Irish Archaeology
Sharing Ireland’s amazing archaeology as well as interesting sites and finds from around the world.
This rare 12th century dog collar was found by archaeologists working in Waterford city. Fashioned out of bronze, it originally had a leather backing, which attached to the metal via six holes. It is thought that it may have been worn by a hunting dog such as greyhound. Similar, though less ornate dog collars are […]
This distinctive late medieval civic mace is currently on display in the Waterford Museum of Treasures. However, its origins lie in the neighbouring county of Wexford, where it once resided in the town of New Ross. It was taken in 1518 when New Ross was assaulted by a motley force of foreign mercenaries and Irish soldiers, […]
Anglo-Norman Parks in Medieval Ireland is a brand new book by Four Courts Press. This interesting and informative publication is written by Fiona Beglane, who is a lecturer in archaeology at the Institute of Technology Sligo, and also a consultant zooarchaeologist. In it she attempts to examine the surviving evidence for medieval parks in Anglo-Norman […]
Archaeologists from Queen’s University have uncovered the foundations of a number of medieval houses at Tullyhogue fort, Co. Tyrone, which may once have belonged to members of the O’Hagan clan. During the Middle Ages Tullyhogue was an important inauguration site of the O’Neill kings of Ulster, who were ‘crowned’ upon a stone throne adjacent to […]
This relic of the True Cross is associated with Christchurch Cathedral in Waterford city. It consists of a silver, double-armed cross that contains five pieces of cedar wood. On the reverse is a Latin inscription, in Lomardic capitals, which identifies the relic as wood from the true cross: LIGNVM DE VERA (CR)UCE. It is held […]
In the imaginative and engaging Charter Roll room of the Medieval Waterford Museum, I discovered something that I’d never seen before: a fourteenth century illustration of a man dressed from head to toe in two vertically contrasting colours. He is dressed in an outfit that vertically drapes the entire left half of his body in fawn, and the entire […]
These distinctive pewter tokens were found by Brendán O’Riordáin during his archaeological excavations at Winetavern Street in Dublin. As its name suggests, this street was once famous for its taverns and it is likely that the tokens were originally used by local inn-keepers when normal coinage was scarce. They were discovered inside a wood-lined cess-pit, where […]
The iconic Hook Head lighthouse represents one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world. It stands on the very tip of the windswept Hook peninsula in Co. Wexford, overlooking a number of important shipping routes. Circa 800 years old, it was erected in the early 13th century by the great Anglo-Norman magnate, William Marshall, […]
Founded in 1161 AD, by the Cistercian order of monks, Boyle Abbey, Co. Roscommon contains a fine collection of medieval decorated stonework. These pieces are found inside the ruins of the late 12th/early 13th century church and take the form of ornate capitals. Exploiting a variety of decorative motifs, the stone capitals contain images of both […]
Dating from the 12th century and decorated in foliate patterns, this small, bronze ball is actually a hand-warmer. Inside the metal sphere, which unscrews into two halves, is an iron cup that held hot charcoal. This clever design allowed the hands to be warmed without getting burnt. Medieval hand-warmers, such as this one, were predominantly […]