Armstrong and Lawlor — The Domnach Airgid. lOo 



The added silver plate on the top was then lifted off; below it was one of 

 the original metal plates of the ease, ornamented with interlaced work. 

 Beneath the central boss of the added plate was a mixture of dust and small 

 fragments of wood ; there was nothing beneath the crystal. No remains 

 were found beneath the dexter and sinister bosses, and there was nothing 

 under the crystal remaining on the dexter side. 



Mr. J. N. Halbert, M.R.I.A., Assistant in the Natural History Section of 

 the National Museum, Dublin, kindly examined the material found beneath 

 the various settings, and has reported as follows : — 



" Most of the material handed to me for examination was obtained from 

 under the central boss on the top of the shrine; a much smaller quantity 

 was found under the square setting on the rim, and in the setting which 

 contained the part of the true cross. A minute examination of this material 

 shows that it is mainly composed of dust grains, numerous wool-fibres, fine 

 bristles, small pieces of a soft white wood, fragments of insects and spiders, 

 the whole mass being held loosely together by the fine strands of spider webs. 

 A few small fragments superficially resembling human hair are present, but 

 these proved to be nothing more than dyed sheep's wool similar to that used 

 in homespun cloths. At one time there may have been a layer of cloth 1 

 between the boss and the top of the shrine. If not too tightly fitted, this 

 layer would supply a suitable habitat for the caterpillars of small house 

 moths, and indeed the cocoons of such moths, as well as the remains of the 

 insects, are present in the debris. The material found under the other 

 ' settings ' resembles that of the central boss." 



The removal of the front disclosed the interior of the case : it was empty 

 (Plate V). The wooden box is hand-cut ; it has every indication of age. Its 

 dimensions are: — intei'ior length, 193 mm. ; breadth, 140 mm. ; depth, 74 mm. ; 

 the average thickness of the wood is about 11 mm. A piece measuring about 

 119 mm. by 25 mm. has been broken away from the upper portion of the 

 base ; it has been partially repaired by a thin slip of wood. The outside 

 measurements of the box are 218 mm. in length and 164 mm. in breadth. 



The lid, which is in a bad state of repair, and has been covered at the back 

 by a brass plate measuring 192 mm. by 143 mm., measures 218 mm. in length 

 and 143 mm. in breadth. 



Mr. A. C. Forbes, f.h.a.s., and Dr. G. H. Pethybridge, m.iu.a., kindly 

 examined small samples from the front and one side of the box, also a speci- 

 men of the thin piece let into the base, in order to determine the species of 



1 See on this point Appendix I of Dr. Lawlor's memoir on the Cathach (Proc. lioyal 

 Irish Academy, xxxiii, sec. C, p. 394), where instances are iven of pieces of cloth being 

 inserted as relics in Irish shrines . 



[17*] 



