CHAPTER IV
Irish Gold
Ireland’s extreme richness in gold during the Bronze Age made her a kind of El Dorado of the western world. The gold was, no doubt, obtained from County Wicklow, where gold was worked down to the end of the eighteenth century, nuggets of 22, 18, 9, and 7 oz. being recorded. One exceptionally large nugget weighing 22 oz., found in 1795 at Croghan Kinshela, Co. Wicklow, was presented to King George III; and its discovery caused a rush to the workings. As well as Wicklow there are six other counties where gold has been found. The very large number of gold ornaments that have been found in Ireland is therefore not surprising. The ancient literature of Ireland contains many references to gold ornaments and payments of gold by weight. It is interesting to note that the tradition preserved in the Book of Leinster, a ms. of the twelfth century, refers the first smelting of gold in Ireland to a district in which gold has been found in considerable quantities in modern times. The Leinstermen, it is stated, were called “Lagenians of the gold,” because it was in their country that gold was first discovered in Erin. It is further stated that gold was first smelted for Tighearnmas, one of the earliest of the Milesian kings, in the forests standing on the east side of the River Liffey, by Iuchadan, a native of that district.
After the discovery of native gold in Ballinvally stream at Croghan in 1796, the Government undertook mining operations; and in three years collected 944 ounces worth, at the price of the day, £3,675. Since the workings were abandoned by the Government, the district has been worked at intervals by companies, and at other times by the peasants; the total output since 1795 is estimated at a value of £30,000. The knowledge of the Irish gold deposits must have been a very considerable factor in the foreign relations of the island in the Bronze Age.
Lunulæ
The earliest of the Irish gold ornaments are the flat gold collars known as lunulæ. These have been found fairly evenly distributed over the country, and in astonishing numbers.
Fig. 46.—Gold Lunula found at Trenta, Carrigans, Co. Donegal.
The circumstances under which the lunulæ have been found have not often been recorded. The collection of the Royal Irish Academy in the National Museum, Dublin, contains no less than thirty-seven examples. Several of these have been found and recorded during the past three or four years. As a rule the lunulæ are engraved on one face only with finely cut or scored well-recognized Bronze Age ornament, consisting of bands of lines, cross-hatchings, chevrons, triangles, and lozenges.