The Butter in the Bogs: Experimental Archeological Research into the Context of Bog Butter

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Bog butter is an intentionally submerged artifact found in sphagnum peat bogs. Due to the acidic and anaerobic nature of peat environments, the bog butter containers and their contents have been uniquely preserved. The butter has been deposited in bogs dating from the early bronze age to the early modern period in modern-day Ireland and Scotland. Although a staggering number of bog butter samples have been discovered, the purpose of this practice, attributed to Gaelic and Celtic culture groups, has yet to be illuminated. Contextualizing the deposition of butter will expand our understanding of the ancient Gaelic and Celtic relationship to landscape, dairying, and food production. Experimental archeological research completed during the past two years involving the creation of a peat bog and ancient butter recipes has provided insights into the culinary culture and deposition practices in northwestern Europe. Ancient recipes and processes were closely mimicked, and preliminary experimentation has led to a greater understanding of Gaelic and Celtic culture groups. The purpose behind the intentional submersion of bog butter could not only lead to contextualizing ancient cultural foodways but also the relationship between bog environments and the peoples who utilized them.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52755