 Aspirations
The Case of the
Mysterious Irish Bead
by Jeanette Shanigan
The Mound of the Hostages, as seen from NE, is a small passage grave. Just one of the many burial mounds found in Tara.
Sometimes in our fervor to collect beads and make things of them, we forget about their importance in world history. For example, take the case of the beaded necklace found in a Middle Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) burial mound in Tara, Ireland. Tara is considered by the Irish to be a burial site of ancient kings. In 1955 during an archeological dig, the skeleton of a teenage boy was uncovered; around the neck was a necklace of amber, jet, and faience beads. The amber and jet beads were not surprising, as both were available and traded widely in Northern Europe. But the faience beads were a wonder, as this type of bead is usually associated with Egypt. Upon further inspection, it was discovered that the Irish faience beads were identical in manufacture and design to the faience beads found in King Tut’s tomb (1341-1323 BC)!
To add even more mystery to the case, there is a medieval manuscript entitled the “Chronicles of the Scots” wherein a monk claimed the origin of Scots to be as follows:
“In ancient times Scota, the daughter of pharaoh, left Egypt with her husband Gaythelos by name and a large following. For they had heard of the disasters which were going to come upon Egypt, and so through the instructions of the gods they fled from certain plagues that were to come. They took to the sea, entrusting themselves to the guidance of the gods. After sailing in this way for many days over the sea with troubled minds, they were finally glad to put their boats in at a certain shore because of bad weather.”
Could it be possible? Could people really travel that far in those ancient times? Well, stir into the mystery this bit of knowledge. Between 1938-1946 a shipwrecked boat was excavated in Ferriby, England. Excavators were expecting to uncover a Viking boat, but discovered that the excavated boat was very similar to those used in the ancient Mediterranean area! Carbon-dating of the boat indicated a time frame of 1400-1350 BC.
Believe it or not, but this Irish bead mystery even has an American twist. Due to an entirely different parentage issue, the DNA of our third president Thomas Jefferson has been examined by modern-day scientists. Though Thomas Jefferson was of English descent, scientists were startled to discover that his DNA includes the K2 chromosome, typical of Egyptian men, not English men!
Is it possible? Did ancient Egyptians really settle in Ireland, Scotland and England in the Bronze Age? Will the mystery of the Irish faience beads ever be truly resolved? Who knows , but as a lover of beads, I have to remember and marvel at the very real significance of beads as a social marker in world history.
If this case has piqued your interest as well, you may want to read the book by Lorraine Evans, Kingdom of the Ark: http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Ark-Lorraine-Evans/dp/0671029568/ref=pd_bbs_sr_?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202678977&sr=8-1
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