AiiMS'i'KONG — Associated Finds of Bronze Celts. 515 



Two bronze socketed celLs a good deal broken, a portion of a bronze 

 gouge, three broken bronze rings, three bronze fragments, and a qnantity of 

 dry sand, all contained in an earthen vessel, were fonnd three feet below the 

 surface, covered by a flag, at Bally vadden, parish of Kilmuckridge, Co. 

 Wexford.' This find is not illustrated in the present paper, owing to the 

 broken condition of the objects comprising it. The celts are both socketed ; 

 one is looped ; its cutting edge has been completely broken away ; it measures 

 externally at the mouth of the socket 1|| inches, its present length is 2| 

 inches. The other celt is broken at the mouth, and also on one side of the 

 edge ; it measures 2| inches in length. The gouge is socketed ; its upper 

 portion has been broken away ; it measures 1-| inches in length. Tlie largest 

 bronze ring is much broken ; it is hollow and pierced transversely ; its external 

 diameter is 1^ inches; the other two portions of rings are smaller and 

 solid ; one of the bronze fragments, which is very white in colour, was 

 analysed and shown to consist of 66'12 per cent, of copper, 30'62 per cent, of 

 tin, l'9i per cent, of antimony, with small amounts of silver and sulphur.^ 

 Only the lower portion of the earthen vessel has been preserved. It is much 

 broken, but it is possible to see that it resembles the lower portion of a 

 cinerary urn ; its base measures 5| inches in diameter, and its sides are 

 about -f-g of an inch thick. The find appears to be a founder's hoard ready 

 for melting down : .such hoards are rare in Ireland. The discovery was 

 reported on June 11th, 1849, by the Eev. T. B. Armstrong, who presented 

 the objects to the Academy. 



Though the Dowris hoard is the only find in Ireland so far recorded con- 

 taining a large number of associated socketed celts, such fiuds are common 

 in England and the north-east of France. In some cases so many celts have 

 been found together (4,000 celts connected by metal threads were found at 

 Kergrist-Moelou, C6tes-du-Nord) that it is considered they may have been 

 used as a form of money. Some examples found are very thin and small ; 

 they can hardly have been used as implements or weapons, but it is possible 

 that such finds may be explained as votive offerings.^ 



It will be observed that, in the associated finds of Irish celts described 

 above, only celts of the same type have occurred together, with the exception 

 of those found at Derrygonnelly, Co. Fermanagh. In this case a celt with 

 flanges, but without a stop-ridge, was found associated with a flanged 

 celt having a slight stop-ridge. The flanged celt in question belongs 



1 Proc. Royal Irish Academy, iv, pp. 369, 370 ; Wilde, op. cit. , p. 158. 



^ Transactions Royal Irish Academy, xxii, p. 333. 



5 Dechelette, Manuel d'archiologie prt'historirjite, ii, p. 254, 



