Robert M Chapple, Archaeologist

In a previous post , I spoke about the rather wonderful silver replica of the Ark of the Covenant housed in the museum at the Grand lodge of Ireland, Molesworth Street, Dublin. In between engagements gracing the altar at meetings of Grand Lodge, the model is on display on the bottom shelf of the cabinet in the far wall of the museum. I mention this because I have frequently visited the museum and gazed upon the beauty of this piece, but have failed to notice some of the other pieces in the same cabinet. In particular, on the topmost shelf there is a delightful collection of silver gilt pieces that should be of interest to both archaeologists and Freemasons. The three pieces – two chalices and a drinking horn – were made by William Stokes in Dublin in 1909. They were intended to be used in the consecration of new Lodges. The museum’s information card indicates that the chalices were influenced by the Ardagh Chalice (now housed just around the corner in the National Museum of Irela...

Of all of the wonderful treasures held in the museum at the Grand lodge of Ireland, Molesworth Street, Dublin, the Ark of the Covenant is my absolute favourite. It’s fabricated in solid silver and silver gilt by Henry Flavelle. His silversmiths workshop was located on Grafton St., Dublin and he also served as Worshipful Master of Lodge 93 in Dublin. The model was first exhibited in December 1877 at the dedication ceremony for Freemasons’ Hall. It was eventually gifted to Grand Lodge by Henry E Flavelle the silversmith’s son, who served as Deputy Grand Secretary from 1898 to 1920. The Ark is now placed on the altar at every meeting of the Grand Lodge in Dublin. It’s a fantastic piece of sculpture and artistry, and I urge you to go see it yourself if you get the chance!   The title of this post is, of course, from 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark and the words are spoken by Belloq. Did you really think I was going to write about the Ark of the Covenant and not reference thi...

Every Masonic Lodge has a collection of what are termed ‘Working Tools’. They are copies of the types of tools used by stonemasons (or ‘operative masons’) and are used in Masonic rituals to teach moral lessons to the candidate undergoing a particular ‘degree’. In most Lodges, these are relatively plain and simple. However, once in a while you see examples like this – in silver, with engraved decoration, and testament to high-quality workmanship. This set of Working Tools in its carrying case, with recessed spaces for each item, originally belonged to Lodge 570. This was a Lodge associated with the 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards , constituted under a ‘Travelling Warrant’ in 1863. This set of Working Tools is dated 8th October 1866 and is decorated with the Regimental badge of a trotting horse over the letters DVG. The set is today on display in the museum at that Grand lodge of Ireland, Molesworth Street, Dublin . Entry to the museum is free and is open t...

The last time I was in Dublin I had the good fortune and a little spare time to visit the lovely museum at the Grand lodge of Ireland , on Molesworth Street. The museum aims to give a broad outline of the history of Freemasonry in Ireland, display some of the best regalia, jewels, and artefacts, along with telling the stories of some of the people associated with the Fraternity over the years. The museum is open to the public Monday to Friday throughout the year and (best of all) it’s free! On my last visit, I only had my camera phone available to me, so the quality of the shots is less than astounding. However, I’d like to use this short series of posts to present some of the wonderful items on display there and, maybe, convince you to go take a look for yourself the next time you’re in Dublin!

[** If you like this post, please make a donation to the IR&DD project using the secure button at the right. If you think it is interesting or useful, please re-share via Facebook, Google+, Twitter etc. To help keep the site in operation, please use the amazon search portal at the right - each purchase earns a small amount of advertising revenue **] Just as the wave of 2014 St Patrick-related posts and tweets was coming to an end there was a slight spike in social network posts of another kind – Jacques deMolay . March 18th 2014 marked the 700th anniversary since deMolay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar was burnt to death on the orders of King Philip IV of France. Admittedly, it’s only exactly 700 years if you ignore the changes from the Julian to Gregorian calendars etc . … but what’s a few days between friends ? In reviewing the several comments posted on my Facebook page afterwards, I was reminded that – in some circles at least – deMolay is a character who ...

[** If you think the review is useful, please re-share via Facebook, Google+, Twitter etc. **] Spring i s here and so too is the new edition of Archaeology Ireland magazine! As I have recently taken to providing a slightly annotated contents list of the magazine, I thought I’d put together a few notes on what’s inside. In the first major paper in the current edition, Liam Downey, Connie Murphy & Tadhg O'Keefe report on A possible 'Celtic' icon on the Beara Peninsula . This is recently rediscovered stone from the townland of Billeragh, Co. Cork. While it appears to have disappeared from view in recent years, it was known to a number of the older residents as 'Pete Micheál's god'. The writers describe it as an anthropomorphic figure sitting on folded legs and compare it to various examples of ‘Celtic’ stone idols from across the island, as well as phallus-like stones, such as the Lia Fáil at Tara, Co. Meath. While there is a local folkloric contex...

[** If you like this post, please make a donation to the IR&DD project using the button at the end.  If you think this post is useful, please re-share via Facebook, Google+, Twitter etc.**] The other day I was reading a blog post on the Historic Graves site by Shane Lehane about the mysterious and miraculous movement of the graveyard at Loughane, Co. Cork . The local legend holds that the resident corpses so objected to the body of a murderous priest-hunter being laid to rest among them that they uprooted themselves (and took their gravestones with them) to an adjacent location at Matehy (pronounced maw-te-ha , but that’s another story). While it is an interesting story, I remain to be convinced about all the facts of the case. Top: Interior of the west wall of Kildemock Church. Bottom: Exterior of  the west wall of Kildemock Church. Around the same time I restarted a personal project, in hibernation over the summer, to share selections of my sli...