Co Cork: Archaeological Objects at The British Museum
The British Museum
holds 43 items identified as coming from Co Cork. The majority of these (10)
are assigned to the Late Bronze Age, followed by the Early Bronze Age (6). The
most common object type represented are penannular bracelets (7), followed by axes
and hammerstones (4 each). The most popular material types represented in this
assemblage are: Metal (28), Stone (13), Glass (1) and Wood (1).
Neolithic/Bronze Age: Stone items
Cork
axe
19641206.900
Polished stone axe with
rounded butt; damaged/indented face.
Cork
battle-axe
19890301.1434
Perforated stone
hammerhead, butt damaged, brown in colour, rough surface.
Cork
axe
20050501.325
Polished stone axe with
slightly damaged rounded butt; damaged indented face.
Donoughmore
tanged arrow-head
19460401.100
Stone tangede
arrow-head.
Blackwater River;
Youghall
axe
20050501.324
Polished stone axe,
greenstone?; rounded point at butt.
Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age: Metal item
Castletreasure
(Castletreasure Farm Hoard)
disc
18541227.200
Gold disc. Thin
circular foil of beaten gold with pointillé and embossed decoration. The
decoration consists of a circle of punched dots along the outer edge, three
concentric embossed circles and a cross filled with horizontal lines inside a
circle of punched dots at the centre of the disc.
2500BC-2000BC (circa)
Neolithic (?)/Bronze Age (?)/Iron Age (?): Stone items
Crookhaven
hammerstone
18541227.900
Stone hammerstone with
one flat face and damaged ends.
Crookhaven (near)
hammerstone
18541227.800
Stone hammerstone.
Crookhaven (near)
hammerstone
18541227.700
Stone hammerstone.
Crookhaven (near)
hammerstone
18541227.600
Stone hammerstone.
Bronze Age: Metal items
Cork (near)
sword
18490301.460
Copper alloy sword. The
tang has been cast on. The tang has two rivet-holes, the upper one of which
retains a rivet. There is a depression for a third rivet-hole between these two
holes. two parallel ridges run up the web on each side of the rivet-holes. The
butt has two rivet-holes. The blade is somewhat rough on the surface and its
edges are damaged; it is pointed oval in cross-section. Ricasso present.
Youghal (near)
spear-head
18550324.100
Copper alloy socketed
spear-head, side-looped.
Mallow
spear-head
WG.1614
Copper alloy socketed
spear-head, side-looped.
Drimaleague
musical instrument
18541227.460
Copper alloy tube. Part
of a musical instrument.
Drimaleague
musical horn
WG.1219
Copper alloy musical
horn.
Early Bronze Age: Metal items
Cork
flat axe
18541227.280
Copper alloy flat axe;
only lower half of blade. Sides flare widely to form a large, slightly rounded
cutting-edge. Both sides are double-faceted. There are mounds and pits of
corrosion covering the entire object.
Mallow
flat axe
WG.1531
Copper alloy flat axe
with thin, narrow, rounded butt which is slightly damaged. Sides splay widely,
creating a large, rounded cutting-edge. Both sides are triple-faceted.
Bandon (Bandon Hoard)
flat axe
18541227.260
Copper alloy flat axe;
with a thin, narrow, slightly rounded butt, which has a notch missing.
 |
| Axes: 18480804.79 (top) & 18541227.26 (bottom) |
Bantry
halberd
18530528.200
Copper alloy halberd
with asymmetrical blade and three rivet holes, all rivets in situ.
Blackrock, Maryville
halberd
18490301.470
Copper alloy halberd,
asymmetrical blade with rounded hafting plate and straight, rounded midrib.
Three rivet holes, with two rivets in situ.
Bandon (Bandon Hoard)
axe
18480804.790
Copper alloy flanged
axe with stop-ridge and thin, rounded butt. Decorated.
Late Bronze Age: Metal items
Cork (near)
ring
18490301.140
Gold small penannular
plain ring. The circular solid body is circular in cross-section and it is
slightly thinner at the ends rather than in the middle. The ring has parallel
squared flat endings facing each other.
1150BC-750BC (circa)
Gortnalicky
(Gortnalicky hoard)
penannular bracelet
18400928.200
Gold penannular
bracelet with rounded body. The expanded terminals are conical shaped and
concave.
1000BC-750BC (circa)
Gortnalicky
(Gortnalicky hoard)
penannular bracelet
18400928.100
Gold penannular
bracelet with solid body of lozenge shaped cross-section. The expanded
terminals are conical shaped and concave.
1000BC-750BC (circa)
Ballycotton (near)
gorget
18710401.140
Gold decorated gorget,
three pieces. The beaten pieces are decorated using a repoussé technique to
create a cord pattern and alternate bands of void spaces and chevrons. The edge
has been bent over to form a sub-circular rim.
1150BC-750BC (circa)
Brahilish
penannular bracelet
18490301.300
Gold penannular
bracelet with rounded body and hollow tubular section. The expanded terminals
are conical shaped and hollow. The ends and the terminals are decorated with a
fine geometric incised pattern. The decoration of the ends and of the outer
part of the terminals consists of a series of triangles filled with oblique
lines. The inner edge of the terminals is decorated with a band of straight
intersecting lines. Part of the two terminals could have been lost as both have
rims that are slightly concave. A join runs parallel along the inner body of
the bracelet forming the hollow tubular section.
1000BC-750BC (circa)
Bantry
penannular bracelet
18490301.700
Gold penannular
bracelet with thin body of rounded cross-section. The expanded terminals are
conical shaped and hollow. The ends of the body are decorated with five incised
lines.
1000BC-750BC (circa)
Dunmanway
trumpet
18541227.450
Copper alloy musical
trumpet.
1000BC-800BC
Aghinagh
penannular bracelet
18710401.600
Gold penannular
bracelet with flat body. The solid slightly expanded terminals are rectangular
in section.
1000BC-750BC (circa)
Ballineen
penannular bracelet
18710401.500
Gold penannular
bracelet. The thin body has a rounded cross-section. The slightly expanded
terminals are circular and solid.
1000BC-750BC (circa)
Aghinagh
penannular bracelet
18710401.400
Gold penannular
bracelet with a rounded cross-section. The terminals are slighltly expanded,
solid and circular.
1000BC-750BC (circa)
Bronze Age (?): Metal items
Cork
bar
18490301.600
Gold circular-sectioned
bar shaped to form a penannular bracelet. It is triangular shaped with
terminals bent back and outward facing. The shape has been distorted so that it
now assumes a heart-shaped outline.
2500BC-750BC (circa)
Cork ?
bar
18490301.170
Gold bar. Bent bar of
gold with overlapping terminals.
2500BC-750BC (circa)
Macroom
sheet
18710401.150
Two boxes of
twenty-eight fragments of a beaten sheet of gold.
2500BC-750BC (circa)
Early Medieval: Metal item
Youghal (near)
bell
18550324.200
Copper alloy pyramidal
bell with pierced rounded flange on top and ribbed angles; hole on one side;
repair patch now missing.
8thC-11thC (?)
Early Medieval: Stone items
Deelish, burial-ground
(old) cilleen
oghan stone
18840609.100
Standing stone, fine
red sandstone, of roughly rectangular section tapering at top; inscribed with
ogam letters along 2 edges.
5thC-6thC
Roovesmore Rath
standing stone
18660511.100
Stone pillar of
squarish section inscribed along 2 angles with ogam letters.
5thC-7thC
Roovesmore Rath
standing stone
18660511.300
Red sandstone slab,
roughly rectangular, inscribed along sides with Ogam letters.
5thC-7thC
Coolinny (?);
Coolineagh (?)
standing stone
19050314.100
Stone pillar of roughly
rectangular cross-section, inscribed with Ogam letters along two edges.
5thC-6thC
Romano-British: Glass item
Dunworley
bead
18920421.820
Glass beads,
thirty-six.
Carolingian period: Metal item
Ballycottin Bog
brooch; amulet
18751211.100
Gilt copper alloy cross
brooch: equal-armed; cast, chip-carved, Anglo-Carolingian style animal in
profile in each arm; central, flat, oval black glass setting inscribed in two
lines of early Arabic script, `sha'a allah', or 'tubna lillah' (or
`bismillah'?); silver domed-head pseudo-rivet in a lobe at the inner and outer
corners of each arm.
8thC-9thC
Viking: Metal item
Cork
ring; hacksilver
18510331.300
Silver ring in 3
pieces; hacksilver; one U-shaped and two strips of flat section coiled to form
rough ovals and placed over each end.
9thC-10thC
Unknown: Wooden item
Cork
mug
18490301.500
Mug; wood; painted;
with handle.
surley all these items should be returned to the people of Cork and held in the Cork museum.
ReplyDeleteLike many things, it's not all that simple ... many of these items were found, sold to collectors/traded/auctioned/gifted etc. & had a long curation history - all of it completely legal at the time - before it ended up in the British Museum. The vast majority of these items were discovered in the years before the existence of the modern state of Ireland & the National Monuments legislation of the 1930s & after. While there may not be a legal case to return these, I think there's a moral argument to be made.
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