoarchaeological analysis revealed the remains represented a young man aged 17–20 years at the time of death. He had been stabbed repeatedly to the chest, and a cut to the left hand probably represents a defensive wound. Radiocarbon dating indicates he died during the early medieval period, specifically between 1028 and 1206 AD.