DURING the winter, a storm on the west coast of Ireland blew down a 215-year-old tree in Sligo, unearthing human skeletal remains.
Now, thanks to the work of archaeologists, it has been confirmed that the 1,000 skeleton belonged to a teenage boy who was stabbed to death.
Early tests of the remains indicate that the young man, believed to be aged 17-20, was stabbed in the ribs and he also had a wound inflicted on his hand, suggesting he tried to defend himself.
Irish archaeologists have put an approximate date of 1030 -1200AD on the remains, placing it in the Medieval era.
And despite his violent death, the young man also appeared to have been given a Medieval Christian burial.
Scroll down to see the pictures...
His head was lain to the west and the corpse was placed on its back; typical of a Christian burial of that time.
The skeleton was discovered tangled in the roots of the 215-year-old tree when it blew over some time before May in Collooney, Co. Sligo.
"As the photos show, the lower leg bones remained in the grave; but the upper part of the body was entangled in the tree roots and raised up into the air," the Sligo-Leitrim Archaeological Services (SLAS) wrote on Facebook.
Archaeologists from Ireland's National Monuments Service continue to carry out tests on the remains and the area where they were discovered.
The site is believed to have once housed a Christian church and graveyard.
Early Medieval burial, Collooney, Sligo
Our first project was an interesting one. When winter storms blew over a...
Posted by Sligo-Leitrim Archaeological Services on Dé Máirt, 8 Meán Fómhair 2015
See More: Archaeology, Featured, Sligo
