The Mooghaun North Hoard or ''Great Clare Find'' is the name of an important Bronze Age hoard found at Mooghaun North, near Newmarket-on-Fergus in

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, Ireland. Considered one of the greatest

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

hoards of gold ever found north of the Alps, unfortunately most of the treasure was melted down soon after its discovery. What remains of the hoard is currently split between the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

in Dublin and the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

in London.British Museum Collection
/ref> It is no. 11 in ''

A History of Ireland in 100 Objects ''A History of Ireland in 100 Objects'' was a joint project by ''The Irish Times'', the National Museum of Ireland, and the Royal Irish Academy to define one hundred archaeological or cultural objects that are important in the history of Ireland. ...

''.

Discovery

In March 1854, some workers building the West Clare Railway near

Newmarket-on-Fergus Newmarket-on-Fergus, historically known as Corracatlin (), is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It is from Ennis, from Shannon Airport, and from Limerick. History The English rendering of the name 'Newmarket-on-Fergus' probably owes its ori ...

were realigning a dyke near Mooghaun Lake, when they accidentally uncovered a huge cache of gold jewellery from the Bronze Age. While shifting a stone they brought to light a large cavity in the ground where the treasure was kept. Most of the precious objects were sold to local dealers who melted them down for their

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...

value and only 29 out of a total of over 150 objects survived. Most of the British Museum's share of the find was purchased from William Willoughby Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen in 1857.

Description

When discovered, the Mooghaun North Hoard was one of the largest Bronze Age treasures ever found in Northern or Western Europe. It consisted of over 150 gold objects including 138 bracelets, six collars, two

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few hav ...

s and several other items which in total weighed over 5 kg. Just 29 objects survived the melting pot - 15 in the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

and 14 in the

. The extant items of jewellery from the hoard are mostly crescent-shaped bracelets (23) and six neck collars. Fortunately many pieces from the hoard were copied before they were destroyed. Archaeologists are unsure why the hoard was deposited in the stone chamber - it may have been for safe-keeping during a local crisis or was perhaps a

votive offering A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

to the gods. Recent research indicates that much of the gold used in the creation of these pieces came from the

Mourne Mountains The Mourne Mountains ( ; ), also called the Mournes or the Mountains of Mourne, are a predominantly granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountain in all of Ulster, Slieve Donard ...

in County Down.

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* G. Eogan: ''The Hoards of the Irish later Bronze Age''. Dublin, 1983. pp. 69–73. * F. O'Toole: ''

''. Dublin, 2013. * P. Wallace: ''A Guide to the National Museum of Ireland''. Dublin, 2000. Prehistoric Ireland Prehistoric objects in the British Museum Treasure troves in the Republic of Ireland Bronze Age art Collection of the National Museum of Ireland Prehistory and Europe objects in the British Museum Irish art Ancient art in metal

Discovery

Description

See also

References

Bibliography