No teeth means extensive testing required.
THE absence of teeth in a human skull that was found on waste ground at Faunkill in Eyeries last Friday means carbon dating will now be required, in order to identify any information that pertains to the discovery.
However, preliminary indications from garda sources suggest there may be ‘nothing suspicious’ about the human remains, which were found in a SuperValu bag last Friday, April 18th.
The adult skull was sent to Dublin for further examination and DNA analysis, but now it is to be sent to the North of Ireland, where The Royal Irish Academy and Queen’s University Belfast collaborate to offer radiocarbon dating services.
It is understood that it would have been faster and much easier if there had been teeth to link it to dental records, but now more extensive pathological tests will be required.
Now, it is a matter for forensic anthropologists to use the carbon dating process, which is used to determine the age of various materials like bone, charcoal, and lime mortar, to determine if the skull is historical.
Once gardaí have a timeline on it, it will give some idea of the possibility of being able to identify the person, and will determine the course of their investigation.
Gardaí will be looking at previous owners of the home, and those who rented the property, within the given timeframe.
Every December, around National Missing Persons Day, An Garda Síochána encourages people who have a relative who is long-term missing to come forward and provide a DNA sample.
Local Independent Cllr Finbarr Harrington told The Southern Star: ‘When something like this happens, it is important that people who have loved ones missing to come forward and have their DNA registered with the garda database.
‘Then, when body parts like this are found, it makes it easier to find out who they are, and give them a proper burial, thereby bringing closure to that family.’
Locally, Cllr Harrington said there are all sorts of stories circulating but he said he is ‘not sure how solid those stories are.
What we are sure of is that on Friday the owner and tenants were clearing land for a polytunnel and found a bag with a skull in it.
‘In the beginning the concern was that this could have been something sinister, but as the investigation has gone on, that is considered to be less likely, but only the outcome of the investigation can determine that for definite,’ he added.
It is understood that earlier this year, the plastic bag containing the skull had been spotted on waste ground.
Part of the ground had been cleared by a digger at the beginning of last week but it was only at lunchtime on Friday that the owner, and her tenants, who were clearing the land by hand, checked the contents of the bag.
They were shocked by what they saw and called the gardaí immediately.
An Garda Síochána followed all the necessary procedures, including preserving the scene, and sending the skull for testing to Dublin, and now to the North of Ireland for carbon dating.
