Irish Roots

Digs & Discoveries January/February 2016

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A storm blew over a 215-year-old beech tree in Sligo, Ireland, revealing a skeleton tangled in its root system. Archaeologist Marion Dowd was called in to investigate what she calls “an unusual situation,” and found that the remains belonged to a 17- to 20-year-old man who died of what appear to be knife wounds sometime between A.D. 1030 and 1200. Records indicate that there was a medieval graveyard in the area, and although no visible trace of it survives, Dowd suspects there could be more burials nearby. 

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    The Many Lives of an English Manor House

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    (Angelo Hornak / Alamy Stock Photo)
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    Family History

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    (Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy/De Agostini Picture Library/L. Pedicini/Bridgeman Images)
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  • Artifacts January/February 2016

    Head of Medusa

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    (Courtesy Michael Hoff)