For all students that have taken ART106: Prehistoric to Gothic - this would be a fantastic stop on the tour - starting out with a walk through Prehistoric Ireland and ending at a small Ancient Egyptian area. The museum is the repository for all archaeological objects found in Ireland.
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| Wooden wheel |
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| St. Patrick's Bell, 8th - 9th century, iron coated with bronze |
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| Neck rings |
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| Wooden ax and shovel |
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| Brooches |
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The Ardagh Chalice, 900 AD
found by a man digging for potatoes |
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| Croziers were a symbol of wealth and authority, c. 1100 AD |
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| Shrine of St. Lachtin's Arm, c. 1120, reliquary |
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The Cross of Cong, c. 1120
(reliquary said to contain a relic of the True Cross) |
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| Bronze horn, 1st century BC |
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| Ribbon torc, gold, 300 BC |
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| Log boat from Addergoole Bog, Lurgan, Co. Galway, acquired in 1902 |
The Bog Bodies
This was fascinating and disturbing and unsettling at the same time. The bogs have properties that have proven to be very useful in preserving things - like human bodies! The hair, skin, muscle and internal organs are preserved to an amazing degree - you can still see fingerprints. Discovered in 2003 in County Meath and County Offaly the bodies below provide insights to kingship rituals(based on certain dismemberments) during the Iron Age and Bronze Age. Two bodies found in County Galway and County Kildare were also found with weapons, butter, regalia and feasting utensils.
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| Torso only and the hands had been removed.... |
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| Woman with red hair.... |
Egyptian Area
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| Lobby dome - complete with occulus, clerestory and Ionic columns and Corinthian pilasters... |
