A discovery hailed as the Irish equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls has been announced this afternoon by the National Museum of Ireland.
Fragments of an ancient Book of Psalms or Psalter, estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,200 years old, were uncovered by a bulldozer in the south midlands last Thursday. The exact location has not yet been disclosed so closer inspection of the area can continue.
Director fo the National Museum Dr Pat Wallace
Psalm 83 is legible on the fragments but the manuscript is very fragile and being kept in refrigeration at Collins Barracks in Dublin.
The Director of the National Museum of Ireland, Dr Pat Wallace, said today that "it is not so much the fragments themselves, but what they represent, that is of such staggering importance.
"In my wildest hopes, I could only have dreamed of a discovery as fragile and rare as this. It testifies to the incredible richness of the Early Christian civilisation of this island and to the greatness of ancient Ireland."
Dr Bernard Meehan, Head of Manuscripts at TCD, who will be involved in the analysing of the document, has said that this is the most significant find in 200 years.
Dr Meehan will work alongside Dr Wallace, Head of Conservation Rolly Read, and the Keeper of Irish Antiquities Eamonn Kelly, in an attempt to decipher more text from the vellum manuscript.
After analysis it will be displayed alongside the Ardagh chalice and the Derrynaflan paten in the Early Christian gallery of the Museum.
Congratulating the Museum today, the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, John O' Donoghue said: "This most fortunate of discoveries testifies to the high achievements of our early Christian civilisation and to the responsibility of the present generation in the preservation of our unparalleled legacy from the past".
