One of the highlights of our Dublin stay was a visit to the National Museum of Ireland. During this entire trip, we had spent little if any time in any museums, so wasn't sure how this one was going to play out. We had picked up a brochure at the Trinity Library on an exhibit at the National Museum of Ireland-Antiquities. The brochure promised a history of Ireland in 100 Objects. There were pictures of objects dating to 5,000 BC. While most of the articles were housed in Dublin, others were scattered throughout Ireland. We were at the entrance of the museum when it opened at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon. We could hardly contain ourselves as the displays revealed themselves--each one more spectacular than the one before. One of the most appealing aspects was that they allowed photographs AND the items were so well marked that I could also
Gold dress fasteners. 800-700 BC
photograph the descriptions. The following are but a few of the fabulous items on display....all found in Ireland.
Gold Torc. 1200-1000 BC. County Mayo
Amber necklace 900-500 BC. County Cavan
Gold Collar 800-700 BC. Gleninsheen County
Broach
Many of these items were found in the bogs where they had been preserved for centuries. There is supposition that possibly they were placed there to prevent plundering when enemies attacked, and then were never recovered. Some items were found as recently as 2006 at a beach under a rock that someone overturned. Others were found in a commercial peat bog as the digging scoop came out of bog. How amazing is that!
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