, 18, 9, and 7 oz. being
recorded. One exceptionally large nugget weighing 22 oz., found in
1795 at Croghan Kinshela, Co. Wicklow, was presented to King George
III; and its discovery caused a rush to the workings. As well as
Wicklow there are six other counties where gold has been found. The
very large number of gold ornaments that have been found in Ireland is
therefore not surprising. The ancient literature of Ireland contains
many references to gold ornaments and payments of gold by weight. It
is interesting to note that the tradition preserved in the Book of
Leinster, a MS. of the twelfth century, refers the first smelting
of gold in Ireland to a district in which gold has been found in
considerable quantities in modern times. The Leinstermen, it is
stated, were called "Lagenians of the gold," because it was in their
country that gold was first discovered in Erin. It is further stated
that gold was first smelted for Tighearnmas, one of the earliest of
the Milesian kings, in the forests standing on the east side of the
River Liffey, by Iuchadan, a native of that district.

After the discovery of native gold in Ballinvally stream at Croghan in
1796, the Government undertook mining operations; and in three years
collected 944 ounces worth, at the price of the day, L3,675. Since
the workings were abandoned by the Government, the district has been
worked at intervals by companies, and at other times by the peasants;
the total output since 1795 is estimated at a value of L30,000. The
knowledge of the Irish gold deposits must have been a very
considerable factor in the foreign relations of the island in the
Bronze Age.

LUNULAE

The earliest of the Irish gold ornaments are the flat gold collars
known as lunulae. These have been found fairly evenly distributed over
the country, and in astonishing numbers.

[Illustration: Fig. 46.--Gold Lunula found at Trenta, Carrigans,
Co. Donegal.]

The circumstances under which the lunulae have been found have not
often been recorded. The collection of the Royal Irish Academy in the
National Museum, Dublin, contains no less than thirty-seven examples.
Several of these have been found and recorded during the past three or
four years. As a rule the lunulae are engraved on one face only with
finely cut or scored well-recognized Bronze Age ornament, consisting
of bands of lines, cross-hatchings, chevrons, triangles, and
lozenges.

The centres of the lunulae are pl