Iron Age

500 BC - 500 AD
Dun Aengus is an enormous
promontory fort that backs onto
100m cliffs on Inis Mór in the Aran
Islands.

Form; It has three walls of various

heights surrounding it and encloses
an area of 130m x 100m
Function; There are some clear
defensive features but archeological
work has shown evidence of domestic
buildings and areas where
metalworking was carried out.
Technique; the whole structure is
built in uncut dry stone. No mortar
was used to join the stones together.
Turoe Stone, Co. Galway, 50 BC

Form; This 4 tone boulder, which in roughly

1.7m tall, is pink feldspar Galway granite.
Function; The function or purpose is not
known, they may have been boundary
markers or had ceremonial significance.
Technique; The stone was carved with iron
chisels. The background was cut away to a
depth of about 3mm, leaving a pattern
standing out in low relief.
Decoration; Semi abstract leaf and vine
shapes, trumpet ends and spirals all flowing
in casual symmetry.
The Broighter Hoard, turned up by a ploughman in Co.Derry.
The Broighter Collar Form; two tubes with buffer terminals and a
t-shaped bar to lock them in place. Another terminal
now missing would have joined the other ends.
Function; Status symbol worn on important occasions
Technique; Of Irish manufacture in the Insular La
Téne style. The design would have been applied while
the gold was still a flat sheet, into which the foliage
pattern was chased. The patterned gold sheets were
then rolled into tubes, soldered shut, the buffer
terminals were then riveted onto the ends of the
tubes and a row of beading raised along the edge to
disguise the rivet heads. A T-shaped bar is used as
the lock, which holds the two terminals together, and
another terminal which is now missing, would have
joined the other ends of the tubes together.
Decoration; symmetrical pattern of interconnecting
S scrolls, it combines a variety of plant based forms Schematic drawing of
ending in spiral bosses. broighter collar design
 METALWORK TECHNIQUES
Repoussé

Hammering out a design on Incision

the reverse side of thin gold
objects Cutting a design into
the front. Chasing

The reverse of the repoussé

technique. A design which is
brought into relief by
pressing back the
surrounding area by
hammering.
 The Loughnashade Trumpet

The Loughnashade Trumpet, found in county Antrim and

dating from the 1st century AD

Form: made of two tubes joined in the middle and having

a decorative plate on the open end.
Function: Ceremonial musical instrument.
Decoration: This plate at the open end has a four part
pattern of spirals and plant forms which is almost
perfectly symmetrical
Technique: Two bronze tubes riveted onto an internal
strip of bronze and an open plate at one end, it is created
by the metal being raised by the repoussé technique.
The Petrie Crown

An object of unknown origin from the

collection of the 19th century
antiquarian George Petrie.

Form; it consists of an open-work band

with a cone and two discs fixed to it. The
top and bottom edges of the band are
perforated , which would have allowed it
to be sewn to fabric or leather or fixed
to wood or metal.
Function; It was not known how long the
band was intended to be or how many
horns or discs were originally fixed to it,
so it is difficult to imagine its original
function.
Technique; The raised outlines of
the design were created by
hammering back the surrounding
metal. The openings in the band
create the impression of a series
of connected semi circles
Decoration; the discs are
decorated with the spirals ending
in the crested bird heads.
Enamelled beads were probably
fixed in the eye sockets of some
of the birds heads.
La Tene
Influence of Celtic Art:

○ Lasted longer in Ireland than rest of Europe.

○ Spirals, curvilinear motifs and other Celtic decorations were
continued on by artists and craftsmen during the Christian era.
○ There is very little archaeological evidence of how the people lived.
○ La Tene style is the most prominent, from a site near Lake Neuchatel,
Switzerland.
○ Celts brought skills such as enamelling and soldering with them.
○ Designs in their Art: Zoomorphic - animal forms, Vegetal - plant
forms.