PIC: A Meath man found a 2,000 year old lump of butter weighing 22 pounds in his local bog

Of all the things Jack Conway expected to happen upon during a recent trip to the Emlagh bog in Meath, a giant slab of butter was not one of them. 

But sure enough the 22 pound weighing chunk of dairy was there waiting for him. Conway contacted the Cavan County Museum after discovering the butter. 

According to the museum's website, the spongy soil found in a bog has "excellent preservative properties – low temperature, low oxygen and highly acidic environment,"

Historians say that bog butter was often buried to preserve it and be dug up at a later date. However other research has suggested it could be an offering to the gods or spirits in the hope of renewed prosperity.

Via Mashable