National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland is the national museum in Ireland. It has three branches in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.ArchaeologySee also :Category:Collection of the National Museum of IrelandThe Archaeology section on Kildare Street has displays on prehistoric Ireland, including early work in gold, church treasures and the Viking and medieval periods. There are special displays of items from Egypt, Cyprus and the Roman world, and special exhibitions are regularly mounted.This section includes famous examples of early medieval Celtic metalwork in Ireland such as the Ardagh Chalice, Tara Brooch, and the Derrynaflan Hoard. Prehistoric pieces include the Iron Age Broighter Gold and over 50 gold lunulas (not all on display), and other Bronze Age jewellery. Many of these pieces were found in the 19th century by peasants or agricultural labourers, when population expansion led to cultivation of land which had not been touched since the Middle Ages. Indeed, only for the intervention of George Petrie of the Royal Irish Academy, and like-minded individuals from the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, most of the metalwork would have been melted down for the intrinsic value of its materials, as did frequently happen despite their efforts. Contemporary Irish are more tuned to their heritage, as can be seen in the example of the Irish Bog Psalter, which was discovered and reported by an alert machine operator in July 2006.
