The Golden Bog of Cullen is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

located in

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Discovered in the 18th century, it has been described as "one of the most important and prolific sites" in Ireland; it was discovered before modern methods of preservation and collection, and almost all of the finds were melted down.

Location

The Golden Bog is located southwest of

Cullen, County Tipperary Cullen () is a rural village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The centre of the village is located at a junction of two roads in south Tipperary. These roads lead to Monard, Lattin, the "Rocky Road" and Oola respectively. Name The village was trad ...

, east of

Longstone Rath Longstone Rath () is a ringfort (''rath'') and National Monument located in County Tipperary, Ireland. Location Longstone Rath is located on a height overlooking the Barna–Emly road, 1.6 km (1 mile) west-southwest of Cullen. History an ...

. This was part of the ancient Gaelic territory of Uí Cuanach ( Coonagh).

Artifacts

The earliest recorded find dates to 1731, a two-gallon (9-litre)

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

vessel with four legs. In 1744, a

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

jeweller bought from a Cullen shopkeeper a gold

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

weighing ; the metal was of a very high purity. Objects found on the site included 300

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

s, a golden cone (described as "the breast of a wooden

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

"), bars of pure gold, and gold

gorget A gorget , from the French ' meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the thro ...

s. As most of the items were discovered before modern methods of preservation and collection of ancient artefacts, the objects were generally sold to

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

s 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 t ...

value. Only one gold item is known to survive, a dress-

fastener A fastener (US English) or fastening (UK English) is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. In general, fasteners are used to create non-permanent joints; that is, joints that can be removed or disman ...

or terminal, currently held at the

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

History

Eugene O'Curry Eugene O'Curry ( ga, Eoghan Ó Comhraí or Eoghan Ó Comhraidhe, 20 November 179430 July 1862) was an Irish philologist and antiquary. Life He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and hi ...

speculated that the Bog was originally a wooded valley, used by goldsmiths due to its proximity to sources of wood for

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

, as well as possibly a goldmine. He connected it with the ancient Cerdraigi, a

Gaelic tribe Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or ''fine'' in Irish) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...

whose name derives from ''cerd'', an

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

term for a skilled craftsman, especially a worker in gold and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. He also note the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

of Ballynagard located to the west: in Irish ''Baile na gCeard'', "settlement of the goldsmiths." Their placement in the bog is possibly a form of ritual deposition. The culture that produced and deposited these items is thought to date to c. 2000–400 BC, during the

Atlantic Bronze Age The Atlantic Bronze Age is a cultural complex of the Bronze Age period in Prehistoric Europe of approximately 1300–700 BC that includes different cultures in Britain, France, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. Trade The Atlantic Bronze Age ...

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in County Tipperary Bronze Age Ireland Bogs of the Republic of Ireland Gold

Location

Artifacts

History

See also

References