Another piece of silver has been recovered from Dunmore Cave, Co Kilkenny, where 16 pieces dating back to Viking times were found by a guide last year. Following the publicity generated by the find, Mrs Elizabeth Mosse, contacted Mr Victor Buckley, the Duchas archaeologist, to tell him she believed she had another piece from the cave.
"She told me that 35 or 40 years ago her husband and her sons had entered Dunmore cave through a hole in the field" said Mr Buckely.
She said they had been carrying torches and found a small metal object about 1.8 inches in diameter. They had given it to her as a present, he said.
Mr Buckley said Mrs Mosse thought it was a brooch and had worn it for a while, but left it to one side until she heard of the find in the cave.
"We have no idea what it is and it becomes part of the mystery of the Dunmore objects, which are currently being restored and examined in the museum," said Mr Buckely.
"I was delighted that she made contact, and some weeks ago I picked it up from her and it is now with the rest of the material in the National Museum."
Mr Buckley has launched an appeal in the current edition of Archaeology Ireland to the public to contact the National Museum if they have found something. Last year's find of 16 items from a cleft in the rock in the cave caused great excitement in the world of archaeology because of their unique qualities.
While half of the find was made up of coins and ingots of silver of Anglo-Saxon origin, the eight other pieces could not be identified.
One was conical and made of silver wire. Nothing like this from the Viking era has been discovered before. Mr Andrew Halpin, Assistant Keeper of Antiquities at the National Museum, said it was possible the eight objects were fasteners for a cloak.