510 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



found in Great Britain and Ireland the larger number and most 

 •cliaracteristic examples belong to Ireland. 



It would be of interest to compare the figures for England and 

 Scotland with those for Ireland, and if possible trace the distribution 

 of types in reference to, say, the south and east coasts of England, and 

 the north of England and Scotland. This would entail the examina- 

 tion of a large number of provincial museums and private collections 

 in England and Scotland. 



In concluding this Paper I am tempted to quote the following 

 passage from Sir "William Wilde's Catalogue of the Museum of the 

 Eoyal Irish Academy (p. 348) : — 



" In a great national Collection like this, derived from all parts of 

 the country, and intended to aid history and ethnology, it is important 

 to bring together, and, when possible, to increase antique articles in 

 proportion to the numbers in which they have been discovered. By 

 doing so we learn what things were in common use, and what were 

 scarce. It is only after collecting for many years that anything 

 like a complete topographical arrangement by counties or provinces, 

 even of typical articles, can be attempted." 



No one regretted more than Wilde the deficiency of information 

 as to localities in the Catalogue. Opportunities such as the Shannon 

 Drainage Works may occur again, and it is perhaps not too late to 

 direct attention to the subject. We must not assume that it is 

 sufficient to distinguish antiquities as found in Ireland. With fuller 

 knowledge of the localities and circumstances of the finds, we might 

 possibly distinguish lines of culture reaching Ireland from the north 

 and from the south, as well as local types. It would be desirable 

 that a memorandum should be prepared, setting forth in form the 

 information required, in order that when public works are under- 

 taken, such as light railways, drainage, «&c., the attention of the 

 engineers in charge might be directed to the importance of obtaining 

 full particulars of finds, and of attaching distinguishing labels to the 

 objects found. 



Figures 1, 5, 15, and 16 are reproduced by permission from Sir John 

 Evans's "Ancient Bronze Implements of Great Britain and Ireland." 

 The rest of the figures are from examples in the Museum of the Royal 

 Irish Academy. Localities are given when known, and references to 

 Sir W. Wilde's Catalogue are indicated by the letter W. and the num- 

 ber. Figures marked W. F. W. are from drawings by Mr. W. F. 

 Wakeman. The figures not so marked, with the exception of figures 

 from Wilde's Catalogue, are from my own drawings. 



