The recorded instances of the discovery of gold ornaments and other objects in Ireland are very numerous, and date back for several centuries.[106] The collection of the Royal Irish Academy is one of exceptional interest and value, and numbers over 350 specimens. These have been classified by Wilde as follows: ‘Diadems, tiaras, lunulæ, hair-plates, and ear-rings; those used for the neck--as, for example, gorgets, small torques, flattened beads, globular balls, and necklaces; for the breast--as circular plates, fibulæ, and brooches; for the limbs--as armillæ, bracelets, and finger-rings; and for the chest and waist, in the form of large torques: besides several minor trinkets and miscellaneous articles, such as bullæ, small circular boxes, penannular-shaped articles--supposed to represent money--bracteate medals, and some other objects of undetermined use.’[107] Notwithstanding the great number of gold objects found in Ireland, and preserved in public museums or private collections, the majority of those discovered found their way to the melting-pot; some jewellers, according to Wilde, estimated that they had purchased as much as £10,000 worth. This is a matter much to be regretted, for the loss to archæology is great; and it cannot be too widely known that the Council of the Academy and the Trustees of the National Museum are prepared to pay, not only the full bullion value of any object found, but its estimated antiquarian value, which depends on its condition, rarity, ornamentation, and the very special circumstances under which it has been discovered. As examples of the losses in question, we may mention that in 1860 a letter appeared in the _Athenæum_ from Mr. Clibborn, the then Curator of the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, stating ‘that a considerable gold find had been made near Athlone to the value of £27,000, which had been entirely lost to the antiquarian world.’ Again, in 1854, during the construction of the Limerick and Ennis Railway, certain labourers found under a rude cairn an immense treasure of the precious metal. So great was this find that four days after the discovery four men departed to America with about £6000 each. Large numbers of the objects were immediately melted down in Limerick and neighbouring towns; a few only seem to have been saved from the crucible. * * * * *