The National Museum of Ireland's archaeology facility holds the bulk of the Irish Antiquities collection. Mostly these are articles from Ireland's history and pre-history, but there are also displays of objects from other parts of the world (Egypt in particular). The building dates from 1890, and was originally built to house and display the collections of the Royal Dublin Society (absorbed when the National Museum of Ireland was established in 1877).

Getting to the facility took us through Dublin's Temple Bar district, an area set up as a cultural district in the 1980's and 90's. Prior to this time the area was at times a center of prostitution and urban decay, and in the 1980's Ireland's state-owned transport company planned to demolish some of the buildings and build a bus terminus. But while preparations were being made for this operation, some of the buildings were rented out cheaply to artists and small shops, and the area turned into something entirely different. In addition to its cultural attractions, Temple Bar is a popular nightlife area, featuring several well-visited pubs.

Ireland's historical record is considered to have started about when Christianity arrived on the island, around 400 A.D. Prior to this time, settlements on the island seem to go back to around 8000 B.C., after the glaciers of the Ice Age had receded. Stone tombs from the next few thousand years were sources of many artefacts. Artefacts became more sophisticated with the arrival of metallurgy during the Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages, from 2500 B.C. until the end of the prehistoric era in 400 A.D. And as it turned out, Ireland had an uncommonly abundant supply of naturally-occurring gold, which was manhandled into surprisingly elaborate and artistic personal ornamentations during this period. One such ornamentation, known as a torc, includes a thin gold ribbon, twisted into a spiral shape.


Artefacts produced after 400 A.D. generally had Christian themes. These included carved stone objects and objects made from precious metals. The latter were welcomed by the Vikings, who arrived in the 8th Century and gladly looted them from churches and monasteries. But the Vikings did bring a great deal of silver into Ireland, and much of it found its way into decorative objects (brooches were particularly popular), as did some Viking designs.




The late medieval period began in the 12th Century, at which time there were church reforms (initiated by Pope Gregory VII) and new invaders, this time Normans invading from Britain (including Strongbow, briefly discussed on the Christ Church page). During this time religious imagery in decorative objects continued, though methods and styles evolved. Many religious objects were created for the purpose of containing holy relics. Pottery manufacturing became more established during this period.





Upstairs in the museum is a collection of Egyptian antiquities, mostly excavated in Egypt in the late 19th and early 20th Century. There's nothing particularly Irish about them, but they definitely qualify as objects of archaeological interest, so this is where they're displayed.


By this point, Nella and I were ready to return to the hotel room and take a nap, while awaiting Philip's return from wherever he'd gone. This turned out to include a point of great interest to many Dublin visitors (but not really to Nella and me), the Guinness Storehouse.