Burial

The National Monuments Service's description

In the 19th century a grave which contained the burial of a woman accompanied by grave goods was discovered in the Phoenix Park. The finds included a pair of bronze oval brooches of Scandinavian origin which have been dated to the 9th or 10th centuries (Hall 1974, 39-43). The brooches (National Museum Copenhagen 10515 and British Museum 54.3-7.1) are oval brooches of type R.647, variety D (Petersen 1928, 6). The Copenhagen brooch was donated to the National Museum by the Irish antiquary, J. Huband Smith, in 1848. The date of discovery is not known. The Museum's register states that it came from a grave in The Phoenix Park, Dublin: this is the only record that any of the objects under discussion was found in a grave, but there is little reason to question its veracity especially if the suggestion made here that the brooches formed a pair is accepted, since neither hoarding nor casual loss is likely. In 1854 the British Museum purchased from Smith the twin of the Copenhagen brooch. In this case, the Museum's register gives the provenance of the object as The Phoenix Park, Dublin, but makes no mention of a grave. How ever, the register shows that the brooch was only one object in a group of four bought from Smith at this time. These include an earlier Iron Age brooch from Clogher, Co. Tyrone, and an unprovenanced knop from a crozier, but 1854.3-7.3, a gilt bronze mounting, is also registered as coming from The Phoenix Park, Dublin. This coincidence of provenance and vendor prompts speculation as to whether two separate finds were made, both of which passed to Smith, or whether only one deposit is involved. The exact location of this monument within the Phoenix Park is unknown.

Hall, R. A. 1974, A Viking Grave in the Phoenix Park, Co. Dublin. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 104, 39-43.

Compiled by: Geraldine Stout

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload date: 26 January 2023