The Coggalbeg hoard is an

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

of three pieces of Irish gold jewellery dating to 2300–2000 BC. It is now in the

National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann – Seandálaíocht, often known as the "NMI") is a branch of the National Museum of Ireland located on Kildare Street in Dublin, Ireland, that specialises in Irish an ...

in Dublin, where it is normally on display. It was found in a bog at Coggalbeg,

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

in 1945, and consists of a

gold lunula The Gold lunula (plural: lunulae) is a distinctive type of late Neolithic, Chalcolithic or (most often) early Bronze Age necklace or collar shaped like a crescent moon; most are from Prehistoric Ireland. They are normally flat and thin, with ...

(a crescent shaped "little moon") and two small gold discs, of a type known from other examples, decorated with a cross motif within two circles. The pieces are flat and thin, and collectively weigh under , indicating that they were probably intended as part of a necklace. In 2017 the three objects were featured on an

Irish postal stamp The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world's first postage stamps were issued in 1840. These stamps, and ...

, one of a series showing ''

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 ...

''. O'Toole, Fintan. ''

''. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 2013.

Discovery

The hoard was discovered in 1945 by Hubert Lannon while cutting

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

on his bog in Roscommon. From 1947, it was kept in a safe at Sheehan's Chemists in

Strokestown Strokestown ( ga, Béal na mBuillí), also known as Bellanamullia and Bellanamully, is a small town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is one of the 27 designated Heritage Towns in Ireland. Located in the part of the country marketed for Desti ...

, during which time it was only seen by members of the Sheehan family. Following a break-in at the pharmacy, in which the safe was stolen, the objects were found by the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

(Irish police) wrapped in paper in a

rubbish skip A skip (or skip bin) is a large open-topped waste container designed for loading onto a special type of lorry. Typically skip bins have a distinctive shape: the longitudinal cross-section of the skip bin is either a trapezium or two stacked ...

in April 2009. Due to its lightness in weight, police believe that the thieves were primarily interested in cash and drugs and were not aware of the objects' presence in the discarded loot.

Research

Today it is held by the

, where it is on permanent display. According to Mary Cahill of the museum, the objects are significant as the only extant "association between the discs and the lunula, because the discs would be considered among the earliest gold ornaments and the lunula as coming a little bit later". The lunula is of the "Classical" type, considered the earliest and finest of three types of lunula.Stolen treasure: The Coggalbeg Hoard
. Irish Archaeology

- the breaking story Of the estimated 100 lunula known in Western Europe, some 80 originate in Ireland.

References

Sources

* Ó Floinn, Raghnal; Wallace, Patrick. ''Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities''. Dublin: National Museum of Ireland, 2002. {{isbn, 978-0-7171-2829-7 Bronze Age art Collection of the National Museum of Ireland Hoards of jewellery Treasure troves in the Republic of Ireland Ancient art in metal