Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
A hoard of five silver arm-rings, probably from Scotland, is reconstructed on the basis of three ... more A hoard of five silver arm-rings, probably from Scotland, is reconstructed on the basis of three extant rings in the British Museum and five base-metal copies in the National Museum of Ireland.
This chapter considers the wealth of some of Ireland’s kings, as represented by Viking Age silver... more This chapter considers the wealth of some of Ireland’s kings, as represented by Viking Age silver hoards, and relates it to investment in the ecclesiastical sphere. While the rich Irish annals do not contain references to hoards or hoarding, there are some mentions of the phenomenon in early literary sources, and these relate to the church. Considering the occurrence of hoards and silver-working on ecclesiastical estates, as well as the status of the cross-marked ingot, it is argued that Viking Age silver hoards were deposited on church land with higher frequency than has hitherto been appreciated. This finding, in turn, suggests Irish secular elites obtained considerable quantities of silver wealth from the Scandinavians and gifted it to the church, with whom they often had close dynastic connections.
This paper examines a simple type of silver ring, here termed the ‘bullion-ring’, that occurs in ... more This paper examines a simple type of silver ring, here termed the ‘bullion-ring’, that occurs in several Viking Age contexts in Britain and Ireland. It is proposed that the type may be dated to the later ninth and early to mid-tenth century, and that it developed in Ireland as a convenient way of storing silver as a result of inspiration from southern Scandinavia. Its distribution patterns suggest that it may have developed in one of Munster’s Scandinavian settlements rather than in Dublin, the core of the Hiberno-Scandinavian silver-working tradition.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
A hoard of five silver arm-rings, probably from Scotland, is reconstructed on the basis of three ... more A hoard of five silver arm-rings, probably from Scotland, is reconstructed on the basis of three extant rings in the British Museum and five base-metal copies in the National Museum of Ireland.
This chapter considers the wealth of some of Ireland’s kings, as represented by Viking Age silver... more This chapter considers the wealth of some of Ireland’s kings, as represented by Viking Age silver hoards, and relates it to investment in the ecclesiastical sphere. While the rich Irish annals do not contain references to hoards or hoarding, there are some mentions of the phenomenon in early literary sources, and these relate to the church. Considering the occurrence of hoards and silver-working on ecclesiastical estates, as well as the status of the cross-marked ingot, it is argued that Viking Age silver hoards were deposited on church land with higher frequency than has hitherto been appreciated. This finding, in turn, suggests Irish secular elites obtained considerable quantities of silver wealth from the Scandinavians and gifted it to the church, with whom they often had close dynastic connections.
This paper examines a simple type of silver ring, here termed the ‘bullion-ring’, that occurs in ... more This paper examines a simple type of silver ring, here termed the ‘bullion-ring’, that occurs in several Viking Age contexts in Britain and Ireland. It is proposed that the type may be dated to the later ninth and early to mid-tenth century, and that it developed in Ireland as a convenient way of storing silver as a result of inspiration from southern Scandinavia. Its distribution patterns suggest that it may have developed in one of Munster’s Scandinavian settlements rather than in Dublin, the core of the Hiberno-Scandinavian silver-working tradition.
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Papers by John Sheehan