Ardagh Chalice
In the nineteenth century, two young Irish lads digging in a potato field discovered, beneath a slab of stone, literal buried treasure from over a thousand years before. This remarkable collection became known as the Ardagh Hoard, currently on display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. And the most famous piece of the hoard remains the Ardagh Chalice. The chalice is a large, two-handed Eucharistic cup, crafted of beaten silver with decorations of gold, bronze, brass, pewter, and enamel; composed of over 350 pieces, all told. While fashioned in a late Roman style, its construction proves unmistakably Irish. Remarkably, its most striking feature—a prominent polished crystal surrounded by a gilt disc and blue jewels—lies hidden away on the chalice’s underside, beneath the foot, such that only the priest elevating the cup during the Divine Liturgy would see it. I take this as a reminder, not to the congregation but to the officiant, of the true concealed treasure of the chalice: ...