House (or tomb) shaped shrines originate from the European continent, Ireland and Scotland and mostly date from the 8th or 9th centuries, and like many Insular shrines, they were heavily reworked and embellished in the centuries following their initial construction, often with metal adornments or figures influenced by Romanesque sculpture. Typical examples consist of a wooden core covered with silver and copper alloy plates. They were built to hold relics of saints or martyrs from the early Church era;Ó Floinn (1990), p. 49 a number held corporeal remains when found in the modern period, presumably they were parts of the saint's body. Others, including the now badly damaged Breac Maodhóg, held manuscripts associated with the commemorated saint.Murray (2005), p. 136Moss (2014), pp. 286-293
