84 



humble opinion is that this plate was part of a crown of some of the 

 Irish kings, and that two such plates twined together, the one before, 

 the other behind, made the whole crown. These plates, I apprehend, 

 were folded or plated as women's head-clothes now are, and formed those 

 kind of rays seen on the heads of Irish coins, as you may observe on 

 those of Sithricus and Ethelred ; and that they were so plated appears 

 from the creases of the folds still to be seen, where marked by outward 

 strokes i i i on the draft. This plate is broke at the places marked 

 h, c, which I have supplied to represent it as I suppose it was when 

 intire. It might perhaps have been the ornament worn by Irish queens 

 on their head instead of a diadem, and called Asion or Asn, from the 

 Irish ass'ain (plates). See ' "Ware's Antiqu. per Harris,' plate 65. This 

 plate weighs one ounce four pennyweight, and was found in the county 

 of Clare." 



[This lunula was creased or plaited when it came under the notice of 

 Mr. Simon ; but, as subsequent experience has shown, such plaitings did 

 not form part of the original design. Had it been plaited, as Mr, Simon 

 imagined, it could not have fitted either on the neck or head, and the 

 ornamentation would have been useless. This article is not now in the 

 possession of the Jocelyn famil}^, the descendants of Lord Chancellor 

 I^^ewport. It is no longer known to exist.] 



Fig. 4. 



'JSTos. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 10, are instruments of gold of different 

 shapes, though probably for the same use, and the more curious as it 



Fig. 6. 



doth not appear that the cups at each end were soldered, but rather that 

 the whole was made of a solid piece of gold, and very neatly done for 

 such a barbarous age." 



