Abstract
Wooden Cauldron from Co, Monaghan, Ireland. A remarkable cauldron of wood has recently been acquired by the National Museum of Ireland. It was found at Altartate, near Clones, Co. Monaghan, in 1933 at a depth of 160 cm. in a peat bog, 356 cm. above the clay at the foot of the deposit. The cauldron was undoubtedly complete when it was found, but was broken by the finder and onlookers. The remains have been restored by Prof. J. Bayley Butler and has been described by Dr. A. Mahr (Proc.. Roy. Irish Acad., 42, Sec. C., No. 3). The dimensions are: opening 34 cm. X 35 cm.; external measurement, 45 em. × 49 cm.; height, 28–5 cm,; thickness, 0–9 cm. near rim to 2 cm. The vessel is now slightly elliptical, doubtless owing to warping. The wood is poplar; the handle, only one remaining, of yew. The cauldron is unique, owing to the handles and the ornamentation on the upper portion. The handle, something between a triangle and a semi-circle, is a translation into wood of the ring-handles of the well-known riveted cauldrons of the late bronze age of Britain, the ribbed lugs carved out of the solid wood also being reminiscent of the metal staples found in these cauldrons; but the lugs of the Altartato vessel are on the shoulder, the difference being due to the material. The ornamentation consists of six concentric patterns with central dots, encircling the upper portion. The circles, which are not closed, arc connected with each other by tangential bands, these being a continuation of the bands forming the incomplete circles. The concentric pattern is a faint reminiscence of the old metal rivets, but has become purely ornamental. Looked at as a whole, the pattern has a ‘step’ character, like a debased spiral ornament. No similar pattern is found in the Irish bronze age, and it seems to be nothing but a clumsy expression of a provincial La Tenc art. The vessel may, therefore, be a belated descendant of metal cauldrons which had gone out among the well-to-do, but lingered among the poorer classes. The suggested date of early iron age is confirmed by a pollen analysis by Prof. Knud Jessen.
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Research Items. Nature 133, 952–953 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/133952a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/133952a0