An oak barrel of butter has been found in a bog near Gilltown, Ireland. Two workers, John Fitzharris and Martin Lane, noticed a white streak in the peat and uncovered the barrel, estimated to be 3,000 years old. Pádraig Clancy and Carol Smith of the National Museum of Ireland took charge of the barrel.
http://www.discoveryon.info/2009/08/3000-year-old-butter-found-in-kildare.html -via Unique Daily
"It's rare to find a barrel as intact as that," Mr. Clancy explained, "especially with the lid intact, and attached. It's a really fine example."
He estimates that the barrel is approximately 3,000 years old, from the Iron Age.
At the moment it is being dried out by staff at the Conservation Department. Once dry it will be soaked in a wax-like solution which preserves it.
"At 35ks, it's a pretty big one," Ms. Smith explained. Other examples of bog butter they showed tended to be less intact and much smaller.
http://www.discoveryon.info/2009/08/3000-year-old-butter-found-in-kildare.html -via Unique Daily
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2raqWagzCA
oh, the full article answers that "The butter has changed to white and is now adipocere, which is essentially animal fat, the same sort of substance that is found on well-preserved bodies of people or animals found in the bog."
Now pass the 3000 year old pancakes.