More than 200 pieces of precious treasure are hidden underground in Dowris, County Offaly, Ireland. When the artifacts were discovered by farm workers in the 1820s, no one could have imagined the significance of their find.
Trying to date this hoard is not an easy task. This remarkable treasure dates back to 900-600 BC (Late Bronze Age), however, some researchers attribute the treasure to the Stone Age – which is also reasonable. In Ireland, the Stone Age lasted until about 750 BC. Elsewhere in Europe, this period is known as the Hallstatt C culture, but that group never reached Ireland. People who lived in the Hallstatt C/Stone Age/Late Bronze Age culture left behind impressive artifacts such as unique and high-quality gold jewelry, tools, weapons, trumpets and other artifacts. Other artifacts are of great value.
Part of the Dowris hoard. (Commissioner of the British Museum/ CC BY NC SA 4.0 )
Find the mysterious treasure
Historian T.D. Cooke reported the discovery in the Dublin Penny Journal in 1833. He wrote that about ten years earlier, a man named Ed Hennessy and another person had accidentally dug up pieces of copper in a potato pieces. This site is located between Whigsborough House and Dough Cowra. The treasure includes cauldrons, horns, ax heads, bronze spear tips and several smaller artifacts. Earl Rosse and TD Cooke took all the items. They did not inform any other experts about the treasure’s existence for some time. Cooke eventually reported this discovery to the Royal Irish Academy many years later. Most of the site’s archaeological evidence was lost forever because of his delay.
Copper alloy latch found in the Dowris Hoard. Source: Trustees of the British Museum/ CC BY NC SA 4.0
The majority of the artifacts were made of bronze and their quality changed the perception of Bronze Age people living in Ireland. A lack of resources makes analyzing artifacts from before St. Patrick’s arrival in Ireland (AD 432) very difficult. The appearance of the famous saint was associated not only with the process of Christianization in the region, but also with the destruction of old documents created by non-Christians. Although the first traces of humans in Ireland date back to the 6th millennium BC, information about their lives is limited.
An icon of Saint Patrick. (Ted/ CC BY SA 2.0 )
The lack of information from original sources, damaged archaeological sites and lack of cataloged discoveries bring more questions than answers about Ireland’s earliest history. Regarding the Dowris Hoard, it is known that the artifacts are currently located in the British Museum and the National Museum of Ireland, however, this is not the complete collection discovered in the early 19th century.
Significance of copper in the Dowris period
The collection of bronze fragments from the Dowris Treasure also influenced archaeological terminology. Ireland’s Late Bronze Age is known as the Dowris Period due to the great discoveries made at Dowris.
Part of Dowris Hoard’s weapons collection. ( Trustees of the British Museum/ CC BY NC SA 4.0 )
According to Michael J. O’Kelly and Claire O’Kelly: “The Dowris Hoard contains no fewer than 24 horns in varying degrees of preservation, most of them Class I, some now NMI and others. in the British Museum. Dowris Hoard and another Co. document. Clare provides the only two cases where the Irish Horn was found with other metal objects and for this reason it is difficult to assign a chronological range to the instrument. (…) Copper is also used to make fashion ornaments such as rings, bracelets, pins, etc. The latter varied widely, from a simple straight-shank pin with a bulge on the head, often decorated, to a pin with a plain round head. Pin with side loops on the stem. In the Dowris Phase, the disc on the head of the pin has a central knob surrounded by small concentric grooves, and in some examples the disc is mounted so that it is parallel to the line of the pin. They are called sunflower pins. Eoghan distinguishes another type of Dowris Phase pin, the cup-head pin, of which at least nine types are known in Ireland. Instead of a disc, the top of the pin, perpendicular to the handle, has a slight indentation or is hollow like a cup, undecorated.”
A copper alloy musical trumpet from Dowris Hoard. ( Trustees of the British Museum/ CC BY NC SA 4.0 )
These descriptions help one understand the greatness of the Dowris Treasure. The creators of these artifacts were sophisticated artists and their methods were highly developed.
An ancient and modern Marvel gift
Dowris’s hoard was so large that researchers had to question why anyone would decide to accumulate so many precious items in one place. Unfortunately, the discoverers of the treasure did not think to record whether they found it in one or more small mines in the same area. This information will be invaluable in understanding the meaning of hoarding.
Although the old lakes at Dowris have now dried up, Eoghan Cole believes the hoard may have been a ritual involving water, a lake or a river. Cole also suggests that the hoard’s antlers and horns may represent a ritual involving a bull. Artifacts representing the animal’s fertile characteristics could be the key to unlocking the mystery of the treasure.
The Dowris Hoard is one of the most popular vaults in Ireland today. It is a symbol of a lost culture and a mysterious group of people whose remains can still be seen in many parts of the country. The Dowris hoard plays an important role in deciphering its Irish origins, but it is also a puzzle that remains completely unsolved.
A collection of artifacts from the Dowris Treasure at the National Museum of Ireland. ( Rick Neal )
Top image: Main: Castle ruins in Offaly, Ireland, near where the Dowris Treasure was found. (CC/Mike Searle). Inset: Part of the Dowris hoard. (Commissioner of the British Museum/ CC BY NC SA 4.0 )
