780 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Spain ; but enougli for my purpose if I indicate other sources of gold 

 besides tbe Co. Wicklow, whence it may have reached us. In later 

 times, no doubt, much came fi'om Britain, when Irish warriors, on the 

 decline of the Roman Empire, attacked the west of England and 

 Wales, bringing baCk on one occasion that great Apostle St. Patrick, 

 of greater value to us than much barbaric gold. 



We are indebted to W. G. D. Go£f, Esq., of Glen^dlle, Co. Water- 

 ford, for the opportunity of seeing these very interesting gold fibulse, 

 weighing in all 28|- ounces. They were purchased by him from a 

 jeweller in Waterford ; and there is reason to believe they were dis- 

 covered early this summer in the bed of a small river near l^ew Ross. 

 When found they were covered with portions of the soil in which they 

 had long been concealed. 



Mr. Goff has since deposited the Five Gold Fibulse in the Museum 

 of the Academy, and it is hoped he may be induced to cede them to 

 us permanently. 



As the mode of manufacture of these and other gold ornaments, 

 whether made in Ireland or elsewhere, has never been explained by 

 an expert, Mr. Edmond Johnson has supplied me with the following^ 

 valuable information : — 



Mk. Johnson's Desckiption of the Making of Ancient Gold Woek. 



I have been asked by Dr. Frazer to try and give a peep into a 

 jeweller's workshop some two or three thousand years ago, more 

 especially as to the production of the five fibulae now under considera- 

 tion. Granted, that the jeweller is supplied with a certain quantity 

 of gold, either in nuggets, or possibly in some money form, the next 

 operation is to melt it ; and this is by no means an easy matter when 

 it is in its natural state and almost pure. The melting-pot, or cruci- 

 ble, must have been formed of blue clay, as that stands the highest 

 heat, and would be the same as we use at the present day, and easily 

 procured The next point would be the fire. I don't think that 

 with the poor appliances they must have had at that period, sufficient 

 heat could be obtained from coal, or even anthracite, without a tall 

 stock chimney, of at least fifty feet high, to produce the required 

 draught. Charcoal generates a greater heat than either of these, 

 especially if made from bii'chwood ; and it is within my own memory 

 when birch charcoal was used for melting in my father's workshop. 

 Therefore I think charcoal was the fuel used in ancient times, and a 

 furnace of about one foot cube internal measurement would answer for 



