Provenance
Discovery: The inscribed bead was first mentioned and illustrated in a publication in 1856 by Rev. James Gtaves (as informed by Windele), although no interpretation was attempted. It was noted that the bead had been for many generations in the possession of a family of the O’Connors of Co. Clare (Macalister and Westropp both specifically mention the town of Ennis) and that it was used as an amulet for the cure of sore eyes, and also believed to ‘ensure safety to pregnant women in their hour of trial’ (Graves 1856, 149-150). The last hereditary owner of the bead presented it to his superior (named Finerty) in the employment of the Board of Public Works. It was purchased from him by a jeweller, Mr. James H. Greaves of Cork and then passed ultimately to the British Museum by way of the Londesborough Collection in 1888 (Graves 1856, 149–150).
Findspot: Ennis (Inis), Co. Clare, Ireland (approximate location only)
Current repository: England British Museum (inv. no. 18880719.119)
Last recorded location(s): Now in the British Museum where it was examined and recorded by the OG(H)AM team in December 2023.
Support
Object type: Bead
Material: Amber
Dimensions: × diam. 21 mm
Condition: The bead is oval-shaped with a perforation, suggesting that it was hung on a string and perhaps worn around the neck.
Inscription
Text field: It is unclear where to start reading the inscription. Setting the bead on its flat side, the inscription may be read upwards on the cut stem-line with the perforation to the right.
Letters: The inscription has some clear ogham characters along with some unusual features, including a split stem-line. Ogham strokes from the B- and H- aicmi sometimes stop at the stem-line but other times cross it slightly.
Edition
Ogham text: ?ᚇᚋᚃᚐ?ᚃᚐ
Transcription: ?DMVA?VA
Critical apparatus:
- Just before and as the stemline commences, there is an unidentifed symbol to the left, not meeting the stemline and which doesn’t match any known ogham character. Macalister (1945, 57) assumed that this was intended to be the U- forfid (uilleann [UI], unicode ᚗ) although he did admit that there was ‘little justification’ for this. Following this are some relatively clear ogham characters: DMVA (or perhaps DMLO). At this point things become a little strange as we have what appears to be a split in the stemline (possibly to avoid running into the perforation), one branch goes to the right at an angle (roughly 45º) and appears to have the ogham letters VA repeated, although the final A is quite short and looks like an X at the end of the stemline. The other branch, if that’s what this is, goes to the left at a similar angle and length with just an oblique stroke to the right at the end. Macalister (1945, 57) also took this to be the U- forfid and, reading in the opposite direction, read the inscription as: ATUCMLU
References
- Graves and Graves 18561856, 149-150
- Macalister 1945, 57-58