After a violent storm ripped through the Irish town of Collooney, locals were shocked to discover the remains of a 1,000-year-old skeleton hanging from the roots of a fallen tree.

The body, which belonged to a young man who appears to have died a violent death, was found beneath a 200-year-old beech tree. In a scene that must have been quite macabre, the upper part of the skeleton was found raised in the air within the tree’s root system, while the legs remained in the ground.

Irish Archaeology reports:

Preliminary analysis has indicated that the remains consist of young man who was between 17 and 25 years old when he died. His bones contained several injuries which had been inflicted by a sharp blade, possibly a sword or knife. He had obviously suffered a violent death, but whether these wounds were related to an ancient battle or a personal dispute remains unknown. The body was subsequently buried in a shallow east-west oriented grave and radiocarbon analysis indicates that this occurred sometime between 1030 and 1200 AD.

The leg bones of the Collooney skeleton still embedded in the ground (Credit: Thorsten Kahlert).
Archaeologists working for Sligo-Leitrim Archaeological Services will continue to investigate the site in hopes of finding more clues.

It would be nice if they found some artifacts with the body.

That does not happen everyday. Neat find, it would be interesting to see what else is found out I am surprised that there is not more damage to the skeleton from the tree roots.

he might not have been buried, but just fell where he was killed... but i'm sure they are looking... and maybe the people that killed him robbed him as well, since they said nothing about a sword or anything...

Ground penetrating radar, will undoubtedly tell a grand story of the area.

Torgo is behind it.

Leaving a weapon behind would be a huge mistake. And a weapon would of been of great value & even rare back then.
If someone had a bed, they were middle class. If they owned a Bible, then upper middle, (even though most were illiterate).
This guy could of been a peasant, a farmer, or accused of a crime, which back then could of been as simple as stealing a potato.

It must of been brutal existence.

If he really does date to this dateline. He very well might not have been robbed at all. His equipment could have meant survival to others and back then the culture would have said take it.

I am hoping we find more about this one. As someone said this doesn't happen everyday..
And with so many bones broken and still place here. I am leaning more of a battlefield death and hastily buried. I know I am speculating and yet I would love to find out a bit more.

The potato hadn't arrived in Europe at that time The English hadn't invaded Ireland yet.More likely to have been the victim of local rivalries or marauding outlaws in the area.