Wakeman's handbook of Irish antiquities

by W. F. Wakeman

HANDBOOK OF IRISH ANTIQUITIES

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CHAPTER I
STONE MONUMENTS.

INTRODUCTION​—​PILLAR-STONES​—​HOLED-STONES​—​ROCK SCRIBINGS AND CUP MARKINGS​—​ROCKING-STONES​—​DRUIDS’ CHAIRS OR SEATS​—​BULLÁN-STONES.

Ireland is, perhaps, more remarkable than any other country in the West of Europe for the number, the variety, and, it may be said, the nationality of its antiquarian remains. An archæologist upon arriving in Dublin will find, within ready access of that city, examples, many of them in a fine state of preservation, of almost every structure of archæological interest to be met with in any part of the kingdom. Sepulchral tumuli​—​several of which, in point of rude magnificence, are admitted to be unrivalled in Europe​—​cromlechs, pillar-stones, cairns, stone circles, and other remains of the earliest archæological periods in Ireland, lie within a journey of a couple of hours of the metropolis. The cromlechs of Howth, Kilternan, Shanganagh, Mount Venus, Hollypark, Shankill, and Brennanstown (Glen Druid) are within easy reach of the suburbs of Dublin. The county has several round towers, and many churches of a very primitive type. An hour’s journey by the Great Northern Railway to Drogheda, with a car drive of about twenty miles, affords not only an opportunity of seeing the great prehistoric remains of Newgrange, but of viewing at Monasterboice, amongst other remains, two crosses, which are amongst the finest in Christendom. In the National Museum, Dublin, will be found the Royal Irish Academy collection of weapons and implements of the New Stone and Bronze periods, gold ornaments, crannog remains, Ogam stones, and relics of early Christian Art, which, we think it is not too much to say, is one of the finest and most representative that any country in Europe can show.

Irish Antiquarian remains may be generally classified under three heads:​—​I. Prehistoric, embracing those which are considered to have existed previous to, or within a limited period after, the introduction of Christianity in the fifth century; II. The Early Christian; and III. The Anglo-Irish.

The Prehistoric remains consist of cromlechs, pillar-stones, cairns, stone circles, tumuli, raths, stone forts, beehive huts, rock-markings, weapons, &c. They are found in considerable numbers particularly in the more remote parts of the island, where they have been suffered to remain, many more or less unmolested, save by the hand of time.

Early Christian remains are very numerous, and consist of oratories, churches, round towers, Ogam stones, and crosses. Of the early churches of Ireland​—​structures of a period when the ‘Scotish (Irish) monkes in Ireland and Britaine highly excelled in their holinesse and learning, yea, sent forth whole flockes of most devout men into all parts of Europe’[1]​—​there are examples in a sufficient state of preservation to give a good idea of architecture, in what may be considered its second stage in Ireland.

The remains of what may be termed ‘Anglo-Irish’ structures were erected about the period of the English invasion, and although of Irish foundation, they appear generally to have been built upon Anglo-Norman or English models. The great barons who, in the time of Henry the Second, or of his immediate successors, received grants of land from the Crown, erected fortresses of considerable strength and extent, in order to preserve their possessions from the inroads of the native Irish, with whom they were usually at war. The castles of Howth, Malahide, Maynooth, Trim, Carlow, and many others, are silent witnesses to the fact that the early invaders were occasionally obliged to place some faith in the efficacy of strong walls and towers to resist the advances of their restless neighbours, who, for several centuries subsequent to the Invasion, were rather the levellers than the builders of castles. Of the massive square keep, so common in every part of the kingdom, but especially within the English Pale, the Dublin neighbourhood furnishes several examples. As, except in some minor details, they usually bear a great resemblance to each other, an inspection of one or two will afford a just idea of all. They were generally used as the residence of a chieftain, or as an outpost dependent upon some larger fortress in the neighbourhood. Many appear to have been erected by English settlers, and they are usually furnished with a bawn, or enclosure, into which cattle were driven at night, a precaution very significant of the times.

The abbeys, though frequently of considerable extent and magnificence, are in general more remarkable for the simple grandeur of their proportions. The finest exhibit many characteristics of Transition style; but Early Pointed is also found, and in great purity. There are in Ireland but few very notable examples of the succeeding styles. Decoration, indeed, was not so much desired as strength and security; and we do not require the testimony of the ‘Irish Annals’ to show that the church buildings had occasionally to stand upon their defence: the bartizans surmounting the doorways of some, and the crenellated walls of many, are sufficient evidence of this.

There are certain antiquities which cannot well be classed with the remains referred to in the three preceding headings. Many of the lake-dwellings, or crannogs, for instance, are believed, with good reason, to have been in use even in pagan times in Ireland; some of these artificial islets were used in mediæval times, and several are recorded to have been occupied as places of human habitation so late as the seventeenth century. It would, therefore, be hazardous to classify them with either pagan or Christian remains, and it is certain that they are not Anglo-Irish. A description of these will, however, be given in a subsequent chapter.

Pillar-stones or Dallans are found in many parts of Ireland, and particularly in districts where stone circles, cairns, and cromlechs occur. They are usually rough monoliths, and evidently owe their upright position, not to accident, but to the design and labour of a primitive people. They are usually called by the native Irish, ‘Gallauns’ or ‘Leaghauns,’ and in character they are precisely similar to the hoar-stone of England, the hare-stane of Scotland, the maen-qwyr of Wales, and the Continental menhir.

Many theories have been advanced with respect to their origin. They are variously supposed to have been idol-stones, to have been erected as landmarks, and as monumental stones recording the scene of a battle, or the spot upon which a warrior had fallen. The name ‘cat-stone,’ by which some examples are known in Scotland, would well warrant such an idea, the word ‘cath’ in the Gaelic language signifying a battle. At either end of the historic ford over the river Erne, at Ballyshannon, may be seen two remarkable examples​—​to that on the northern side other stones would seem to lead. This is a significant fact in favour of the landmark theory. At the same time, we learn from the later writers of the life and labours of St. Patrick in Ireland, that he found the people worshipping certain idols in the form of stone pillars, some of which he caused to be overthrown, while upon one purposely left standing he inscribed the name of Jesus. There can be little doubt that the saint and his immediate followers, in their horror of all that was idolatrous, destroyed a large number of the pillar-stones which had been venerated and worshipped in pagan Ireland; but, nevertheless, a considerable number still remain. These, in some instances, would seem to have been consecrated to the Faith, and from having been idols were transformed into memorials of the triumph of Christianity. We are not without satisfactory evidence of such adaptation having been effected. Several, and apparently the oldest, lithic monuments may be observed rudely punched, not carved, with the figure of a primitive cross, accompanied by one or other of the inscriptions DNI, DNO, or DOM. Todd, in his Life of St. Patrick, has, we believe, conclusively shown the generally received idea of the sudden, and, it may be said, miraculous conversion of Ireland in the days of the saint, and in those of his immediate successors, to be wholly erroneous. Pagan practices and beliefs long remained, and to-day many myths, legends, and superstitions attest, as dying remnants, how deeply rooted were the ‘elder faiths.’

The Pillar-stone is the simplest form of all memorials; it is found in other countries in connection with ancient burial mounds or barrows. Such memorials to a departed hero, chief, or monarch were not confined to savage peoples, for the custom has descended through all stages of civilization, and the commemorative use of the pillar-stone is frequent in biblical history. Ancient Egypt furnishes notable examples of monoliths such as Cleopatra’s Needle; while the metropolis of Ireland, not to mention other cities, exhibits stupendous pillar monuments showing the ‘hero-worship’ of our forefathers, to the dead leaders Wellington and Nelson.

In several parts of the country the gallaun is still considered by many of the people to be something weird, and, ‘to be let alone.’ The late E. A. Conwell, in his work on the supposed tomb of Ollamh Fodhla, points out that, about two miles north-west of Oldcastle, there is a townland called Fearan-na-gcloch (from fearan, land, and cloch, a stone), so called from two remarkable stone flags, still to be seen standing in it, popularly called Clocha labartha, the ‘Speaking stones’: and the green pasture-field in which they are situated is called Pairc-na-gclochalabartha, the ‘Field of the speaking stones.’

‘There can be little doubt,’ he proceeds, ‘the pagan rites of incantation and divination had been practised at these stones, as their very name, so curiously handed down to us, imports; for, in the traditions of the neighbourhood, it is even yet current that they have been consulted in cases where either man or beast was supposed to have been “overlooked”; that they were infallibly effective in curing the consequences of the “evil eye”; and that they were deemed to be unerring in naming the individual through whom these evil consequences came. Even up to a period not very remote, when anything happened to be lost or stolen, these stones were invariably consulted; and in cases where cattle, &c., had strayed away, the directions they gave for finding them were considered as certain to lead to the desired result. There was one peremptory inhibition, however, to be scrupulously observed in consulting these stones, viz. that they were never to be asked to give the same information a second time, as they, under no circumstances whatever, would repeat an answer.’ These conditions having, about seventy or eighty years ago, been violated by an ignorant inquirer who came from a distance, the ‘speaking stones’ became dumb, and have so remained ever since. There were originally four of these stones: of the two that remain, the larger may be described as consisting of a thin slab of laminated sandy grit. Its dimensions are as follows: total height above ground, very nearly 7 feet; extreme breadth, 5 feet 8 inches; breadth near summit, 3 feet 6 inches; average thickness, about 8 inches. In no part does it exhibit the mark of a chisel or hammer. The height of the second remaining stone, above the present level of the ground, is 6 feet 4 inches; it is in breadth, at base, 3 feet 4 inches, and near the top 1 foot more; thickness at base, 14 inches. The material, unlike that found in the generality of such monuments, is blue limestone.

Pillar-stone at Tara.

Perhaps the most noted example of the pillar-stone, as found in Ireland, occurs on the celebrated Hill of Tara, Co. Meath. This interesting monument at present occupies a position in the centre of the Forradh, one of the principal earthworks still remaining on that memorable site. The stone formerly stood upon, or rather by the side of, a small mound lying within the enclosure of Rath-na-Riagh, and called Dumha-na-nGiall, or the ‘Mound of the hostages.’ In 1824 it was placed in its present position, to mark the grave of some men who were slain in 1798 in an encounter with the king’s troops. It was suggested by George Petrie that this pillar, or menhir, was no other than the celebrated Lia Fail, or ‘Stone of Destiny,’ upon which, during many ages, the monarchs of Ireland were crowned, and which, according to the early bardic accounts, ‘roared’ beneath them at their inauguration. The Coronation Stone at Westminster was generally supposed to have been removed from Ireland to Scotland, in the beginning of the sixth century, for the coronation of Fergus Mac Earc, a prince of the blood-royal of Ireland, there having been a prophecy that in whatever country this famous stone was preserved, a king of the Scotic race should reign. In the MSS. to which Petrie refers, one of which is probably of the tenth century, the stone is mentioned as still existing at Tara; and ‘it is,’ he writes, ‘an interesting fact, that a large obeliscal pillar-stone, in a prostrate position, occupied till a recent period the very situation on the hill pointed out as the place of the Lia Fail by the Irish writers of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries.’ After remarking upon the want of agreement between the Irish and Scottish accounts of the history of the Lia Fail, and on the questionable character of the evidence upon which the story of its removal from Ireland rests, he further observes: ‘That it is in the highest degree improbable, that, to gratify the desire of a colony, the Irish would have voluntarily parted with a monument so venerable for its antiquity, and deemed essential to the legitimate succession of their own kings.’ We cannot here enter into a discussion of this question, in which numerous conflicting traditions are involved. The removal of the Coronation Stone from Tara to Scotland is now generally admitted. The use of the present pillar-stone at Tara for the purpose of inauguration has not been established: its very shape is strongly presumptive against any such theory, as the custom usually was for the king or chief to stand upon the stone. That the monument is an original relic, raised for some memorial use, may reasonably be accepted.

Some of our finest and perhaps oldest pillar-stones bear cup-and-circle markings, similar to those found upon the face of undisturbed rocks in various parts of Ireland, Britain, the European Continent, and other parts of the world. A very remarkable example occurs at Muff, about five miles from Londonderry. This stone, which stood 8 ft. in height, and measured 4 ft. 6 ins. across at the base, by 2 ft. 6 ins. in thickness, was on one of its faces covered with cup-and-circle markings, some of which exhibited the central channels which appear on the rock sculptures in Kerry. This was examined by the late Rev. James Graves, who wrote: ‘Where the soil had covered the base, two of the cups, with their concentric circles, were very plain and unworn; but the water trickling from a hollow on the top of the stone, had injured some of those above. Excavations were made to a depth of four feet round its base, but no trace of interment, or relic of any kind, was discovered. Close to the stone was found a kind of bone earth, or soil mixed with minute fragments of bone, apparently not human, but from their minute and decomposed state identification was impossible.’[2]

Mr. G. H. Kinahan, in pages of the Journal here referred to, figures and describes a remarkable pillar-stone which he found near Kilmacrenan, Co. Donegal. In this instance four of the cups are so arranged that the channels extending from them form a perfect cross of the Roman character.[3] Here the likeness to the Christian symbol cannot be considered other than accidental. A device, almost precisely similar, is found upon a rude stone monument in Scotland; and we know that upon the bases of some of the cinerary urns, formed of baked clay, discovered in cists in Ireland, and found to contain calcined human bones, flint arrow-heads, and bone implements, a cruciform ornament may be noticed. This, at least as so placed, cannot be considered a Christian symbol.

Several pillar-stones yet in situ, and a great many others overthrown or removed, present Ogam inscriptions, a subject that will be found treated of in a subsequent chapter. Immediately near Kesh, a station on the railway line between Enniskillen and Bundoran, occur a cairn, an earthen sepulchral mound, and a pillar-stone of great size. The latter, upon its south-western angle, bore a legend in Ogam characters, which some years ago, when an expert from the south was expected to come and examine it, was, by a local worthy, whose intentions were no doubt laudable, so scraped, cleaned, and ‘improved,’ that little trace of the inscription remained.

Of the ordinary plain gallaun, or pillar-stone, the annexed illustration, representing one of several remaining in the vicinity of the tumulus of Newgrange (hereafter to be noticed), will afford a good idea. It measures 10 feet in height, and in circumference 17. A similar monolith, in the village of Ballynacraig, i e. ‘Rock town,’ to which it probably gave its name, about half a mile from Newgrange, measures 24 feet in girth, but its present height above ground is only about 6 feet. There are monuments of a similar class in the valley of Glenasmole, ‘Valley of the thrushes,’ beyond Rathfarnham, about five and a half miles from Dublin.

Pillar-stone near Newgrange.

Some of these remains, whether monuments, boundary stones, or idols, appear to have been known by particular names, as, for instance, a fine example standing, amongst a group of megalithic structures, in the sandhills of Finner, a wild district lying towards the sea, between Ballyshannon and Bundoran. It is called ‘Fleatuch,’ and what that appellation means we have failed to ascertain. Nor were we more successful in a search after the significance of ‘Eglone,’ the name by which a boulder near Highwood, rising 18 feet in height, and measuring on two sides 7 feet 6 inches, and 11 feet 6 inches on the others, is known amongst the peasantry of Moytura, Co. Sligo. This massive monolith stands perfectly upright, is rudely symmetrical in form, and has the appearance of a pillar-stone. It is in all probability by the agency of ice that this mass of grey magnesian limestone was torn from its natural bed and deposited as we now find it. No legendary tale concerning the ‘Eglone’ at present remains, but the stone, or rather rock, is regarded by many of the neighbouring people as possessed of mysterious attributes, of some kind or other, which they cannot explain: it may have been an idol. At a place called Keimaneigh, the fine mountain pass between Macroom and Bantry, is a true pillar-stone, which is supposed by natives of the locality to represent a woman who, for her numerous sins and scorn of repentance, had been thus petrified by St. Fiachna in the sixth century. The pillar, which is about 6 feet high, bears a rude resemblance to a female human figure; hence, no doubt, the origin of the legend.

Of the hundreds of pillar-stones remaining in Ireland the great majority are prehistoric. The date of one example, however, has been satisfactorily settled. Cruachan, or Rathcrogan, situated about five miles from Carrick-on-Shannon, consists of a stone ditch, circular in form, but greatly defaced. ‘Within this,’ writes George Petrie, ‘are small circular mounds, which, when examined, are found to cover rude sepulchral chambers formed of stone, without cement of any kind, and containing unburnt bones.’ Outside the rath, or enclosure, in the centre of a small tumulus, is a pillar, referred to in the following notice of it by Duald Mac Firbis: ‘The body of Dathi was brought to Cruachan, and was interred at Relig-na-Riogh, where most of the kings of the race of Heremon were buried, and where to this date the red pillar-stone remains on a stone monument over his grave, near Rath-Cruachan, to this time (1666).’[4] Dathi was the last pagan monarch of the Milesian race. He died in the beginning of the fifth century from the effects of lightning while leading his army on a continental raid. The scene of his death was in the neighbourhood of the Alps.

‘Tomb of Dathi,’ Rathcroghan.

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Holed-stones.​—​Perforated stones, very similar to the ordinary pillar-stone, are found in many parts of Ireland, Scotland, France, and, as appears from Wilford’s Asiatic Researches, in India. Abroad, as well as at home, their origin has been a matter of much speculation, and it is not likely that any definite solution can ever be arrived at. Colonel Wood-Martin, speaking on the subject, says:​—​‘The original purpose for which the larger apertures were utilised seems to have been a literal as well as a symbolic means whereby an ailment, disease, or sin might be left behind or got rid of, also as a symbol by which a compact could be ratified, or an oath taken, by a well-known and public act. The postulants, at first, probably crawled through the orifice; then when it, through change in custom, became diminished in size, they probably passed a hand, or if a compact was to be made, clasped hands through it.’[5] Wilford[6] states that perforated stones are not uncommon in India, and devout people pass through them when the opening will admit, in order to be regenerated. If the hole be too small, they put the hand or foot through it, and with a sufficient degree of faith it answers nearly the same purpose.

In Ireland they are generally associated with prehistoric remains, and are occasionally found in connection with church buildings of the earliest type. It is probable that, dating from prehistoric ages, they were in time pressed, as it were, like the holy wells, into association with Christian rites. The following are some of the many places where holed-stones may be found in connection with our old churches: Kilmalkedar, Co. Kerry; Castledermot, Co. Kildare; Inismurray, Co. Sligo; Roscam, near Galway; Mainister, on Aran Mór, Co. Galway; Layde, Co. Antrim; Holy Island, Lough Derg; Glendalough; and on the Island of Devenish in Lough Erne, Co. Fermanagh.

We have perhaps lived beyond the age when legends referring to this class of monument were still generally current. The virtue of the Kilmalkedar stone was some fifty years ago equal in repute to that conceded to the Stennis example, and even, in some respects, superior; for, it was further firmly believed by many of the old inhabitants of Kerry, that persons afflicted with chronic rheumatism, ‘falling sickness,’ or some other ills, might, by passing three times round it (with faith, and by the offering of certain prayers), be restored to health. In the parish of Aghade, Co. Carlow, is a stone called Cloghafoyle, the ‘Stone of the hole.’ ‘It projects in a semi-recumbent position 7 feet 6 inches above ground, is 5 feet 8 inches in width, 1 foot 6 inches in its thickest part, and is pierced​—​nearly equally distant from the sides and top​—​with a round hole 11½ inches in diameter. Formerly children were passed through this aperture, either as a cure for, or a preventive against, the malady called rickets.’[7] A similar custom, as Colonel Wood-Martin points out, was observed at St. Madron’s well in Cornwall, Minchen Hampton in Gloucestershire, and Fyvie in Aberdeenshire.[8] A famous stone exists on Ardmore Strand, Co. Waterford, beneath which pilgrims on St. Declan’s day (22nd Dec.) crawled on completing their devotions.

The most celebrated holed-stone in the British Isles is doubtless that of Stennis, near Kirkwall in Orkney. It has been rendered famous in his tale of The Pirate, by Sir Walter Scott. Fergusson, in his Rude Stone Monuments, says​—​‘It is quite certain that the oath to Woden or Odin was sworn by persons joining their hands through the hole in this ringstone, and that an oath so taken, although by Christians, was deemed solemn and binding’ (page 255). This ceremony was held so very sacred that anyone breaking it was accounted infamous and a party to be shunned. In his Journey to the Orkney Islands (1781), Principal Gordon gives the following anecdote: ‘The young man was called before the session, and the elders were particularly severe. Being asked by the minister the cause of so much severity, they answered, “You do not know what a bad man this is; he has broken the promise of Odin,” and further explained that the contracting parties had joined hands through the hole in the stone.’ All this does not serve to indicate the original character of the Stennis monument. That it was at one time sacred to Odin, or Woden, and reverenced by pagan northmen and their successors, perhaps for many generations, and that even Christians used the stone on certain solemn occasions, is no doubt interesting. The Scandinavian occupiers of Orkney may have, as it were, adopted a pillar-stone which they found associated with old-world customs and memories, dedicated it to Odin, and sealed their oaths upon it.

Holed-stone at Tobernavean, Woodville, near Sligo.

Few who have paid even passing attention to the subject of Irish antiquities, recognising the fact that several holed-stones, bearing apertures of considerable size, and found in the immediate neighbourhood of remains universally acknowledged to belong to prehistoric days, will assume, we think, that the former do not partake of the same primeval character as cromlechs, stone circles, and cairns. Fergusson was mistaken in stating that there is no proof of a holed-stone being used in any Celtic cemetery for purposes similar to those practised at the Stennis example. Unquestionably some of the holed-stones are of doubtful character, inasmuch as they may be classified either as prehistoric, or belonging to an early period of Christianity. We may perhaps assign to one of the finest monuments of this class remaining in Ireland a degree of antiquity equal at least to that acknowledged to be possessed by the cromlechs, circles, and other megaliths of Carrowmore, immediately adjoining. Of this stone Colonel Wood-Martin, in Rude Stone Monuments in Sligo, gives the following description: ‘It marks the point of junction of the three parishes of the district formerly, and still by the country people, designated Cuil-Irra. This boundary mark is a thin limestone flag, set on edge; it is 9 feet in height and 10 feet in breadth above ground. The little stream which issues from Tobernavean, or Tobar-na-bhFian, the “Well of the warriors,” laves its base, which must be deeply buried in the earth. Toward the east side this flagstone is pierced by a squarish, or rather an oblong, perforation, 3 feet in length by 2 feet in breadth. From its mottled appearance this slab is popularly called Cloch-bhreac, or the “Speckled stone”; also Cloch-lia, or the “Gray stone”’ (page 99).

Another example, standing upwards of five feet in height above the level of the ground, with a round hole sufficiently large to admit the hand, may be seen upon an eminence in the immediate vicinity of Doagh, a village in the county of Antrim. In the same district, on a hill near Cushendall, a second fine holed-stone until lately existed. Probably one of the most curious monuments of the class under notice, in Ireland, formerly stood in the early Christian cemetery of Inniskeen, close to the cloictheach, or round tower, Co. Monaghan. This relic, which was of porphyry, had an aperture through it sufficiently large to admit the insertion of a full-sized human arm. In modern times it was the custom at Easter to fix in the stone a pole, up which the neighbouring young people used to climb for a prize. The stone is said to have been formerly used for superstitious purposes, but no particulars of the rites or customs once practised have been handed down.

Holed-stone at Mainister, Aran Mór.

The holed-stone of Castledermot is a very remarkable one, and the following particulars are from a description of it by Lord Walter FitzGerald: ‘It stands at the head of a modern grave in the south-east side of the churchyard, and is known locally as the “swearing-stone.” It is 3 feet long, 1 foot 2 inches wide, and 5½ inches thick. The hole is at the junction of the arms of a ringed cross, and measures 5 inches in diameter. The cross, which is much worn, was mistaken by Vallancey for Ogam scores, and his misrepresentation was copied by subsequent writers.’[9] It is probable that the holed-stones found in connection with church buildings date from ante-Christian times, and were consecrated by the emblem of the cross to the religious services of a people recently won to Christianity, but who still possessed some lingering reverence for the idols of their forefathers.

The holed-stone at Mainister on Aran Island stands 3½ feet above ground, and the hole is 2 inches wide. It is curiously incised with a double circle and ringed cross, the top of the latter ending in small spiral pattern. It is held in great reverence, and small articles of clothing of sick persons are drawn through the orifice in hope of their recovery.

Holed-stone at the ‘Church of the Men,’ Inismurray.

The following particulars of holed-stones, to which popular superstitions are attached, are derived from A Survey of Antiquarian Remains in Inismurray[10] by Mr. Wakeman. This island, off the coast of Sligo, presents three fine specimens of the pillar-stone, two of which must be considered valuable, and probably unique examples of the ‘holed’ class. These are sometimes called ‘Praying stones’ by the natives of the island. The more important stands on the southern side of Teampull-na-bfear, or the ‘Church of the men,’ at a little distance from that structure. It measures 4 feet in height, 11½ inches in breadth at top, 1 foot 1 inch at base, and about 7 inches in thickness. The monument faces east and west; its edges and eastern side are plain. The western face, on which a graceful cross has been incised, exhibits two holes of a size just large enough to admit the insertion of a thumb. It may be observed that the arms and head of the symbol terminate in spirals like those found upon the celebrated ‘Alphabet Stone’ at Kilmalkedar, the work upon which has been held, by acknowledged authorities on such matters, to belong to the sixth, or at latest to the seventh century of the Christian era. The orifices extend through the adjoining angles of the stone, and open out at its sides in apertures sufficiently spacious to receive the fingers of a full-sized hand. In connection with this pillar-stone, as also with a similar monument situated close to Teampull-na-mban, or ‘Church of the women,’ a custom which is worthy of record, very generally prevails. Women who expect shortly to become mothers are wont to resort to these stones, for the purpose of praying for a happy issue from the perils of their impending travail. The natives assert that death in childbirth is an unknown calamity upon the island. The postulants kneel, passing their thumbs into the front, and their fingers into the side openings, by which means a firm grasp of the angles of the pillar is obtained. They are thus enabled to rise from their act of obeisance with a minimum of strain or difficulty. A pillar-stone, unperforated and uninscribed, of about the same dimensions as that just noticed, is seen immediately beside it. The two stand in line at right angles with the northern wall of the very ancient church almost immediately adjoining.

The second holed-stone, to which we have already referred, bears upon its eastern face a plain Latin cross. It is 5 feet high, 10½ inches broad at base, 11½ inches at top, and 4½ inches in thickness. Like its fellow at the ‘Church of the men’ it is held in profound veneration, especially by the women of the island. The pillar may indeed be prehistoric, and the cross an addition. The type of cross which it exhibits is characteristic of the earliest Christian times in Ireland; this being so, the monument in its present style may be assigned to a period not later than the close of the sixth century.

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Rock Scribings, Cup-and-Circle Markings.​—​This subject has proved of considerable interest to archæologists everywhere. Rock scribings or markings, whether noticed upon European, Asiatic, or American rocks or monuments, often in their general features bear so strong a family likeness that it is at first sight difficult to believe that they have not been executed by one and the same race of people. But we know that the minds of savages or semi-savages, situated widely apart, and placed under somewhat similar environment, will instinctively run in parallel grooves of thought; and thus, in the form, material, and ornamentation of their objects of veneration, arms, and implements of everyday life, as well as in their personal decorations, present a like development. It need be no wonder then that, far and near, over the surface of the Old and of the New World, rock and stone scribings are to be found, and that they should frequently have many common characteristics. Until recently these antiquarian puzzles have received but little attention from Irish archæologists. Petrie does not seem to have noticed their existence; O’Donovan and O’Curry make no mention of them; nor do the older writers, except in one or two instances, where a single stone or so is referred to as bearing work of a mystic and barbarous character. The forms of these markings to be met with in Ireland are these: cups; cups and rings; the same with radial channel; concentric rings; penannular rings; spirals; stars; triangles and wheels; zigzag and other lines. Considerable attention has been given in recent years to the elaborate scorings on the rocks forming the great chambers at Newgrange, Dowth, and Loughcrew, Co. Meath, to which we shall refer in a subsequent chapter. In these ‘Ireland,’ as Colonel Wood-Martin says, ‘possesses a collection of this species of prehistoric ornamentation which, in singularity, number, and quaintness of design, is approached in point of interest only by some of the great stone chambers of the district of Morbihan.’

The late Dr. Graves, Bishop of Limerick, in the publications of the Royal Irish Academy, appears to have been the first to draw attention to sculpturings of this class found in Ireland. Subsequently the subject was taken up by inquirers, in various parts of the world, who found in their own countries kindred rock carvings. In Ireland the groups of designs found upon the surface of our undisturbed rocks exhibit in many instances characteristics almost, if not entirely, peculiar to themselves. For instance, the incomplete concentric circles with a central cup, from which extends a straight or slightly curved stroke, called ‘the channel,’ through and sometimes beyond the outermost gap in the curved lines, are absent from the varied figurings found in the great sepulchral chambers. Again, the spirals of the stone sepulchres are, as far as we are aware, invariably absent in the array of designs found upon the undisturbed or natural rock. This circumstance was not left unobserved by Dr. Graves when describing his discoveries in Kerry. But upon one small stone in the neighbourhood of Tullakeel, near Sneem, he found a rude carving of a short portion of a spiral. This stone lay set in a fence; it may have belonged to some tomb of which no other relic is known to remain, so that little argument can be based on the character of its scribing. Although antiquaries are not yet in a position to pronounce authoritatively on the precise significance of our rock markings, a glance at some early speculations as to their nature may not here be out of place. It has been suggested that the circular markings were intended to represent shields. ‘This notion,’ says Dr. Graves, ‘seems inconsistent with the fact that the same stone presents so many circular symbols of different sizes, varying from the small shallow cup of an inch or two in diameter to the group of concentric circles two feet across. It also seems probable that, as shields in general used to bear distinctive devices, these would appear in the inscriptions; but the inscribed circles exhibit no such variety as might have been expected on this hypothesis. Again, if the circles represented shields, what could be meant by the openings in the circumference of so many of them? Lastly, what connection could there be between the idea of shields and the long lines appearing in the Staigue monument, or the short ones on that of Ballynasare? Another idea was that these figures were designed to represent astronomical phenomena.’ For several reasons he rejected that theory, particularly as it failed to account for the openings in the circles, the absence of figures indicating the sun and moon, and not even the rudest attempt at the phases of the lunar body. It was also suggested that the circles were intended for moulds to cast metal rings. The fact of the circles so often occurring on a sloping face of a rock renders this untenable. That the circles were used for some game was rejected from the varying sizes of the circles on different stones. ‘The idea which occurred to my own mind,’ he continues, ‘was, that the incised circles were intended to represent the circular buildings of earth or stone, of which the traces still exist in every part of Ireland. This conjecture is supported by the following considerations:​—​1. The circles are of different sizes, and some are disposed in concentric groups. The ancient dwellings and fortified seats of the ancient Irish were circular; they were of various sizes, from the small cloghan, or stone house, of ten feet in diameter, to the great camp including an area of some acres; and the principal forts had several concentric valla. 2. The openings in the inscribed circles may have been intended to denote the entrances. 3. The other inscribed lines may have represented roads passing by or leading up to the forts.’

Discouraged by the reception with which his theory was received, he laid his drawings aside for many years. Returning again to the subject, he gave it further examination, which confirmed his original opinion. He says: ‘The centres of the circles and the neighbouring cups and dots arrange themselves generally three by three in straight lines. This disposition of the symbols could not be said to be perfectly accurate; but I thought I could observe close and designed approximation to it. If, then, the circles represent forts, and are disposed three by three in straight lines on the inscribed stones, I saw that we might expect to find the forts disposed in like manner over the surface of the country; and I think that I have succeeded in verifying this inference. The ancient raths have fortunately been laid down on the six-inch Ordnance Survey maps of Ireland; and unless I am deceived by fortuitous collineations, I find that the forts are actually arranged three by three in straight lines. The discovery of this fact, if it be a fact would be of much more consequence than the explanation of the meaning of the inscriptions of which I have just given an account. But this further inquiry must be conducted with care. Large portions of the country must be examined, and those difficulties must be confronted which the disappearance of ancient remains must inevitably give rise to.’[11]

It has been objected to the map theory that in the parts of Scotland and England where circle-and-channel scorings occur most numerously, no raths or forts, or, if any, very few, are to be found. But it may be urged that the early British strongholds, corresponding to our raths, duns, and stone forts, were very frequently composed of perishable materials, such as timber stockades, or the interwoven branches of trees, of which, in the course of a few centuries at most, no trace would remain.

Rock Scribings, Mevagh, Co. Donegal. (Scale, one-fourth.)

Scribings on sides of Knockmore Cave, near Derrygonnelly, Co. Fermanagh.

(Scale, one-third.)

Only a small portion of the rubbings and drawings made of the rock scribings by Bishop Graves was published by him. Mr. Robert Day has published some interesting examples taken from a scored rock of red sandstone on the road between Bantry and Ballydehob. The scribings consist of circles, cup-shaped cavities, penannular rings, and V-shaped markings.[12] The late George Du Noyer describes at length some which he found in various parts of the country[13]; and other antiquarians have largely added to the list. Amongst these is Mr. G. H. Kinahan, whose descriptions and illustrations of the scribings on rocks in Wicklow and Wexford, and in the Mevagh and Barnes districts (Co. Donegal), deserve attention.[14]

A stone now in the Grainger collection of the Museum, Belfast, and which once stood on a hill near Broughshane, Co. Antrim, furnishes an instance of elaborate scoring within a roughly shield-shaped outline. The stone is stated to have been originally found covering a cist. A similar example of scorings was found in a sepulchral chamber at Cloverhill, near Sligo.[15] Mr. Wakeman discovered, near Boho, Co. Fermanagh, about nine miles from Enniskillen, a cluster of large rocks bearing a number of the cup-and-circle devices.[16] In the same neighbourhood were similar markings on the living rock. They occur a little to the south of Lough Blocknet, on the slope of the hill.

‘Shield pattern’ Rock-sculpture, from Broughshane, Co. Antrim.

Important examples of rude sculpturings appear upon the walls of certain natural, or perhaps semi-artificial, caverns occurring at Knockmore, close to the village of Derrygonnelly, Co. Fermanagh. The chief of these is the ‘Lettered Cave,’ so called from the carvings of an early date with which its sides are scored. The dimensions of this singular retreat are as follows:​—​Height, at the mouth, 10 feet 5 inches; these proportions gradually lessen to a distance of about 18 feet from the external opening. There the passage takes an oblique turning to the southward, and continues to a distance of about 9 feet further into the heart of the limestone. The height of the chamber at its extreme end is about 5 feet. The opening faces north-east, and is well sheltered from the wind by a grassy knoll, which extends, right and left, in front. There is every reason to believe it was long used as a habitation or place of retreat. The markings are placed, without any attempt at symmetrical arrangement, upon almost every smooth portion of the rocky surface of the interior. Many are extremely well marked; others have become all but obliterated through the influence of time, the efflorescence of the stone, and the action of persons who have in many places scraped away the ancient figurings, or portions of them, in order to find space for inscribing their respective names; but, nevertheless, a considerable portion of the old markings remain in excellent condition. These scribings consist for the greater part of a number of figures and designs usually considered, by archæologists, as prehistoric. But whatever may be the age and character of such carvings, there can be no doubt amongst antiquaries that an elaborately-formed interlacing cross, which may be seen engraved upon the left-hand side of the entrance to the cave, must be referred to an early Christian period.

Knockmore contains on its northern side, in a situation rather difficult of access, a second scored and partially artificial cavern. This little eyry, which is only large enough to retain in a recumbent position two, or at most three, persons of ordinary size, must, while yet the slopes of the knock were covered with trees and brushwood, have formed a very secure retreat. That it was inhabited in early days is certain, as upon digging up a considerable portion of the floor, indications of fires having been used were traceable on at least three separate levels. At a little distance from the surface, amongst burnt-looking earth and particles of wood charcoal, Mr. Wakeman found some bones of animals which had been used as food. They were generally very small, and difficult of identification, but amongst them occurred those of the red deer. The carvings here are rather of an elaborate character, and form an interesting combination of the older style of sepulchral rock-sculpture with what is generally considered early Irish work, but of a period subsequent to the spread of Christianity in this country.[17]

A third cave, situated three and a half miles from that of Knockmore, and over four from the police station of Boho, contains some very interesting examples of cavern scorings. This weird spot is worth visiting, though there is no road running nearer to it than at a distance of four miles. The name of the place is Loughnacloyduff, or ‘Lake of the dark trench.’ The lake, or lough, which covers about one acre, is bounded on its northern side by a shattered cliff of yellowish sandstone, rising to a height of perhaps thirty feet above the level of the water. Within the face of this rock are several caverns, two of which present every appearance of being, in part at least, artificial. The largest measures about 6 feet in height, by about the same in breadth, and 10 in depth. The sides and roof are extremely rugged, except here and there where some little care appears to have been exercised for the reception of a series of scorings of various kinds, any notice of which, up to the time of our visit, had not, as far as we are aware, been published. The principal cave is connected with a second and smaller one, lying upon its western side, by an aperture in the partition of rock, by which, but for this provision, the two chambers would be completely severed. The lesser cavern is small, rude and uninscribed, but sufficiently large and dry to have been used as a sleeping apartment by the primitive occupants. The carvings at Loughnacloyduff consist chiefly of crosses enclosed within an apparent lozenge; of starlike designs; and of strokes which look very like a species of Ogam writing. The caverns, once perhaps the home of the cave-dweller, are now the dens of wild animals​—​the fox and the brock or badger, as the bones of other animals and the tattered plumage of birds testify.

In our observations on Caves, we have confined ourselves to those which are natural, or partly artificial, rock-caverns, and in no instance referred to the souterrains​—​underground passages and chambers, lined with drystone masonry and roofed over with flags, found very plentifully in various parts of the country, and too carelessly or vaguely described by some writers under the title of ‘Caves.’ These will be dealt with in a subsequent chapter.

As we have already intimated, in the present state of our knowledge it is impossible to dogmatize upon rock markings. Caution must be used in any attempt to interpret them. Many are no doubt due to natural causes. The familiar water-marks on the Old Red Sandstone formation may too readily be taken for cuttings made by the hand of man. The late Richard Rolt Brash once observed, in the sections of vertical rock strata in the quarries of South Wales, cup-like holes, with corresponding bosses on the opposing layers, and was of opinion that these were sometimes taken for artificial hollows. The late Dr. Frazer, following on the lines of M. Valenciennes, found the Echinus lividus lodged in a cup-like hollow burrowed for itself in the rocks on the sea-shore of Bundoran. Dr. Frazer expressed his opinion that the cup-markings on the rocks round the shore of Lough Melvin, once probably an arm of the sea, were due to the same cause; and further, that some of the markings on rocks described by Sir James Simpson in British Archaic Sculpturings were pittings of the Echinus.[18] Many of the cup-like indentations in the limestone rock are, in the opinion of some scientists, due to acid secretions of the snail, notably the Helix aspersa. Making due allowance for these natural causes, yet a mass of rude markings by the hand of man remain, difficult to interpret as to their origin, their meaning, and the people to whom they are to be assigned. In many districts of this country, and some of them widely apart, we find upon the sides of caves and rocks, and within the enclosure of pagan sepulchral tumuli, a certain well-defined class of markings, often arranged in groups, and with few exceptions, presenting what may be styled a family type: we can hardly imagine them to be the result of caprice. In ancient and in modern times, men confined by necessity to a listless existence, in an inhospitable district, or when tending flocks and herds, might very naturally have beguiled their hours by carving with a stone or metallic instrument such figures as their fancy prompted, upon the nearest object which happened to present a surface more or less smooth. Scorings or patterns made under such circumstances would be, in character, as various as the skill or humours of the designers.

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Rocking-stones.​—​In a field situated not far from the ‘Eglone’ (see [page 12]) occurs a huge mass of the same lithic character. It is known as the Rocking-stone, and, although some tons in weight, may be swayed some eighteen inches on either side by very slight exertion of the hand. These so-called ‘Rocking-stones’ are to be met with in various parts of Ireland and Great Britain. Up to a comparatively recent period they had been supposed to have been associated in some way with the celebration of druidical rites or mysteries. That idea is no longer held, except, indeed, by some old-fashioned or superstitious people. Upon the borders of Fermanagh and Cavan, about three miles along the mountain road from the village of Black Lion, in the direction of the Shannon Pot, may be seen a very characteristic example of the kind of remains under notice. It consists of an immense block of stone, six feet high, somewhat globular in shape, and weighing several tons. The stone rests upon a rock, and is so poised that a moderate pressure of the fingers will suffice to move it. From the position of the mass it would seem to be artificial. It may be that the stone was originally placed where it at present stands in memory of some now long forgotten hero or event, and, owing to an accidental peculiarity, existing either in its own configuration or in that of the supporting rock, was so imposed that it may be thus shaken a few inches backwards and forwards. On the slope of a hill, on the old battle-field of Northern Moytura, is a fine boulder, which we failed to stir, and we were informed by our guide that sometimes the stone rocked, and sometimes it was immovable. The cause of the latter state may probably be due to the clay which is washed down the slope, and rests in the socket on which the rock is balanced. Not far from this, and near the village of Highwood, is another rocking-stone which can easily be moved. On the shore of Brown’s Bay, north of Island Magee, is a larger rocking-stone, weighing about 10 tons, which was once believed to tremble at the approach of a criminal.

Rocking-stones are simply erratic blocks dropped into their present positions in the decline of the Ice Age. A similar phenomenon may be witnessed in the ‘tables’ of a glacier, where the pedestal of ice under the shadow of the rock perched upon it, melts less rapidly than the surrounding surface. Rocking-stones were no doubt looked upon with superstitious awe by the worshippers of stocks and stones, during the dark ages preceding the introduction of Christianity in these islands.

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Druid’s Chairs, or Seats: Inauguration Stones, &c.​—​Other rude stone monuments which we thus classify occur in Ireland. In an article on this subject in the Gentleman’s Magazine,[19] Richard Rolt Brash says: ‘The class of monument now under consideration has been found in countries widely apart. Examples of the stone chair in its most ancient types have been met with in Ireland, Wales, Greece, and South America.’ The examples found in Ireland have been generally speaking of two classes​—​those associated with the Druids or Brehons exercising their respective priestly or judicial functions, and those used in the inauguration of a chief of a great sept. The so-called ‘Coronation Chair’ of the O’Neills of Clandeboye, after various vicissitudes and wanderings, is now once again in Belfast. It consists of a rude quadrangular block of common whinstone, from one side of which, slightly sloping backwards, rises a somewhat thin back, in form and size very similar to that of a plain oak chair of the seventeenth century. The Chair is entirely of natural formation, and has evidently never been touched by a tool. In ancient times the chiefs on the occasion of their inauguration were not seated. On the contrary they, as Spenser describes, stood ‘uppon a stone allwayes reserved for that purpose, and placed commonly uppon a hill.’ Their feet rested within certain sculptured hollows the shape of a man’s foot, and which were supposed to indicate the shape and size of the sole of the foot of the first great captain of the reigning race. The great Chair of the Tyrone O’Neills stood on the Rath of Tullahogue when the chiefs were inaugurated, the last occasion on which it was used being that of the inauguration of Hugh O’Neill in 1595. The chair, as Fynes Moryson tells us, Mountjoy ‘brake down’ in 1602.

‘The Hag’s Chair,’ Loughcrew.

A great boulder on Slieve-na-Calliaghe, one of the Loughcrew hills, near Oldcastle, Co. Meath, is called the ‘Hag’s Chair.’ It stands a few feet within the line of great stones which formed a circle enclosing the principal cairn of that locality. The late Eugene Conwell conceived the visionary idea that he had discovered in it the judicial seat of no less a person than Ollamh Fodhla, whom he describes as ‘Ireland’s famous monarch and law-maker, upwards of three thousand years ago’! The stone weighs about 10 tons, and measures 10 feet by 6, and 2 feet 6 inches thick; the ends are raised about 9 inches above the level, forming a rude seat. It has rude markings similar to those already described, but the crosses on the seat and elevated ends were made during the trigonometrical survey. The hag is traditionally said to have broken her neck in attempting a flying leap from one hilltop to another, when depositing cairns upon their summits.

‘Druid’s Judgment Seat,’ Killiney.

Ancient Stone, Killiney.

A singular pile of stones, usually called the ‘Druid’s Judgment Seat,’ furnishes a good instance of a popular error. This structure stands near the village of Killiney, not far from the Martello Tower, upon the opposite side of the road. It was formerly enclosed within a circle of great stones and a ditch. The circle has been destroyed, and the ditch so altered that little of its original character remains. ‘The Seat’ is composed of large, rough granite blocks, and if really of the period to which tradition refers it, an unusual degree of care must have been exercised for its preservation. The stones bear many indications of their having been at least re-arranged at no very distant time. Small wedges have been introduced as props between the greater stones. The right arm is detached from the other part, to which it fits but clumsily. The whole, indeed, bears the appearance of a modern antique, composed of stones which once formed a portion of some ancient monument. One great evidence of its being a forgery consists in the position which it occupies near the eastern side of the enclosure, while the back of the seat is turned towards the west and towards the centre of the space originally enclosed by the stone circle. The following are its dimensions: breadth at the base, 11½ feet; depth of the seat, 1 foot 9 inches; extreme height, 7 feet. Of several detached stones remaining in the enclosure one is remarkable, as the engraving on this page shows, for the form into which it has been cut. It is a work probably coeval with the original stone circle, and it has been suggested to be symbolical of the sun and moon.

A ‘Brehon’s Chair,’ so called by Beranger, an artist and archæologist who during the latter half of the eighteenth century paid much attention to the subject of Irish antiquities, may be seen on the lands of Glensouthwell, near Hollypark, about three miles and a half from Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin. This monument has been most absurdly misnamed. It is in fact a very remarkable example of the cromlech, or dolmen, and bears no resemblance to a chair of any description. The table, or covering, which had fallen, until a few years ago lay on the ground beside it. This, unfortunately, no longer exists, the stone having been wantonly broken to pieces and used for building purposes.

Legend and tradition associate many such objects with the saints and mythical heroes of the past, and it is only necessary to indicate one or two examples. On the shore of the pilgrim-visited Lough Derg, Co. Donegal, may be seen a large block of stone, which has always been known as ‘St. Brigid’s Chair.’ It is simply a boulder, fashioned by nature into what is at present a very chair-looking object. In the neighbourhood of Letterkenny, in the townland of Lacknacor, is a flagstone upon which St. Columba is said to have been born: the peasantry believe that whoever sleeps upon it for a night will not suffer from home sickness, and it has consequently been frequented by emigrants on the eve of their departure from their native land. Elevated on a circular piece of masonry, in the grounds of Ballyconnell, Falcarragh, Co. Donegal, is a mass of quartz rock, associated with Balor of the ‘mighty blows,’ chief of the Fomorians, one of whose strongholds was Tory Island. Balor stole Glasgavlen, a celebrated cow, from a chief on the mainland named MacKineeley; the latter planned revenge, but before he could execute it Balor landed on the mainland with his followers, seized MacKineeley and cut off his head on the stone, hence called Cloch-i-neely, ‘Kineely’s Stone.’ In local tradition to this day the natural red veins in the stone point to the sanguinary nature of the deed.

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Grain-rubber.

Bulláns or Rock Basins.​—​Throughout Ireland, and particularly in districts of the north-west, basin-like hollows may be found sunk in boulders or cut into the undisturbed rocks, or in the sides or shelving portions of natural caves: these are called ‘Bulláns’, or ‘Bullauns.’ In size and section they vary considerably; some examples, in extreme diameter, measuring four feet or so, while others are scarcely bigger than a small breakfast saucer. The average diameter might be taken as fourteen inches. In section they present three distinct varieties: the most usual is that of an inverse cone; many are bowl-shaped; and not a few simply shallow depressions with vertical sides. Many theories have been advanced as to their origin and uses, but as their purpose was doubtless varied, no definite rule can be laid down upon the subject. It has been urged that some of these bulláns may have been associated with pagan sepulchral rites; while evidence seems to warrant a conclusion that, occasionally at least, some were utilized as baptismal fonts, or at any rate, as receptacles for holy water. They have been considered ‘mortars’ by some archæologists, and that they were used for pounding grain by the priests living in, or in the cells adjoining, ancient churches. This may apply to some, but not to all, for the hollow is frequently in section an equilateral triangle, with a very acute lower point. It is evident that a bullán thus shaped could never have been intended for pounding purposes. Other examples, which are found on the vertical sides of boulders, or on the almost perpendicular face of the natural rock, could not possibly have been designed for a moment to hold anything like grain. Mr. G. H. Kinahan, however, found bulláns used in Co. Donegal for pounding corn for illicit distilling.[20] Primitive man no doubt used, as occasion required, such natural rock-hollows as he could find for the purpose of pounding corn or roots for food. A more accessible article, however, was the Grain-rubber; this was generally a flat stone, the upper surface of which was hollowed out for holding the material to be prepared for food. A large stone with rounded surface was used for pounding or crushing. A more advanced step in milling was the Quern; this has been found in most countries and stages of civilization; and has been used in Ireland down to our own day. Fine examples of it and the grain-rubber may be seen in the Royal Irish Academy collection, National Museum, Dublin.

Pot-Quern.

Bulláns are found far apart from churches, on mountains, in valleys, by the banks of rivers and shores of lakes, and in the chambers of sepulchral mounds. Bulláns placed in the face of the rock occur at Garranbane, near Tempo, Co. Fermanagh; and on a great erratic boulder lying by the side of the road leading from that townlet to Enniskillen, at a distance of about one mile from the former place, two well-defined specimens appear. In the townland of Standingstone, within the demesne of Castlecool, close to Enniskillen, a fine pillar-stone, bearing at least two bulláns, may be seen. The stone is at present prostrate; but that it was not always so, is indicated by the name of the surrounding land. Within the great sepulchral chambers of Newgrange, Dowth, and Slieve-na-Calliaghe, Co. Meath, are large examples; and when exploring the pagan cemetery at Drumnakilly, near Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Mr. Wakeman unearthed two bullán stones which had sustained cinerary urns, placed mouth downward upon them. These stones were deposited in the Archæological Museum of Kilkenny, together with the fictilia referred to.[21]

As in the case of other rocks, traditions of heroes and saints are sometimes attached to these stones. The late Rev. F. Sherman gives the following instance: Mesgegra, king of Leinster in the first century of the Christian era, was slain and decapitated by Conal Cearnach, the champion of Ulster. The head was laid upon a stone, and the tale records ‘that the blood flowed through it to the ground.’ The stone is said still to remain in the stream opposite the ruins of the Franciscan church of Clane. ‘It is a bullán stone, and has an inverse conical cavity eighteen inches deep, and as many wide, on its upper surface.’[22] An interesting legend is attached to the ‘Deer-stone’ in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow. It is said that St. Kevin once found an infant abandoned by its mother; his anxiety to procure it food was relieved by the appearance of a beautiful white doe, that was then, and afterwards daily, milked into the ‘Deer-stone.’ The antiquity of the stone is doubted.

Bulláns are found in pairs, as at Kill o’ the Grange, near Blackrock, Co. Dublin; in threes, as close to the ancient church of Templenaffrin, adjoining Belcoo, Co. Fermanagh; and in numbers up to nine. Of the large number that are to be found scattered throughout the country, two very striking examples of the class deserve special notice. In the townland of Meelehans, about three miles from Tullamore, is a nine-holed bullán. This is a fossiliferous limestone boulder, differing from the limestone of the surrounding district. On the face of the rock from which the earth had been removed, in a radius of three feet, circular hollows were found. Four of these measured one foot in diameter; two were smaller, and the depth was about half the diameter; a seventh was but partially cut: the dressing of these being smooth. The remaining two were natural depressions.[23] Another nine-holed bullán lies upon the shore of Upper Lough Macnean, near the ancient church of Killinagh, and in the immediate vicinity of a well called ‘Tober Brigid,’ formerly, and we believe still, held very sacred by many of the neighbouring peasantry.[24] The bullán is a round boulder of red sandstone, measuring 5 feet 9 inches by 5 feet 2 inches. On its somewhat table-like surface are nine hollows placed somewhat irregularly, one being nearly in the centre of the group. Each of the depressions contained a stone, generally of an oval form, and nearly filling the hollow. Superstitious beliefs and practices still linger round many of these stones; and many bulláns are found associated with certain springs or wells usually esteemed holy, but the special significance of these associations it is now difficult, if not impossible, to determine.

CHAPTER II
STONE MONUMENTS​—​continued.

SEPULCHRAL REMAINS​—​CISTS​—​THE CROMLECH​—​KERNANSTOWN​—​LABBACALLEE​—​MONASTERBOICE​—​GREENMOUNT​—​CROMLECH OF THE FOUR MAOLS​—​BLACK LION​—​LEGANANNY​—​BALLYMASCANLAN​—​PHŒNIX PARK CISTS​—​HOWTH​—​KILTERNAN​—​MOUNT VENUS​—​SHANGANAGH​—​BRENNANSTOWN (GLEN DRUID)​—​GLENSOUTHWELL​—​GLENCULLEN BALLYEDMOND​—​SHANKILL​—​KNOCKMANY​—​CLOGHTOGH​—​SLIEVEMORE​—​LENNAN​—​CASTLEDERG.

It is now admitted by all competent authorities that the works scattered throughout Ireland, varying from the rude structures known as cromlechs and the gigantic chambered cairns, like those of Newgrange and Dowth, down to the simplest cist, alike varieties of the cromlech idea, are graves of a primitive people. But we may go a step further than this. It is perfectly evident that the people who erected the cromlechs and tumuli were far more solicitous about the abodes of the dead than they were regarding their own dwellings, built as these were of wood and wattles, covered with turf and earth, and subject to ready decay. ‘On the other hand,’ as Dr. Munro well says, ‘the tomb was constructed of the most durable materials, and placed on an eminence, so as to be seen from afar, and to be a lasting memorial among succeeding generations.’[25]

Towards the close of the Stone Age the custom of burning the bodies of the dead was practised by the inhabitants of the British Isles. The dead were also disposed of by ordinary burial, by placing the body in either a horizontal, sitting, or perpendicular position. Both methods were practised throughout the whole succeeding archæological period, or Bronze Age, as numerous remains testify. When cremated, the calcined remains were placed in an urn, and then deposited, often with a small food-vessel, within an artificial chamber. This is called a Cist, or Kistvaen, and is usually a small rectangular chamber made of flags or rude stones. Over these chambers it was often customary to raise a cairn of stones or earthen mound. The cist has, however, been frequently found in open fields and other unexpected places. Cinerary urns, too, have been found within an area of stone circles, in tumuli not many feet from the surface, and in mounds that in their centre contained other, and probably more ancient, burial deposits.

In case of interment the grave was sometimes formed of flags, often of considerable size, placed edgeways, and enclosing a space, covered with stones, barely sufficient to contain the body, and over which a cairn or mound was raised. The body was also deposited in a chamber formed of large rude stones, often found standing free; but sometimes the chamber was covered by a mound or cairn, and was accessible by a passage from without. To the uncovered remains of these burial structures the name Cromlech is generally applied. The cairn or mound was often surrounded by a circle of stones, and traces of this still exist in some of the sepulchral monuments. Sometimes the space in which the remains of several bodies have been found is barely sufficient for one body, and it is supposed that they were broken before interment. Cremated remains are often found with the remains of an interred body; and this may have been the result of human sacrifices offered to the manes of the dead.

An interesting account of burial in an upright position is referred to in the Book of Armagh, where King Laoghaire is represented as telling St. Patrick that his father Niall used to exhort him never to believe in Christianity, but to retain the ancient religion of his ancestors, and to be interred in the Hill of Tara, like a man standing up in battle, with his face turned to the south, as if bidding defiance to the men of Leinster.

‘Cremations and bodily interments,’ says Colonel Wood-Martin, ‘have been found intermixed in a manner to lead to the belief that both forms of burial prevailed contemporaneously. Urns to contain the ashes of the dead were, possibly, used as a special mark of honour; also, perhaps, to facilitate the conveyance of the human remains from a distance to the chosen place of interment. In a country wherein were thick woods and long stretches of bog to be traversed, the passage of funeral processions must have been attended with delays and difficulties.’

The ordinary Cromlech, when perfect, or nearly so, consists of three or more stones, unhewn, and generally so arranged as to form a small enclosure. Over these a large and usually thick stone is placed, the whole forming a kind of vault or rude chamber. It is generally rude in appearance, the stones often consisting of mere amorphous blocks. In Clare, where the limestone is found more or less in a laminated form, the cromlech becomes more symmetrical, and is often very perfect in shape.

The cromlech is usually styled ‘Dolmen’ by English and Continental writers. Our peasantry, however, as a rule, call them ‘Giants’ Graves,’ or not unfrequently, when retailing a tradition and speaking in Irish, ‘Leaba Diarmida agus Graine,’ or the Beds of Dermot and Graine, from two historical personages who, according to an old legend, eloped together, and flying through the country for a year and a day, erected these ‘beds’ wherever they rested for a night. Graine, or Grace, was the betrothed wife of Fin Mac Coul, and daughter of King Cormac Mac Art, who lived about the middle of the third century A.D.; her lover was Diarmid O’Duibhne, of whom several stories are still current. According to this legend there should be just 366 cromlechs, or ‘beds,’ in Ireland. But mythical as the story is, it is nevertheless of some interest, as it connects the monuments with pre-Christian events. In parts of the north and west of the country they are sometimes styled ‘griddles.’

The true Chamber Monument is an extended form of the cromlech, and differs from it in that the roof is formed by a succession of overlapping slabs resting on the stones forming the walls, and gradually rising from the lower end. The top cap-stone, while resting on the uprights, not only closes the chamber, but by its weight keeps in position the overlapping stones which help to support it.

In some cases the covering stone of the cromlech seems to have slipped from its original position, and will be found with one end or side resting upon the ground. Du Noyer was of opinion, shared by the late Mr. Borlase, that this was originally the case in some examples, the builders having failed in their efforts to raise the ponderous table or covering stone, or to procure suitable supports. The position of the upper stone, or roof, is usually sloping; but its degree of inclination does not seem to have been regulated by any intention or design. This general disposition of the ‘table’ has been largely seized upon by advocates of the ‘Druids’ Altar’ theory, as a proof of the soundness of their opinion that these monuments were erected by the Druids for the purpose of human sacrifice. Some, indeed, have gone so far as to discover in the hollows worn by the rains and storms of centuries on the upper surface of these stones, channels artificially excavated, for the purpose of facilitating the passage of a victim’s blood earthwards!

The question whether the cromlech was originally covered by a cairn or mound has been the subject of much discussion, but its full consideration is outside the limits of this work. The great majority of existing cromlechs in Ireland are, now at least, of the free-standing order. Of these some, from the nature of their position and structure, could never have been the centres of tumuli. Others, no doubt, were covered; but, in the case of most, time has so altered their condition that it is now difficult to determine how they really stood in their original and finished state.[26] A little consideration will show that, as the cromlech and covered chamber belong to the same general class of sepulchral monuments, it was intended by the original builders that access should be had to them from without. Mr. Borlase, agreeing with Fergusson, is ‘inclined to regard the dolmens as no mere tombs intended to be closed for ever, but as sacred shrines in which the spirits of the dead were worshipped, and which were constructed with a view of being accessible to devotees.’[27] The remains deposited within had to be protected from the severity of the weather and the intrusion of wild animals. In the case of the uncovered cromlech all intervening spaces would be closed up with smaller stones and earth, and the walls banked up to the edge of the cap-stone. Mr. Borlase advances the theory that the cromlech, hitherto technically so-called, is the more megalithic portion of the giant’s grave, and ‘that both types, despite the difference in their appearance in the condition in which we now find them, belong to one and the same class of dolmen, originally of elongated form.’[28] He supports this by pointing out that the ‘giant’s grave’ is a long, wedge-shaped structure, rising gradually from a lower to a higher end, the latter having the heavier supports and larger covering stone. These would be the more difficult to destroy, for, in the long lapse of time, as stones were required for building or other purposes, the smaller and lighter would be carried away. How far this may be the case we cannot here consider; but some cromlechs, such as those raised of great boulder rocks, could never have been of the extended order of structure.

The number of these sepulchral remains scattered throughout the country is very great. Mr. Borlase enumerates them as follows: dolmens, certain, 780; chambered tumuli, 50; uncertain, 68​—​total, 898. Of these dolmens, Connaught has 248; Munster, 234; Ulster, 227; and Leinster, 71. The counties richest in these are​—​Sligo, 163; Clare, 94; Donegal, 82; and Cork, 71. The area of geographical distribution of these megalithic monuments is very wide. It extends from western Asia​—​Syria, Palestine, and Turkey​—​over north Africa, through south-east Europe, France, Spain, Portugal, over north Germany, and northern Europe. In France they reached a high degree of perfection. England and Wales furnish many examples similar to the Irish cromlechs; but they are rarely, if ever, found in Scotland.

The question naturally suggests itself, How were a primitive people, with such rude mechanical means as they possessed, able to raise those huge stones into the positions in which they are now found? Several theories have been advanced, which may be briefly stated. It has been suggested that the great covering stones of the cromlech having been found in situ, they were undermined, and a chamber formed beneath by the removal of the earth. As the work progressed uprights were by degrees placed in position, of sufficient weight and strength to support the great covering stone. Instances are found in Ireland to which this theory might, perhaps, apply; but the method could not have been adopted in such cases as that of the Ballymascanlan cromlech, where the cap-stone rests on clear supports 8 or 9 feet high. The plan suggested by the King of Denmark has been accepted by many, and it may have been adopted in some cases. In this, the supporting stones having been placed in position, an inclined plane or bank of earth would be raised, sloping from the level of the uprights to the ground. Up this the roofing stone would be worked, over blocks of timber placed side by side, by means of levers, wedges, and haulage. The absence of all traces of such banks in existing cromlechs, and other considerations, have been urged against this method of raising these structures. On the ground that all cromlechs were originally of the ‘giant’s grave’ order, Mr. Borlase urges the theory that the cap-stones were raised one by one, the largest first, until it fell into its place upon the highest uprights. He considers that the disarrangement in the lines of the side stones, and the presence occasionally of buttresses, support this view. By using beams of timber and rollers it was possible, with great and united human strength, to lever very heavy rocks, bit by bit, into position.

Given sufficient men, great masses of stone may be moved over long distances and raised into position, even with the rudest means. There is no evidence whatever to show that the ancient Egyptians possessed any machinery to economise human labour in moving great monoliths. They were, it must be remembered, especially favoured in the Nile as a waterway, and the quarries, as a rule, were near its banks. In their pictorial records, so graphic in illustrating every art and craft, there is no reproduction of any machine or engineering expedient, except those of the very simplest kind; but the records do show that they employed large bodies of men in this kind of work, who were specially trained to haul with military precision. The earliest record of such work is that of an official of the 6th Dynasty (3350 B.C.), who brought a monolith to Memphis, which required the services of 3000 men. A record on the tomb of Tehuti-hetap, an official of the 12th Dynasty (2622–2578 B.C.), shows a statue on a sledge, drawn by 176 men, divided into four parties of 22 pairs, each party to a single hawser. A superintendent stands on the knees of the statue, giving, as the inscription states, ‘the time-beat to the soldiers,’ by clapping his hands. The two obelisks, each 97½ feet high, and 300 tons in weight, erected by Queen Hatshepsut (1503–1481 B.C.), were cut in the quarries of Assuan, and transported to Karnak in seven months. A still more remarkable instance of transporting great masses of stone was that of the fallen statue of Rameses II., which must originally have been 60 feet high, and weighed 800 tons. But this work was eclipsed by the same monarch in the statue erected at Tanis in the north-east Delta, which must have stood 92 feet in height, and weighed 900 tons, at least. It was brought from the quarries of Assuan, 600 miles distant. With such examples as these, accomplished with simple means, there is nothing surprising in the erection of the rude megalithic monuments by the primitive inhabitants of these islands.

We shall now refer more specifically to some interesting examples of the numerous remains of the rude covered and uncovered chambers found in Ireland, as distinguished from the great tumuli presently to be described.

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Kernanstown Cromlech, Carlow.

Kernanstown Cromlech is about two miles north-east of Carlow, and is the largest in Ireland. This magnificent granite block is securely supported on three uprights at the east side, standing at a height of 6 feet. At the west end this cap is raised 2 feet. The block is 23½ feet long, 18¾ feet broad, 4½ feet thick, and measures 65 feet round. This is estimated to weigh 100 tons. It makes an angle of 35° with the horizon.

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Labbacallee Cromlech.​—​This, according to Mr. Borlase, ‘the most noted dolmen of extended form in Ireland’ lies about one and a half miles south-east of Glanworth on the old road to Fermoy. It consists of a double range of stones, the internal lines forming the supports of the covering stones. The largest of the cap-stones measures 15½ feet by 9 feet, the second being partially buried in earth. The entire measurement is estimated by Mr. Borlase to have been not less than 42 feet. The line of direction is east and west; the width of the inner chamber is 6 feet, and it is now 5 feet high, and sinks towards the lower end.[29]

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Monasterboice Cromlech.​—​This fine monument lies about three-quarters of a mile to the north-east of the old graveyard of Monasterboice, and is known as ‘Calliagh Dirra’s House.’ It is called by the peasantry the ‘House or Tomb of Calliagh Vera, or Birra,’ a mythic witch, whose name is associated with several wild legends referring to the mysterious cairns and other antiquities remaining upon the hills of Loughcrew, near Oldcastle. The work has been considered by some to be of the free-standing order; but Du Noyer says it must have been covered by a tumulus: it is roughly oblong in form, extending exactly east and west, showing the wedge-shaped plan, and measuring, internally, 12 feet 6 inches in length, by 4 feet at one end, and 3 feet at the other, in breadth. The north and south walls consist each of five large flagstones; four flagstones form the covering, and each end is closed by a slab. The stones forming the walls stand on edge, and some of these have supplemental stones and buttresses.

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The Greenmount Chamber is about five miles further to the north, near Castlebellingham. Here, in 1870, General Lefroy opened an earthen mound, which was found to contain a chamber, the measurements of which were 21½ feet by 3 feet 4 inches, the height being 5 feet. The roof was formed of eight large flagstones. From the foundation to the top of the mound was 23 feet. Ashes, burnt bones, charcoal, and teeth of hogs and cattle were found. A bronze celt and plate, with runic character on one side, and elaborate interlaced pattern on the other, were found in the tumulus.

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Cromlech of the Four Maols.​—​This monument is on a hill close to the town of Ballina; the covering stone measures 9 feet by 7 feet, and is supported by three uprights. It is considered of much interest from an incident in early Irish history, mentioned in more than one Irish MS. It relates to the murder of Bishop Celleach, of Kilmore-Moy, son of Eoghan Bel, King of Connaught, and great-grandson of Dathi. Eoghan Bel was killed in battle at Sligo in 537, and in dying commanded the Hy Fiachrach to elect Celleach in his stead. Through the hatred of King Guaire, Celleach was murdered by the four Maols,[30] his foster-brothers or pupils. The brother of the bishop captured the assassins, and carried them to the banks of the Moy, where they were executed upon a hill hence known as Ardnaree, or the ‘Hill of Executions.’ The bodies were carried across the river, and buried on a hill on the right bank.

But we cannot say for certain that the cromlech now standing there was erected to their memory. It is probable they were excommunicated and pronounced unworthy of Christian association, here and hereafter. As the bodies had to be disposed of, it is possible that as a further mark of ignominy in this case, they were thrust into a pagan sepulchre which had stood on the Hill of Executions for ages past; though, as Colonel Wood-Martin points out in dealing with the story, ‘it would also appear as if the native Irish, long after the introduction of Christianity, sometimes continued to bury in ancient cemeteries.’[31]

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Black Lion Chambers.​—​About two miles and a-half from the village of Black Lion, in County Cavan, but on the borders of Fermanagh, may be seen two fine ‘giants’ graves,’ the larger of which, measuring 47 feet in length by about 10 in breadth, remains in a complete state of preservation. Five flagstones, some of considerable thickness, closely cover this enormous work. It was, and partially still is, enclosed by an oval line of standing stones, some of which have fallen, while others, in number and position sufficient to convey an idea of the original plan, remain in situ. At one end occurs a small but apparently undisturbed stone circle. At a little distance stand a cromlech, the covering stone of which measures fifteen feet five inches in length by fifteen in breadth; also another cromlech, besides a considerable number of dallans or pillar-stones. In the immediate vicinity occurs a fine chambered cairn, which, but for the work of rabbit-hunting boys many years ago, might now stand complete. The chamber, or cist, was found to contain a fine cinerary urn. The question suggests itself, Why should this cist-bearing cairn remain almost perfect, while the neighbouring megaliths, if they were ever mound-enclosed, are found cleanly and completely bare? Again, at the Barr of Fintona, we find two important cairns remaining almost completely preserved; while close at hand is a ‘giant’s grave,’ which, if ever covered, is now practically denuded.

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Legananny Cromlech.​—​This cromlech is in the townland of Legananny, on the southern slope of Cratlieve mountain, in Co. Down, about six miles north-west of Castlewellan. The cap is a coffin-shaped granite block, 11 feet 4 inches long, 4 feet 9 inches wide at the south-east end, and 3 feet at the foot or north-west end. It rests upon three upright pillars, the two at the south-west measuring 7 feet and 6 feet 2 inches respectively, the third block at the foot being 4 feet 5 inches high. An urn was found in the chamber beneath. It has no sign of ever having been covered; and Fergusson has instanced it as an example of the free-standing cromlech in combating the theory that all cromlechs were originally covered by cairns or mounds.

Legananny Cromlech, Co. Down.

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Ballymascanlan Cromlech.​—​This fine cromlech is about 4 miles north-east of Dundalk, and is known as the ‘Proleek Stone,’ and the ‘Giant’s Load.’ There is nothing to indicate that it was ever a chambered tumulus. The cap-stone is an erratic block of basalt, measuring 15 feet by 13 feet, and about 6 feet thick, and is variously estimated at 30 to 60 tons in weight.[32] It is supported by three upright stones of slender shape, and the total height is about 12 feet. Adjoining is another cromlech of the extended form, and generally known as ‘Giants’ Graves.’

Ballymascanlan Cromlech.

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Sepulchral Chamber, Phœnix Park.

Phœnix Park Cists.​—​The neighbourhood of Dublin furnishes many examples of these rude stone monuments of a prehistoric age. The ancient sepulchre situated in the Phœnix Park, Dublin, a little to the west of the Hibernian Military School, was discovered in the year 1838 by some workmen employed, under the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, in the removal of a tumulus which measured in circumference 120 feet, and in height 15 feet. During the progress of the work, four stone cists, or kistvaens, were exposed, each enclosing an urn of baked clay, within which were calcined bones and ashes, &c. One of these urns, which is now, with the skulls, shells, and other remains, in the Royal Irish Academy collection, arranged in a case in the National Museum, was fortunately saved in a nearly perfect state. The tomb at present consists of seven stones set in the ground, in the form of an irregular oval, three of which support a covering stone, which measures in length 6 feet 6 inches; in breadth, at the broadest part, 3 feet 6 inches; and in thickness between 14 and 16 inches. The spaces between the stones which formed the enclosure were filled with others of smaller size, which, since the discovery, have fallen out or been removed. The following is an extract from the report of the Academy:​—​‘In the recess they enclosed, two perfect male human skeletons were found, and also the tops of the femora of another, and a single bone of an animal supposed to be that of a dog. The heads of the skeletons rested to the north; and as the enclosure is not of sufficient extent to have permitted the bodies to lie at full length, they must have been bent at the vertebræ, or at the lower joints. In both skulls the teeth are nearly perfect, but the molars were more worn in one than in the other. Immediately under each skull was found collected together a considerable quantity of small shells common on our coasts, and known to conchologists by the name of Nerita littoralis. On examination these shells were found to have been rubbed down on the valve with a stone to make a second hole, for the purpose, as it appeared evident, of their being strung to form necklaces; and a vegetable fibre, serving this purpose, was also discovered, a portion of which was through the shells. A small fibula of bone, and a knife, or arrow-head, of flint, were also found.’

Visitors to the Phœnix Park will find in the grounds of the Royal Zoological Gardens a cist, or diminutive cromlech, in many respects similar to that just noticed, which was discovered some years ago in a sandpit immediately adjoining the neighbouring village of Chapelizod. This monument, though not occupying its ancient position, and, notably, a restoration, should be seen by students of Irish antiquities, the stones of which it is composed having been carefully replaced in their original order. It is on record that within this tomb a human skeleton was found, but no mention of anything else it may have contained has been preserved.

A much more important example of a removed Cist is now to be seen in the National Museum, Dublin, which should prove of great interest to the student of archæology. In August, 1898, in a sandpit at Greenhills, Tallaght, County Dublin, workmen engaged in removing sand from the face of the pit discovered a cist; it measures 24 inches by 19 inches, and the height in the centre is 19 inches. It is formed of single stones two to four inches thick; the bottom stone is broken. It contained three vessels​—​a large urn inverted and covering a much smaller one, and a food-vessel of flower-pot shape. Under the urn was a quantity of burnt bones. Other urns and broken fragments of pottery, a skeleton, and portions of burnt bones were found in the same pit, which shows that both forms of disposing of the dead existed at the same period of time. The cist, encased in its matrix of sand and earth, was carefully and most successfully removed by Colonel Plunkett, director of the Museum, and his assistants. Expert opinion on the shape and decoration of the vessels places them at the close of the Bronze Period.[33]

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Cromlech in Howth Demesne.

Howth Cromlech.​—​This fine monument is situated near the base of an inland cliff, within the grounds of Howth Castle, and at a distance of about three-quarters of a mile from the sea-shore. It consists, at present, of ten blocks of quartzite rock; the table or covering stone is 20 feet long and 17 feet broad; it is 56 feet in circumference; and the extreme thickness is 8 feet. The weight of this mass has been computed at 70 tons. It seems as if the enormous pressure caused the supporters more or less to give way; they all incline westward, and the table appears as if it had slipped in that direction, in its course breaking one of the pillars in two. This probably occurred before the block could be placed in its intended position, and it was arrested in its descent by the undisturbed stump of the fractured stone upon which, in an inclined position, it now reposes at its lowest edge. Three of the supporters are about 8 feet high, so that, as Beranger, who visited and described the remains about a hundred years ago, states:​—​‘This, one of the grandest mausoleums, must have made a noble figure standing, as the tallest man might stand and walk under it with ease.’ The structure on the interior would seem to have constituted an irregular chamber, tending east and west; but much disturbance of the stones has occurred, and it would be now impossible by drawings and plans to give a very reliable idea of the original appearance of this still impressive pile, which, we may add, appears never to have been surmounted by cairn or tumulus of any kind. These stones were formerly called ‘Fin Mac Coul’s Quoits.’

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Kilternan Cromlech.

Kilternan Cromlech is near Kilternan House, 7 miles from Dublin, and half a mile west of Golden Ball. It is another fine example of its class, when we consider the weight of its table, estimated at 40 tons, and the difficulty, as we must suppose, of raising, in a rude age, such a mass upon supporters. The covering stone, like all others, of this monument is of the granite of the district. Its measurements are: extreme length, 22 feet; width, 13½ feet; greatest thickness, 6 feet 6 inches. The supporters vary in height from 2 to 4 feet, but it is impossible to know how far they may be sunk below the present ground level. Some considerable disturbance in their arrangement appears to have occurred. Several would seem to have subsided, but the roofing block is still held above ground by the others; the height of the enclosure may be stated as about five feet from floor to roof. The plan of the chamber is very irregular, but it may be described as extending east and west. This cromlech is known as ‘the giant’s grave’; but there is no local tradition connected with it, folklore in this district having generations ago ceased to exist.

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Mount Venus Cromlech.

Mount Venus Cromlech.​—​This monument, situated at Woodtown, about two and a half miles from Rathfarnham, a suburb of Dublin, is no longer perfect. Its table, which may have slipped from its original position, is at present supported by a single stone about 7½ feet in height, and of considerable massiveness. The greatest measurement of the covering stone is 23 feet; it is 12 feet in breadth, and 5 feet in thickness. It is supported at the north-west corner by an upright stone, forming with it an angle of 45°. Several of the former supporting stones would seem to have been removed, and others have evidently been broken. The rock is granite, of a very hard, close, and durable description. It seems to have weathered but little, as all the remaining stones present angles of considerable sharpness. Du Noyer was of opinion that this cromlech was of what he styled the ‘earth-fast’ class, and that the roof had always in part rested upon the ground. In this supposition O’Neill, no mean authority on such matters, did not by any means coincide. The weight of the covering stone is estimated at 42 tons. So great a pressure might well cause some of the weaker supporters to give way, in which case the pile would very probably assume its present appearance. It is not in the least likely that this tomb had at any time been covered by a tumulus or cairn. Mr. Borlase considers it ‘one of the most magnificent megalithic monuments in the world.’

Shanganagh Cromlech.

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Shanganagh Cromlech.​—​At Shanganagh, half a mile to the east of the hamlet of Loughlinstown, may be seen a fine specimen of what may be styled, as regards size, a cromlech of the second class. It is supported upon four stones, and presents no appearance of having been enveloped in a mound of any description. Like nearly every one of its kindred remains in the County Dublin, it is formed of granite blocks. The covering stone measures 9 feet in length by 7 feet at its greatest breadth; it is 3½ feet in its extreme thickness; and its highest portion is at present slightly over 9 feet above the ground; the weight is about 12 tons. The chamber would seem to extend east and west. The cromlech may be easily visited from Killiney railway station.

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Brennanstown (Glen Druid) Cromlech.​—​In a picturesque valley, close to Cabinteely, County Dublin, stands a very perfect cromlech. This monument may be reached in a short walk from the Carrickmines railway station. The site is a little over one mile and a-half from the sea-coast. The covering stone is of an irregular form, but the under portion, which forms the top of the chamber, is quite flat and horizontal. The following are its dimensions:​—​length and breadth, 15½ feet; thickness, 3 to 5 feet. It is not easy to calculate the weight of this mass, on account of the irregularity of form which the block presents; but it is estimated at 36 tons. It rests, as Mr. Borlase points out, on two antæ, as well as on the larger stones, and so forms an ante-chamber 5 feet wide at the entrance. A number of detached stones lying about this very perfect example would indicate that it was originally accompanied by a circle of standing stones.

Brennanstown Cromlech.

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Glensouthwell Cromlech.​—​Of this ‘Druid’s or Brehon’s Chair,’ already referred to (page 42), Beranger wrote as follows:​—​‘This piece of antiquity, the only one yet discovered, is situated at the foot of the Three-Rock Mountain. It is supposed to be the seat of judgment of the Arch-Druid, from whence he delivered his oracles. It has the form of an easy-chair wanting the seat, and is composed of three rough, unhewn stones, about 7 feet high, all clear above ground. How deep they are in the earth remains unknown. Close to it is a sepulchral monument or cromlech, supposed to be the tomb of the Arch-Druid. It is 15 feet in girth, and stands on three supporters, about 2 feet high, and is planted round with trees. The top stone is 8½ feet long.’ The so-called ‘chair’ still remains, and the above account fairly describes it. The three stones, standing north, west, and east, are, however, 9¼ feet, 8¾ feet, and 8 feet high, respectively. It never was a ‘chair.’ It is evidently a rather small but high cromlech that has lost its covering stone. The ‘cromlech’ noticed by Beranger was probably the block destroyed by blasting in 1876.

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Glencullen Cromlech.​—​This monument is situated on the eastern side of Glencullen, half a mile north-west of Glencullen House, near Kilternan, in a very wild district, extending to the west of the Three-Rock Mountain, and at a distance of some three miles, in a direct line, from the sea. It is described by O’Neill as having ‘a roof rock 10 feet long, 8 feet broad, and 4 feet thick, extreme measures.... The longest direction of the roof rock is W.S.W., or nearly east and west. The chamber is greatly damaged.’[34]

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Ballyedmond Chamber is ¾ of a mile north-west of Glencullen House, in the parish of Kilgobbin. O’Curry, writing of it, says: ‘It is a very fine giant’s grave, resembling the Bed of Callan More on Slieve Gullion, only that it is more perfect. I doubt if we have met so perfect a pagan grave in any other counties hitherto examined. This had been a tumulus, and the earth being cleared away, the grave was to be seen. The tumulus was oval in shape, and its axis, like that of the grave, was east and west.’ The side stones of the chamber were ten in number, one of the covering stones, measuring 7 feet by 5, remained in its place.

* * * * *

Shankill Cromlech.​—​In Cromwell’s Excursions through Ireland, vol. III., p. 159, there is an engraving, after a drawing by Petrie, of a dolmen at this place, which is situated about four miles to the north or north-west of Bray, at a distance of a couple of miles from the nearest point of the sea-shore. O’Neill, writing in 1852, says that he could not find it, and heard that it had been removed a few years previously. Nevertheless the monument still exists, and was sketched by Mr. Wakeman some years ago. It stands by the side of a road leading across the eastern slope of Carrigollagher, in the direction of Rathmichael, and is a fair specimen of its class. It retains its covering stone in situ, but without the end stones.

It is interesting to note that the cromlechs in the east of Ireland are generally of the free-standing and uncovered class. If we want to find similar monuments to those mentioned, we must seek for them much further north, or in districts of the west or south-west of Ireland. It was known that in County Sligo scores of these subaerial sepulchral monuments were to be found surrounded by one or more lines of stones, which are not unfrequently associated with free-standing pillar-stones, and, as would sometimes seem, with elementary alignments. But, until the appearance of Colonel Wood-Martin’s Rude Stone Monuments of Sligo and Achill, it was not known that in the west existed T-shaped sepulchres, and others in plan like a dumb-bell, the handle representing the grave, while the bulbous ends might be expressed in the form of regularly-constructed stone circles. He was also enabled to point to triangular graves, a form of burial structure in Ireland previously described by no other writer. ‘It is remarkable,’ says Colonel Wood-Martin, ‘that, in the county of Sligo, the characteristic features of the megaliths varied according to districts: for example, in Carrowmore the circular form was almost universal, whereas in Northern Carbury an oblong arrangement appears to predominate. Again, in the Deerpark Monument, the general architectural principles displayed at Stonehenge can be traced.’ In the townland of Carrowmore, to the south-west of Sligo, here referred to, are, or were, the remains, says Mr. Borlase, of sixty-five ‘dolmen circles,’ forty-four of which are designated in the Ordnance Survey Map. For particulars of these we must refer the reader to Colonel Wood-Martin’s survey and Mr. Borlase’s work. Before finally leaving the subject of the ordinary cromlech it is necessary to notice some examples which bear markings, seemingly carved with some intention.

* * * * *

Knockmany Chamber.​—​This interesting sepulchral monument, which is illustrated in the frontispiece to this work, is on the summit of a wooded hill, about two and a half miles north of Clogher, County Tyrone. The chamber is of the type known as the ‘giant’s grave’; it lies nearly due north and south, and consists of thirteen stones, most of which are mill-stone grit. None of the covering stones now remain, having probably been removed for building purposes. The tomb seems to have been originally covered by a mound. The internal measurement is 10 feet 3 inches by 6 feet 6 inches; two of the blocks of the east side have fallen inwards. Four of the stones have markings, consisting of cup-hollows, zigzag lines, concentric circles, and other curved patterns. Expert opinion, from an examination of their forms, is inclined to associate the markings with the later Bronze Age of Scandinavia, and to give a probable date of this sepulchral chamber as 500 B.C. The tomb is known locally as ‘Aynia’s Cove,’ popular superstition associating it with a witch or hag named Aynia or Ainé. It is also called Knoc Baine, as being the supposed burial-place of Baine, mother of Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar, who was king of Ireland early in the second century. This would bring the monument to the Late Celtic period, which is difficult to reconcile with the archæological evidence already mentioned, associating it with the Bronze Age.[35]

* * * * *

Cloghtogh Cromlech.​—​Cloghtogh, the ‘Lifted stone,’ is situated close to the village of Lisbellaw, Co. Fermanagh. It consists of four great stones, two of which form the sides, and one the end, of a quadrangular chamber. On the front of the fourth stone, which constitutes the cap or covering, were four well-marked cups, averaging 1¾ inches in diameter. These, which unfortunately have been chipped off, were placed in a horizontal line, extending over a space of 18 inches, and slightly diminishing in size from left to right. The block is 7½ feet in length, by 6 feet in breadth, the thickness being 1½ feet.

* * * * *

Slievemore Cromlech.​—​Similar markings may be observed on one of the upright stones of a ruined cromlech standing on the slope of Slievemore, island of Achill, amongst other remains, styled on the Ordnance sheet tumulus, cromlech, Danish ditch, respectively. It is difficult to imagine that the likeness between these two sets of cup-markings is accidental. A similar array of four cups, but placed vertically, may be seen on one of the enormous stones forming the right-hand side of the gallery leading into the great cairn of Newgrange.

* * * * *

Lennan Cromlech.​—​The inscribed cromlech of Lennan or Tullycorbet, Co. Monaghan, stands upon a knoll called by the people of the district Cruck-na-clia, which may be translated ‘Battle hill.’ This monument, a fine one of its class, presents every appearance of having always been free-standing. It bears some extremely curious markings, into the character of which the late Sir Samuel Ferguson made careful examination.[36]

* * * * *

Castlederg Cromlech.​—​This monument lies about three-quarters of a mile to the north of the town of Castlederg, 140 yards to the east of the old Strabane road, leading through Churchtown townland. The principal cap-stone was dislodged many years ago by the owner of the farm. ‘It appears,’ says Sir Samuel Ferguson, ‘that the structure had previously been rendered insecure by a stone-mason, who had abstracted one of the supporters for building purposes; and it was suggested that the motive for casting down the cap-stone was an apprehension lest the owner’s cattle, in rubbing or sheltering under it, might do themselves a mischief. That the inscription was there at the time of the first disclosure of the upper face of the support on which it is sculptured, is the common and constant statement of the people of the country; but the case rests more satisfactorily on the fact, wholly independent of testimony, that a collateral covering stone remains in situ, and that the line of scorings is prolonged underneath it into a position too contracted for the use of a graving tool.’[37]

The work here consists of a continuous series of straight scorings, accompanied by a number of dots or depressions more or less circular in form. There can be no doubt that a generic resemblance may be noticed between them and many of the markings of the Lennan inscription. This, if there were nothing more, would raise a serious doubt of their being merely accidental or capricious indentations. The great majority of such irregular scorings should, nevertheless, be looked upon with suspicion. Those which occur on the pillar-stone at Kilnasaggart, Co. Armagh, though long considered to be Ogam characters, are now universally pronounced to be nothing more than markings made by persons who utilized the monument as a block for the sharpening and pointing of tools or weapons. The same remark applies in full force to certain scorings and scratches which disfigure a fine pillar-stone standing close to the railway station of Kesh, County Fermanagh, on the right-hand side of the line as you face towards Bundoran. They are found abundantly on the coping stones of the walls of Londonderry, and indeed in other localities too numerous to mention. At Killowen, County Cork, they occur on a stone most significantly called Cloch na n’Arm, or the ‘(Sharpening) Stone of the weapons.’

CHAPTER III
STONE MONUMENTS (continued): CHAMBERED TUMULI.

TUMULUS AT NEWGRANGE​—​TUMULUS AT DOWTH​—​TUMULUS AT KNOWTH​—​CAIRNS AT LOUGHCREW​—​PREHISTORIC ORNAMENT.

In the Senchas-na-Relec, or ‘History of the Cemeteries,’ a tract in the Leabhar-na h-Uidhre, we have a list of the regal cemeteries of Erin during a long period prior to the advent of St. Patrick. This was compiled at Clonmacnoise, and transcribed by Maelmuiri in the twelfth century. In the opinion of Petrie the tract ‘must be referred to a period several centuries earlier than that in which its transcriber flourished.’[38] It says:​—​‘These were the chief cemeteries before the Faith (i.e. before the introduction of Christianity), viz. Cruachu, Brugh, Tailltiu, Luachair Ailbe, Oenach Ailbe, Oenach Culi, Oenach Colmain, Temhair Erann.... At Tailltiu the kings of Ulster were used to bury, viz. Ollamh Fodhla, with his descendants, down to Conchobhar, who wished that he should be carried to a place between Slea and the sea, with his face to the east, on account of the Faith which he had embraced.’ In the same MS. there is also a poem ascribed to Dorban, a poet of West Connaught, dealing with the deaths and burials of Dathi, the last of the Milesian kings, and other princes of the race interred at Rathcroghan. It contains three stanzas:​—​

‘Fifty mounds, I certify,

Are at Oenach na Cruachna,

There are under each mound of them

Fifty truly-fine warlike men.

The three cemeteries of the Idolaters are

The cemetery of Tailten, the select,

The cemetery of the ever-fair Cruachan,

And the cemetery of Brugh....

The host of great Meath were buried

In the middle of the lordly Brugh;

The great Ultonians used to bury

At Tailten with pomp.’

Of the cemeteries named but two can be identified with any degree of certainty, viz. those of Brugh na Boinne, the ‘Dwelling-place on the Boyne,’ now generally acknowledged to be Newgrange, and Cruachan (Rathcroghan), County Roscommon; but there is great probability that Tailten may be the great necropolis situate on the Loughcrew Hills not far from Oldcastle.

* * * * *

Tumulus at Newgrange.​—​As the size and character of the grave mounds would depend upon the rank of the dead, the magnitude of these monuments of kings and heroes can be readily understood from the MS. evidence. The Tumulus at Newgrange, in County Meath, lying at a distance of about eight miles from Drogheda, is perhaps the most remarkable monument of its class now existing in any part of western Europe. In one respect, at least, it may compare with any Celtic monument known to exist, inasmuch as a number of the great stones of which its gallery and chambers are composed, exhibit a profusion of ornamental design, consisting of spiral, lozenge, and zigzag work, such as is usually found upon the ornaments, weapons, fictilia, and other remains of prehistoric times in Ireland. The earliest account of the tumulus is contained in a letter written by Edward Lhwyd, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and dated December 15th, 1699. The entrance to the chamber had been discovered a short time before by workmen employed in the removal of stones for the repair of a road. It is recorded, however, in the Annals of the Four Masters that Newgrange was plundered by the Danes in 861.

The Tumulus of Newgrange, Co. Meath.

Plan and Section of Newgrange Tumulus.

Entrance to the Passage leading to the Great Chamber, Newgrange.

This vast cairn which, even in its present condition, measures from the floor of the inside chamber to the summit 44 feet, and in its greatest diameter 280 feet, presents, from a little distance, the appearance of a grassy hill partially wooded; but upon examination the coating of earth is found to be altogether superficial, and the stones, of which the hill is entirely composed, can easily be laid bare. The quantity of stones has been estimated at 100,000 tons. The base is surrounded by a belt of large blocks of stones eight to ten feet in length, upon which a dry wall five to six feet in height has been raised. The like method was adopted in some of the great barrows in England, as in Uley, in Gloucestershire. A circle of large stones, of which twelve may be identified, originally surrounded its base, and when Lhwyd saw it, there was ‘another lesser standing on the top.’ This pillar-stone no longer exists. The stones stand about thirty feet apart, and if the circle were completed the original number of stones would be 32. The area of the mound is about one acre in extent; but if the area of the circle within the stones be taken, it would extend to two acres.

Plan and Section of Chamber in Newgrange Tumulus.

Carving on a Stone at the West Recess.

Ornament on the Roof of the East Recess.

Ornament on the Roof of the East Recess.

Scoring on Stone in West Recess.

The entrance to the gallery is to the south, and across it lies one of the retaining stones, which is beautifully covered with spirals and lozenges; two others, also richly carved, have been discovered in the boundary circle to the north-west. The gallery, which extends in a direction nearly north and south, communicates with a chamber or cave nearly in the centre of the mound. This gallery, which measures in length 63 feet, is, at its entrance from the exterior, 4 feet 9 inches high; in breadth at the top, 3 feet 2 inches; and at the base, 3 feet 5 inches. These dimensions it fairly retains​—​except in one or two places where the stones appear to have been forced from their original position​—​and rises gradually to a height of about 6 feet through a distance of 26 feet from the external entrance. Thence towards the interior its size gradually increases, but sinks to 4 feet 10 inches at 43 feet, and again rapidly rises by the overlapping of the stones until it joins the chamber roof. Large blocks of stone, from 5 feet to 8 feet high, and numbering 22 on one side, and 21 on the other, form the passage. These are Lower Silurian rocks, the formation of the adjoining district; they show but little traces of the weathering of surface rocks, ‘but, on the contrary, even faces, which indicate that they have been split along the cleavage, and care taken in their selection.’ The ground-plan of the chamber is cruciform, the head and arms of the cross being formed by three recesses, one placed directly fronting the entrance, the others east and west, and each containing a basin of granite. The lower portions of the walls of the chamber are composed of large uncemented stones, placed in an upright position, over which are others laid horizontally, each course projecting slightly beyond that upon which it rests, and so on, until the sides so closely approximate that a single flag suffices to close in and complete the roof. The chamber is 19½ feet high, and measures from the end of the gallery to the back of the north recess 26 feet; from the back of the east recess to the back of the west, 21 feet. The recesses are not of uniform size. The east is 7 feet 9 inches in depth, the north 7½ feet, and the west 3 feet 4 inches. The sides of these recesses are composed of immense blocks of stones; several of the stones in the recesses and passage bear a great variety of carving, supposed by some to be symbolical. The carvings represent various characteristic selections in the work upon the roof of the east recess, in the construction and decoration of which a great degree of care appears to have been exercised. A carving upon a stone forming the north external angle of the west recess is supposed to be an inscription; but even could any satisfactory explanation of it be given, its authenticity is doubtful, as it has been supposed to have been forged by one of the many dishonest Irish antiquaries of the eighteenth century. The same stone, upon its east face, exhibits what appears to have been intended as a representation of a fern or yew-branch. An ornament of a similar character was found within a tomb at Locmariaker, in Brittany.[39] It is a remarkable fact that the majority of these carvings must have been executed before the stones upon which they appear had been placed in their present positions. Of this there is abundant evidence in the east recess, where we find the lines continued over portions of the stones which it would be impossible now to reach with an instrument, and which form the sides of mere interstices. The illustrations on page 88 depict some of the decorations which appear upon the sides of the east recess. A stone now lying upon the surface of the mound, a little above the opening already described, is shown in above engraving.

Carved Stone in East Recess.

Carved Stone in East Recess.

Carved Stone above the Entrance.

A very remarkable series of carvings is to be seen on a boundary stone on the north side opposite the entrance, consisting of spirals, cup-markings, rings, and ‘cartouche-like figures.’ ‘No examples of these’ (the last), says Mr. George Coffey, ‘have, I believe, been previously found in Ireland.’

Of the basins contained in the various recesses, that in the chamber, and which stood within the larger basin in the east recess, is the most remarkable. It measures 4 feet by 3 feet 6 inches, and is formed of a block of granite, that must have been brought from the nearest granite district, either Down or Wicklow, a distance of over 50 miles. Two small circular cavities have been cut within its interior​—​a peculiarity not found in either of the others, which are of much ruder construction, and very shallow.

We see in Newgrange a great advance in the architecture of sepulchres from the rude cromlechs of the Stone Age to the well-developed vaulted chamber, with its recesses, of the Bronze Period. But the principle of the rude passage-graves is maintained; and the desire to honour the dead under the most appropriate monument that art and skill could raise remains the same. Within the chamber and recesses the relics of the dead were most probably placed on the basins​—​a purpose for which these were apparently adapted.

The general plan of Newgrange is similar to the bee-hive tomb at Mycenæ, known as the Treasury of Atreus, but differing in size, detail, and general magnificence. This great tomb consists of a long passage, a large vaulted chamber​—​formed of successive courses of stones laid horizontally and closed with a single slab​—​and a square recess. In the centre of the rocky floor of the recess is a circular depression 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. Dr. Schuchhardt is of opinion that this was the actual grave, that the recess was never opened but to admit another body, while the great vault was devoted to the cult of the dead. ‘It was and remained easily accessible; the rich façade and the expensively-built approach conclusively show that the entrance to the vault was not blocked up after the reception of the bodies.’[40] Other authorities consider that this was not the case, but that the central chamber was the tomb for the family, and the side chamber for specially distinguished persons and chiefs.[41] Whichever view we accept, it is at least suggestive of the purpose for which the Newgrange type of sepulchre was planned.

In the neighbourhood of the Newgrange tumulus are two other monuments of the same class, and of an extent nearly equal, the ‘Hills’ of Dowth and Knowth; or, as they are called by the Irish, Dubhath and Cnoabh, the latter lying about one mile to the westward of Newgrange, and the former at a similar distance in the opposite direction.

* * * * *

Tumulus at Dowth, from the South.

Entrance to the Passage leading to the Chamber of Dowth.

Tumulus at Dowth.​—​This sepulchral mound corresponds closely to Newgrange in dimensions; it is about 47 feet high, and measures 280 feet in diameter. Round the base is a belt of large stones as at Newgrange; but it has no retaining wall. A double circle of stones appears to have surrounded the cairn. Of these the greater number lie buried; for in summertime their position, particularly after a long continuance of sunny weather, is shown by the remarkably dry and withered appearance of the grass above them. Of the internal arrangement of this great tumulus, little was known beyond the fact that it was different from that of the monument last described, inasmuch as, instead of one great gallery leading directly towards the centre of the pile, there appeared here the remains of two passages in a very ruinous state, and completely stopped up, neither of which, however, seemed to have conducted towards a grand central chamber. The Committee of Antiquities of the Royal Irish Academy having, in the course of the autumn of 1847, obtained permission from the trustees of the Netterville Charity, the proprietors of the Dowth estate, to explore the interior of the tumulus, the work was commenced and carried on at considerable cost, under the immediate direction of Mr. Frith, one of the county surveyors. Unfortunately no official record of the work done has been kept, and the only account of it is a brief one by Sir Wm. Wilde. Commenting on this, Mr. George Coffey says: ‘The mound was so pulled about by the explorers, and the work carried out with such doubtful wisdom, that the Committee seem to have had a not unnatural shrinking from publicity.’ From the difficulty of sinking a shaft among the loose, dry stones of which this hill, like that of Newgrange, is entirely composed, the plan was adopted of making an open cutting from the base of the mound towards its centre, in order to arrive at the great central chamber which was supposed to exist. The first discovery was that of a cruciform chamber upon the western side, formed of stones of great size, every way similar to those at Newgrange, and exhibiting the same style of decoration. A rude sarcophagus, bearing a striking resemblance to that belonging to the east recess at Newgrange, was found in the centre. It had been broken into several pieces, but the fragments were all recovered and placed together, so as to afford a perfect idea of the original form. In clearing away the rubbish with which the chamber was nearly filled, the workmen discovered a large quantity of the bones of animals in a half-burned state, mixed with small shells. A pin of bronze and two small knives of iron were also picked up. With respect to instruments of iron being found in a monument of so early a date, we may observe that, in the Annals of Ulster, there occurs a record of this mound, as well as of several others in the neighbourhood, having been searched by the Northmen of Dublin as early as A.D. 862: ‘On one occasion that the three kings, Amlaff, Imar, and Ainsle, were plundering the territory of Flann, the son of Coaing.’ It is an interesting fact that the knives are similar in every respect to a number discovered, together with a quantity of other objects, in the bog of Lagore, near Dunshaughlin, and which there is reason to refer to a period between the ninth and the beginning of the eleventh centuries. Upon the chamber being cleared out, a passage 27 feet in length was discovered, the sides of which incline considerably, leading in a westerly direction towards the side of the mound, and composed, like the similar passage at Newgrange, of enormous stones placed edgeways, and covered in with large flags. The chamber, though of inferior size to that of Newgrange, is constructed so nearly upon the same plan, that a description of the one might almost serve for that of the other. It is 9 feet by 7 feet and 11 feet high. There are three recesses between 5 and 6 feet deep; these, however, do not contain basins. The south recess leads into a double set of chambers, one extending south and the other west. A single stone 8 feet long forms the floor of the south passage, in the centre of which is a shallow oval ‘apparently rubbed down with some rude tool.’ A huge stone, in height 9 feet, in breadth 8 feet, placed between the north and east recesses, is remarkable for the singular character of its carving. A portion of the work upon this stone bears a resemblance to Ogam writing.

Carving on a Stone at Dowth.

Carving on a Stone at Dowth.

Another sepulchral chamber, of a quadrangular form, portions of which show a great variety of carving, among which the cross, a symbol which neither in the old nor the new world can be considered as peculiar to Christianity, is conspicuous, has been discovered upon the southern side of the mound. Here, as elsewhere, during the course of excavation, the workmen unearthed vast quantities of bones, half-burned, many of which proved to be human; ‘several unburned bones of horses, pigs, deer, and birds, portions of the heads of the short-horned variety of the ox, and the head of a fox.’ They also found a star-shaped amulet of stone, a ring of jet, several beads, and some bones fashioned like pins. Among the stones of the upper portion of the cairn were discovered a number of globular balls of stone, the size of small eggs, which Sir W. Wilde supposed probably to have been sling stones. Further excavations under the direction of the Board of Works (1885) led to other discoveries. An opening was made on the north side of the known entrance that ‘led to a passage which terminated at either end by circular cells carefully roofed with corbelling stones’; and, where it met the entrance to the originally known chamber, a flight of steps was discovered. This and the character of the work, which is microlithic, indicate the portion of the underground passages and chambers to be a much later addition.

Among the trees between the mound of Dowth and the mansion are two smaller tumuli. One of these is open from the top; it contains a corbel-roofed chamber 10 feet in diameter and 8 feet high; round it are five cells constructed of small flags set upright. A little to the east of the house is a fine specimen of the ancient military encampment or rath, one of the largest in Ireland.

* * * * *

Tumulus at Knowth.​—​The other great tumulus (Knowth) of the Boyne group has probably never been entered since the time, as the Annalists tell us, it was plundered and doubtlessly much injured by the Danes. It is nearly 700 feet in circumference, and between 40 and 50 feet in height. For many years it has served as a convenient quarry for builders of houses and repairers of roads. That it could be explored at little cost is certain, as, owing to the denudation it has suffered, the passage or gallery leading to its chamber has, in part, been laid bare. Its circle or circles are not altogether obliterated; and here and there some portions remain which show that the work, though less massive than that of Newgrange, was at least as striking as anything to be found in Dowth, or in connection with the remains at Loughcrew, or others occurring in the western districts of Ireland.

Among the objects found about the tumuli Lhwyd mentions a gold coin of Valentinian, said to have been discovered on the top of Newgrange; Molyneux mentions a similar coin, and one of Theodosius, as being found outside the cairn. A gold chain, two finger rings, and two gold torcs were found in 1842 close to the entrance of Newgrange; and on further search a denarius of Geta and two small brass, but defaced, coins were also found. Too much caution cannot be used in considering these as evidence in determining the date of the tumuli. A bronze pin, a ring pin, and a small iron weapon were found in the chamber discovered in Dowth in 1885. If, as seems certain, this chamber and passage are of much later date than the tumulus itself, the presence of these objects is easily accounted for. A discussion of the evidence upon which expert opinion is based, as to the date of these monuments, is outside the province of this book. It takes into consideration the character of the architecture, the nature of the ornamentation, and the objects found. Weighing these, the Boyne tumuli are assigned to the Early Bronze Period, and Newgrange is considered the oldest of the group.

* * * * *

Cairns at Loughcrew.​—​Loughcrew is a range of picturesque hills, three miles south-east of Oldcastle. The ridge of the range is about two miles in extent, and there are three chief heights: Slieve-na-Calliaghe, 904 feet; Patrickstown Hill, 885 feet; and Carnbawn, 842 feet: but the name of the first is generally applied to the whole range. Here, within the radius of a rifle-shot, may be seen grouped together the most extraordinary collection of archaic monuments to be found in the kingdom. These for the most part consist of megalithic sepulchres surmounted by tumuli, and surrounded by stone circles. These number ‘from 25 to 30 cairns, some of considerable size, being 120 to 180 feet in diameter; others are much smaller, and some are so nearly obliterated that their dimensions can hardly be now ascertained.’ It is, we think, not too much to say that on the stones among these cairns is found the greatest collection of rude prehistoric scorings yet found in Ireland or, perhaps, in Europe.

Popular superstition has long attributed these cairns and other remains to be the work of a witch named Cailleach Bhéartha, who, in attempting a wild leap in the adjoining townland of Patrickstown, was unfortunate enough to fall and break her neck. Nothing was known of the character or contents of these cairns until 1858. In the autumn of that year Mr. Wakeman measured and made plans of several of the remains, and wrote a paper upon the subject, which was read in his name before the Architectural Society of Oxford, by J. H. Parker. We are thus particular in giving names and dates in connection with the first public notice of the antiquities at Slieve-na-Calliaghe, as their ‘discovery’ was claimed and is still erroneously attributed to the late Eugene Conwell. He, however, did great service to Irish archæology, inasmuch as, with the liberal co-operation of the late J. L. W. Naper, owner of the soil, he was enabled to clear out the majority of the chambers, and investigate what had been left by former searchers of their contents. An immense amount of débris was removed, and stones which had been buried for ages were brought to light. Many of the latter are singularly carved, and some presented designs previously unknown to archæologists. The result of Conwell’s investigations was given in papers read before the Royal Irish Academy in 1864 and 1866, accompanied with an index map of the cemetery, in which the letters of the alphabet indicate the cairns.[42] These, however, were of a sketchy nature, and the voluminous report, with the plans and sketches which he had prepared, seems never to have been published. A series of drawings of the incised markings on some of the stones of the chambers were prepared by Du Noyer; these remained unpublished until recent years, when a collection of seventy-six drawings and plans of six of the cairns fell into the hands of the late Dr. W. Frazer, and were reproduced by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.[43]

The idea seems to have struck Fergusson, who at least on one occasion accompanied Conwell to the place, that the Loughcrew monuments represented the once famous, but long-forgotten, cemetery of Taillten, a place which was supposed to be represented by the modern Teltown, about fifteen miles distant. After weighing the evidence in reference to the supposed identification, Fergusson writes:​—​‘If, however, this is not Taillten, no graves have been found nearer Teltown which would at all answer to the description that remains to us of this celebrated cemetery; and till they are found, these Loughcrew mounds seem certainly entitled to the distinction. I cannot see that the matter is doubtful.’[44] According to the Annals of the Four Masters, numerous were the kings and nobles here buried. The first whose name is mentioned is Ollamh Fodhla, son of Fiacha Finscothach, and founder of the Feis at Tara. Eochaidh was his first name, and ‘he was called Ollamh (Fodhla), because he had been first a learned Ollamh, and afterwards king of Fodhla, i.e. of Ireland.’ The ‘Four Masters’ set down his death as having occurred in 1277 B.C. The oldest and most trustworthy authorities state that Taillten ceased to be used as a cemetery on the death of Conchobhor, an Ultonian king, who flourished in Erin at the commencement of the Christian era, and who, according to the Annals of Tighernach, died A.D. 33.

In seventeen of the cairns sculptured stones have been found to the number of 100. Cairn T has 28 stones with scribings, the largest number yet noticed in any of the group. We can only briefly refer to the contents of some of these cairns, which represent, as we have said, the largest and most varied collection of inscribed stones hitherto found in any Celtic monument. The largest is cairn D, which measures 180 feet in diameter; no trace of interment has yet been found within it, and it may have been merely monumental.

Cairn H is 5 or 6 feet high and 54 feet in diameter. Here Conway collected 300 fragments of bones, 14 of rude pottery, 10 pieces of flint, 155 sea-shells, and quantities of pebbles and polished stones. But the most remarkable portion of the collection consisted of nearly 5000 pieces of bone implements, many more or less perfect, several of which were engraved in Late Celtic pattern, as were many portions of combs. In addition to this collection, beads of amber and glass, bronze rings, and iron implements were found, and a recent examination has added to these.

Cairn L is 135 feet in diameter, and has a circle of 42 stones set on edge, varying from 6 to 12 feet in length, and 3 to 4 feet in height. It is chambered, and the roof fashioned by overlapping stones similar to that of Newgrange. The passage and chamber have a combined length of 29 feet, and the latter is 13 feet in width. On the floor of the passage is a flagstone, measuring 8 feet 9 inches by 3 feet 6 inches; and in one of these recesses is the largest and best finished stone basin yet discovered, measuring 5 feet 9 inches by 3 feet 1 inch. Fragments of pottery to the number of 154 were found, and under the basin pieces of burnt bone and many human teeth.

Cairn T is the most conspicuous monument of the group; it measures 116 feet in diameter, and rises with sloping sides to a height of 21 feet. It contains a recessed chamber, like that at Newgrange, in miniature, the entrance to which faces due east, and is reached by a shallow, funnel-shaped passage. Round the base is a closely-set circle of 37 stones, varying from 6 to 12 feet in length, and acting as a kind of retaining fence to the loose, dry boulders which form the body of the tumulus. One of these stones on the north side is popularly known as the ‘Hag’s Chair’ (see [p. 39]). Fergusson states there can be little doubt that it was intended as a seat, or throne, but by whom it was raised and for what purpose it is difficult to say. When opened in 1865 the roofing of the passage and much of the chamber had fallen away, leaving them filled with stones; the combined length is 28 feet, and the full width of the chamber is 16 feet 4 inches. The floor of the central octagonal chamber was covered by three large and two small flags, beneath which were found pieces of burnt bone and charcoal. It has three recesses, about 4 feet square.

Conwell, without the slightest authority, rushed to the conclusion that this particular monument must be the tomb of Ollamh Fodhla, and that the chair cannot be other than the judicial seat, or throne, of that famous king. He writes: ‘And to whom, keeping in view the preceding MS. testimony,[45] could this great megalithic chair be more appropriately ascribed than to Ollamh Fodhla? It would be natural to suppose that, for the site of the tomb of the great king and law-maker, his posterity (or, indeed, probably he himself, during his own lifetime) selected the most elevated spot on the entire range; hence we propose to call the carn on that spot​—​904 feet above the sea-level, and situated on the middle hill​—​Ollamh Fodhla’s tomb, and the great stone seat “Ollamh Fodhla’s Chair”; and the ruined remains of the smaller surrounding cairns, six of which still remain, the tombs of his sons and grandsons, mentioned in the previous extracts. In fact, on the summit of the highest hill in the site of this ancient royal cemetery, we believe there still exist the remains of the tombs of the dynasty of Ollamh Fodhla’!

The construction of these chambered tumuli, so peculiar to our eyes, had its origin in the primitive mound-dwelling, survivals of which are still to be found among the Lapps inhabiting the extreme north of Scandinavia. Here, as Mr. Arthur Evans points out, ‘are the ring-stones actually employed in propping up the turf-covered mound of the dwelling, and there is the low entrance gallery leading to the chamber within, which, in fact, is the living representative, and at the same time the remote progenitor, of the gallery of the chambered barrow.’ The bee-hive tombs of Mycenæ are traced back by Professor Adler to Phrygia. Here, according to Vitruvius, the dwellers in the valleys dug a circular pit, raised a cone-shaped chamber with posts, covered it with weeds and branches; over all they piled a heap of earth, and cut a passage into the chamber from without. Of this Dr. Schuchhardt says: ‘The analogy is certainly significant. Men in all ages have fashioned the dwellings of the dead in accordance with those of the living; but the dead are conservative, and long after a new generation has sought a new home and a new pattern for its houses, the habitations of the dead are still constructed in ancestral fashion.’[46]

The distribution of the spiral, which is so remarkable a feature at Newgrange, has in recent years received much attention from European archæologists. It was used in Egypt at a very early period. Dr. Flinders Petrie has discovered it on scarabs dating as far back as the fifth dynasty. It is now thought that the spiral reached Europe from Egypt northwards through the Ægean. Mr. A. J. Evans has found it in Crete on scarabs of the twelfth dynasty (2700–2500 B.C.), but its adoption in Mycenæan ornament from this early wave northward is doubted. Dr. Petrie considers that the intermediate stages so evident in Egypt are absent in Greece.[47] Evidence seems to show that its development in Greece was due to a wave of influence from Egypt during the eighteenth dynasty (1580–1320 B.C.). In Greek hands it attained the same degree of perfection as in Egypt, and has been found elaborately decorating the stelæ, gold ornaments, and vessels in the tombs of Mycenæ, in the alabaster frieze at Tiryns, and in the slabs of the ceiling of the tomb at Orchomenos.

Mr. Evans says: ‘In the wake of early commerce the same spiraliform motives were to spread still further afield to the Danubian basin, and thence in turn by the valley of the Elbe to the Amber Coast of the North Sea, then to supply the Scandinavian Bronze Age population with their leading decorative designs. Adopted by the Celtic tribes in the central European area, they took, at a somewhat later date, a westerly turn, reached Britain with the invading Belgæ, and finally survived in Irish art.’[48] But there is much to support the theory that the spiral reached Ireland from Scandinavia, and not by the direct western route, as communication existed between the races from a very early date. This view is maintained by Mr. George Coffey, who discusses the subject of prehistoric ornament in Ireland in a series of papers contributed to the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries (Ireland).[49] He also accepts the theory, advocated, too, by Prof. Montelius, that the concentric circle is a debased spiral; and is of opinion that, where both are found, the spiral is the earlier form of the two. The distribution of the spiral is very widespread, and even the returning spiral has been used by the Maori in facial decoration and otherwise for a long period. The spiral is a form that would come under the notice of primitive man anywhere; and it is quite possible in such things as this, as in myths, customs, and objects common to most races, to push theory too far in one direction. But the spread of the spiral ornament throughout Europe, as the result of Mycenæan influence, receives confirmation by similar parallels being established in connection with other important branches of archæological research.

Many archæologists have hitherto been of opinion that the sculpturings on the rocks composing these sepulchral chambers are symbolical; but no satisfactory explanation has yet been given of their religious significance. Some, however, consider that they are mere ornament, and that in no sense have they a cryptic meaning. Many of the stones from the position in which they are now placed, as we have already pointed out, must have been carved beforehand, and may probably have served some other purpose at an earlier period. It is easily seen that the same ornamentation exists on many objects to which no symbolism could be attached; there is an absence, too, of all idea of method in design, and a want of unity in combination, which are against any theory except that of primitive man’s mere desire to decorate. Though much has been written on the question, yet, in the present state of our knowledge, it is impossible to arrive at a definite conclusion upon the subject.

Ornamented Bone Flake from Slieve-na-Calliaghe.

CHAPTER IV.
STONE MONUMENTS​—​Continued.

THE DEERPARK MONUMENT​—​CAIRNS​—​MISCAN MAEVE​—​CAIRN’S HILL​—​HEAPSTOWN​—​THE ‘BARR’ OF FINTONA​—​BIGHY​—​STAR-SHAPED CAIRN AT DOOHAT​—​MOUNDS​—​STONE CIRCLES​—​NEWGRANGE​—​NEWTOWNBUTLER​—​BALLYNOE (LEGAMADDY)​—​SLIEVE-NA-GREIDLE​—​LOUGH GUR​—​ALIGNMENTS​—​TOPPID MOUNTAIN​—​CALLERNISH​—​DARTMOOR.

The Deerpark Monument.​—​The interesting megalithic monument in the Deerpark, Hazlewood demesne, four miles east of Sligo, differs from any other known monument in the British Isles. It is known as Leacht Con Mie Ruis, the ‘Stone of Con the son of Rush,’ and more than one visionary archæologist has styled it the ‘Irish Stonehenge.’ The structure consists primarily of an oblong, or blunted oval, figure, formed of rude, undressed stones, generally of considerable length and thickness, and averaging but 2 or 3 feet in height. This central area extends, as nearly as possible, east and west. Its extreme length is 50 feet 6 inches; its greatest diameter 28 feet. From the western end extends an oblong compartment, constructed of stones similar to those forming the oval, measuring 27 feet in length by 12 feet 6 inches in breadth. The entrance to this extension is by a kind of portal, the sides of which consist of two rude, unhewn stones, about 3 feet in height. These are surmounted by a horizontal lintel, about 8 feet long, and 2 feet 6 inches in thickness, forming a low but perfect trilithon. Fergusson, in his Rude Stone Monuments, very incorrectly states that these stones, like those forming two other similar entrances, have been ‘squared and partially dressed.’ The western apartment is divided by two projecting stones, which may have been capped with a lintel. The space between them is barely sufficient to allow the passage of a moderately-sized man. This end of the monument is composed of two stones of great size, the outermost leaning against its neighbour. They are about 7 feet in length, 2 feet in thickness, and over 6 feet in height. Immediately adjoining, and touching them, to the westward, are the remains of a stone circle, about 20 feet in diameter, the area of which was probably occupied by a low cairn or mound. The spot, however, has been so tossed about that little of its original character remains. The same remark applies to the state of a similar circle found at the eastern termination of the monument. At the eastern extremity of the central enclosure are two projections, precisely similar in style to that at the opposite end. They are entered by trilithon openings, the height from ground to lintel measuring about 3 feet, and the height to the upper surface 5 feet. These prolongations, which have been absurdly styled ‘aisles,’ run parallel to each other, one measuring 27 feet in length, while its companion, that to the south, is 3 feet shorter. Both are divided into two compartments, of unequal size, by projecting stones. There is a space between them, 5 feet 6 inches broad, but separated from the main oval by an immense block of stone.[50]

Plan of the Deerpark Monument, Co. Sligo.

This monument was long a puzzle to archæologists. ‘At present it is unique,’ wrote Fergusson; ‘if some similar example could be discovered, perhaps we might guess its riddle.’ It remained for Colonel Wood-Martin to explain the character of this ‘Irish Stonehenge.’ ‘Excavations,’ he writes, ‘made in the four smaller divisions, at the eastern and western extremities of the monument, clearly demonstrate the fact that they had been formerly covered like ordinary kistvaens with roofing slabs, as these were found lying in the ground in a fragmentary state, when the sod was turned up. In these four excavations human and animal bones were discovered, all uncalcined. With them was a flint flake. Explorations in the central enclosure were not attended with equally decisive results; for although in two instances some traces of osseous remains were found, yet in other spots the soil appeared to be undisturbed. The conclusion, therefore, may be safely drawn that the eastern and western “aisles” are simply uncovered kistvaens; that they were erected when inhumation burial was practised, and when flint instruments were in use; but whether the central enclosure had been used for burial, or merely for ceremonial observances before committing the bodies to the tomb, could not be determined with any degree of certainty.’[51]

The osseous remains found in various parts of the monument were submitted to the judgment of several experts, who pronounced them to be mostly human, and to have belonged to persons of various ages. Some were evidently those of young children. The bones of the lower animals noticed comprised those of deer, of the horse (apparently), and some of swine. There were also bones of rabbits and hares, as likewise some of birds. All seemed to be strangely mixed together; but the remains in no instance exhibited the action of fire. It is probable that the interments were neolithic, and the animal bones the relics of the funeral feast. The flint flake ‘shows traces of careful chipping for a short distance round the segment of a circle which forms its cutting edge, the remainder of the tool being left in a rough unfinished state, with thick blunt sides.’ It belongs to the class of articles described by Sir W. Wilde as approaching in form, but not altogether taking the shape of, a stone celt.[52]

Cairn, on Cairn’s Hill, Co. Sligo.

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Miscan Maeve.​—​On the summit of Knocknarea, which commands a fine view over the coast of Sligo and surrounding country, is a great cairn composed of small stones, and locally known as ‘Miscan Maeve,’ or ‘Misgaun Meaw.’ The cairn is oval-shaped, and measures 590 feet in circumference and 34 feet in height; the sides slope to 79 feet on one side and 67 feet on the other. The top has a major axis of 100 feet and a minor of 85 feet. According to tradition this is the burial-place of Maeve (the Mab of English folk-tales), a celebrated Queen of Connaught, who reigned in the first century. Evidence, however, goes to show that she was buried at Rathcroghan, and the cairn at Knocknarea may have been raised to her memory. There are two cairns on the summit of two hills overlooking Lough Gill, a couple of miles east of Carrowmore. That on Cairn’s Hill is about 180 paces in circumference, with a summit diameter of 36 paces; it seems originally to have been terraced. The other, on Belvoir Hill, was about the same dimensions, but it is in a more ruinous condition. From their construction, and the remains found, they were no doubt sepulchral.

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Monument at Heapstown.​—​At Heapstown, not far from Ballindoon, Co. Sligo, is a gigantic pile of stones, said to have been raised in the fourth century of our era over Oliolla, son of Eochy Moyvane, Ard-righ, i.e. ‘Chief king’ of Erin. The extreme circumference of this great work, which the peasantry assert was erected in one night, is stated to be 62 statute perches. Nothing certain is known of its history; and the story of its having had any connection with Oliolla is probably as true as that embodied in the popular legend.

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Cairn and Cists at the ‘Barr’ of Fintona.​—​It is necessary here to notice a few minor typical yet interesting sepulchres, some of which it would appear had been left undisturbed and unnoticed until recent years. One of the most instructive of these occurs at the ‘Barr’ of Fintona, about three miles north of Trillick, Co. Tyrone. The cairn was found to consist of a mound of stones, rising to a height of about 8 feet above the then level of the surrounding bog. It was quite circular in plan. Resting upon the ground, and just within the outer edge of the pile, were eight cists, each of which had the appearance of a small cromlech. Four of these chambers enclosed portions of the human skeleton; and in two of them, in addition to the remains of man, was found an urn of baked clay. All within the principal urn-bearing cavity was perfectly dry and undisturbed. The floor was flagged, and here and there lay human bones in various stages of decomposition. With them were found three vertebræ of a small mammal, probably those of a dog. A fine, richly-decorated urn, evidently a food-vessel, lay on its side in the middle of the enclosure, resting upon a large, clean slab of sandstone. One of the cists lay on the north-east side of the mound. It was oblong in form, 2 feet 4 inches in breadth by 3 feet 6 in length. The sides and bottom were neatly flagged. This grave was reached with difficulty, as it proved to be secured by two ponderous covering stones, one laid immediately over the other. Upon the floor, cushioned in damp dust, lay the remains, or portions of the skeletons, of two human beings, white and clean, as contrasted with the dark-brown colour of their kindred mould. There were but a few other fragments of bones beside the crania, and these were removed to the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. There were no traces of the lower jaws, nor even of teeth. From the narrow proportions of the cist, it was quite manifest that no two perfect human bodies, even those of very young people, could have been deposited there. The space was far too limited to have contained even one unmutilated corpse. The bones exhibited no trace of the action of fire, and were unaccompanied by traces of charcoal or ashes of any kind. On the mould which lay on the floor being carefully sifted, no bead, flint-flake, or manufactured article of any description was discovered; and as the bottom and sides of the cist were composed of cleanly-split sandstone, it was evident that nothing but human remains had been entombed there​—​unless, indeed, we may suppose that an earthen vessel, or similarly perishable object, had crumbled into dust amongst the animal matter.

At a point in the circumference of the cairn which may be described as lying south-east from the centre, was a simple cist of quadrangular form, measuring 17 by 18 inches; its depth was 18 inches. The little chamber was found to contain some traces of grayish earth, somewhat like lime-mortar; this occurred here and there in the generally darker mould, and had the appearance of being a decomposition of human or other bones. A cavity precisely similar in formation, but somewhat smaller, lay in the circle, at a distance of about 9 feet from the cist last noticed. This also yielded nothing of interest. Upon the north-west side of the cairn were two cists, which in the temporary absence of the explorer were dug up by treasure-seekers and others. The havoc here perpetrated by ignorance is greatly to be lamented, as in one of the cists an ornamental vase had been found, one fragment of which Mr. Wakeman was fortunate enough to recover. In connection with this vessel was discovered a beautifully formed flint knife. When perfect, as originally found, it measured 3-3/10 inches in length, by 1½ inches at its broadest part. The blade was extremely thin, and exhibited on one side a central ridge, the other surface being flat or slightly convex. Like most implements of its class, it presented admirably chipped edges. The colour was dark-gray, and the instrument showed no evidence of its having been submitted to the action of fire. Another grave lay nearly midway between the first described and the more northern of the two which had been shattered by the treasure-seekers. It also was in all but utter ruin, owing partly to the dampness of its position, and perhaps in some degree to the comparatively inferior material of its component parts. The contents presented human bones​—​those of adults​—​so soft and decomposed as not to bear the slightest touch. They suggested the idea of softish mortar, or of putty. No artificial object was here found, though everything was done to bring to light any deposit which might have accompanied the bones. A trench was excavated from the northern side through more than half the diameter of the cairn; but no central cist or chamber was discovered.[53]

The importance of the discoveries made at the ‘Barr’ in their bearings upon more than one archæological question will doubtless, by a careful reader, be acknowledged. Whether the human remains there found, apparently huddled together in cists not sufficiently large to have contained an entire adult body, were those of victims immolated during the celebration of sepulchral rites, or whether they were relics of persons slain in battle, buried, and subsequently disinterred for final sepulture in the territory of their people or ancestors, are questions which it would be very difficult to decide.

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Cairn and Cists at Bighy.​—​In some respects this is a very remarkable burial site. It stands on the lands of Bighy (a modification of the Irish word Beithigh, which signifies ‘Birch-land’), on a shoulder of Bennaghlin, a mountain almost overhanging Florencecourt. It is a cairn composed of sandstone, perfectly circular in plan, with a central chamber, and a number of cists, placed almost equally distant from each other, and ranged just within the outer edge of the mound, which measures 50 feet in diameter, and is at present about 10 feet high. The central chamber is of an oval form, 6 feet by 4 feet, and 4 feet in height. It is covered by two large flagstones and a number of smaller ones. Its greater axis extends exactly east and west. Of the surrounding cists​—​probably eighteen in number​—​but three remain in a tolerably fair state of preservation. The largest of these is of a bee-hive form; it is quite circular, and measures 3 feet 6 inches in diameter. Its height was probably 4 feet, but, from the disturbed state of the floor, there was difficulty in taking a very accurate measurement. Of the other cists, which are slightly smaller, two presented a rudely quadrangular plan, and were covered by stones laid horizontally. With considerable difficulty, owing to the shaky state of the walls, Mr. Wakeman carefully searched these cists, finding in all of them small portions of calcined bones, accompanied by wood charcoal. In the larger and more perfect chamber, situated to the south-west of the mound, was found, imbedded amongst a quantity of charcoal and burned bones, the base of a cinerary urn, 2¾ inches in diameter. It appears to have been quite plain. No other portion of this vessel was discoverable, and it was quite manifest that this cist, as well as the others in the mound, had been very roughly handled by seekers for the proverbial ‘crocks of gold,’ perhaps on many occasions. Elsewhere in the country, cairns exhibiting a somewhat similar arrangement of cists may be found; but the description here given of two representative examples must suffice.

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The star-shaped Cairn of Doohat.​—​Doohat, the land upon which this monument is situated, will be found marked on the Ordnance Map just three and a half miles due south of Florencecourt. It is two miles from Bighy, on the opposite side of Bennaghlin mountain. The name of the site upon which it stands, Doohat​—​Irish, Dumha Ait, ‘Place of the sepulchral tumulus’​—​sufficiently explains that at one time its character had not passed out of local recollection. The plan of the work is, as far as we know, unique in Ireland, representing the star-fish, with five rays projecting from a central body or chamber of the usual ‘giant’s grave’ class. To the south of the chamber, and apparently forming a portion of the original design, occurs a semicircular ridge of stones. This feature is constructed in the same manner as the rays, and differs from them only in form and want of connection with any other portion of the cairn. To a fanciful mind the plan, on the whole, would most readily suggest the idea of a star and crescent. The rays are well-defined stony ridges, averaging 16 or 17 feet in breadth at their junction with the central cist, or dolmen, from which point they taper off to distances of 60, 46, 42, and 40 feet, respectively. They terminate very sharply with one, two, or three stones. The largest terminal stone​—​that which finishes the north-western ray​—​measures 3 feet 6 inches by 2 feet. The main chamber, which extends north and south, is divided by stone partitions into three compartments, of which the central one, measuring 8 feet by 4 feet internally, is the largest. From its north-west angle a rudely quadrangular offset, about 3 feet on the sides, projects westwards. This tomb differs in no respect from a number of ‘giants’ graves which are found in various parts of the country. No trace of covering slabs, if any such were ever used to overlap the chamber, can be discovered within or without the quadrangles; and it is not in the least likely that any considerable portion of the work has been removed. There is an over-abundance of stones, large and small, in the immediate neighbourhood ready at hand; and there are no buildings near which could have been furnished with materials from this source. This chamber was carefully excavated down to the ‘till,’ or undisturbed yellow clay, without finding any relics of the past beyond small pieces of wood charcoal, stones showing the action of fire, very dark-coloured, unctuous earth, and here and there some grayish matter, which may have been bone in the last stage of decomposition. Having carefully refilled all the pits necessarily made during the search, even replacing the rubbish which had fallen or been thrown into the chambers, the work was left in the same condition as that in which it had been found.

A number of small cists were then examined, some fifteen in all, which lie in the various rays. Most of these diminutive receptacles had evidently been previously searched. Of the six into which the spade was introduced, four yielded small pieces of calcined bone, burned earth and stones, black, greasy clay, and considerable quantities of charcoal. There was much osseous sediment, resembling gray turf ashes well moistened with water. The cists had, doubtlessly, all been originally covered by flags, and would have presented the appearance of miniature cromlechs. In design they were irregularly circular, composed of five or more small stones, which in a manner lined the mouth of a little pit sunk about a foot or so into the ‘till.’ The dimensions of the largest, and we may say perfect, cist were as follows: 2 feet 2 inches by 2 feet 3 inches; depth, as well as could be ascertained, 2 feet. That they had ever contained urns is highly improbable, as not a fragment of pottery appeared to reward the search.

‘Horned cairns,’ bearing a general likeness to the Doohat monument, are also found in the north of Scotland, and were first properly investigated by Dr. Joseph Anderson, as described in Scotland in Pagan Times (p. 230). In Scandinavia graves are found of various forms, triangular, square, oval, and ship-shaped, a description of which will be found in Fergusson’s Rude Stone Monuments (p. 281), and M. Du Chaillu’s Viking Age (vol. I., chap. xviii.). Triangular-shaped graves were generally supposed to be confined to Scandinavia, but at least one example, as noticed by Colonel Wood-Martin, in Rude Stone Monuments of Sligo (p. 176), occurs in Ireland, in Northern Moytura (Moytirra), the scene of the battle between the Fomorians and the Tuatha De Danaan, seven years after the latter had defeated the Firbolgs at Southern Moytura, Cong. Sir William Wilde describes some of the cairns which mark the latter battle-field in his Guide to Lough Corrib (chap. viii.).

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Mounds.​—​Mounds of earth, occasionally mixed with stones, were sometimes erected as places of interment. In England these earthen mounds are called ‘Barrows’; they partake very much of the character of cairns, from which class of sepulchre they may be said to differ only in material, the cairns being entirely of stone. Some interesting examples may be seen in the immediate vicinity of Dublin, in the neighbourhood of Clontarf. These have been usually, but we believe without warrant, associated with the great battle fought on Good Friday, 1014, in which Brian, the son of Kennedy, commonly called Brian Boroimhe, or ‘of the Tributes,’ fell in defeating the Danes. The discovery of a Celtic sepulchral urn in one of these mounds, and a bronze sword, and other relics of the same material in the tumulus near ‘Conquer Hill,’ are evidence of an existence long anterior to the eleventh century.

Small cairns marking the place of a death, or a halting-place in a funeral procession, are still raised in some parts of Ireland​—​a practice also common among primitive people in other lands. Examples of cairns raised by devotees at some sacred spot are occasionally to be met with. The most remarkable instance we know of is that raised by pilgrims, who add stones to the heap after performing their stations, at Glencolumbkille, Co. Donegal. It stands high upon the side of the hill, close to the ruins of the old church, and measures about 30 paces long, 4 wide, and 5 feet high.

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Stones of the Circle at Newgrange.

Stone Circles.​—​Stone circles of great magnitude are to be seen in many parts of Ireland. Of the lesser kind numerous examples occur in various counties, and particularly in the north and north-west. They are invariably composed of rough unhewn blocks, varying in height from 2 to 11 feet, or more, above the level of the adjoining land; and in some instances they are encompassed with a low earthen mound or ditch. Their area, though often apparently unoccupied, is generally found to contain one or other of the remains already described​—​a cromlech, a tumulus or cairn, a smaller circle, a pillar-stone, cists. Human bones, cinerary urns, ashes, weapons, implements or ornaments of bone or flint, or other objects, are invariably discovered within these enclosures upon the earth being disturbed. The remains of a cremated body were sometimes deposited in a cist, with or without an urn to contain them, and the site marked with a circle of standing stones or a single pillar. It is difficult now to determine the exact significance of the stone circle round the mound or burial-place. Aristotle makes an interesting allusion to the erection of stone circles round burial sites: ‘Among the Iberians, who are a military people, it is the custom to set round the tomb of a deceased warrior a number of obelisks corresponding to the number of enemies he has killed.’[54] The last resting-place of the dead has, however, at all times been looked upon as more or less sacred; and Christian burial-places are especially consecrated for the purpose, and protected from intrusion. The custom of raising a stone circle round a dolmen or cist containing burial remains has been a general one; and examples are found as far off as Syria and Arabia similar to the megalithic structures of the British Isles. The desire to protect and honour the remains of the illustrious dead has existed in all lands, and has shown itself in the production of the most remarkable monuments that the world has known. The megalithic structures of western Europe, the elaborately decorated tombs of the Mycenæan Age, the rock-tombs of Etruria, the Egyptian pyramids, and the magnificent monuments of India abundantly testify to the respect for the dead in the mind of man everywhere throughout past ages.

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Circle at Newgrange.​—​It is impossible within the limits of this Handbook to do more than briefly indicate a few typical examples of the many stone circles scattered throughout the country. The stones which encompass the monuments of Newgrange and Dowth are generally very large, some of them measuring 8 or 9 feet in height. The engraving (p. 123) represents a portion of the circle at the former place, of which a description has already been given. There are several minor examples in the same neighbourhood, but they are in a state of great dilapidation, and, with one exception, would hardly repay a student for the time occupied in visiting them, particularly as the grander remains at Newgrange are so accessible.

Remains of Stone Circle near Dowth.

Portions of a fine circle, or rather oval, lie a little to the east of Dowth Hall, to the left of the road from Drogheda. Many of the stones have been removed, but several of gigantic proportions remain in their original position.

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Circle near Newtownbutler.​—​One of the most notable circles now remaining in Ireland is that called the ‘Druid’s Temple,’ situated on the summit of a hill near Wattle Bridge, a small hamlet in the vicinity of Newtownbutler, Co. Fermanagh. The stones vary in length from 3 to upwards of 10 feet. The largest remaining measures slightly over 10 feet; it is 6 feet 5 inches in breadth, and 3 feet 9 inches in thickness. Another is 7 feet high, 8 feet 5 inches broad, and 5 feet in thickness. The circle on the interior measures in diameter 126 feet. The diameter of the outer ring at Stonehenge is 100 feet, a figure common to several of these remains.

Whether the Fermanagh circle was ever enclosed by an outer work, as was common with kindred structures in Britain and elsewhere, can probably never be ascertained. For more than two hundred years the land immediately adjoining has been subject to the plough. That there were outside works, however, can scarcely admit of a doubt. On the south-east side, a distance of five paces from the circle, are five large stones, the ruins of a cromlech which had been wrecked many years ago for the sake of its material.

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Ballynoe (Legamaddy) and Slieve na Greidle Circles.​—​Interesting examples of stone circles are to be found in County Down. The largest is Legamaddy, close to Ballynoe station, about three miles south of Downpatrick. It consists of inner and outer circles; the former measures 90 feet by 40 feet, with 22 stones, and the latter 100 feet in diameter, with 45 stones. Another occurs on Slieve na Greidle, or Griddle Mountain, to the south-east of the town.

Stone Circle, Ballynoe, near Downpatrick.

Some of the finest of this class of prehistoric remains which we have seen in Ireland occur near the shore of Lough Gur, a spot noted for the number and variety of its antiquities, one hundred of which are known to have existed within the memory of man. Lough Gur lies about ten miles south of Limerick on the road to Bruff; and the first account of its antiquities was given by Crofton Croker in 1830, after three days’ investigation, extending over a tract of country fifteen miles in length. ‘The finest circle is 56 yards in diameter, and consists of a very large number of upright blocks closely arranged and flanked by a great bank of earth. It is approached by a passage 12 feet long, the entrance being guarded by two blocks, close to which is one 8 feet by 7 feet, and over 3 feet thick. In a field to the north-west are traces of two more circles, one with a centre stone; and in the next field to the north, the remains of another, 65 yards in diameter, of smaller stones than the first.’ On the verge of the lake further east is a small circle of seven fallen stones; to the north of Knockadun Hill are three complete circles, two being concentric.[55]

Stone Circle at Slieve na Greidle, Co. Down.

For our purpose, however, a sufficient number of typical examples have already been given.

* * * * *

Alignments.​—​At Carnac in Brittany, at Ashdown, Berkshire, in Caithness, and in Sutherland may be seen lines of stone placed upon end, and generally some few feet apart. The row is occasionally of a length not exceeding a few yards; but sometimes it appears to cover a great extent of ground. The stones vary in size, some of the blocks being of large proportions, and others measuring barely 3 or 4 feet in height. All are invariably unhewn, presenting the appearance of rough surface stones, or of such as are usually found in glacial-scooped ravines or river-beds. These lines are usually in parallel rows, varying in number to ten or more. For want of a better name they have been variously styled avenues, alignments, rows, parallelitha. From the days of Stukeley they have been the subject of much speculation, and we have little beyond conjecture in regard to their uses. They seem like ‘galleries which lead to nothing’; yet their construction affords unmistakable evidence of organized labour and deliberate design.

The antiquities of Cavancarragh, a district situated on a shoulder of Toppid Mountain, about four miles from Enniskillen, consist of two chambered cairns, a stone circle, and what appears to be a small but well-defined alignment. The latter, and the circle within living memory, lay buried to a depth of from 8 to 12 feet beneath the surface of a mountain bog. The alignment consists of a row of stones, four in number, extending, as far as it can be traced, 480 feet in a direction very slightly to the north-west and south-east. The blocks average about 3 feet in height by 2 feet in width, and 6 inches in thickness, and present the appearance of the ordinary red sandstone flags of the district. The extreme south-eastern portion of the work has probably been destroyed; but in that direction the lines could never have extended much further than they do at present, as the ground suddenly descends, forming one side of a deep ravine, through which in winter time a mountain torrent rushes. How far to the north-west the lines extend is at present uncertain, and cannot be known until the peat in that direction is further lowered. Probably, however, beyond the circle no considerable extension would be discovered. The cairns here are in a very ruinous condition, having for the greater part of a century served as a quarry for building purposes. The plan of one of them is very similar to that of the monument at the ‘Barr’ of Fintona already described. There was no central chamber; and only two of its circle of cists remain in a good state of preservation. The stone circle standing near the north-west side of the avenue is 20 feet in diameter, and is formed of twelve sandstone blocks which at present rise but 2 or 3 feet above the level of the bog.

There are, however, in Ireland lines of stones, sometimes single, but never more than double, which should not be confounded with those strictly of the alignment class. Some of these are the remains of passages which led to sepulchral chambers, and have been either stripped of their covering slabs, or were never finished. Such rows may indeed sometimes be looked upon as portions of ruined cromlechs, or skeleton traces of monuments like those of the Boyne or Maeshowe.

We find stones of various sizes, differing, as at Finner, near Ballyshannon, from 1½ feet, or 2 feet 6 inches above ground; or, as at Breagho and Killee, near Enniskillen, with an elevation of 6 or 7 feet, upon which no definite opinion can be formed as to the class of monument to which they should be assigned. In all probability they represent but wrecks of works of a sepulchral kind, which, at a time now forgotten, but doubtless in modern days, were exhumed during the process of turf-cutting. Of these, as well as of several other broken or never completed relics of a megalithic class, found in several parts of Ireland, it is only certain that they rest on the ‘till’ upon which peat, to a depth of from 8 to 12 feet or more, once lay.

Bird’s-eye view of Callernish Circle and Lines.

One of the most remarkable examples of a stone circle and lines known in the British Isles is Callernish, on the west coast of the Island of Lewis. The stones were partially embedded in peat. This was cleared in 1858, and found to exist to a depth of 5 feet. The stones were here securely sunk in a ‘rough causewayed basement.’ The circle, about 40 feet in diameter, is formed by twelve stones round a central one 17 feet high. Between this stone and the east side of the circle was found a ruined chambered cairn, 20 feet in diameter, which contained fragments of burnt human bones. The stones are set in the form of a cross, the east, south, and west lines single, and extending from the circle. To the north is a double row or avenue 270 feet long.

There are examples of these lines in the Dartmoor district, with rows in one case of seven parallel lines. On the Stalldon Moor is a single line of stones, starting from a stone circle, which can be clearly traced for one and a half miles, and imperfectly continued for three-fourths of a mile further, terminating at a kistvaen. Another perfect line is the Down Tor Stone Row, about 600 yards long, extending from a circle enclosing a small barrow towards a large cairn.[56]

CHAPTER V.
BURIAL CUSTOMS.​—​OGAM STONES.

NECESSITY FOR DISPOSAL OF DEAD​—​INHUMATION AND CREMATION IN BRITISH ISLES AND CONTINENT​—​BALLON HILL​—​CARROWMORE​—​DYSART​—​METHODS OF BURIAL​—​ORIGIN OF CREMATION​—​RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT​—​URNS, CLASSIFICATION AND USES OF​—​OGAM STONES​—​REFERENCE TO, IN IRISH MSS.​—​MOUNT CALLAN STONE​—​BISHOP GRAVES​—​OGAMS DESCRIBED​—​ALPHABET​—​GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.

Notwithstanding the number and variety of sepulchral remains in Ireland, it is strange that the rites and ceremonies attending the disposal of the dead in prehistoric times have not received from Irish archæologists the systematic study they deserve. Unfortunately many of the burial sites have, in the past, been treated in a manner that has left but little data of any scientific value for expert use. The number discovered, of cinerary urns containing human remains has been very great, and establish, beyond a doubt, the fact of the general custom of cremation. Most of these urns have been destroyed, either through the ignorance and stupidity of the discoverers, or the carelessness of the subsequent owners.

Under all human conditions it is necessary that some method should be adopted for the disposal of the dead; but there can be no doubt that the religious sentiment has ever been the predominating factor in all burial customs. The earliest method of disposing of the dead was by simple interment; and even when cremation became general, the practice was never entirely abandoned. Both forms may occur in the same mound; but the general result is that the inhumed remains are found at the bottom, and the cremated remains nearer the surface, which shows these were later in point of time. Where, however, the earliest interments have been burnt bones, inhumed bodies, as at Ballon Hill, may form secondary burials. The result of Canon Greenwell’s explorations in the barrows of Yorkshire showed that out of 379 burials 301 were by inhumation, and in 78 cremated remains were found. Exploration in other parts of England gave similar results.[57] Out of 297 interments in Derby, Stafford, and York, Mr. Bateman found that 124 were of burnt bones; 163 were of ordinary burials, of which latter the bodies in 97 had been placed in a contracted or sitting position. Sir R. C. Hoare found that out of 267 interments in Wiltshire, 214 were of cremated remains, 53 of inhumed, of which the skeletons of 15 were found contracted. In the district of Glasinac is a vast collection of tumuli. ‘Their total number,’ says Dr. Munro, ‘is estimated at 20,000​—​an estimation which is now regarded as coming far short of the actual number​—​of which about 1000 have been explored.... The builders of these burial mounds practised both inhumation and cremation, the former being in the proportion of 60 per cent., and the latter 30 per cent., while the remaining 10 per cent. were of a mixed character, i.e., contained both kinds of interments.’[58] In the Hallstatt cemetery in the Noric Alps (which has given its name as a distinctive term to an archæological period, owing to the importance of its ‘grave-goods’), tombs to the number of 993 were examined as far back as 1868. Of these ‘525 contained simple interments; 455 had incinerated human remains; and in 13 the bodies had only been partially burnt before being interred.’[59] Great quantities of implements, domestic articles, and objects for personal use and adornment have been found in both classes of graves.

At Ballon Hill, near Tullow, County Carlow, a number of cinerary urns and great quantities of cremated remains were discovered in 1853, evidently of the pure Bronze Period. This spot has not been identified with any of the great burial-places mentioned in early Irish records. Three skeletons were found a couple of feet beneath an immense boulder, ‘huddled together in a small space not above 2 feet in length.’ At a considerable depth below these, and beneath four granite blocks, a bed of charcoal was reached, containing broken urns of four different patterns. Many perfect urns were found, some of which are among the finest examples yet discovered in Ireland. The urns were placed in stone cists, and also in the earth without any trace of an enclosure. There was evidence of great fires, while deep pits and beds of charcoal were laid bare, showing the extent to which cremation and the attendant funeral rites had been carried out at this spot. The only weapon found was a single dagger blade of bronze.[60] Carrowmore furnishes an instance of a mixed interment, where the inhumed remains were found over the calcined bones. ‘At the lowest level,’ says Colonel Wood-Martin, ‘of the side-stones of the cist a floor or flagging of calpy limestone slabs was found. It was on this​—​which overlay the undisturbed “till”​—​that the body or bodies of the primary interment had been originally cremated, portions of the floor showing marks of fire; and semi-burnt wood was found inlaid, with the layer of calcined bones above. It was plainly evident from the floors and burnt bones extending in “pockets” under the side-stones of the cist, that the latter had been constructed over the funeral pyre, and that the calcined remains were the primary interment, and that they had not been placed within an already completed chamber.’[61]

In a small tumulus at Dysart, County Westmeath, Dr. Dillon Kelly discovered, in 1876, two kistvaens containing skeletons in a contracted position. One was of an irregular pentagon shape, the longest diameter being 3 feet 9 inches, and the depth 2 feet 3 inches. In this there were three animal teeth; and each chamber contained a fine urn of baked clay. Cremated remains were found on the covering stones and round the cists. The burning seems to have taken place over the inhumed bodies, whose heads may, from their sitting position, have come into almost immediate contact with the covering stones. The supposition receives additional weight from the baked look of the tops of the skulls, both of which presented such an appearance over the whole of their vertical aspects.[62]

Urn burials on a larger scale were found at the Hill of Rath, near Drogheda, in 1841. Here remains of some 150 to 200 urns were discovered in an inverted position, each covering a quantity of human bones. They were placed in the earth without any protection, and were in consequence mostly broken by the pressure of the earth. Singly and in small groups urns containing incinerated remains have been found in most parts of Ireland. Worsaae was of opinion that many of the mounds or barrows were places of family sepulture, and that cists containing urns with burial remains found in open fields were those used by the poorer class who had no burial mound in which to place their dead.[63]

We have ample evidence of the antiquity and general practice of cremation in Europe. It was the custom of the Achæans, as Homer tells us, at least 1000 B.C. The remains of Achilles ‘were wash’d in wine and given fit unction,’ and, with the bones of Patroclus, placed in a ‘two-ear’d bowl of gold.’ This was placed in a grave, and over it was raised a ‘matchless sepulchre’ high above the Hellespont. The body of Hector was burned on a mighty pile of wood, and the remains treated with similar observances. Recent archæological opinion ascribes the origin of cremation to the Celtic tribes inhabiting Central Europe. It is urged that the custom would not have arisen among nomadic tribes, but rather among a people living in a land covered with woods and forests. Tacitus says that the Germans ‘simply observe the custom of burning the bodies of illustrious men with certain kinds of wood. They do not heap garments or spice on the pyre. The arms of the dead man, and in some cases his horse, are consigned to the fire. A turf mound forms his tomb. Monuments, with their lofty elaborate splendour, they reject as oppressive to the dead.’ In Denmark cremation became a general practice; and in Scandinavia it was an essential religious custom in the worship of Odin. Professor Montelius thinks that the evidence favours the view that in the north of Europe the Stone Age ended rather before than after 1500 B.C. During it the bodies were always buried unburnt in a recumbent or sitting position, and, as in the British Isles, urns and implements are found with the burial remains.[64]

The Gauls, as we know from Cæsar, burned some of the servants, slaves, and favourite animals of the dead chief, or warrior, in celebrating their funeral rites. Cremation was not practised in Asia Minor, Phœnicia, or Palestine. The Egyptians embalmed their dead, for they believed that as long as the body existed, so long did the soul exist in the spirit world. The Scythians, as Herodotus tells us, did not burn, but buried their dead. They embalmed the body of their king; and ‘they strangle and bury with him one of his concubines, his cook, cup-bearer, groom, lackey, his messenger, and some of his horses, firstlings of all his other possessions, and some golden cups.’ Over all was raised a mound; and ‘this Scythian custom, in its late Greek and Roman imitations, explains the countless tumuli which travellers see to this day in Bulgaria, in the Dobrudscha, in Wallachia, Moldavia, and Southern Russia, as far as the Crimea.’[65] The Thracians either burned or buried their dead, held feasts and games, and raised tumuli. In Illyria and in Bosnia, as we have stated, inhumation and cremation were observed at the same time. Historical evidence goes to show that the Thracians and Illyrians were conquered by the Celtic tribes from the Alps; ‘and as the culture of the early Iron Age in the Danubian region corresponds to that of the Celtic Hallstatt, there is a probability that the practice of cremation, which makes its appearance in the early Iron Age in Bosnia, and which was practised by some Thracians in the fifth century B.C., was introduced by the Celtic conquerors who lived with the Illyrians and Thracian tribes.’[66] Mr. Ridgeway, having carefully considered the methods of disposing of the dead in the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, finds that, without exception, ‘inhumation, or some other method of disposing of the body without the use of fire, was universal in early times, and continued so over most of the area down to the Christian era.’ His conclusion is ‘that cremation did not pass into Greece from either Libya, Egypt, or Asia Minor, nor did it originate among the Pelasgians of the islands, nor yet in the mainland.’[67] Whether the practice arose among the Celtic tribes of Central Europe, or was adopted by them, it passed with other customs and things westwards and northwards along the trade routes, and its adoption in Britain and Ireland was merely a matter of time.

Man’s belief in a spiritual existence was, as we have already pointed out, the cause of that respect for the dead, which has shown itself in the countless sepulchral monuments scattered all over the world from prehistoric times down to our own days. To house the dead and hold the spirit entombed was the idea that once prevailed, and does so still among savage tribes. Immense cromlechs, cairns, and mounds of earth were raised above the dead, not only to house the spirit fittingly, but to prevent its return to earth; and strange customs still survive among primitive races to puzzle the dead should they attempt to return to their old habitations. It was a belief, too, among the Celtic tribes, as it has been among other races, that the spirit of the dead chief would keep watch and ward over them, and hence the burial-mound was sometimes raised close to or within the ring-wall of the camp. We are told that Eoghan Bel, King of Connaught, having received his death-wound in the Battle of Sligo, ordered that his grave should be dug in the side of his rath, and his body buried ‘with his red spear in his hand and his face to the north.’[68] The site overlooked the pass traversed by the Ulstermen in their accustomed raids; and the burial was so effective in terrifying these foes that they made a special incursion, exhumed the body, and buried it with its face downwards on the shores of Lough Gill. King Laoghaire[69] was buried, as we have already mentioned, in the south-east external side of the rampart of Rath Laoghaire, Tara, with his weapons upon him, and ‘his face towards the Lagenians in the attitude of fighting with them.’[70] (See [p. 50].)

The dead were believed to require servants, food, raiment, weapons, and a home such as they did in life; and hence the quantity of ‘grave-goods’ of early races, so important to the archæologist, discovered in many burial-mounds and tombs. Small fictilia, which are considered food-vessels by some, are commonly found with body burials, the offering of food and libations to the dead being a primitive custom, which still exists in many heathen lands, and has its survival in some Christian practices down to our own time. When inhumed, the dead chief was laid in the grave, or within the chambered tumulus, clad in full apparel, with his ornaments and weapons, and servants to attend him. We have references to the burial of warriors with their weapons in Irish MSS. Dr. Sullivan quotes the following:​—​‘Dearg Damhsa, the druid, made a capacious yellow-sodded Fert for Mogh Neid on the plain, and he buried him in it with his arms, and with his clothes, and with his armour.’ And from the Book of Lecan he cites this:​—​‘He killed Feradach after that, the good son of Rocuirp; according to rule, and until his death, he brandished his arms which are under the Duma of the beautiful Carn. Feradach was killed at the Battle of Carn Feradaig, and this here is Feradach’s Fert.’[71]

In cremation the old neolithic practice was changed with the newer conception of the relation between the soul and body. This belief was that the soul could not pass into the spirit world until the body had been destroyed by burning. Total separation was necessary, and the quickest and most effective method was through the medium of fire. The practice was probably an evolutionary one, as in France the process of the natural destruction of the flesh from the bones, before the latter were burned, seems in the first instance to have been adopted. Until the body was destroyed the spirit haunted its local habitation; and the Homeric idea, shared by the Celt and Norse, was that, when the earthly tabernacle was consumed, the soul departed for ever to the world of shades.

Cremation was very probably confined to the chiefs, heroes, or other important persons, as from the very difficulties attending burning the ordinary practice of interment was doubtless adopted for the rank and file of the tribe. Inhumation was practically universal all over Europe until the close of the Stone Age; but all through the Bronze Age both customs were practised, and in the west of Europe interment remained the prevailing custom of disposing of the dead. In the north of Europe, however, cremation reached a far higher development than elsewhere. In remote districts of Spain, France, and in the British Isles the sepulchres of the Stone Age long lingered; and in the tombs and chambered cairns cremated remains have been found of the later Bronze Period.

Though there are numerous references in Irish MSS. to burials in early times, on the subject of cremation they are silent. We have one remarkable passage, however, which has frequently been quoted and commented on, as it seems to refer to this custom. In the Book of Ballymote is the following account of the death of Fiachra, son of Eochaidh Muighmhedhoin, and brother to Niall of the Nine Hostages: ‘Then the men of Munster gave him battle in Caenraigne, and Maidhi Meascoragh wounded Fiachra mortally in the battle. Nevertheless, the men of Munster and the Erneans were defeated by dint of fighting, and suffered great slaughter. Then Fiachra carried away fifty hostages out of Munster, together with his tribute in full, and set forth on his march to Temor. Now, when he had reached Forraidh in Uibh Maccuais, in Meath, Fiachra died of his wound. His Leacht (grave) was made, and his Fert (mound) was raised, and his Cluicht Caintech[72] were ignited, and his Ogam name was written, and the hostages which had been brought from the south were buried alive round Fiachra’s Fert, that it might be a reproach to the Momonians for ever, and that it might be a trophy over them.’ Though we have but this single recorded instance in Irish Annals of human sacrifice​—​that of strangers at the burial of a chief​—​it must not be regarded merely in the light of revenge for the death of their leader. The reproach here cast on the men of Munster followed a principle common wherever similar burial customs have prevailed. According to the practice usually observed at the burial of a chief, the attendants and slaves who were to accompany Fiachra to the spirit world would have full funeral rites conferred upon them. But the Momonian hostages were thus destroyed, so that their souls might keep perpetual guard around Fiachra’s fert, that covered his sepulchre of stone.

* * * * *

Cinerary Urn, from One Man’s Cairn, N. Moytura.

Urns.​—​As we have seen, urns are among the objects commonly found with the remains of the dead, whether inhumed or cremated. The Irish fictilia are usually classified as food-vessels, cinerary urns, and incense-cups. In Great Britain a fourth class is known, called ‘drinking-cups,’ but none of these have been found among burial remains in Ireland. The cinerary urns vary in size and ornamentation, and are found from 10 to 25 inches in height; one of the latter size is in the Grainger collection in the Belfast Museum. They are usually of narrow base, and reach their widest above the middle; they contract towards the mouth, which has an overhanging rim; this is sometimes broad enough to contain all the ornamentation on the urn. This consists of chevron, lozenge, or other archaic designs impressed into the clay. A good many of the richer description present mouldings, bosses, &c., in relief. It is difficult to form an exact opinion as to the manner in which the more highly decorated and larger urns were manufactured. They generally present an outer surface, some eighth or so of an inch in depth, composed apparently of well-kneaded compost of yellow or buff-coloured clay, which exhibits but few or no traces of the action of fire. Underneath this envelope is a black, highly-fused mass of coarser composition, which forms what may be called the strength of the vessel. It is a curious fact that the majority of cinerary vases exhibit upon the interior indications of an intense action of fire, while in many examples the outer surface would seem to be simply sun-baked. From a careful examination of a considerable number of urns found in Irish tumuli and sandhills, it seems to us that at least three stages in the process of their formation are indicated. First, the vessel appears to have been fashioned of a somewhat coarse, gritty material; it was then baked in a strong fire, and burnt almost to blackness. It would seem, upon cooling, to have been overlaid with a fine matter, generally buff or cream-coloured, sufficiently soft to receive impressions readily from a tool formed of wood, horn, bone, stone, or possibly of bronze or iron. Strips of light material, like that of the coating or veneer already referred to, were then laid on, just, to use a homely illustration, as a modern cook will embellish a pie-crust. The overlayings, while still soft, were then indented with patterns, and the work either dried in the sun or presented to the influence of a moderate degree of heat from a fire of wood or peat.

Cinerary Urn from Co. Carlow.

Cinerary Urn, Co. Wicklow.

Cinerary Urn, Co. Cavan.

All sepulchral urns were hand-made and invariably unglazed. They have been found to contain portions of the bones of a human body, sometimes of more than one, in a highly calcined state; and there is reason to believe that occasionally some relics, also burnt, most notably those of the dog, had been inurned along with the remains of man. Arrow-heads and knives of flint, pins of bone or bronze, glass and stone beads, rings of jet, and in one case, at least, a beautiful knife or dagger of bronze, have formed, with the bones, portion of the contents of these vessels; charcoal and particles of half-consumed wood constitute the remainder. Sometimes the urn is found placed mouth downward, and, as at Drumnakilly, surmounting a cup-hollow; but in general it stands on its base, and is covered by a thin flat stone or slate. A unique and very beautiful example, preserved in the National Museum, is furnished with a veritable lid. Though generally presenting the appearance of a cinerary urn, this relic may have been a food-vessel.

Urns from Co. Down.

The vessels considered to have been receptacles for food are usually found associated with inhumation, and are supposed to have contained food for the spirits in their journey to the world of shades. Though they vary greatly in ornamentation, yet they are better made and more richly decorated than the British urns of a similar class. They are somewhat globular in form, and are well represented in the figure on next page, which shows a specimen discovered in connection with the cromlech-like tomb in the Phœnix Park, already described. This vessel, with some antiquities of the same ‘find,’ may be seen in the National Museum. One other example (p. 149), remarkable for the elaborate character of its ornamentation, is from Ballymote, County Sligo.

Food-Vessel from Cist in the Phœnix Park, Dublin.

Small Cinerary Urn, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow.

Food-Vessel from Grave near Ballymote, Co. Sligo.

The so-called ‘Incense Cups’ found in Ireland are, like their British prototypes, invariably of very small size. They are usually undecorated; the rims are sometimes pierced with four or more apertures, as if for suspension. In Ireland vessels of this kind are usually found enclosed in urns of the larger and richer class. There is no evidence to support the theory that they were used as vessels for holding ‘incense,’ or as ‘chafers’ containing burning coals for a short time. They are now generally considered as cinerary urns in which the remains of infants were placed. Perhaps the most beautiful specimen yet discovered in the British Isles was found near Bagenalstown in 1847, which contained the burnt bones of an infant or very young child. ‘It was embedded in a much larger and ruder urn, filled with fragments of adult human bones.’ The smaller urn, when reversed, ‘presents,’ says Wilde, ‘both in shape and ornamentation all the characteristics of the Echinus, so strongly marked that one is led to believe the artist took the shell of that animal for his model.’ It is 2⅛ inches high, and 3¾ across the outer margin of the lip, which is beautifully ornamented, and has the rare addition of a handle. The body is divided into a number of upright sections, all elaborately worked in a variety of patterns. A rope-like ornament surrounds the neck, and the under-portion of the lip has an accurately cut chevron.