Archaeology

Items

Find from Glen Rushen
An early medieval sword found at Glen Rushen.
Find from Glencrutchery Grandstand
Neolithic pottery. Pottery sherds of later Neolithic Ronaldsway type were recovered from the area now occupied by Glencrutchery cemetery in the 1890s. The grid reference relates to the centre of the cemetery and is for indicative purposes only.
Find from Glentraugh
The findspot of a probable Bronze Age or Iron Age gold penannular ring, which is now lost. Oswald's full size drawing of a plain gold 'ear ring' found in 1860 at Glengrenaugh in Grenaugh valley on Kentraa farm was thought to represent a Viking Age gold finger ring. It was a pear-shaped penannular ring with pointed terminals, without parallel among Viking Age gold and silver ornaments, the closest known parallells are of the Bronze Age or of earliest Iron Age.
Find from Glentruan
The findspot of a polished, roughened-butt Neolithic axehead, possibly of Ronaldsway type.  It is now kept at the Manx Museum and may have been described by P.M.C. Kermode in 1930.
Find from Gob y Volley
The findspot of fragments of a Bronze Age urn.
Find from Grawe, Axnfell, Glen Roy
Alleged prehistoric 'scribed stones' found on Grawe ridge, Lonan at 110 metres and 120 metres altitude which were possibly put with a collection kept at the parish church by Canon Quine.
Find from Greeba Mills, Bannf Place
A Viking age finger-ring of plaited gold rods was found in 1981 in a field at Greeba. The ring has been acquired by the Manx Museum. A trial excavation, in search of the site of a possible keeill was made by L.S. Garrad in 1983.
Find from Greenland Sandpit
The findspot of a Neolithic stone axehead, which was chipped, irregular and oval in outline and section.
Find from Gretch Vane
The findspot of some Bronze Age burial urns.
Find from Guilcagh, Lhen
A small Ronaldsway type bowl was recovered from the Lhen Trench in 1962. It had probably been dislodged during mechanical widening and deepening of the Trench in 1955, and the rim broken during this operation.
Find from Herring Tower, Langness
The findspot of a Neolithic greenstone axehead, found on Langness, near the Herring Tower (sometimes known as the Landmark Tower). The grid reference provided is for the Herring Tower, for indicative purposes only.
Find from Injebreck
The findspot of a knife made of reddish flint, retouched on one face, found near a mound by William Cubbon.  It may have been found in the vicinity of a group of shieling mounds.
Find from Jurby Parochial School
The findspot of a Neolithic or Bronze Age urn found in the hedge. The findspot is marked on the 1870 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey map.
Find from Kella
A Viking Age silver coin hoard was found in Kirk Lezayre parish in 1750, perhaps at the Kella, as proposed by Dolley. The Atholl Papers in Manx Museum associate the hoard with a grave containing a sword and an axe, but Wilson suggests that these were separate finds. The hoard consisted of thirty-nine coins, described by J. F. Crellin in the 19th century as 'of the Heptarchy', a fortieth, larger coin may have been a Kufic dirham. The hoard is most likely to have been deposited in the late 9th/early 10th century.
Find from Kerroogarroo
The findspot of a Neolithic artefact.  OS Field No. 1949.
Find from Kerroogarroo
The findspot of a Mesolithic Heavy-blade type piece measuring 3.7 centimetres overall, and a flint flake.  The grid reference is located to the centre of the field for reference purposes only.
Find from Kerrowkeeill
The findspot of a Neolithic artefact.
Find from Kilkenny
A hoard of medieval coins which were found on the land of Kilkenny Farm.
Find from Kirk Michael
The findspot of a Neolithic or Bronze Age perforated axe-hammer.
Find from Kirk Michael
The findspot of a Neolithic or Bronze Age pounder or hammer, made of a grey igneous rock and tapering to the butt. The heavy end of the stone is abraded. It was donated to the Manx Museum by C.H. Cowley (Accession No. 1954-1624).
Find from Kirk Michael Churchyard
A Viking Age hoard of silver coins was found in 1834 and described as 'A considerable number of silver coins were found whilst digging up the foundation of the old church previously to the erection of the present edifice. The workmen seized and disposed of a great part of them; Bishop Ward got possession of some, which were transmitted by him to the British Museum, where they now are...they were originals or imitations of Saxon coins of the period of Ethelred II (979-1016).' The description is consistent with another that describes them as being found close to the surviving portion of the old church chancel.  The grid reference provided is centred just to the west of the old chancel, notionally within the footprint of the old church. Numismatist Michael Dolley identified the coins as being mostly Hiberno-Norse, except a small element of Hiberno-Manx, and to have been concealed in the 1070s: it may be significant that the battle of Skyhill took place in 1079.
Find from Kirk Michael Churchyard
A Viking Age coinhoard was found in 1972, and additional material recovered in 1975.  A total of over 80 coins and several fragments of silver rings were eventually found, at the time making it the finest collection of Hiberno-Manx coins to have been recovered on the Isle of Man.  The coins were found during the cutting of a grave in a previously undisturbed portion of the new graveyard.  The hoard was buried in a linen bag or cloth and consisted of at least eighty-one coins together with two complete and three fragmentary plain silver rings.  The coins comprise twenty-two Anglo-Saxon, fourteen Normandy deniers and three fragments, twenty-one Hiberno-Norse and twenty-one Hiberno-Manx. The majority of the coins were struck between 1020 and 1050, leading to the conclusion that the hoard was deposited in the 1060s.  The hoard now forms part of the national collections at the Manx Museum.
Find from Kirk Michael Graveyard
A record for a coinhoard discovered in Kirk Michael churchyard.
Find from Kirk Michael Railway Cutting
The findspot of a fine-grained Neolithic or Bronze Age greenstone axehead with pointed butt end.  It was found in a railway cutting in Michael in 1921 and donated by Mr T. Stowell to the Manx Museum (Accession No. 1954-0065).
Find from Knock y Doonee
Medieval incised stone. During investigation of the site by the Manx Archaeological Survey in 1911, a tall pillar of slate was recovered from a spot just west of the keeill. It bears bilingual inscriptions in Roman (on the face) and Ogham (along one edge) characters recording the burial of Ammecatus son of Rocatus.