Smith — Ancient Irish Gold and Silver Ornaments. 745 



Considering the quantity of copper present in the silver articles, 

 Mr. Mallet concluded that this metal was, in all probability, inten- 

 tionally alloyed with the silver. The analyses of the two silver 

 ornaments, from the Eoyal College of Science Museum, help to 

 support that conclusion. As in the case with the gold ornaments, it 

 is impossible to derive, from these analyses, any information with 

 regard to the source from which the metal was obtained for the 

 manufacture of the silver articles. 



Although native silver may have been used for the preparation of 

 the alloys, it cannot be suggested that the metal was derived from 

 Ireland, as only extremely small quantities of native silver have been 

 found in the British Isles. The small number of silver ornaments 

 found in Ireland, and the fact that a much larger number of similar 

 silver articles have been found in Norway has led to the conclusion 

 that these ornaments were very probably derived from that country. 



Under these circumstances it is conceivable that native silver was 

 the source of the metal from which the articles were manufactured, as 

 silver occurs frequently in the native state in Norway, and is some- 

 times found in considerable quantities, as is shown by the fact that 

 the Museum at Copenhagen contains a mass of native silver, found at 

 Kongsberg, in Norway, which weighs a quarter of a ton.^ 



Native silver is rarely found perfectly pure, but usually contains 

 also gold, copper, platinum, and other metals, in larger or smaller 

 proportions. The small quantities of lead found in the ornaments 

 might, however, lead to the suggestion that the silver was extracted 

 from argentiferous galena, as it is well known that, owing to the 

 facility with which silver may be concentrated in the lead, and 

 subsequently separated by the process of cupellation, this mineral has 

 been the subject of general treatment for silver from very early 

 times.^ If the silver were derived from galena, as suggested, we must 

 conclude that the copper was intentionally alloyed with the silver, as 

 the process of cupellation would remove the copper. 



In order to draw more definite conclusions with regard to the 

 manufacture of the ancient Irish gold and silver ornaments, a much 

 more extensive examination must be undertaken, yet the analyses 



1 "Treatise on Chemistry." — Roscoe and Schorlemmer, vol. ii., part i., under 

 "Silver." 



2 Excoqui non potest nisi-cum plumbo nigro, aut cum vena plumbi. Galaenam 

 vocant, quae juxta argenti venas plerumque reperitur." — Plinii. Hist. Nat. 

 lib. xxxiii., c. 6. 



3 D2 



