Ireland

13 Shocking Discoveries Made In Ireland

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• published: 09 Sep 2016
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From an ancient necklace that was once worn by a king to an amazing artifact found by chance these discoveries are incredible! Subscribe to Talltanic http://goo.gl/wgfvrr 8. Linn Duachaill Discovered in 2010 near the village of Annagassan in County Louth, this Viking settlement village was built in 841 around the same time as the settlement Dubh Linn, or Dublin. The site was used to build and repair ships before eventually being abandoned in favor of Dublin. The find is evidence of one of the earliest settlements of Vikings in Ireland and it’s estimated that at it’s height the village contained five thousand Vikings with up to 200 ships. 7. Ireland’s Oldest Burials An excavation near the River Shannon in Hermitage, Co. Limerick uncovered two early Mesolithic burials that are the earliest ever identified in Ireland. The burials were radiocarbon dated to approximately 7500-7000 B.C. and have great historical significance. It indicates that formal burial in Ireland was taking place way before the development of farming and settled communities. 6. The Derrynaflan Hoard When this hoard was found in 1980 it was hailed as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of modern times. It was found by a father and son metal detecting in the area. The hoard consists of a richly decorated ninth century silver chalice, a large 8th century paten and stand, an 8th century liturgical strainer and a bronze basin from the 8th or 9th century. Apparently the treasure was buried to conceal it, very likely from Viking raiders. The discovery led to years of legal action between the finders and the state and eventually led to the National Monuments Act of 1994. 5. Early Buttevant Buttevant is a town in Ireland that was founded around 1208. When its main streets were being dug up for resurfacing work in 2015 a group of archaeologists were called in and made some very exciting discoveries. They found the remains of a town wall, a cobbled street and an underground chamber dating back to medieval times. The findings will help researchers better understand the medieval street layout of the town. The town has been through a lot. It was sacked by English forces twice once in 1569 and again in 1691. After this second attack the town remained in a state of stagnation for over a century before finally being revived. 4. 12th Century Brooch New York University student McKenna McFadden was in Ireland this summer for a school related trip when she stumbled upon this incredibly rare 12th century artifact. She was with a group being led on a tour of Oney Island on the west side of Ireland when she noticed something in the sand. She didn’t think much of it until she showed the find to the archaeologist leading the tour, who was very intrigued by the piece. It’s called a kite brooch and is used to fasten a cloak or shawl. The artifact is one of only a few ever found in Ireland and is now with the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. 3. Box of Bones Thousand of bones were discovered in a cave in County Clare Ireland by a team of scientists in 1903. Eventually the bones were put in a box and sent to the National Museum of Ireland where they lay largely forgotten for a century. The bones were recently reexamined and a bear bone was found that established the fact that humans were on Ireland 12,500 years ago. While archaeologists have always suspected that there were humans in Ireland much farther back than once thought, they didn’t find any evidence to prove this theory until this latest discovery. 2. 4000 Year Old Necklace Like so many discoveries made in Ireland, this ancient necklace was found along with two discs by a farmer who was cutting turf in a bog. After a few years he passed the necklace onto a local chemist, who kept the historic find in his shop’s safe, where they remained for years. Then in February 2009 two thieves grabbed the safe during a burglary and left it in a dumpster in Dublin. Detectives literally went digging through dumpster after dumpster until they luckily found the treasures with hours to spare before the trash was to be collected. Examiners from the National Museum's Irish Antiquities Division called the pieces one of the most important archaeological finds for many years. The necklace was worn by the early kings of Ireland and dates back to sometime between 2,300 and 1,800 B.C. 1. Ancient Latin Psalter A 1,200 year old religious manuscript was discovered in 2006 by a workman operating a mechanical digger on the bog at Faddan More near Riverstown. The importance of this book is immense and its discovery has been called more important for Ireland than the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls was for biblical scholars. It changes scholars views about how ancient Irish manuscripts were produced. The psalter contains 60 pages of vellum, a parchment made from animal skins that were inscribed with the complete text of all 150 of the Bible’s Book of Psalms.