Robert M Chapple, Archaeologist

I recently published a post on the Archaeological Items of Irish origin at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and wanted to follow it up with some posts on some other museums with both Irish material and an online catalogue, not to mention progressive view on the usage of their images. To this end, I’ve been perusing the collections of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and they’ve kindly granted me permission to use images of the four pieces they hold of ancient Irish origin. Four artefacts may not sound like much, but each one is a masterpiece that commands attention in its own right. The pieces include a Middle Bronze Age ribbon torc from Innishowen, Co Donegal; two Late Bronze Age penannular armlets; and one Early Medieval shrine. The torc was discovered in 1882 by Rev. Dr. William Chadwick Neligan of Cork. This is, presumably, the same Rev. Mr. Neligan, Rector, Shandon Church, Cork City who sold the silver Rathcormac torc [ here ] in 1885. Nelligan sold the Innishowen torc to the Pi

It has been a while, but here’s my take on what’s the best and most interesting in (mostly) Irish archaeological and historical material on Academia.edu … have a read, find and follow the authors most relevant to your research interests … when you’re done, come have a look at some of my stuff [ here ]. Merryn Dineley: Who were the first maltsters? The archaeological evidence for floor malting Merryn Dineley: Neolithic Ale: Barley as a source of sugars for fermentation Richard Warner: Beehive querns and Irish 'La Tene' artefacts: a statistical test of their cultural relatedness Eamonn Kelly: The longphort in Viking-Age Ireland: the archaeological evidence Elizabeth Twohig: Containing the dead in Irish Passage tombs Mary Cahill: 'Here comes the sun....' solar symbolism in Early Bronze Age Ireland Mary Cahill: A stone to die for [Hacketstown, Co. Waterford] Mary Cahill et al.: James Carruthers, a Belfast Antiquarian Collector Alan Hayd

As regular readers of this blog may be aware, I’ve been publishing a series of small posts based around some photos I took on two trips to the National Museum of Ireland, in 2016 and 2017. My usual approach is to manipulate the image in Instagram and publish the result to social media – I’m hardly Man Ray ! Usually this goes fairly well/unremarked. That is until I posted one of a pair of gold-covered lead objects from Killyleagh, Co. Down. The Museum’s information card describes them as Bullae (Single: Bulla) and dates them to the period from 800-700 BC. Another archaeologist noted that the item more closely resembled ‘ring money’ and thus developed a rather interesting discussion, taking in contributions from several professional archaeologists and assorted non-specialists. The crux of the matter is that the term ‘Bulla’ is usually used to describe a more ‘bag-like’ object, such as the famous example from the Bog of Allen [ here | here ]. Like the Killyleagh examples, this

One of four bracelets from a hoard found at New Ross, Co. Wexford. The pieces are dated to the period from 800-700 BC. Currently on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. I've nothing else to say about this other than it's really lovely, shiny, and gold ... nope ... nothing ... not even a hint of a suggestion that it was used to adorn genitalia ... nothing of the kind ...

The Glensinsheen Gorget (collar) is considered to be among the finest gold ornaments ever produced in Ireland. It dates to the Bronze Age and is thought to have been created between 800-700 BC. It was discovered in the Burren at Gleninsheen, Co. Clare by a young boy out with his dog. He spotted ‘something’ in a fissure (or ‘grike’) between two areas of limestone pavement (known as ‘clints’) and retrieved this treasure. Unfortunately, not everyone was as enthused with his discovery and, thinking it was a piece of coffin furniture, he was forbidden from bringing it inside his home. It languished under a bush for a number of years before it was identified as archaeological and was passed on to Adolf Mahr, then head of the National Museum of Ireland. It’s a wonderful piece of complex ornamentation that would have been utterly striking when worn in the Bronze Age, but it’s the story of its discovery and near loss to scholarship that draw me back to it time and time again when I v

As part of the UK Festival of Archaeology, Dr Greer Ramsey, Curator of Archaeology, will give two illustrated talks highlighting a number of key objects from the collections. Dressed to Impress: Bronze Age Gold Jewellery Ulster Museum, Belfast Saturday 23 July 2016 12noon – 1.00pm This illustrated talk explores several stunning items of Bronze Age gold jewellery on display in the Ulster Museum. Collection highlights: Archaeological Treasures from the Ulster Museum Tuesday 9 August 2016 2.00pm – 3.00pm This illustrated talk highlights some of the most significant objects on display in the Ulster Museum. Admission is free but advance booking is advised For further information please contact 028 9044 0000 (10.00am-5.00pm Tuesday–Sunday). email: ulstermuseumreception@nmni.com To book tickets please go to www.nmni.com/um/What-s-on

Books ( Source ) Hello & welcome once again to my continuing eclectic ramble through archaeology papers on Academia.edu that I find interesting and deserving of attention. Once again, I’d ask you to take a look at Stuart Rathbone’s latest book on Irish archaeology: Archaeological Boundaries. Discussions, Experiments and Unprovoked Attacks . I do realise that I’m somewhat biased (I’m his editor and general co-conspirator), but I do genuinely believe that this is among the most important books ever published on Irish archaeology and showcases Stuart’s abilities as a paradigm-altering thinker. As if that wasn’t enough, the book is available as a pay-what-you-think-is-fair downloadable PDF from Leanpub. If that whetted you taste for more, have a look at this latest collection of good reads (and start off with a couple of other Rathbone papers! Stuart Rathbone (re)Building Stonegenge. Investigating the curious desire to replicate a Wiltshire monument Stuart R

Books ( Source ) Hello again and welcome to issue 13 of my continuing deep dive into the papers that have caught my eye on Academia.edu. They’re mostly Irish in focus, but other topics and writers that attract my attention are included too. But, before you consider investing some quality time settling into reading any of these, take a moment to acquaint yourself with Stuart Rathbone’s extremely excellent new book Archaeological Boundaries. Discussions, Experiments and Unprovoked Attacks . It’s available on the Leanpub site as a downloadable PDF on a pay-what-you-like basis. Who could ask for more? Anyway, here are my latest recommendations – enjoy! Kieran Westley et al. Mapping Submerged Landscapes Using Multibeam Bathymetric Data: a case study from the north coast of Ireland Julian Thomas What Do We Mean By 'Neolithic Societies'? Sam Moore The Archaeology of Slieve Donard, Co. Down: A Cultural Biography of Ulster’s Highest Mountain Tho

Aur é lien Burlot In the middle of December 2014, Robert M. Chapple posted on his blog about an upcoming day of lectures at the Ulster Museum. The title of the seminar itself was very appealing: Ireland’s Bronze Age Gold . Cannot not attract attention with such a title! On a personal note, the whole event was something I felt I had to attend, for three reasons: 1)   Despite having lived in Ireland for a decade and a half, I have never travelled ‘up North’ 2)   As I'm doing a postgraduate degree on exchanges, contacts and relations between Ireland and France during the 3 rd Millennium BC (that, of course, includes early metalwork), I could not miss such opportunity 3)   We all love prehistoric bling! The talks were set for Saturday 31 January 2015 and would take place between 1.30pm and 4.15pm. The online program detailed the different parts of the event, which included the three speakers: Greer Ramsay, keeper of the gold collection at the Ulster Museum; Mary Cahi