A box of butter provides evidence of the age of a skeleton found in a serendipitous house
During a routine property check, local municipal employees found the body of an unidentified person that sources estimated may have been at its site for more than 20 years.
The shocking discovery was made by staff and police investigating documents and property ownership in Mallow, Cork, on Friday.
Police found skeletal remains in a bed in a natural lying state.
When they searched the house, which appeared to have been sealed since, police noticed a packet of butter in the fridge dating back to 2001, which gave them their initial idea of how long the body might have been decomposing in the house, the Irish Mirror reports.
Council employees aroused the interest of the police after they began clearing abandoned properties on Beecher Street.
Fire service staff then transferred the remains to Cork University Hospital mortuary, where investigators hope dental records will confirm the person's identity.
It is still believed that the death was natural, as neighbors described the man who was living in the house as a loner and thought he had moved to England.
The newspaper quoted local officials as believing that the body may have been undetected for two decades, noting that identification may take some time.
The police requested the help of the population regarding any information about missing persons, particularly in and around that area.
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