When archaeologists uncovered the skeleton of a young man among the roots of a massive beech tree in Collooney, Co Sligo, they also discovered his violent death nearly a millennium before. The skeleton, which a bone analysis revealed to be of a 17 to 20-year-old man, had two stab wounds to the chest and another on his left hand, which The Irish Times reports is "presumably from trying to ward off his attacker." The teen is believed to have died between 1030 and 1200 A.D.
Once unearthed, further analysis of the young man's bones revealed him to be about 5 foot, 10 inches in height, which The Irish Times notes is taller than the average height of a medieval person. His bones revealed mild spinal joint disease, likely indicating that he had been doing physical labor since he was young. The teen received a Christian burial.
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