ABSTRACT

In 1896 a hoard of remarkable gold objects was discovered some inches below the surface of the ground, in a space nine inches in diameter, while ploughing at Broighter near Limavady, Co. Londonderry. The subject of treasure trove formed part of the Presidential Address of E. Perceval Wright to the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland in 1900, but in February 1897 he had mentioned it in respect of the Broighter Hoard—the first to do so. Robert Cochrane recorded the history of the place-names in the area and considered that although 'Broighter' was a pre-Christian place-name there was later an early Christian settlement there. However, he had to admit that there was no documentary, or physical, evidence for this religious establishment. The collar Cochrane believed to be Christian in date although he found the ornament on it to be unrelated to an ecclesiastical establishment and could find no liturgical use for it.