Early medieval brooch found during highway works

A Celtic brooch dating to the 8th century has been discovered during highway construction in Ardshanbally, Co Limerick, Ireland. The artifact was unearthed in 2024 an archaeological survey along the route of the Adare bypass. Its discovery in an official excavation gives archaeologists an opportunity to narrow down when fine metalwork was being produced in the Limerick area in the Early Middle Ages.

The Ardshanbally brooch is in excellent condition, complete with its pin and hinge. It is a pseudo-penannular design, meaning a ring with penannular features, namely a junction point that looks like two terminals were closed together. Made of cast bronze, the brooch is is 12 cm (4.7 inches) long from the top of the hinge to the point of the pin. It is engraved with repeated interlace patterns along the sides of the hoop and zoomorphic creatures on the broad base. The hoop is adorned with two blue glass studs on opposite sides of the broadened base, and the remains of two red glass studs survive on either side of the hinge.

Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD visited the National Museum of Ireland this Thursday to view a number of treasures discovered in Co Limerick.

Speaking of the most recent discovery of the brooch-pin while on his visit to the museum on Kildare St in Dublin, Minister O’Donovan said: “This brooch really is a remarkable find, beautifully detailed and dating from well over 1,000 years ago.

“It shows what significant skill, talent and wealth there was even in the early medieval period in and around county Limerick. The National Museum is such an important institution for Ireland, housing artefacts of this nature and providing invaluable insights into early Irish culture.”

The newly-discovered brooch will go on display at the National Museum of Ireland in an exhibition centered around the manuscripts on loan from the Abbey of St. Gall in Switzerland which are returning to Ireland after 1,000 years of absence. More than 100 objects will celebrate the manuscripts’ homecoming, linking their visual language to the literary and artistic styles penned by the Early Medieval Irish scribes on the manuscripts. Words on the Wave: Ireland and St Gallen in Early Medieval Europe opens on May 30th and runs through October 24th.

* This article was originally published here