The gold ornaments, constituting the third part of the Catalogue, though not really of higher interest or of more extrinsic value than works in the less precious metals, are invested with that peculiar attraction which always accompanies the wonderful and the mysterious. We find in them much elegance in design and skill in workmanship, such as would not disgrace the best goldsmith of the present day; and they exist in such profusion that they become almost necessarily the property of the crucible-the collection in the Museum, extensive as it is, appearing to be merely specimens from hoards which have been discovered and melted down; some notion of the amount of which, in past times, may be formed when we read that a few living goldsmiths and jewellers estimate they have purchased as much as £10,000 worth.

"Unlike," Dr. Wilde observes, "the weapons and implements of stone, bronze, and iron, discovered in such quantities on ancient battle-fields, or in the beds of rivers where probably the ford was the scene of hostile strife, gold antiquities are scarcely ever found in drainage operations; neither have they been discovered in any of our crannoges or lacustrine habitations, the antiquities of which chiefly consist of implements employed in culinary, household, and domestic use, or personal decorations of bone, bronze, and iron, Gold articles have, for the most part, been found deep below the surface of our bogs, a portion of the peat of which had probably grown over them, when they were dropped in flight, and remained unseen to human eye until disinterred, centuries after, by the turf-cutter; or hidden, often in quantity, in the earth in upland districts, in the vicinity of the fort or cromlech, or in the neighbourhood of the battle-field. As yet we have but very slight authentic evidence of gold having been discovered with the remains of the dead, as so frequently occurs in other countries; and therefore we are unable to associate the knowledge of this metal, or the use of any particular style of ornament appertaining thereto, with cremation, or urn burial, or any of the circumstances under which the relics of either the Pagan or the Christian dead of Ireland have been found. Scattered broadcast over the country, yet abounding in particular districts, it would (without any exact knowledge being attainable upon the subject) appear that these articles were dropped, or hidden in haste and fear, and possibly at a time when the foe or the invader pressed hotly upon the heels of the fugitive."

It is probable that, after all, gold ornaments have been discovered in countries of earlier civilization in equal abundance, but that they have been converted as soon as found into modern forms for the more vulgar uses of daily life. Take, for example, the torques and collars found some years since near Quintin in Brittany (Archæologia, vol. xxvii.), the metal value of which was upwards of £1,000; but these ornaments, after having been offered to the Society of Antiquaries and to the British Museum (and probably to the French Government), were, it is understood, consigned to the melting-pot. In Ireland many rare and curious. objects in gold have shared a similar fate, or have been abstracted and lost sight of; and among these are two cap-shaped articles which are conjectured to have been crowns or other ornaments for the head, one of which is figured by Dermot O'Connor in his translation of Keating's

"History of Ireland," as shewn in the annexed fac-simile.

found in a bog at the Devil's Bit, co. Tipperary, and subsequently was taken to France and lost sight of. Its ornamentation resembles that of a conical gold ornament, apparently worn upon the head of a person of some distinction, found near Poitiers. The latter weighs 11 oz.,

Weight, 5 oz.

It was

and is 21 in. in length: it is figured in Thoms's Translation of Herr Worsaae's" Primeval Antiquities of Denmark," p. 36.

The lunulæ, or crescent-shaped ornaments of thin beaten gold, not inelegantly decorated with designs punched by means of fine chisels, are now generally considered to have been used for the head-dress of females, and somewhat resemble the classic nimbus as seen upon the heads of deities and saints. They form an imposing feature in the Museum, but are exceeded in gorgeous splendour by their rich associates, to which they bear a strong family likeness-the diadems or tiaras. One cannot wonder that in the days when archæology was

grounded more upon misdirected learning and a fervent imagination than upon facts and sound reasoning, conjecture rested in such tempting incentives. In Dr. Wilde's Catalogue they are treated with

sober sense; and as we hope it will be in the hands of most of our readers, it may be sufficient to give an example of one of these diadems in very red gold, which weighs upwards of 16 oz. (see preceding page). The beauty of the workmanship can hardly be appreciated in an engraving. It is exceedingly delicate and artistic.

Next follow gorgets or neck-collars, gold beads, and ear-rings; and small, thin, longitudinal plates, which, though conjectured to have

been used for fillets or forehead-bands, may have been employed upon some other part of the dress, or upon sword or dagger sheaths.

Bracelets and armillæ rival in beauty of design, and in skill of workmanship, the diadems. We select one recently found, it is said, near Clonmacnoise, in King's County:

Half the actual size.

"This consists of a large, thin, hollow ring, 54 in. in diameter, with a hollow decorated bulb on one side, and on the other a spiral enlargement, each with an embossed pattern, differing altogether from the style of ornament observed in any of our golden ornaments of native origin, as may be seen by the accompanying cuts, figs. 1 and 2 (see next page), both drawn the actual size.

"The first represents the large bulbous ornament, in which the enrichment is in GENT. MAG, VOL. CCXIII. 4 N

relief, and the concave portions between the central and the lateral decorations are punched all over, so as to give them a frosted appearance. All the parts of this ornament are complete and continuous, but in the upper member there is an aperture for a pin or rivet, which fastened the hollow end of the ring at this place.

"Fig. 2 shews the enlargement on the opposite side of the ring, and represents a con

tinuous band, which interlaces

Fig. 1.

raised and embossed pattern, as if made by a thread of gold-wire laid upon its surface. The whole article weighs 3 oz. 11 dwt. 12 gr."

Fig. 2.

Most of the armillæ are open, the ends of many terminating in cups. Formerly a theory prevailed which assigned the whole of them, as well as the gold bracelets and finger-rings, to a monetary standard; and it was asserted that in weight they would be found to have a graduated relation to each other: in short, that they were "ring-money." Dr. Wilde, in common with most antiquaries of the present day, combats this notion, and shews that the weights do not support this theory. He admits, what is not likely to be disputed, that they were probably used in barter, and that a certain value may have been attached to these various objects in gold for purposes of traffic; but that they really were neither more nor less than personal ornaments; and he points out how they were worn, some as rings, some as bracelets and armillæ, and some as fibulæ. Those of the last class were fastened, he considers, by a portion of the cloak or mantle being passed between the cups or discs, into the space under the handle, and there fixed by a pin to one side of the handle

where it joins the cup. In illustration of this mode, he refers to examples in the Copenhagen and Mayence Mu

seums. One of

these fibulæ (in the Museum of Trinity College) weighs 33 oz. It is elaborately decorated all over the external surface of the cups, and

also within the lips. It is amusing to contrast the sober explanation given by Dr. Wilde with the high-flown views taken by some of his predecessors :

"Pococke and Vallancey," he observes, "have figured and described massive articles of this description, several of them beautifully decorated. The latter author, who calls them 'double-headed pateræ,' supposed them to have been used in libations to the two chief deities of the heathen Irish, viz. Budh and his son Pharamon, and also to the sun and moon.' (!) The decorations and dog's-tooth ornament on one of these articles he describes as typical representations of the elements, water and fire, and also says, 'The twelve circles may have represented the twelve signs of the zodiac, and their spheres, &c.'" (!)

The torques complete the leading divisions of Class V. This peculiar ornament appears to have been common to most nations. It occurs upon the monuments of the East, and upon those of the West, while continual references are made to it by the ancient historians. It was particularly a Gaulish ornament, and is often mentioned among the spoils of the conquered; and, with armillæ, may be detected upon the Gaulish coins. Upon a fine Roman monument at Bonn both may be seen adorning the neck and breast of an officer, as military decorations conferred for good conduct or successful exploits; and Dr. Wilde mentions them as in use in Ireland in the middle ages. In the subjoined

cut are given four varieties of this ornament. The external, the largest ever known to be found, measures 5 ft. 7 in. in length, and is 15 in. in diameter when closed. It is formed of four flat bars of gold, joined at