Abstract
Antiquities from Lambay, Co. Dublin.—Sorne forty objects found during the building of a sea-wall on the island of Lambay in 1927, and presenting some remarkable features, are described by Prof. R. A. S. Macalister in Vol. 38, Sect. C, 8-9 of the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. They belong to two different periods, the earlier being relics of a settlement, the later of an interment. The earlier series includes axe-, adze-, and hatchet-heads of grit, lance-heads of flint, flakes of flint, rings of limestone, sharpening hones, and fragments of pottery. In the later series are the umbo of a shield in bronze, fragments of a circular object with ornament of repouss moulding, showing characteristic La Tène curves, an armlet with eight beads of bronze playing upon it, between each pair a flat disc of bronze, three ornaments from a sword scabbard, rings and fibulæ of Roman provincial type, and a flbula of Rhenish provincial military type; in iron, the fragments of a sword, and a circular mirror of classical type; a ring in lignite, and a few fragments of leather. In both series certain special points are noted. The earlier series belongs to a neolithic or bronze age settlement, but the types are remarkably exotic. The adze-heads predominate in a way not common in Ireland, and they are made of unusual material. The javelin heads are definitely of an Iberian type, differing from the flat lozenge-shaped javelins which have been compared to Iberian types. The large quantity of flint is surprising and points to a constant supply, which it is suggested is new and unexpected evidence of early trade. The interment series is also remarkable in indicating a community at the end of the La Tène period which had established relations with Romanised provinces in an unprecedented way. The mirror and fibulæ are new in Irish archæology. One fibula was evidently copied from another in the series by a workman who, though highly skilled, did not understand the mechanism of his model. The pin in the copy is fixed to the catch so that the fibula could not be used as a brooch. The two series “open doors that give us new vistas in Irish history”.
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Research Items. Nature 124, 596–598 (1929). https://doi.org/10.1038/124596a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/124596a0