Mechanisms of monument-destruction in nineteenth-century Ireland: antiquarian horror, Cromwell and gold-dreaming

Abstract:Irish antiquarian publications of the nineteenth century often charted the contemporary destruction and dissolution of archaeological monuments throughout the island of Ireland with disapproval, melancholy or indignation. In this paper, I argue that the survival or otherwise of monuments was related to their perceived role as containers of memory. Thus, destructive acts may have reflected the loss of memories or accommodations between competing ways of attaching value to monuments. While forces operating at a broad social scale were frequently blamed for this destruction, it is my contention that mechanisms facilitating the removal or alteration of monuments were incorporated into the various belief systems that ostensibly guaranteed their protection. These mechanisms included the translation of monuments into monetary resources. They also included the negotiation of changing social, economic and political understandings (including 'modernity') through interactions with the physical fabric of sites.