18 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Irish archaeologists discover a rare 1,600-year-old idol in the Roscommon bog

A 1,600-year-old wooden pagan idol has been discovered in a bog in Co Roscommon by Irish archaeologists.

This rare artifact made more than 1600 years ago was discovered in the swamp of the town of Gortnacrannagh, 6 kilometers northeast of Rathcroghan, a prehistoric royal site.

The wood carving was discovered by a team of Archaeological Management Solutions (AMS) before the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge road project, which was funded by the Irish government and managed by the Irish Transport Infrastructure (TII) through the Roscommon County Council.

The idol was fashioned from a split trunk of an oak tree during the Iron Age, with a tiny human-shaped head at one end and many horizontal notches cut along its body.

Only a dozen such idols have been discovered in Ireland, and the Gortnacrannagh Idol is the biggest to date, standing more than two and a half meters tall.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



“The Gortnacrannagh Idol was carved more than 100 years before St. Patrick came to Ireland-it is most likely an image of a pagan god. Our ancestors regarded the wetlands as mysterious places where they could connect with their gods and the afterlife The animal bones found next to the ritual dagger indicate that the animal sacrifice was performed at the site, and the idol is likely to be part of these rituals,” said Dr. Eve Campbell, an AMS archaeologist in charge of excavation at the site.

The idol was made during the Iron Age from a split trunk of an oak tree, with a small human-shaped head at one end and several horizontal notches carved along its body.
The idol was made during the Iron Age from a split trunk of an oak tree, with a small human-shaped head at one end and several horizontal notches carved along its body.

Wooden idols have been known in bogs throughout Northern Europe, where waterlogged conditions allow for the preservation of ancient wood. The Gortnacrannagh Idol is presently housed at University College Dublin, where conservator Susannah Kelly is working on preserving the ancient artifact during a three-year period. Once conserved the idol will go on display at the National Museum of Ireland.

Cathy Moore, a wood specialist, pointed out that the bottom ends of numerous figurines were similarly worked to a point, suggesting that they originally stood upright.

“Their meaning is open to interpretation, but they may have marked special places in the landscape, have represented particular individuals or deities, or perhaps have functioned as wooden bog bodies, sacrificed in lieu of humans,” she said.

A replica of the idol will be on display at the Rathcroghan Centre in Tulsk, Co Roscommon, created by AMS personnel in cooperation with members of the UCC Pallasboy Project and the UCD Centre for Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture.

Dr. Ros Maoldin of AMS stated that because the Gortnacrannagh Idol was such a rare and remarkable find, a duplicate was being made to assist people in better understand the idol and appreciate how it was made.

Cover Photo: Wood specialist, Cathy Moore, inspecting the wooden pagan idol that was found in a bog near Rathcroghan.

Related Articles

Ancient Humans Used Indigo Plant 34,000 Years Ago: First Evidence of Non-Food Plant Processing Found in Georgia

3 September 2025

3 September 2025

34,000-year-old indigo plant residues found in Georgia’s Dzudzuana Cave reveal that prehistoric humans processed plants for more than just food....

The famous archaeologist says he will announce the discovery of the mummy of Queen Nefertiti, one of Egyptology’s main riddles, next month

14 September 2022

14 September 2022

On December 9, 2021, Egypt’s archaeological mission, headed by renowned Egyptologist and former Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass, resumed its search...

In Poland’s “Death Valley,” new evidence of Nazi atrocities

18 August 2021

18 August 2021

In October 1939, between 30,000 and 35,000 Polish intellectuals, Polish civilians, Jews and Czechs, and German prisoners from psychiatric institutions...

Surprisingly High-Altitude Silk Road Cities Discovered in Uzbek Mountains

25 October 2024

25 October 2024

Archaeologists have discovered two lost medieval cities in the eastern mountains of Uzbekistan that were important hubs on the ancient...

Minoan civilization may have used celestial navigation techniques

3 March 2023

3 March 2023

According to a study done by an American researcher at the University of Wales, ancient civilizations may have used celestial...

A large hall from the time of Viking Harald Bluetooth discovered

26 December 2022

26 December 2022

A large hall from the reign of King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark and Norway was unearthed during housing construction work...

South Ockendon’s Belhus Park Golf Course: A Tudor Garden Discovered

15 July 2021

15 July 2021

Under a golf course, the ruins of Tudor and Jacobean gardens were unearthed. Aerial images of Belhus Park Golf Course...

A stone bathtub, which is considered to be the first example of ‘water birth’, was found in Ani Ruins

7 September 2022

7 September 2022

A stone tub was found in the large bath, whose birth was mentioned in a work by the Turkish scholar...

45,000 years ago, Neanderthals in the Swabian Jura used complex tool-making techniques

13 September 2021

13 September 2021

Findings that will change our perception of Neanderthals’ sophistication A team from the University of Tübingen have proved that Middle...

Archaeologists in eastern Newfoundland unearth the oldest English coin ever found in Canada

14 November 2021

14 November 2021

Archaeologists in eastern Newfoundland have unearthed a rare two-penny piece minted between 1493 and 1499 more than 520 years ago....

Homo Sapiens are older than we previously thought

16 January 2022

16 January 2022

Researchers have discovered that Omo I skeletons, previously thought to be less than 200,000 years old, are 230,000 years old....

Discovery of Celtic Coins in the Czech Republic Unveils an Unknown Celtic Settlement

8 October 2025

8 October 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery in northern Plzeň has unveiled hundreds of gold and silver Celtic coins, bronze ornaments, and even...

A unique find in the Middle Don: Scythian gods on a silver plate

19 November 2021

19 November 2021

Archaeologists of the Archaeological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, during their excavations at the Devitsa V cemetery in...

The camel carvings in Saudi Arabia are 8000 years old!

15 September 2021

15 September 2021

Life-size animal reliefs found in Saudi Arabia were carved almost 8,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period, when the desert...

A Roman bridge from the Republican era was discovered on Via Tiburtina

27 February 2022

27 February 2022

The remains of a rare Republican-era bridge have been discovered on the 12th kilometer of the Via Tiburtina, the ancient...