Decorated Bone Case from Dreenan Bog

In the summer of 1920 a Mr McPeake found a leather saddle and bone-case during a peat cutting. They were several feet deep on a wooden causeway of which little remains.

Dreenan Bog is in Maghera Parish adjoining the Town land of Drumard.

This paper beautifully describes the carvings and the dimensions of the case

4 inches × 2¾ inches × 1¹/8 inches.

The Victoria and Albert museum were consulted and had no reason to doubt the date 1659 on the case. The animal carvings are more pre 12^th century Byzantine than Celtic, but the tradition may have lingered on in Ireland.

Was the saddle and bone-case lost in a tragic accident or by a foul deed?

Reference

May, A. McL. (1939). Decorated Bone case from Dreenan Bog Co. Londonderry. Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol2 , 269-270.

For more information on Andrew May, explore the following links:

• Andrew McLean May: Pioneer of local archaeology and horticulture

• Andrew McL May and those who knew him

Other Andrew May excavations:

• Bronze Age Burials, Knocknacart

• Sweat Houses of County Londonderry

• Rock-Hewn Souterrain, Ballintemple

• A decorated bone case from Dreenan Bog

• Some Wooden Utensils from Tyance, Moyagoney and Dreenan Bog

• Pointed Bones, Flints and Stone Discs from the Lower Bann

• Cloghnagalla Cairn

• Cornacleary Round Cairn

• A wooden javelin from Altinure

• Two Cairns at Gortacloghan

• Cremation Burials at Gortfad, Co. Londonderry

• An Urn Burial at Slaghtaverty

• Mountsandel, Lower Site

• A Fine Spot for Fishing

• Iron Age Pits, Camus Coleraine