The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1871-01-29

- - - 49, 80.
1hs0set tsu9 - y 49, u,A,.. - !.
sJnhrase sdiseetaxE Tat hAsl takAn pisee n
tcurfed on Lord RstSdSnneii,s sst ass o q
uSrnonssown, county Louth At q place
Jo,' SaHed 0reca Haouht, and in former
IyS known as Drumrath,. or the Bat.
cle Ridge, there exists an ancient tnmnIns
S;. Dsnish mound; it is In itself an extraor.
unsTy geological curiosity, for the pebhles.
csn rI h aru gravel OF An ancient sea- beach
iinch.m s'I Dec, rom It up to the Castlebel-
matter of surprise to MANY in the neigh.
oornooa that NO attempt had been made to
ascertain whether the tumulus Contained
auy memorials of the days when the Danes
%ole indeed .'proud invaders" But, per
fnr =. mnaI Ied 70 its remaining undisturbsd
t ~, eenIuFes was owing to the singular fact
qua. altnough Danish forts and raths are
SSea.tered throughout Ireland, not a single
ccan9inavian relic or inscription hns been
tniouno IN this country, though many have
f IJem iounq lin IN Scotland and the Orkney
1"uus: however, some few weeks aoO
LORD Rathdonnell and his brother jim law
s Iec.1ed that an exploration of the tumulus |
euouio take place, and their decision has
.t .he' VIII ample reward in discovery of |
s sn0 noss interesting character. The &en |
employed hrst made an excavation MT the
southern side of tho mound. and in n sh"r.
III came upon broad passage tagged on
the top, and running horizontally into tho
mound, and ending about fifteen feet from
Ine place where it was first entered. A
large PIT was sunk down into it until the
The mound was found to consist of thc ma.
.eriais VI the ancient sea beach, gravel,
same, ana water worn OF rounded stones:
ouC through these was mingled some char
eoal and many broken and half-burEed
o9nes, human teeth, portions of skulls, and
u nf
human body. About eleven feet from the
surlace>Or top OF the mound the excayators
came upon small bronze plate lying upon
what the finder likened to an edrinp Of
81 colored dust or burned paper. This
fnu On eeing carefully cleaned, was
IN SILVER tracing, with the involuted twist t
lngs and "whorls" so common on the very 4
!. Irish monuments, and particularly t.
~ Monasterboice, formed by the inter. o
' TiGGai &. OF triple cord, On the other E
an inscription which has been =,
y as follows; Toni Tor Tomri of "
'oishof owns this sword.n The snuff
'oiored powder lying about the plate was
n,tlreiy the remains of the sword belt. The IS
'sa1e mas been transmitted to the Society -
+ Antiquities in Copenhagen, and the n
plnion of the best Runic scholars is to the 1
meet that this plate, o. portion of a sword,
eionged to "Tomar of tie Torque," of
'ublin, Earl Tannist to the King of Lach- ST
luD, in the ninth century of the Christian
ira, and the Danish chieftain alluded to bv
ne poet Moore as having the collar of gold
'rn from his neck by King Malachy. The
rlnce Tomar is frequently alluded to in
le ANNALS of the Four Masters and also
the Book of Rights" where he is men
oned as receiving tribute, and it also con-
nns quotation from the " Annals of VI
er, which states that A. d. s47, Malachv
'ueht battle with the pagan Danes at !
ore, and Earl Tomar, the next in power to
10 Kisg of Lochlaun, was slain, and with
i'm also 1900 men fell. DR.. O'Douoyan
ates that Moore's version is incorrect. for
omar's tore, or ring, which was preserved =
the Danes of Dublin as an heirloom.
as carried off from that city by Malachy
: fnsS94, long after the death of Prince
omar, and Maiachy, therefore, could not
IN the collar from chieftain long dead. lor
he question still remains, why was Tomar
TERED at Drumcath, or how came nor
IN of his sword to be fonud there The IT
after will come before the Archaeological ran
'ciety of Kilkenny at themnsxt meeting. s.w
d no doubt a satisfactory answer will he
rnished to all who take an interest in the IA
cient history of Ireland.-Irish Times. = -