Inspired by Bronze Age Irish Gold Lunulae
I once worked as a visitor guide in the Ulster Museum, set within the beautifully lush Botanic Gardens in Belfast. As someone who finds satisfaction in creating new things and working with my hands, I often found the quieter hours difficult. So, learning as much about the objects on display as I could became a necessity to at least keep my mind focused. I would while away my time studying the details of the most ancient examples of craft in the early history galleries. I tried to imagine the person that might have used their fingernail to create the designs imprinted into the clay pots over four thousand years ago, and wondered at the timelessness of geometric pattern.
Snapshot of a gold lunula on display at the National Museum of Ireland, dating from about 2000 BC & found at Trillick, Co. Tyrone.
Some of the most stunning items in this gallery are the finely beaten gold ‘lunulae’ - neck adornments from the early Bronze Age from sometime around 2500 BC. The word ‘lunula’ has been used to describe these objects since the 1800’s, and comes from the Latin for ‘little moon’. Although not always apparent at first glance, a closer inspection reveals the beautiful geometric etchings that adorn these pieces, comprised mainly of tiny triangles and diamonds and stripes bordering their delicate edges. You can see one of these pieces in the online collection of National Museums Northern Ireland here and you can read about another interesting hoard featured in the ‘History of Ireland in 100 Objects’ project here.
These geometric etchings were the starting point a few years later for the creation of my woven lunula design, that I drafted by hand for fine, wide wrap scarves. I liked the idea that my design could also be used to adorn the shoulders of people on this same land or further afield thousands of years later, albeit in the more practical material of wool.
Some of the gold lunulae in the collections of the Ulster Museum and the National Museum of Ireland were archaeological finds from my home County, Fermanagh and County Tyrone. The origin of the gold has not been proven, but it is likely that it came from grains found in the local rivers and streams. Decoration aside, the decorative appeal of gold endures, of course, but is of concern to many local people in this part of Ulster for a different reason today. In the1980’s, geological surveys confirmed the presence of substantial gold deposits in the hills of County Tyrone - the Sperrins - a designated ‘Area of Outstanding Beauty’ and somewhere I have happy memories of hiking in as a teenager with school & Girl Guide groups.
A Canadian company have been carrying out exploratory mining in recent years and currently have a planning application for full-scale commercial mining in consideration by the Department for Infrastructure. Like many mining projects around the world, the proposed development has already created divisions within the local community, with some people looking towards potential job creation and local investment, and others concerned about the environmental impacts of such a large-scale operation.
The controversy has recently been explored in an episode of BBC Spotlight. The planning application for gold mining in the Sperrins is now to be the subject of a public enquiry, which may ultimately decide the fate of the gold deposits of this land, for another few years at least.
