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THE DOLMENS OF IRELAND.
II
THE
DOLMENS OF IRELAND
THEIR DISTRIBUTION, STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS,
AND AFFINITIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES ;
TOGETHER WITH THE FOLK-LORE ATTACHING
TO THEM; SUPPLEMENTED BY CONSIDERATIONS ON THE
ANTHROPOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY, AND TRADITIONS
OF THE IRISH PEOPLE.
WITH FOUR MAPS, AND EIGHT HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS,
INCLUDING TWO COLOURED PLATES.
BY
WILLIAM COPELAND BORLASE, M.A.,
LATE PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF CORNWALL,
AND ONE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON
F,ARRISTER-AT-LA\V ;
Author of ' ' Nceiiia Cormibia: ; " " Historical Sketch of the Tin- Trade in Cornwall ; ''
■ Sim-uays, a /Record of RavMes in Many Lands,;" '' Mphou and its Anfinnities ,
■• The Age of the Saints,' etc.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. IL
LONDON: CHAPMAN cS: HALL, ld.
1897.
^^
THE DOLMENS OF IRELAND.
PART I.
LOCALITIES, DESCRIPTIVE DETAILS AND AUTHORITIES.
{Continued.)
COUNTY OF xMEATH.
In the Barony of Kells Lower.
I. In the Townland of Cornavllle North, and Parish of
Moynalty, was a dolmen marked Gianfs Grave in Ord. Surv.
Map No. I.
In the Barony of Fore.
fi — 13. In the Townland of Carnbane, and Parish of Lough-
crew. Thirteen cairns are marked in Ord. Surv. Map (new
edition) No. 15 in this Townland, at Carnbane West.
J 14, 15. In the Townland of Newtown, and Parish of Lough-
crew, adjoining Carnbane on the S.E. Two cairns are marked in
Ord. Surv. Map (new edition) No. 15 in this Townland.
J16 — 26. In the Townland of Corstown, and Parish of Diamor,
adjoining Carnbane on the E. Eleven cairns are marked in Ord.
Surv. Map (new edition) No. 15 in this Townland, at a site named
Carnbane East, to distinguish it from the more western group at
Carnbane West.
f27 — 29. In the Townland of Patrlckstown, and Parish of
Diamor, adjoining Corstown to the N.W., three cairns are marked
in Ord. Surv. Map (new edition) No. 9. There is also an earthen
tumulus in this Townland shown in Map No. 15.
These thirty monuments (including the tumulus) are all that
t These numbers simply indicate the number of cairns given by the surveyors, and have no
reference to the actual number in Mr. Conwell's list given below.
VOL. n. B
ii063.-^ci
314 The Dolmens of Ireland.
the Ordnance Survey shows of the groups of cairns and tumuli
which extend along the hills of Slieve-na-Callighe for some three
miles from E. to \V. They lie to the N. and N.W. of the road
from Kilshandra to Oldcastle, and N. of Loughcrew, by which
latter name they are generally collectiv^ely known.
On the 23rd of May, 1864, Mr. Eugene A. Conwell read a paper before the
Royal Irish Academy, on "Ancient Remains, hitherto undescribed, in the County
of Meath," first amongst which he noticed the cairns upon this ridge of hills. On
the 14th of November following, he read a second paper, "On the Remains at
Sliabh-na-Callighe " before the same society, in continuation of the first. The
Meath Herald of the 21st of October, 1865, contained a communication on the
same subject from the pen of Mr. George Du Noyer, which was reprinted in
the " Proceedings of the Kilkenny Archreological Society," vol. v., New Sen, July,
"Ji^
vi-X^Si-
m J ^m mm
^<m"'
Fig. 2S8. — Plan of group of cairns, A-L, Louglicrcw. By Mr. G. Coffey.
1865, No. 49, pp. 365-369. The same volume contains a lithographic sketch by
Mr. Du Noyer of the north cist of tlie sepulchral chamber in the large cairn on the
western summit of Slieve-na-Callighe, attached to his paper on a " Carved Rock
at Ryefield, in the County of Cavan " {op. cit., p. 385). On the nth of December,
18C5, Mr. Conwell communicated to the Royal Irish Academy a paper entitled,
County of Meath.
6^:i
'•Examination of the Ancient Sepulchral Cairns on the Loughcrew Hills, Part I.,"
which was published in the Proceedings of the Academy (vol. ix., part iv.,
pp. 355-379), in 1867. At the same time, Mr. Du Noyer exhibited a large
collection of drawings made by him of the " Antiquarian Remains discovered
and explored on the Loughcrew Hills." When I was in Dublin, in 1890, Dr.
Frazer showed me a series of coloured drawings of the sculpturings on the stones
at Loughcrew, which he informed me were those of Mr. Du Noyer, and which he
(Dr. Frazer) has since published in the Proceedings of the Soc. of Antiquaries of
Scotland, 3rd Sen, vol. iii. (1892-93) p. 294, ct seqq. Lastly, on the 12th of
February, 1872, Mr. Conwell read before the Royal Irish Academy, a paper
entitled, " On the Identification of the Ancient Cemetery at Loughcrew, and
the Discovery of the Tomb of Ollamh Fodhla," which was published in the
Proceedings of the Academy, vol. i., 2nd Ser., "Pol. Lit. and Antiquities" (1879),
pp. 72-107, and contains numerous illustrations of the sculpturings and objects
discovered, and ground-plans of a few of the cairns.
From these several communications the following description is compiled, a
notice of the sculpturings being reserved for a subsequent portion of my work. In
the mean time I have to thank Dr. Frazer and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
for kindly allowing me to copy Mr. Du Noyer's drawings.
It was on the 9th of June, 1863, that Mr. Conwell's attention was first of all
called to these monuments by an accidental visit to the Loughcrew Hills. He then
found that the various summits of the range for two miles in extent were studded
with the remains of ancient earns. Through the interest taken in the subject by
the proprietor of the land, Mr. J. L. W. Naper, Mr. Conwell was enabled to make
a " systematic examination " of what he terms " this great primeval cemetery."
SHeve-na-Callighe is the only eminence in the county which assumes the name
or possesses the character of a mountain. It rises to the height of 904 feet ; its
longest axis is from E. to W., and its extent about two miles. Geographically
speaking, " it is forced out of the Lower Silurian rocks, which occupy a large
extent of the country to the northwards, from Drumlish, in the county of Longford,
to Donaghadee, in the county of Down, including the range of the MoHrne
Mountains."
The hill is a prominent object in the landscape, and in form consists of three
main peaks, two of which are still crowned with large tumuli and small cairns,
while on the third was a large tumulus, which, when Mr. Conwell saw it, in 1864,
was being carted away. The western of the three peaks is called Carnbane.
Besides these principal peaks, are two minor hills, extending from the middle in
the direction of the western peak, each also crowned with the remains of ancient
cairns.
In the older Ordnance Map the only notice taken of these cairns was a mere
dot or two, with the word " Stones " appended. Sir William Wilde also failed to
discover them. The Ordnance Survey subsequently supplied the defect, and the
result is a plan which Mr. Conwell appends to his paper in the Proceedings of
the Royal Irish Academy, vol. i., 2nd. Ser. (1879), p. 84.
Mr. Conwell (Proc. R.LA., vol. ix. p. 359) proceeds to describe the cairns,
which he letters on the map as follows, commencing with those on the western
extremity of the range, which is called Carnbane (pron. Carnbawn), and which
attains a height of 842 feet.
I. A. Nearly all the stones which formed this cairn have been removed. Its
present (1867) remains cover a space measuring 7 yards in diameter. Four large
3i6 The Dolmens of Ireland.
stones still remain, marking out the circumference of its base. It is 66 yards S.E.
of D, the largest cairn in the range.
2. Al In a plantation, 130 yards S. of I), the remains of a cairn are still visible,
but nearly level with the ground. It measures 9 yards in diameter. One large
stone stands upright on the circumference, and bears some traces of sculpturing.
3. A^ On the S. scalp of the hill, in a most conspicuous position, 60 yards S.W.
from D, and nearly close to the S. side of the present deer-park wall, once stood a
cairn, 22 yards in diameter. The present remains are not more than i or 2 feet
high.
4. B. Forty-six yards to the W. of D are the remains of a cairn, 7 yards in
diameter. The loose stones which formed it are nearly all gone, leaving in the
centre three large flags laid on edge, forming a chamber 12 feet long, pointing
E. 20° S.
In clearing out this chamber several fragments of charred bones were found
mixed with the earth at the bottom, seemingly remarkably heavy.
5. C. Sixty yards S.W. of D are the remains of a cairn 5 yards in diameter. Four
large stones mark the site. At a distance of 25 feet to the N. of the cairn lies
_--0
4
Fk;. 289. — Plan of cairn F, Louglicrew. By Mr. G. Coffey.
prostrate a pillar-stone, which formerly stood upon its smaller end (see p. 317)-
It measures 7 feet long, 3 feet 6 ins. broad, and i foot thick.
6. D. The largest of all the cairns in the range, the diameter of its base being 60
yards. The N. and E, sides have been left untouched, but the S. and W. sides,
extending towards the centre, have been removed.
County of Meath.
17
2'ic. -Stone in cairn F.
The height of the cairn before the operations upon it commenced was 28 paces
in sloping ascent from base to summit. The original circle of 54 large flag-stones,
laid on edge round its base, is still perfect ; and on the E. side, towards a point
indicated by E. 20° S., these marginal
stones curve inwards for 12 paces in
length, denoting the entrance, or pas-
sage, to the interior chambers.
After working for a fortnight, the
labourers employed were unable to
discover a central chamber, although
they first drove in at the point indi-
cated by the curving-stones, and then
sunk in the centre till they nearly
reached the bottom.
As the cutting proceeded, about
midway down among the loose stones,
were found portions of a large skull,
and 12 teeth of a graminivorous
animal, probably of an ox, "sacrificed,"
so Mr. Conwell thought, "on the pile."
At a distance of 105 feet N.W.
of this cairn, and on the very point
of the escarpment of the hill, stood a
pillar of quartz, 8 feet high, 3 feet broad, and 2 feet thick. It is described as
broken across a little above the ground, and lying where it fell. It must have
been brought from a distance to its present situation. Mr. Conwell suggests that
it may be a glacial deposit from Donegal.
The nearest quartz rocks are at Howth,
about 50 miles S.E.
7. E. Traces of this cairn (E.S.E.
of D) alone remain. These show it to
have been about 5 yards in diameter.
8. F. About 5 feet of the height of
the original cairn remain. It lies W.
of D. In diameter it measures 16^
yards. The chambers (see plan, p. 316)
were in the form of a cross, the shaft
of which, represented by the entrance
passage, had a bearing of E. 10° N.
The length of the passage is 8 feet,
and the breadth 2 feet 2 ins. The
entire length from the commencement
of the passage to the extremity of
the opposite chamber is 15 feet, and
the breadth from the extremity of the
southern to the extremity of the northern
chamber is 9 feet 4 ins. The com-
mencement of the passage was not
closed up by a block of stone, but
merely by small loose stones laid against it.
Fig. 291. — Stune in cairn h .
Only one of the roofing-flags, covering
iS
The Dolmens ov Ireland.
the commencement of the passage, remains in its original position. Across the
entrances of the southern and western chambers are laid stones measuring
from 4 to 5 inches in thickness. On the floor of the northern crypt rests a
rude stone basin, 3 feet 5 ins. long, 2 feet 4 ins. broad, and 5 inches thick.
Under this basin were found a portion of a bone pin and a fl.ike of flint. In
the S.W. corner of the southern chamber, and about a foot from the bottom,
was found, imbedded among the clay and stones which filled it up, a brown
iron-stone ball, 3 inches in diameter, and well rounded. Several fragments of
bones lay scattered indiscriminately here and there upon the floor. ... At
about 2 feet outside the circumference stand three pillar-stones . . . Seven of the
stones in these chambers are sculptured.
9. G. This cairn, which is distant only i yard from F, and 34^- yards E.N.E. of
D, measures 21 yards in diameter. Eight large stones stand in the margin. Traces
Fic. 292. - Plan of cairn H, Loughcrew. By Mr. G. Coffey.
only sufticicnt to indicate the site of tlie cairn remain. All the interior chambers
have disappeared.
io. H. The remains of this cairn arc described as being between 5 and 6 feet in
County of Meath. 319
height, and 18 yards in diameter. It Ues E.N.E. of F, and is i6i yards S.W. of
L, the second largest of the cairns on the western hill. The plan of the chambers
was found to be cruciform, and some curious attempts at dry masonry were found
at the northern and southern extremities of the chambers. The covering of the
interior chambers had entirely disappeared, with the exception of about half a
dozen large, overlapping flags, giving a good example of the mode of roofing,
and which still remained in their places over the western and northern crypts.
The chambers were, in plan, nearly similar to those in F, except that the central
chamber might be considered a rude octagon. The passage, which has a bearing
of E. 10° S., is 13 feet long, 2 feet wide at the commencement, and 4 feet wide
at the extremity. The entire length, from the beginning of the passage to the
extremity of the opposite, or western chamber, is 24 feet, and the distance across
the other two chambers is i6 feet. The breadth of the southern chamber is 2 feet
7 ins. ; that of the western chamber 4 feet at rear, diminishing towards the entrance
to 3 feet 2 ins. ; and tliat of the northern chamber 4 feet 2 ins. On the floor of
this latter rests a rude stone basin, 4 feet 3 ins. long, 4 feet broad, and about
6 inches thick. Loose stones and earth filled the chambers and passage for about
i-| feet in depth. The passage itself, for a depth of about 3 feet, was completely
packed with bones in a fragmentary state, nearly all showing evidences of having
been burnt, and were found mixed with several small fragments of quartz.
Of the human remains found in the passage and crypts of this cairn Mr.
Conwell enumerates " 50 portions of limb bones ; 30 other bones — shoulder-blades,
etc. ; 48 portions of skulls ; 8 portions of jaws, with teeth remaining ; 14 separate
teeth;" — making 150 in all.
From the soft earth which, together with stones and bones, the chambers
contained, Mr. Conwell obtained one end of a bone bodkin ; one half of a
bone ferrule; six pieces of bone pins — one ornamental pin, if inches in length,
still retaining the metallic rivet which fastened on a head ; one tine of an antler,
3 inches long ; 14 fragments of very rude, brown earthenware or pottery, portions
of vessels much blackened by fire, particularly on the inside surface ; 10 pieces of
flint ; 155 sea-shells, in a tolerably perfect state of preservation, and no other shells
in a broken state ; 8 varieties of small, lustrous, or shining stones; 100 white sea-
pebbles, and 60 others of different shades of colour. A small, brown, stone ball
was also found, and a flake of bone measuring 6 ins. by 4 ins., which appears to have
been polished on one side, and may probably have been used as a dish. Under-
neath the stone basin in the northern chamber were found imbedded in damp
earth, and mixed with small splinters of burnt bones, six stone balls, the largest
about an inch in diameter, but in so soft a state, that they could scarcely be
touched without injuring them. Five of these appear to be white carbonate of
lime, and the other porphyry.
Chiefly in the southern chamber, and about the entrance to it, for the most part
imbedded in wet stiff" earth, Mr. Conwell states that he got the most remarkable
collection of bone implements, glass, amber, bronze, and iron, which probably has
ever been found together under similar circumstances.
In some few instances, where the bone implements chanced to be protected by
an overlying stone, their original polish was still perfect. In all cases, however, they
were found in a state as soft as cheese, and could with difficulty be extracted from
the stiff earth without breaking them. Such, indeed, was the softness of their con-
dition that Mr. Conwell thought they could not have been preserved for many years
longer, and probably would have become entirely decomposed. He saved 4071
TnK Dolmens of Ireland.
fragments of them in a plain state, once polished, but without further ornamentation ;
loS nearly perfect in shape ; 60, where the bone material is a little decomposed,
and still retains the original polish; 27 fragments which appear to have been
stained ; 1 1 plain fragments perforated for suspension by a single hole near the
end: 501 fragments ornamented
with rows of fine transverse lines,
and two others similarly orna-
mented, and perforated near the
end ; 13 combs, 7 of which were
engraved on both sides, the heads
only and the roots of the teeth of
the combs still remaining; 91 im-
plements engraved by compass,
and in a very high order of art,
with circles, curves, ornamental
puncturings, etc., and twelve of
these decorated on both sides.
On one, in cross-patch lines, was
the representation of an antlered
stag, being the only attempt in the
collection to depict any living
thing. In some instances the
perforations near the end appear
to have been counter-sunk. Jn all
there are 4884 pieces.
Of amber, Mr. Conwell col-
lected 7 small beads, the largest
scarcely a quarter of an inch in
i ,_ diameter, and another small, ob-
long bead of uncertain material.
Oi glass, he obtained three small beads of different shapes, and different shades
of colour ; two fragments of glass ; a curious molten drop, i inch long, trumpet-
shaped at one end. and tapering towards the other extremity.
Eic. 294. — Stone in cairn H.
Of hroiizc there were six rings, slightly open, or rather not closed or cemented
County of Meath. ^21
into one solid piece, varying from a quarter of an inch to three quarters of an inch
in diameter ; a portion of another which is hollow, and formed by overlapping a
thin plate of bronze ; also portions of eight other small rings in a less perfect state.
Of iron there were found— not lying together, but mixed up with the earth
and debris which filled the southern chamber — seven specimens, all thickly coated
with rust. One is an open ring, about half an inch in diameter ; one half of
another somewhat larger ; two pieces, each about an inch long, and a quarter of
an inch thick, of uncertain use ; one thin piece, probably a portion of a knife, or
of a saw, three quarters of an inch long, and half an inch broad ; one piece,
\h inches long, resembling the leg of a compass, and with which, so Mr. Conwell
Fig. 295. — Plan of cairn I, Lougbcrevv. By Mr. G. Coffey.
thought, the incised-sculpturings might have been made ; and, lastly, an iron punch,
or pick, 5 inches long, with chisel-shaped point, and head that bore evidence of
the use of the mallet. With this tool, also, Mr. Conwell thinks, the circular
sculpturings and the other figures, " which have all been punched, or picked out,"
may have been formed.
In this cairn there were five sculptured stones.
II. I. This cairn is 64^- yards E. of F., 53 yards S.W. of L., and measures 21
yards in diameter. The apex had disappeared, and the structure measured only
4 or 5 feet high. The chambers, or crypts, as Mr. Conwell calls them, had lost
their roofs, and were filled up with small stones. In some cases, where the stones
showed sculpturing, the surfaces crumbled away, being forced off by nettle-roots
before Mr. Conwell could make any record of their devices.
The direction of the entrance is due E. The passage alone is 8 feet 6 ins.
long, and 4 feet 6 ins. wide, and the distance from the commencement of the
passage to the back of the opposite chamber is 22 feet. The diameter across the
chambers N. and S. measures 13 feet. The interior arrangement consists of seven
compartments formed by flagstones standing out towards the centre of the structure.
^22
The Dolmens of Ireland.
The respective breadths of these chambers is 2 feet 8 ins. ; 3 feet 6 ins. ; 3 feet
7 ins. ; 3 feet 8 ins. : 3 feet 7 ins. at the rear, narrowing considerably towards the
r^^
:^-
n
'.^
Flc. 296. — Stone in cairn I.
Fig. 297. — Stone in cairn L
— ' ' "-*"yv
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Fii;. 298. — Stone in cairn L
I 11:. 299. — Stunc in cairn L
County of Meath.
323
entrance; 3 feet 10 ins.; and 2 feet 8 ins. These (marked from a to ^) were
indicated on a plan exhibited by Mr. Conwell. On the floors of four of them
rested a flag about 2 square feet in area, and 2 inches thick. A quantity of
Fic. 300. — .Stone in cairn I.
charred bones was found on each of tliese flags, but in such a crushed state,
from the falling in of the stones upon them, that it would be difficult to determinate
to what portion of the frame they belonged. On the flag on which the bones had
Fir,. 301. — Stone in cairn I.
been placed being raised in each of these four compartments^ there was found imme-
diately underneath, a layer, about 4 inches in depth, of dry, small stones, the surface
324
The Dolmens of Ireland.
portion of the layer broken very fine, from a quarter of an inch to an inch in size,
and having some fragments of charred bones scattered on top, the lower portion of
the layer consisting of larger stones.
In the compartment which exactly faces the E., and on the surface of these
finely broken stones, Mr. Conwell found two stone ornaments — a bead and a
pendant. The bead lay about the centre of the space covered by the flag, and
the pendant under but close to the extremity of the flag, on the right-hand side,
and near the back of the compartment. The bead had been highly polished, and
Fig. 302. — Stone in cairn I.
Tig. ^o;. — Stone m cairn I.
was narrower on one side than en the other. Probably it formed part of a neck-
lace. Its greatest diameter was three quarters of an inch, and the pendant, per-
forated by a single hole for suspension, was li inch long. Botli appeared to have
suffered from the action of fire, and had become so decomposed that it was found
difficult to identify the material. The bead resembled pale, grey, earthy grit, which
had become soft from the decomposition of the felspathic part of the stone, but
more probably it was blue carboniferous limestone, and the pendant yellow shale,
mixed with whitish particles.
The floor of another of the compartments, which Mr. Conwell marked/ in his
plan, was covered with a closely fitting flag, 3 feet 10 ins. long, 3 feet 3 ins. broad,
and 9 inches thick. On its surface no bones were found, as in the other instances,
but on its being raised it was found to cover a layer of finely broken stones, mixed
with splinters of charred bones, and having a depression of nearly a couple of
inches in the centre. This stone, as it rested on the floor, concealed the sculptur-
ing on the lower portion of one of the side-stones.
County of Meath.
325
Nine of the stones in this cairn bore sculpturings.
12. J. This cairn is 23 yards N.E. of H, and only 3 yards distant from L.
It measures 15^ yards in diameter. The remains of it measured from 4 to 5 feet
in height, and there were twelve large stones in the circumference. The interior
had been much disturbed, and was filled up with loose stones and rubbish. The
passage, having a bearing E. 10° S., was 7 feet 6 ins. long, without any upright stone
closing its entrance. A roughly finished brown stone ball, about an inch in diameter,
was found near the opening of the passage into the interior chambers.
Three of the stones in this cairn bore sculpturings.
13. K. This cairn is 12.V yards N.E. of L, and is i6| yards in diameter. The
large flagstones forming the central chambers were found to be in a rather disorderly
condition. The bearing of the entrance is E. 15" N. Thirteen stones remained
round the margin. No object of antiquarian interest was found here. At a
distance of 20 feet to the S.E. lay a pillar-stone, 6 feet long, 2 feet broad, and
I foot thick.
Two of the chamber-stones bore sculpturings.
14. L. This cairn is 45 yards in diameter, and lies E.X.E. of the great cairn D,
Fig. 304. — Plan of caim L, Loughcrew, and of the chamber enlarged. By Mr. G. Coffey.
between which and it is the cairn F. It is surrounded by forty-two large stones
laid lengthwise on their edges, and varying from 6 to 12 feet in length, and from
4 to 5 feet high. Great quantities of the loose stones which formed the apex of
this cairn had been removed. A curve inwards in the circumference, of 10 yards
in length, on each side of a point having a bearing of E. 20° S., indicated the
direction of the entrance, or passage, which commenced at a distance of 18 feet
inward from the circumference.
Finding a large flag on the top of the mutilated cairn, Mr. Conwell caused it
and two others to be removed, when he discovered that he was actually taking to
326
The Dolmens of Ireland.
pieces what remained of the original construction of the roof The principal portion
of the overlapping flags, which formed the roof over the chambers, had disappeared,
leaving them filled up with loose stones, which had fallen in. " When the chambers
were carefully cleared of these small stones, they exhibited in situ about forty of the
large plinths which formed the matchless, dry, cyclopean masonry of the roof
This dome was constructed of large slabs, overlapping one another and bevelled
slightly upwards, having thinner slabs most ingeniously inserted between them,
which, on receiving the superincumbent weight, became crushed, and formed a
bond for the whole. Wherever this precaution of placing thinner slabs or smaller
stones between the large ones was omitted, the larger slabs themselves were found
to be cracked across. What remained of this unique roofing rose 12 feet above
the level of the floor, which is even with the ordinary surface of the ground. 'i"he
breadth of the passage at the commencement was i foot 10 ins., which increased to
'-ir-=*©i3(^-
Fig.
-Recess or cell, with stone basin and sculptured stones, cairn L, Loughcrew.
From a drawimr bv C Du A'ovcr.
upwards of 3 feet about the middle, and contracted again to i foot 9 ins. where it
terminated. The passage itself was 12 feet long, and the entire length, from the
commencement of the passage to the extremity of the western chamber, was 29 feet.
The greatest breadth across the chambers was 13 feet 2 ins., measured from points
nearly N. and S., diminishing to 10 feet 4 ins. where the passage terminated."
" The seven chambers composing the interior of this great tomb were quadran-
gular, and nearly square. The first, on the left-hand side, at the termination of the
passage, was 4 feet 8 ins. in breadth ; the second, 3 feet 6 ins, ; the third, 2 feet 2 ins, ;
the fourth, 4 feet 3 ins.; the fiftli, 5 feet 10 ins,; the sixth, 3 feet 5 ins,; and
the seventh, 2 feet 6 ins. Mr. Conwell, in his plan, lettered these chambers
from a iof."
County of Meatii.
;27
From among the loose stones which filled up the chamber, Mr. Conwell
collected loio portions of bones ; two pieces of bone apparently silicified; a
weapon, or other instrument, which he terms a spear-point in bone, and a portion
of what he calls a polished bone javelin; 154 fragments of very rude pottery,
imperfectly fired, and varying in size from i to 30 square inches. Some fragments
retained their original brown colour, but the generality of them had been much
blackened by fire on the inside surface, and for a distance round the exterior of
the lip, or upper rim ^of the urns, of which they were parts. One piece, a portion
of the upper edge of an urn, about 3 inches long, and 3 inches broad, was very
rudely ornamented with three slight ridges ; and, about an inch from the top, was
perforated by a single hole. Another larger piece, ornamented with four slightly
raised ridges, was perforated by two holes, one an inch and a half below the other.
...-ii^ '
-•si*.
Fil;. 306. — Stone in cairn L.
" Extending along the floor of the passage, completely covering it, and in-
clining a little way into the space surrounded by the interior chambers, seven in
number, lay a flag 8 feet 9 ins. long, 3 feet 6 ins. broad, and about 6 inches thick.
Close around the western end of this stone, the earth on the floor, to a depth
of about 2 inches, was perfectly black, arising, it appeared to Mr. Conwell, from the
presence of blackened ashes ; " from which he thought that the process of cremation
was performed on this stone.
*' On the floor of the second chamber, and shut in by an upright stone of a foot
high and 4 inches thick, rested a quadrangular stone basin, hollowed out from the
sides towards the centre, to a depth of 3^- inches, and having had a piece taken out
from one of its sides. It measured 2 feet 11 ins. long, by 2 feet broad, and was
about 6 inches thick. Mixed with the earth under this sepulchral basin were found
many fragments of charred bones, and several human teeth."
" Completely filling up the length of the opposite chamber, whicli was entered
The Dolmens of Ireland.
through a space only 2 feet wide becween two upright pillar-stones, rested an oval-
shaped stone dish, or basin. The !)roader end was turned to the E., the narrower
to the W. Its greatest length was
-»?*:
■»j*ii!!f'"l
5 feet 9 ins. At a distance of 18
inches from the narrower extremity it
measured 3 feet i in. broad, and at
1 8 inches from the other extremity it
was 7 inches broader, where, on the
side facing the chambers, a curved
piece about 4 inches broad had been
scooped out of the side of the stone.
A raised rim which ran all round it,
varied from 2 to 4 inches in breadth,
and rose about an inch above the other-
wise perfectly level surface of the
stone." The tooled or picked work-
manship of this stone Mr. Conwell
describes as " exquisite." " On raising
it, several splinters of blackened,
charred bones were observable; and
on the stiff wet earth underneath it
being carefully picked, upwards of 900
pieces of charred bone were discovered
imbedded in it, with about a dozen
pieces of charcoal lying in various
directions. There were also 48 human
teeth in a very perfect state of preserva-
tion ; the pointed end of a bone pin,
^\ inches long, and \ of an inch
thick ; a piece, about an inch in length,
of a similar bone pin ; a most per-
fectly rounded syenite ball, still pre-
serving its original polish, nearly 2^
inches in diameter ; another perfectly round stone ball, streaked with white and
purple layers — probably a pebble — and about an inch in diameter ; another stone
ball, upwards of f of an inch in diameter, of a brown colour, dashed with dark
spots; a finely polished oval jet ornament, 1-^ inch in length, and ^ of an inch
broad; eight other white stone balls of carbonate of lime, which had become
quite soft, but which gradually dried, on exposure, to a sufficient degree of hardness
to allow of their being removed in a tolerable state of preservation."
These latter, together with five similar ones found in cairn H, Mr. Conwell
regarded as "brain balls, won and worn as trophies during life by the champion
here laid at his rest." He presents engravings of two of them, and also of that
found in cairn H, in his appendix to " The Discovery of the Tomb of Ollamh
Fodhla" (Dublin, 1873), p. 62.
The large flag stones, both in this and the other cairns, alluded to by
Mr. Conwell, are, he tells us, "as to material, of a uniform character, consisting of
conipact sandy grit, the natural rock of the locality." One of the stones in this
cairn is, however, an exception, being a good specimen of a water-washed column
of blue hmestone, probably from one of the adjoining lakes. In cairn W. a similar
stone occurred.
urn J.
County of Meath.
329
There was also a stone in this cairn for which there did not appear to be any-
particular necessity in the construction of the chamber. It was a diamond-shaped
slab, placed on one of its angles, and the stone abutting on it was elaborately carved
on both sides with diamond-shaped figures.
On the lower surface of the second large roofing flag, looking directly down
upon the large sepulchral basin, a reticulated pattern, finely cut, 9 inches long, and
varying from 3 to 4 inches broad, formed by twelve short lines crossing in a slanting
direction eight other nearly parallel lines, had been sculptured. The meshes (about
fifty) varied from ^ an inch to i inch broad, and from i inch to ij inch long.
15. M. About 650 yards to the S.E. of L, and crowning the next knoll, called
^1
Carrickbrack, were the remains of a cairn, 22 yards in diameter, but only about
4 feet high, and wanting the usual boundary-ring of large stones, as well as the
internal chambers.
16. N. On the top of a second knoll, 572 yards due E. of M, were the remains
of a cairn, 22 yards in diameter. Of the small stones which composed it there
remained a pile about two feet in height. Four large stones outside this cairn
marked an avenue pointing due E., 16 yards long, 7 yards wide at the entrance,
and diminishing to 4 yards wide as it approached the cairn. One of the stones
composing it, standing upwards of 6 feet above the surface of the ground, had
48 cup-hollows sculptured upon it.
17. O. In the valley below the two knolls, 352 yards N.E. from M, and 279
yards N. W. from N, were the remains of a cairn, 1 1 yards in diameter. Three large
prostrate stones, each measuring about 4 feet by 5 feet, marked the site. One
upright stone, 3 feet 9 ins. high, 3 feet 9 ins. broad, and about a foot thick, was
still standing, apparently in the circumference of the original cairn. On its W. face,
arranged principally in four groups, were 39 cups, varying from ^ to f of an inch
in diameter, and about ^ of an inch deep.
VOL. II. C
'3
oo
O
The Dolmens of Ireland.
1 8. P^ The remains of a cairn, 143 yards N.E. from N, 8 yards in diameter.
Sufficient stones only remained to denote the original basis of the cairn.
19. P-. About 22 yards X. of the
last were six large stones, which Mr.
Conwell judged to be the remains of
another cairn. One of these stones,
6 feet 6 ins. long, 5 feet 6 ins. broad,
and about 2 feet thick, rested in an
inclined position, and had its eastern
face thickly covered with small, cup-like
hollows ; but these might possibly have
been created by the action of water.
20. Q. There were the remains of
another cairn, 38 yards N. of P'-, which
measured 4^ yards in diameter. Nearly
all the stones w-hich composed it had
been carried away.
21. R\ Passing up the hill in an
easterly direction, at a distance of 242
yards from Q, were the remains of a
cairn, 11 yards in diameter. What re-
mained of the pile varied in height from
2 to 3 feet.
22. R-'. The remains of another cairn,
9 yards in diameter, and about 2 feet in
height, lay 16 yards to the S. of R\ and
55 yards S.W. from T.
23. S. This cairn is only 5 yards W.
of T, and 51 yards from R\ Thirty- three large stones standing on their ends
309. — Stone in cairn S.
•
^%
"W
B%
^-
Fk.. 310. — Plan of cairn T and group surrounding it. Bj- Mr. G. Coffey.
County of Meath.
131
form a circle, 18^ yards in diameter, round the remains of it. The apex of this
cairn is complettly gone, leaving exposed the tops of the upright stones forming
the chambers, the arrangement of which here differs from the others in having the
passage, or entrance, from the W., bearing exactly W. 10° N. The entire length
of the passage and chambers taken together is 15 feet. The passage itself, which
varies in breadth from 2 feet 3 ins. to 2 feet 7 ins., is divided by transverse upright
stones into two compartments, each about 2 feet square. Immediately outside
the entrance of the passage was found a perfect specimen of a leaf-shaped arrow-
head, in white flint, i-| inch long, and f of an inch broad. Dr. Thurnam, who
saw it, pronounced it to be somewhat larger than those of the same unbarbed
type found by him in the Wiltshire barrows. The two small compartments into
which the passage itself is divided were filled up to the height of 18 inches with
charred bones, broken into small fragments. On the top of these, in the first
chamber, a piece of bent bone, tooled and rounded at one end, and 9 inches long,
was found. It was silicified. In the second chamber, and also on the top of the
charred bones which filled the compartment, a roughly finished bone dagger was
found, 7 inches long, and nearly an inch broad at the extremity of the handle,
its widest part. Neatly covering the entire floor in each compartment, rested a
thin flag, underneath which were found splinters of burned bones, intermixed with
small stones and pieces of charcoal.
Six of the stones which formed this chamber bore sculpturings.
24. T. From a distance this is the most conspicuous of the cairns, crowning the
summit of the highest of all the peaks in the range, that, namely, which is specially
TC''!lil!0-
S
Fig. 311. — Plan of cairn T, and of the chamber enlarged.
* Hag's Chair.
known as Slieve-na-Callighe. The original shape of this cairn still remains com-
paratively perfect, having an elevation of 2 r paces in slant height from base to
summit. It measures 38-! yards in diameter, and is enclosed by a circle of thirty-
seven stones laid on edge, and varying in length from 6 to 12 feet. This may be
regarded as a retaining wall. The fragments of rock which form the conical tumulus
within are nearly all native rock — Lower Silurian grit.
The Dolmens of Ireland.
One of the thirty-seven stones in the periphery of the base of the cairn is
popularly called " The Hag's Chair." This great stone, exactly facing the N., is
set about 4 feet inwards from the circumference of the cairn. It measures 10 feet
broad, 6 feet high, and 2 feet thick, judging from which dimensions, allowing
12 cubic feet of rock to every ton, it must be upwards of 10 tons in weight. A
rude seat-like cavity is hollowed out of the centre. The ends of the block are
elevated 9 inches above the level of the seat, and the back has fallen away by a
natural fracture of the stone. There is a cross carved upon the seat of the chair,
which, together with others to be found on the upright marginal stones here and in
cairn S, Mr. Conwell states to have been cut for trigonometrical purposes by the
men formerly engaged in the triangulation survey of the county in 1836. The
cliair is a rock of Lower Silurian
Grit. Underneath the seat the stone
seems to have been rounded off, or
beaded, for ornament for nearly its
entire breadth, and below this are a
considerable number of small cup-
hollows, much defaced. Further
down on the face of the stone will
be found a double zigzag, 9 inches
long ; a figure consisting of six con-
centric arches, 7 inches high and
7 inches broad ; three concentric
circles, 7 inches across ; and a cup
surrounded by three concentric
circles, 6 inches across. On that
portion of the original back of the
chair which has not fallen away will
be found a cup with two concentric
circles, 4 inches across ; and, in
another place, two separate cups.
In front of, and round the base of
the chair, considerable quantities of
quartz, broken into small lumps,
were strewn about.
On the E. side of the cairn, the
stones forming the periphery curve
inwards for 8 or 9 yards on each side of the point where the passage to the interior
chambers commences, on the very margin of the cairn, the bearing of the passage
being E. 10° S. The entrance was closed by two irregular blocks of stone, filling
up the passage for 5 or 6 feet in length. On the outside of the entrance was
placed a loose layer of lumps of quartz. All the roofing flags covering the
passage, and more than two-thirds of those which originally covered the central
octagonal chamber, had disappeared, leaving the passage and central chambers
completely filled up with stones. Among the loose stones over the central
octagonal chamber were found three large bones, probably those of a deer. The
imperfect portion of the roof that remains, formed by about thirty large flags
overlapping one another, rises to 10 feet above the level of the floor.
The floor of the central octagonal chamber was covered by two large flags and
three small ones. The largest Mr. Conwell was unable to raise, but underneath the
Fig. 312. — Cairn T, with hack antl front view of
the Hag's Chair.
County of Meath.
333
others were found fragments of charred bones, small, broken stones, and pieces of
charcoal. The three cists are each about 4 feet square. Above the upright stones
forming the walls of each chamber, about a dozen large flags, overlapping one
another, are covered in by a horizontal slab, forming a chamber about 5 feet high,
across the entrance into each of which stands a stone about 2 feet high, leaving an
opening over it of 3 feet.
These three cists were nearly, but not entirely, filled up with dry, loose stones,
Fig. 313. — .Stone in cairn T,
from the uncovering of the central chamber around which they were placed. The
earth on the floor of each was mixed with splinters of burned bones ; while in the
centre of one a circle of earth, a foot in diameter, inclosed about a hatful of
charred bones, which were covered with a flag, above which were raised, for about
2 feet, alternate layers of finely broken and larger stones, among which were found
some human teeth and twenty-four bones, with the ends apparently ornamented
with crossed lines. Among the loose stones at the bottom of the central chamber,
and close to the entrance of a cist, was found a bronze pin, 2^ inches long, with
head ornamented, and stem slightly so, and preserving a beautiful green polish.
1 -^ /I
The Dolmens of Ireland.
The entire length of the passage is 17 feet; and from the commencement of
the passage to the W. extremity of the opposite chamber, 28 feet. The trans-
verse distance measured from the backs of the cists is 16 feet 4 ins., while the
distance between their entrances is 7 feet ; and from the termination of the passage
to the entrance of the end cist is 6 feet 3 ins. The breadth of the passage at its
termination is 3 feet i in. ; and the respective breadths of the cists 2 feet 8 ins.,
3 feet 5 ins., and 3 feet 6 ins.
There were twenty-eight sculptured stones in this cairn.
The end chamber or cist has a beehive loof of seven flags, capped by a large
• '-f
'■^■iM-i
'W^^
1"k;, 314. — Slonu ill caini T.
horizontal one, on which is a figure formed of fourteen concentric circles — as far as
they can be counted — extending out of sight under the structure, where no tool
could reach ; one single circle, 2 inches in diameter; 4 cups, each surrounded by
a single circle ; 2 cups, each surrounded by 2 circles ; a figure of 2 concentric
circles ; another of 3 concentric circles round a cup ; a quadrilateral figure with
4 lines across ; a group of 5 wavy lines, adjoining which are 6 concentric circles ;
County of Meatii.
335
a straight line running under the roof, with 8 short lines in the form of a star,
3 inches in diameter; 5 concentric ovals running under the roof; a straight line
surmounted by 3 elliptical arcs; a circle surrounded by 10 rays, making a figure
6 inches across ; a st-ir of 6 rays ; a cup with 8 rays, surrounded by a circle 6 inches
Fig.
-Stone in cairn T.
in diameter; a cup and circle, out of which rise 11 looped or arched rays, making
a figure 6 inches in diameter; a spiral of 4 curves, 12 inches in length, having
7 lines on each side at right angles to the 2 outer coils.
The beehive roof above mentioned is formed by five flags covered in by a
horizontal one, on which are cut /// fine lining, less than \ of an inch asunder,
4 chevron zigzag lines, about i foot in length, and terminated at one extremity
by a single zigzag line at right angles to them ; also a circle i\ inch in diameter.
On the lintel-stone over the entrance to the S. chamber are twelve short lines along
the edge of the stone, and six others further down. Mr. Convrell thought these
were probably ogam characters.
This was the cairn which he designated "The Tomb of Ollamh Fodhla."
25. U. This cairn is situated 14 yards N.E. from T, and 46 yards E. of S. There
were sixteen large stones in the base; and, nearly 2 feet inside the circumference, a
336
The Dolmens of Ireland.
stone measuring 8 feet 2 ins. long, 2 feet 4 ins. broad, and i foot 8 ins. thick, lay
opposite the commencement of the passage. The remains of the cairn were only
from 4 to 5 feet high, and 14^ yards in diameter. The tops of the upright stones
were left visible, and the chambers themselves were more than half filled up with
loose stones and earth. On removing these, the interior arrangement of the
chambers was found, as in most other cases, to be cruciform. The length of the
passage alone, which has a bearing of E. 20° S., is 9 feet ; and from the commence-
^
A
^0
W->/^^^''
'<f%
■') I ■^'; M
'^Mf^^s^
I.. :;iu. — >ione in cairn T.
ment of the passage to the extremity of the opposite chamber is 20 feet ; while the
breadth across the chamber is 10 feet. One of the stones of the chamber is wanting,
and another is displaced. When the stones which filled up these chambers were
removed, the earth at the bottom, in some places from 12 to 18 inches in depth,
was found to be thickly mixed with splinters of burned bones.
Mr. Conwell was informed by an old herd on the mountain that he recollected
the chambers in this cairn, in their half-cleared-out state, having been used for
culinary purposes by the men engaged in the Ordnance Survey. There were thirteen
sculptured stones in this cairn.
26. There were some appearances of a cairn having stood about midway between
U and V.
27. V. This cairn was 39 yards S.E. from T, and 51 yards S. of V. It measured
1 1 yards in diameter. All the smaller stones which originally formed the cairn had
been carried away, leaving quite bare the upright stones which formed the interior
chambers. From the appearance of these stones, Mr. Conwell did not think they
seemed to have been arranged on any particular plan. The greatest length of the
County of Meatii.
chambers, having a bearing E. 20° S., was 21 feet, and breadth 10 feet. About a
yard outside the circumference, on the N.W. side, stood a pillar-stone, 5 feet above
ground, 5 feet 6 ins. broad, and i foot 6 ins. thick. Digging round the base of
this stone, Mr. Conwell found a rounded white sea-pebble, which he thought from
appearances might have been used as a sling-stone or a hammer.
Four of the upright stones in this cairn bore sculpturings.
28. W. This cairn is 128 yards E. of T. What remained of it appeared to be
Fig. 317. — Stone in cairn T
nearly level with the ground, and covered a space of 7 yards in diameter. The
single interior chamber which this cairn contained was round, or well-shaped ; and,
unlike all the others, which appeared to have been erected on the bare surface of
the ground, the earth seemed to have been dug away for the construction of this
chamber, which proved to be 6 feet 9 ins. in diameter, formed by 8 flagstones
placed on ends, fitting closely together, except in two instances, and all having an
inclination inwards at the bottom. A layer of charred bones, 6 inches in thickness,
was found to cover the bottom of this chamber, in the clearing out of which was
brought to light, resting on the floor, a splendid stone urn, 2^ feet square, i foot
thick, and hollowed out from the sides towards the centre to a depth varying from
3 to 4 inches. On raising this urn, which evidently occupied its original position.
338
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Fig. "^iS. — Stone in cairn T.
i«s * ff *.
^
Flo. 319. — Stone in cairn T.
County of Meath.
139
some splinters of charred bones were found beneath it. The point which appears
to have been the entrance to this chamber has a bearing due S.
Five of the chamber-stones in this cairn bore sculpturings.
Fig. 320. — Stone in cairn U.
Fig. t2I. — Stone in cairn U.
Fl(;. 322. — Stiiue in cairn U.
29» 3°; 31. X. Under this letter, Mr. Conwell mentions three circles, which
were marked in the Ordnance Map as " cairns," but as to which he is doubtful
140
The Dolmens of Ireland.
whether they were the base-rings of cairns, or independent circles. They are passed
in going from the hill specially known as Slieve-na-Callighe towards the Hill of
Patrickstown, and are situated midway up the latter, or eastern peak.
Of these the northern one was the most perfect. The diameter is 40 feet. The
Fig. 323. — .Stone in cairn U.
Fig. 324. — .Stone n n
distances between the stones were as follows : From No. i to No. 2 was 4 yards ;
from 2 to 3, 4 yards ; from 3 to 4, i yard ; 4 and 5 nearly touch one another ;
County of Meath,
141
5 to 6, 2 yards ; 6 and 7 nearly touch one another ; 7 to 8, 3 yards ; 8 to 9, 8
yards ; 9 to 10, 7 yards.
At a distance of 13 feet inwards from the circumference of this circle stood an
upright stone, upon the face of which, pointing N.W., were sculptured a circle,
3 inches in diameter, a cup with 13 rays, surrounded by a circle 6 inches in diameter,
on which circle was another cup 2 inches in diameter, and ^ an inch deep, from
which were deflected 9 rays, varying from 4 to 1 2 inches in length, and from ^ an
inch to I inch in breadth, 5 of which terminated each in a cup ; a cup with 9 rays,
6 inches across, over which were 13 equidistant arcs of circles, varying in length
from 2 to 12 inches. Along the
lower part of the face of the stone
were 3 circles, one 3 inches, one
4 inches, and one 5 inches in
diameter.
The designs on this stone could
only be seen to advantage in a
suitable shade of sunlight. In ob-
taining this Mr. Conwell says he
was most fortunate.
The second, and middle circle,
lay 9 yards S. of the northern one,
and measured 1 2 yards in diameter.
The distances between the stones
were as follows : From No. i to
No. 2, 4 yards ; from 2 to 3,
I yard; from 3 to 4, 2 yards; from
4 to 5, 2 yards ; from 5 to 6, 3
yards.
In the centre of this circle two
flat stones were lying. On one of
the stones a cup was sculptured,
having ten others in a circle round
it, this circle measuring 10 inches
across, and having four other cups in an incomplete circle round this again,
nearly 18 inches across, the cups being about i^ inch in diameter, and i of an
inch deep. There were also twenty-eight similar cups in one group on this stone.
Another stone in the circle contained a circular hole, 6| inches in diameter, cut
vertically, with much preciseness and smoothness, to a depth of 3 inches.
The third and southern circle lay 12 yards S. of the middle one, and measured
23 yards in diameter. It contained only seven stones, with an eighth lying 5 yards
W. of its boundary. The distances between the stones were as follows : From
No. I to No. 2 is 7 yards; from 2 to 3, 15 yards; from 3 to 4, 4 yards; from
4 to 5, 9 yards ; and 5, 6, and 7 adjoin one another.
On the whole, I am myself inclined to regard these circles as cairn-bases, and
not independent or free-standing circles.
32. Y. Crowning the top of the Hill of Patrickstown, which attains the height of
885 feet, there stood, until within a few years of Mr. Conwell's visit, one of the most
conspicuous cairns in the range. It measured 33 yards in diameter; but only a
few cart-loads remained, the bulk of the pile having been used in the construction
of fences.
Fig. 325. — Stone in cairn W.
;42
The Dolmens of Ireland.
33. Z. At the base of the eastern peak, on the south side, stands the " Moat of
Patrickstown." It measures 115 paces round the base, 45 feet in slant height, and
40 paces round the circumference at the top, which is flattened. This tumulus is
situated on the top of a small sloping eminence in a green field, and is crowned by
a mutilated whitethorn tree, growing on its eastern border. It is covered with
earth and grass, and, in common with most moats, is popularly believed to contain
stone chambers in the interior.
Fig. 326. — Stone near the northernmost of three circles on ih^ j^ i i;.i;.^;. ..,,..;.
In concluding his paper (Proc. R.I. A., vol. ix. pt. iv. p. 377), Mr. Conwell
states his opinion that, "although the carved stones in all these cairns, taken
together, exceed one hundred in number, there are not two the decorations on
which are similar."
The sculpturings on the stones in thirteen cairns on the entire range he
classifies thus :
Single cup-like hollows, some arranged in parallel lines, some in circles, and many
of them scattered in groups ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 406
Cups, each surrounded by a single circle ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 86
Cups, each surrounded by two circles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 30
Cups, each surrounded by three circles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 17
Cups, each surrounded by four circles ... ... ... .. ... ... ... 4
Cups, each surrounded by five circles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3
Cup-hollows, each surrounded by a spiral... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4
Star-shaped figures, varying from 4 to 13 rays in each ... ... ... ... ... 35
Circles with rays emanating from each ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 22
Cups, each surrounded by a circle with rays emanating from it ... ... ... 14
Sinqle ovals ... ... ... ... ... ... "... ... ... ... ... j6
Figure of two concentric ovals i
Figure of six concentric ovals ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... i
Single circles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 114
Figures of two concentric circles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 32
Figures of three concentric circles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 10
Figures of four concentric circles ... ... ... ... ... ... 6
Figures of five concentric circles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4
County of Meath.
343
Figure of six concentric circles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I
Semi-elliptical or arched figures 68
Spirals ... ... 12
Quadrilateral figures ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 14
Triangular figures formed by cross-hatched lines 6
Reticulated figures consisting in all of 13S diamonds ... ... 54
Single straight lines (some of which Mr. Conwell thought ogamic) about 300
Zigzag or chevron lines, upwards of ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 80
Single curves 10
Figures of two concentric curves ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Ii
Figures of three concentric curves ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 10
Figures of four concentric curves ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8
Figures of five concentric curves ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4
Figures of six concentric curves ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4
Figures of seven concentric curve- ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2
Figure of eight concentric curves ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... i
Figure of nine concentric curves ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... i
Figures of thirteen concentric curves ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2
" In all," Mr. Conwell sums up, "I have laid bare 1393 separate devices."
In the Barony of Slane Upper.
I. In the Townland of Rathkenny, and Parish of Rathkenny,
Fig. 327. — Rathkenny. Froin dra-wing by Sir Saimtcl Ferpisson.
is a dolmen marked Dnnd^s Altar in Ord. Surv. Map No. 12.
The covering-stone of this dolmen rests in an inclined position, the lower edge
upon the ground, and the upper portion
propped by an angular block of grit
measuring 4 feet in height above
ground, and 2 feet by i foot 6 ins. in
breadth and thickness. In this con-
dition it resembles the dolmens of
Howth and Mount Venus, and comes
^ 1^ ^^ i J AVA
Iff
In
iAV.;>Yiii aiita iviwuuL vtiiua, aiiLi v,lhiic5 i i \_Z. I I \ / V/ I I /\ I
under the category, according to Mr. ' ' '/ I " I X /\ i O >F I
Du Noyer, of semi-dolmens, or earth- p^^, 3,8.-Markings on the dolmen at Rathkenny.
fast dolmens known to French an-
tiquaries. The measurements of the covering-stone are 10 feet 10 ins. long, 8 feet
6 ins. broad, and 3 feet thick. Its weight has been estimated at 20 tons.
;44
T]iE Dolmens of Ireland.
The upper surface of this tabular stone is " profusely covered with small cup-
shaped hollows, some of which are probably natural, but others certainly artificial,
Fig. 329. — Upper surface of the covering-stone at Rathkennj-,
and between them a number of marks and scorings." t
Besides these marks on the surface of the covering-
stone there are seven incised circles on its inner face,
and seven more on a pillar-stone of the same monu-
ment.
O.S.L., Co. Meath, -^^, p
E. 23
(1864-66), p. 541, and pi. xii. ;
Soc. (1S68-69), plate facing p. 42.
105 ; Proc. R.I. A., vol. ix.
Journ, of Kilk. Archreol.
2, 3. In the Townland of Newgrange,
and Parish of Monknevvtown, is a cham-
bered cairn marked Moat in Ord. Surv.
Map No. 19. A second near it not
marked. (See next page.)
4, 5. In the Townland of Dowth, and
„ ^ , Parish of Dowth, is a chambered cairn
riG. 330. — I wo groups of seven
circles; the upper on inner marked Moat in Ord. Surv. Map No. 20.
face of covering-stone; the , . i-itt-t i-ht
under on pillar-stone, Rath- Also another to the W., mdicated m Map
^""^' No. 19. (See page 365, iii/ra.)
t Compare fig. 17, p. 20. See also a rock near Oldcastle, "Kilk. Archseol. Journ.," 1865,
p. 383 ; also a rock near the dolmen at Paddock, Co. Louth, id., 1864-66, p. 499 ; also Phoenician
characters in Dcla Marmora's atlas to his " Voyage en Sardaigne," pi. xxxii. ; also those at Cerro
del Sol in Spain, in Gongora y Marlinez, " Antiq. de Andalucia," p. 131.
County of Meatii.
345
6, 7. In the Townland of Knowth, adjoining that of New-
grange on the N., and Parish of Monknewtown, is a cairn probably
Fig. 331. — Stone urn found at Knowth. From Boate, edit. Molyneux, "Nat. Hist.," p. 200.
Length 16 ins., breadth 12 ins., height 11 ins.; in cist in tumulus, with burnt bones.
containing a chamber, and a second near it ; the former marked
Moat in Ord, Surv. Map No. 19. {See p. 345, infra.)
New Grange.!
On the northern bank of the river Boyne are a number of monuments, seventeen
in all, dispersed over an area extending about 3 miles from E. to W. and about
^"^
rTf
Fig 332 — Plan and section of chamber at Nlw C^ringc /lom Mi 6 Cofft) s paper tn the
" Transactions of tne Royal Jrisii Acaae?ny.'
t With regard to the etymology of the name Newgrange, it has been suggested by O'Brian,
with more ingenuity than probability perhaps, that it is the English corruption of An UamJi
Greini, which would have been pronounced ^noovgrainy, meaning the cave of Grainne.
The word Grange, however, is in far too common use in Ireland in its ordinary English sense
to render this etymology plausible.
VOL. IL
D
;46 The Dolmens of Ireland.
I mile to tA mile from N. to S., all of them being, roughly speaking, included in a
bend of the river.
O'Donovan states that " there is a iradiiion in this county that all these moats (or tumuli) have
caves w ithin them, in which bars of gold are laid up, but that it would be dangerous to open them,
as evil spirits are watching the treasure." Such seems to be the sum total of the current oral legend
relating of these mounds.
A verj' important question, however, lies beyond this ; namely, whether Newgrange and the
group of tumuli lying in the peninsula formed by the bend of the river Boyne constitute a royal
cemetery called Brugh, or Brugh-na-Boinne, to which reference is frequently made by the mediaeval
writers, both in poetry and prose, in the ancient Irish books.
The materials for the discussion of this question have been fully set forth by Mr. George Coffey,
in his paper on "The Tumuli of Newgrange, Dowth, and Knowlh," in the Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy." He is himself an advocate of the view that the tumuli and other monuments
lio indicate the spot which the early writers had in mind, and to which the legends and traditions
recorded by them, and which had survived to their time, partly in writings older perhaps by some
centuries than the copies preserved, relate.
O'Donovan and Sir Samuel Fergusson were of a contrary opinion, but Mr. Coffey states their
views with accuracy and perfect fairness.
Taking leave to transpose somewhat the order of his arguments in favour of the site being that
known as " The Brugh," I may summarize them as follows : —
Firstly, as to the name. In the Ordnance Survey Maps of this district, subsequent to that of
1837, we lind the name Broe House applied to a site close to the river at the S.W. point of its bow-
shaped bend, and immediately adjacent to a ford less than half a mile W.S.W. of Rosnaree liouse
on the S. side of the river. It may be said, indeed, that Rosnaree and Broe occupy the two banks
of the river, fronting each other at a distance of less than half a mile, the greater portion of which
intervening space is taken up by the main channel, side channels, islands, and shallows which the
river forms at this point. From Broe House to the centre of the New Grange mound is five-eighths
of a mile in a N.E. direction, and at a similar distance to the N.W. are the remains of a fort
apparently connected with the river on the N. side.
This, however, is by no means the only instance of the application of the name Bro or Broe, to
places in this peninsula. Mr. O'Laverty, in a " Note on New Grange," in the "Journal of the Royal
Soc. of Antiquaries of Ireland," tells us that thirty years before he wrote his paper, Mr. Maguire of
New Grange and his son informed him that " the field in which New Grange tumulus stands is
called Bro Park," and that in the immediate vicinity are the " Bro Farm, the Bro Mill, and the
]ko Cottage," which latter is perhaps the Broe House by the river, above mentioned. "The word
Brugh" as he notes, "would assume the modern form Bro, as in Brughshane, pronounced
Broshane, and many other townland names."
Brugh, however, signifies a "burg," or town, a fortified town, and in a more restricted sense,
a mansion, palace, or dwelling-place. How, then, can it be applied to a district? The answer is
simple, and maybe made by asking the question how it comes that " Cashel," for example, or
" Cairn," with the simple meanings of "stone-walled enclosure" and "pile of stones," came to
be given to townlands and districts. There must have been a noteworthy "cashel," and a
noteworthy "cairn," from which the name gained its extended sense. There must, then, have
been a memorable brugh, or mansion, somewhere hereabouts, and the circumstance that the field
in which the central and largest mound, that is to sa)', the Newgrange one itself, is situated, is
called Bro Park, that is Brugh Field, W(juld seem to point to that tumulus, with its cnclosetl
buildings, as the " mansion" required.
It was not necessary that the " mansion " should be the abode of mortal man. The spirits of
the dead, the fairies, the sidhe, might have had their brugh, or palace, as well. And in this sense
it was actually used, as we gather from Mr. Standish H. 6'Grady's valuable translation of the piece
called the " Colloquy with the Ancients," in his " Silva Gadelica," p. 210 : " The sons of Lugaid
Menn rose and took their way to the green of the brttgli upon the Boyne, where, none other being
in their company, they sat them down." A young man appears to them, and in answer to their
question whence he has come, he replies, "Out of yonder brugh, chequered with the many lights,
hard by you here." In answer to their question who he was, he replied, " I am the Dagda's son,
Bodbh Derg ; and to the Tuatha de Danann it was revealed that ye would come to fast here to-
night, for lands and for great fortune." The sons of Lugaid Menn therefore went " into the brugh.''
Bodbh informed them that " three times fifty sons of kings we are in this sidh,'" and " for three days
with their three nights they abode in the sidh."
I must pause to notice the very great importance of this passage, which proves to us that in the
Middle Ages a tradition, then committed to writing, either from older manuscripts or from oral sources,
existed with regard to the nature of the rites performeil in pagan times at those places, which were
held sacred to the heathen mysteries.
It would appear that the cultus was that of the spirits of royal or famous ancestors, who were to
be approached by pilgrimages made to their abodes, accompanied by a residence of a certain
duration — in this case three nights and days, throughout which period fasting was prescribed —
within the spirit-mansion itself. The spirits of the dead, who were doubtless conciliated by
sacrifices, being thus approached and "fasted upon," as the term was, were supposed to respond to
the prayer of the sujipliants to grant them what they desired, and to enter into converse with them.
In a piece called Kchtra Nerai, an episode in the saga called Tain Bo Aingen (a pre-talc to the
County of Meath. 347
Besides the tumuli, at least four raths, or forts, two single pillar-stones, and a
group of standing stones, are included in the same area.
Tain Bo Cuailgne), we have another description of the entrance of a mortal, named Nera, into one
of these mansions or palaces of the sidhe, namely, that at Cruachan, where we are told that he
went into the cave {uainh), and into the sul of the cave.
Here, then, we have the three terms, brugh^ stdh, and 7ia»i/i, applied to the subterranean
buildings, or (as in the case of Cruachan) the partly natural cavities, which were appropriated to
this worship. By the term ttainh, or "cave," the whole of the internal vaults are meant, with
regard, not to their fairy occupants or mystic character, but simply to their appearance ; by the
term bnigJi their likeness to a dwelling or souterrain beneath a fort or rath-mansion is intended,
with regard also to their legendary and mystic sense as the abode of the spirits of the dead, and
as the fairy mansion or palace ; by the term sidk or sid (as we gather from the story of Nera) the
principal inner chamber of the tiainli is intended — the sanctum sanctorum, or penetralia of the
spirit-temple, upon entering into which the mortal came face to face with the royal occupants, and
there doubtless he lay fasting, or offering his sacrifices, at the periods prescribed.
I feel but little doubt that in the inner chamber at New Grange, with its three recesses and its
basins, we have this " sui oi the cave," and the place where the pilgrims fasted — a situation and a
practice precisely similar to that which, under Christian auspices, was continued at such places as
the Leaba Mologa in Cork, the original Patrick's Purgatory in Lough Derg, and elsewhere. The
practice of lying in stone troughs was a feature of the Christian pilgrimages in Ireland. Sometimes
such troughs had served the previous purpose of stone coffins. It is just possible that the shallow
basins in the cells at Loughcrew, New Grange, and Dowth may, like the stone beds or troughs of
the saints, have been occupied by the pilgrims engaged in their devotions. If so, however, they
must have sat in them in eastern fashion.
According to a local oral tradition, as stated by O'Donovan (A. 4 jM., p. 22) — though it is not
still extant — " Aenghus-an-Bhrogha was considered the presiding fairy of the Boyne, and his name,"
he adds, " is still familiar to the old inhabitants of Meath, who are fast forgetting their traditions,
with the Irish language."
This makes it very interesting to find that in the popular tale called "The Pursuit of Diarmad,
and Grainne," in which, perhaps, more than in any other to be named, oral popular tradition is
preserved, Aengus, the son of the Dagda, is called Aengus-an-Bhrogha, and associated with the
Brugh-na-Boinne.
Thus Finn is made to say, ''Let us leave this tulach, for fear that Aengus-an-Bhrogha and the
Tuatha-De-Danann might catch us ; and though we have no part in the slaying of Diarmuid,
he would none the more readily believe us." Subsequently Aengus-an-Bhrogha transported
Diarmuid's body to the Brugh-na-Boinne, saying, "Since I cannot restore him to life, I will send a
soul into him, so that he may talk to me each day."
Here again it is to be observed that a tradition had been handed dovm with regard to the sid or
bru^/i, that it was a place within the mystic precincts of which it was in the power of the presiding
divinity — in this case Aengus-an-Bhrogha, otherwise called Bodbh Derg, or Aengus Og, or Aengus
Mac Oc, or Aengus Mac Ind Oc — to reanimate the bodies of the dead, and cause them to speak to
devotees, we may suppose oracularly. In the piece called " Bruighion Chaorthainn," or Fort of
the Rowan Tree, the House of "Aengus Og of the Brugh," is described as a kingly house which
cannot be burned or harried, and out of which "no hostages are given to the king," — another way
of saying, perhaps, that the dead pay no taxes, or that, being a holy place, it was exempt.
We will now turn back to the traditions respecting Brugh-na-Boinne which were collected in
the tenth and eleventh centuries by Flann of Monasterboice, Eochaidh O'Flannagan, and Cinaeth
O'Hartagain, and which were committed to writing in the twelfth century, and glossed, where
necessary, by Moelmuiri of Clonmacnoise in the Leab/iar-na-h-Uidkri.
We there find the cemetery of Brugh standing second in order in a list of the chief cemeteries
before " The Faith." They'are as follows: Cruachu, Brugh, Tailltiu, Luachair Ailbe, Oenach
Ailbe, Oenach Culi, Oenach Colmain, and Temhair Erann.
We are further informed that " the nobles of the Tuatha De Danann used to bury at Brugh,
namely," adds Moelmuiri, " the Dagda with his three sons, and also Lugaidh, and Oe, and Ollam,
and Ogma, and Etan the poetess, and Corpre the son of Etan."
Now, the kings of Temair (Tara) had used as their burying-place Oenach Cruachan (believed
to be Rathcroghan in Roscommon) down to the time of Crimthann, or Cremthann Niadh Nar.
It is thought necessary to state the reason why it was not at Brugh that the line of kings of the
race of Heremon from Cobhthach Coelbregh to Cremthann were buried, but at Oenach Cruachan,
that reason simply being that the latter place was in Connaught, and that that province was
Cobhthach's ruidtes, that is, native principality.
This looks as if Brugh had been regarded as the more ancient royal cemetery of the two, or, at
all events, as in use as a burying-place for kings at an earlier date than Cruachan.
The reason is also given why Cremthann followed the practice of the Tuatha De Danann in
having himself buried at Brugh. It was because "his wife Nar was of the Tuatha Dea, and it
was she who solicited him that he should adopt Brugh as a burial-place for himself and his descen-
dants, and this was the cause that they did not bury at Cruachan."
Accordingly, the kings of Temair were interred at Brugh "from the time of Cremthann to the
time of Loeghaire, son of Niall, except three persons, namely. Art, the son of Conn, and Cormac,
the son of Art, and Niall of the Nine Hostages."
Of these three. Art was interred at Dumha Dergluachra, now Trevet, the reason being that,
148
The Dolmens of Ireland.
The most remarkable, although not the largest of the tumuli, is that which lies
N. of the road, near Newgrange House. Its position, with regard to the other two
having "believed " the clay before the battle of Muccramma, he would not be buried in a pagan
cemetery. For a similar reason Cormac told liis people not to bury him at Brugh, but at Ros-na-
Righ, to which place his body was thrice carried by the waters of the Boyne when his followers
tried to disobey his orders and bear him to Brugh. It is to be observed that Rosnaree is the
name of a place immediately opposite Broe House, and that in O'Donovan's time a spot called
" Cormac's Grave" was pointed out there, although that authority doubts the genuineness of the
tradition. The third absentee from the royal cemetery, namely, Niall, was buried at Ochonn, or
Ochan. (See Whitley Stokes, *' Rev. Celtiquc," vol. xv. p. 296.)
In the days of Cinaeth O'llartagain, who died in 973, the following were the dingna, or
" remarkable remains" pointed out by tradition at Brugh-na-Boinnc (O'D., Ord. Surv. Letters, Co.
Meath, p. 202 ; Whitley Stokes, "Rev. Celt.," vol. xv. p. 293) : —
1. The long (? house, ship, or bed) of the daughter of Forann.
2. The leclit (monument) of the Dagda.
3. The miir (? mound, or wall; "walled mound," "rampart") of the Great Queen of the
Dagda ("Great Queen" is here O'Donovan's rendering of Morrigan ; Whitley Stokes mentions
that it is glossed lamia; and it is perhaps connected with vi&r, an evil spirit of night).
4. The lecht (monument) of the Mata.
5. Tlie bare (palace) of Crimthann Nia Nair, "for he was buried therein."
6. The yi';V (grave) of Fedlimid (Felimy), the law-giver. [With this name compare that of the
Herulian prince Philimuth (Procop. B.G. , 2, 22).]
7. The cam-ail (stone-heap) of Cuchullin, the hero.
The Rennes Dindshenchas has here instead "The carngal o{ Conn of the Hundred Battles."
8. The ciimat (? keeping-place) or covifliot (grave) of Carbry Lifechar.
9. The fiillact (cooking-place) of Fiacha Sraiftine.
Cinaeth says that Cormac was not interred here on account of his having embraced the TrtitJi.
His body rested on the strand at Ros-na-riogh, where it was interred. Niall the Great, was not
interred at Brugh-na-Boinne, because he undertook an expedition to the Alpian mountains, where
he was assassinated and interred. After Niall pure religion came to the Plain of Fal, and, Brugh
ceasing to be a place of burial, the kings were interred in consecrated churchyards.
Mr. Coffey points out a line in this poem of O'Hartagan (the first of the eighth stanza), sccJii l>c>
boadain biiain, "which seems to refer to the existence of a monument at Brugh to JBoadan," a name
wliich, as it appears also in the A. 4. M. (anno S61) as that of the occupant of a "grave over
Dubhath," i.e. Dowth, aflords proof, he fairly reasons, not only that the Brugh of O'Hartagan
referred to this particular collection of tumuli, but that it extended over the district which includes
them all. O'Donovan, he adds, seems to have overlooked it.
The Leabhar-na-hUidhri contains, in a poem on the death and burial of Dathi (38, B. 14,
facsimile), two stanzas which refer to Brugh. The first runs —
" The three cemeteries of Idolaters are
The cemetery ol Tailten, the select,
The cemetery of the ever-fair Cruachan,
And the cemetery of Brugh."
The second begins-
' The host of great Meath are buried
In the middle of the lordly Brugh."
Moelmuiri, commenting on this poem (38, B. 34), says —
" The nobles of the Tuatha De Danann (with the exception of seven of them wlio were interred
at Talten) were buried at Brugh, namely, Lugh, and Oe son of Ollamh, and Ogma, and Carpre
son of Etan, and ICtan herself, and the Dagda and his three sons (namely, Aed, and Oengus, and
Cermait), and a great many others, besides of the Tuatha De Danann, and Firbolgs and others."
In the Book of Ballymote (written in 1391), the above list from the Dindshenchas, certified by
Cinaeth O'Hartagan's poem, is followed by a prose passage setting out the monuments at the Brugh
in greater detail : —
" Aliter. The Bed (imdaei) of the Dagda, first; the Two Paps (da cich) of the Morrigain,
the place where f Cermud Milbhel (or Cermaid or Cermait), son of the Dagda, was born; the
grave of Boinn, the wife of Nechtan — it was she who brought with her the small hound called
Dabilla, from which Cnoc DabiUa is called ; the Mound (dm/ia) of Tresc ; the grave of Esclam,
the Dagda's Brehon, which is called Fcrt-Patric (or Ferta Patraic) at this day ; the Comb (r/r) and
Casket {cuirreill) of the Dagda's wife (so Whitley Stokes translates it, while O'Donovan makes Cir
and Cuirreill proper names, 'wives of the Dagda') — these are two hillocks; the grave of Aed
Luirgnech, son of the Dagda ; the Cave {dcrc) of Bualc Bee ; the Monument of Cellach, son of
Maelcobha ; the Monument of the steed of Cinaed, son of Irgaiach ; the Prison {carcar) of Liath
Macha ; the Cilen of the Mata, i.e. the monster, J as some assert ; the Pillar-stone of Buidi, the sou
t This seems to be in apposition.
X Whitley Stokes translates this "that was a tortoise."
County of Meath. 349
large tumuli at Knowth and Dowth respectively, is a little over £ of a mile S.E. of
the former, and i^ mile W.S.W. of the latter.
of Muiredh, where his head is interred ; the stone of Benn, i.e. the Monument on which the Mata
was killed — it had one hundred and forty legs and four heads ; t the Mound of the bones ; the Caisel
(stone enclosure) of Aengus, son of Crunnmael ; Rout siila MUiir, the shot of Midir's Eye," etc.
After this there follows a poem by Mac Nia, son of Oenn— " De quibusMacNia Mac Oen cecinit "
— which is really explained by the prose just quoted, which is prefixed to it. O'Donovan speaks of
it as "extremely ancient and obscure," but adds that the prose preface "enables one to arrive at
the meaning without much difficulty." Mr. Coffey printed a copy of it with a translation by Prof.
O'Looney in the "Trans. R.I. Academy," but subsequently cancelled it. This poem is to be
found also in the "Book of Leinster " (fac. p. 164, B. 28, continued at p. 211), with the single
omission of the stanza on the grave of Esclam (" Book of Ballymote," 354, B. 26).
In the revised edition of his paper, Mr. Coffey quotes a translation by O'Curry of the second
stanza of this difhcult poem —
" Behold the sidh before your eyes,
It is manifest to you that it is a king's mansion,
Which was built by the firm Dagda;
It was a wonder, a court, a wonderful hill."
In the Book of Lecan (fol. 279, vers. 6, 26), a manuscript written in 1416, is the following
passage : —
" There was, moreover, Eochaid Ollathair, i.e. the Dagda Mor, son of Eladan, son of
Delbaith, eighty years in the kingdom of Erin. It was he who had the three sons, namely,
Aengus and Aed and Cermaid. It was upon those four the men of Erin made the Sid of the Brugh."
A difficulty has presented itself to several Irish writers as to how it could have been that, if
Brugh-na-Boinne was the cemetery of the Tuatha De Danann celebrities, it should be that also of
the so-called Milesian princes of Temair. This is based upon the supposition that the two were of
separate nationalities. Granting, merely for the sake of argument, that this were so, an explanation
has been already afforded by the circumstance that Cremthann followed the practice of the
Tuatha De Danann in burying there at the solicitation of his wife Nar.
The whole Milesian story is, however, so patently apocryphal, and their contest with the
Tuatha De Danann so obviously unreal, that it is open to question whether, under the number of
Golam's (i.e. Milesius's sons) the Tuatha De Danann people are not included.
To me it would seem that in the sons of Milesius we have an example of the manner in which
ethnological problems were treated in the early Middle Ages, J namely, by referring the several diverse
peoples or tribes inhabiting a country or province to distinct eponymi who were treated as brothers,
e.g. Vandalus, Gotlius, Brutus, Albanus, etc. If this be so, in Heber, Heremon, Ir, and the rest,
we shall have to seek for the elements which were believed to constitute the Irish nation, and for
the several peoples who were held to have possessed the soil of that island either coincidently or
successively, according to traditions current at the date when the fabulous tree was constructed.
Among the sons of Milesius we may therefore look for representatives of Partholan and Nemid, of
the Firbolg and Tuatha De Danann, as well as for those of the Cruithne or Picts. Accidental
coincidences in the Irish mythological genealogies render this view not an improbable one.
It would appear that the Brugh was a place of periodical pilgrimage for the princes of Temair
to the shrines of their ancestors, just such as the Japanese Emperors made to the magnificent spirit-
temples of the Sinto at Nikko. In the Leahhar-na-hUidhri, in the Tale of the " Phantom-chariot
of Cuchullin," it is stated that King Loeghaire was passing over the " Slope of the Chariots," on
the north side of Temair, on his way — apparently on such a pilgrimage — to the cnicc side in broga,
"to the hill," that is, "of the sid of the Brugh, in the plain of the assembly of the Brugh of Mac
Ind Oc," when he saw Cuchullin, the divine hero, traversing the plain before him like a heavy fog."
In the A. 4 M., under date 861, the following passage occurs : —
" Amhlaeibh, Imhar, and Uailsi, three chieftains of the foreigners, and Lorcan, son of Cathal,
Lord of Meath, plundered the land of Flann, son of Conang. The cave of Achadh-Aldai (field of
Aldai) in Mughdhorna-Maighen ; the cave of Cnoghbhai ; the cave of the grave of Bodan, i.e.
the shepherd of Elcmar, over Dubhath ; and the cave of the wife of Gobhann at Drochat-atha
[Drogheda], were plundered by the foreigners."
The same event is stated as follows in the Annals of Ulster, under date 862 : — " The cave of
Achadh-Aldai, and (the cave) of Cnodhba, and of Fert-Boadan over Dubadh, and the cave of
the Smith's Wife, were searched by the foreigners, quod antea non perfcctum est, viz. on the occasion
when three kings of the foreigners plundered the land of Flann, son of Conaing, to wit, Amhlaim,
and Imhar, and Auisle ; and Lorcan, son of Cathal, king of Meath, was with them thereat."
t "Seven score legs and seven heads" in the Rennes MS. This was evidently an idol,
Suantevit the idol at Arcona in Riigen had four heads. See " Saxo Gramm." (edit. Holder, 1886),
p. 564, where the description of the temple of this god is strikingly like that of Cormac's House
at Temair.
X This process of constructing allegorical genealogies may have been borrowed from the Bible
(Gen. cap. x.), or from the Classics (Tac. Germ. cap. ii.) or from both. It is found in Nennins,
and in many old German and Norse historians.
350 The Dolmens of Ireland.
The first published notices of New Grange of which I am aware are two
contained in letters written respectively in December, 1699, and March, 1700, by
Edward Lh\\yd, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum.
The first is as follows: "The most remarkable Curiosity we saw [between
^'iG. 333. — Plan and section of tumulus at New Grange. I>j' JI/>'. G. Coffey, M.R.F.A.
Dublin and the Giant's Causeway] was a stately Mount at a place called New
(Grange near Drogheda, having a number of huge Stones pitch'd on end round
about it, and a single one on the Top. The Gentleman of the village, one Mr.
Charles Campbel, observing that under the green Turf this Mount was wholly
It is true that the name Brugh does not occur here, but there can be little question that Petrie
was right in identifying Cnodhba with Knowth, and Dubhath with Dowth, which would lead to
the supposition that by the cave of Achadh-Aldai, the New Grange structure is intended. It is true
that Mughdhorna-Maighen is in Oriel, but that may easily be a mistake for Muglidhorna-Breagh.
It is certainly singular that, with one exception, none of the names applied by the annalists
of these events in the ninth century to these ]-)laces are the same as those in those poems and prose
accounts which we have quoted from the ancient scrap-books — the Lcabhar-na-hUidhri, and the
liooks of Leinster, Ballymote, and Lecan.
The names are, nevertheless, those of Tuatha De Danann celebrities; as, for example, Aldai is
mentioned as one of the famous ancestors of that race by Mac Firbis, as is also Elcmhair-an-
Bhrogha, whose name O'Flaherty latinizes into Elcinair dc Butjo. In the Dindshenchas of Carn
Conaill (trans. Whitley Stokes, "Rev. Celt.," vol. xv. p. 47S), the Brugh Mna Elcmair, i.e. Brugh
of Elcmar's wife, is mentioned between the names Cnogba and Taltiu, as that of one of those "best
lands in Meath," upon which Cairlire Nia-fer, lord of Temair, permitted the sons of Umor to settle
when "they had made a flitting over sea out of the Province of the Picts." For a reference to
Elcmar's daughter in connection with Cnogba, see under Knowth (infra).
The one exception, too, as ISIr. Coffey has pointed out, would be sufficient in itself to establish
the identity of the places mentioned in the " Annals of the Four Masters " with those in the Brugh
of the poems. It is the name Boadan or Boadain mentioned in O'Hartagan's poem, in the line
.Scchi bo boadain bttai/i, in reference to a monument at the Brugh, and also by the Annalists as the
cave of Fcrt Boadan at Dowth.
County of Meath. 351
composed of Stones, and having occasion for some, employ'd his Servants to carry
off a considerable Parcel of them ; till they came at last to a broad flat Stone, rudely
carved, and placed edgewise at the Bottom of the Mount. This they discover'd to
be the Door of a Cave, which had a long Entry leading into it.
"At the first entering we were forced to creep; but still, as we went on, the
Pillars on each side of us were higher and higher ; and coming into the Cave we
found it about 20 Foot high. In this Cave, on each hand of us, was a Cell or
Apartment, and another went on straight forward opposite to the Entry, In those
on each hand was a very broad shallow Bason of stone, sinuated at the Edge. The
Bason in the Right-Hand Apartment stood in another; that on the Left hand was
single ; and in the Apartment straight forward there was none at all. We observed
that Water dropped into the right-hand Bason, tho' it had rained but little in many
Days ; and suspected that the lower Bason was intended to preserve the superfluous
Liquor of the upper (whether this Water were Sacred, or whether it was for Blood
in Sacrifice), that none might come to the Ground.
" The great Pillars round this Cave, supporting the Mount, were not at all hewn
or wrought ; but were such rude Stones as those of Abury in Wiltshire, and rather
more rude than those of Stonehenge. But those about the Basons, and some
elsewhere, had such Barbarous Sculpture (viz. Spiral like a Snake, but without
distinction of Head and Tail), as the fore-mentioned Stone at the entry of the Cave.
There was no Flagging nor Floor to this Entry nor Cave ; but any sort of loose
Stones everywhere under Feet.
" They found several Bones in the Cave, and part of a Stag's (or else Elk's)
Head, and some other things which I omit, because the Labourers difler'd in their
Account of them. A Gold Coin of the Emperor Valentinian [a.d. 364-375],
being found near the Top of this Mount, might bespeak it Roman ; but that the rude
Carving at the Entry and in the Cave seems to denote it a Barbarous Monument.
So, the Coin proving it ancienter than any invasion of the Ostmans or Danes, and
the Carving and rude Sculpture Barbarous, it should follow that it was some Place
of Sacrifice or Burial of the ancient Irish."
The second account, written by Edward Lhwyd, from Sligo, to Henry Rowlands,
the author of "Mona Antiqua Restaurata," in March, 1700, and which I shall also
give in full, is as follows : " I met with one Monument in this Kingdom [Ireland]
very singular. It stands at a place called New Grange near Drogheda, and is a
Mount or Barrow of very considerable height, encompass'd with vast stones pitched
on End round the bottom of it ; and having another lesser standing on the top.t
This Mount is all the work of Hands, and consists almost wholly of Stones, but is
cover'd with Gravel and green Swerd, and has within it a remarkable Cave.
** The Entry into this Cave is at bottom, and before it we found a great flat Stone,
like a Tomb- Stone, placed edgewise, having on the outside certain barbarous Carvings,
like Snakes encircled, but without Heads. The Entry was guarded all along on each
side with such rude Stones, pitch'd on End, some of them having the same carving,
and other vast ones laid a-cross these at top. The Out-Pillars were so pressed by
the weight of the Mount that they admitted but just creeping in; but by degrees
the Passage grew wider and higher, till we came to the Cave, which was about five
or six Yards in height. The cave consists of three Cells or Appartments, one on each
hand, and the third straight forward, and may be about seven yards over each way.
In the right-hand Cell stands a great Bason of an irregular oval Figure of one entire
t Compare this with the Scythian tombs, each with a haba or stone female figure on the summit.
( Vide infra. Part II.)
352 The Dolmens of Ireland.
Stone, having its Brim odly sinuat'd or elbow'd in and out; and that Bason in
another of much the same form. ... In the left Appartment there was such another
Bason, but single. In the Appartment straight forward there was no Bason at all.
Many of the Pillars about the right-hand Basons were carved as the Stones above
mention'd ; but under Feet were nothing but loose stones of any size in Confusion ;
and amongst them a great many Bones of Beasts and some Pieces of Deers' Horns.
Near the top of this Mount they found a gold coin of the Emperor Valentinian."
The account which, in order of date, comes next to those of Lhwyd is that given
by Sir Thomas Molyneux in his " Discourse concerning the Danish Mounts, Forts,
and Towers in Ireland."
With respect to the stones placed around the base of the tumulus he states that,
while some were 1 1 feet high, others were not more than 4 feet. He says, also, that
" the bottom of the cave and entry is a rude sort of pavement, made of the same
stones of which the mount is composed, not beaten or joined together, but loosely
cast on the ground, only to cover it." The measurements he gives were evidently
made with care and pains, and the plan, which is unusually accurate for plans of
ancient monuments in those days, was the work of Mr. Samuel Molyneux, a young
gentleman of the " College of Dublin." The construction of the central chamber
is well described, as follows: "The walls round the circumference of the cave
and side apartments are composed, like those of the long gallery, of huge mighty
flagstones set end-ways in the ground, of 7 or 8 foot high. These upright stones
support other broad stones that lie along or horizontally, jetting their ends
beyond the upright stones ; and over these again are placed another order of flat
stones in the same level posture, advancing still their edges towards the center of
the cave further than those they rest upon, and so, one course above another,
approaching nearer towards the middle, form all together a rude kind of arch by
way of roof over the vault below. This arch is closed at the top by one large
stone that covers the center, and keeps all fixt and compact together ; for through
the whole work appears no sign of mortar, clay, or other cement to make its parts
lie firm and close ; but where a crevice happens, or an interstice, they are filled up
with thin flat stones, split and wedged in on purpose with that design."
Molyneux mentions that " along the middle of the cave, a slender quarry-
stone, 5 or 6 foot long, lies on the floor, shaped like a pyramid." This, he
imagined, " once stood upright, perhaps a central stone to those placed round the
outside of the mount."
" When first the cave was opened," he continues, " the bones of two dead
bodies entire, not burnt, were found upon the floor." " In each of the three
cells" — not in two, only, as when Edward Lhwyd visited it — was " a broad and
shallow cistern, somewhat round, but rudely formed out of a kind of free stone.
They all were rounded a litUe at the bottom, so as to be convex, and at the top
were slightly hollowed, but their cavities contained but little. Some of their brims,
or edges, were sinuated, or scolopt ; their diameter was 2 feet wide, and in their
height they measured about 18 inches from the floor." "The cell that lay to the
right hand was larger, and seemed more regular and finished than the rest ; for,
rude as it was, it showed the workman had spent more of his wild art and pains
upon it than the other two. The cistern it contained was better shaped, and in
the middle of it was placed another smaller cistern, better wrought, and of more
curious make ; and still, for greater ornament, the stone that lay along as lintel,
o'er the entrance of this cell, was cut with many spiral, circular, and waved lines."
Molyneux adds that during the removal of "some of the heaps of stones on
County of Meath. 353
the outside of the mount," " some ten or twelve years " before he published his
account — that is to say, in about 17 13-15 — "two Roman gold coins," of which
he gives illustrations, " were found by accident, near the surface, buried among
the stones. One was of Valentinian L, struck at Triers about the year 368, in
honour of a victory obtained by him and his son Gratian over the Germans at
Solicinium ; the other of Theodosius, also coined at Triers, on account," so he
thinks, " of the victory over Eugenius, about the year 395."
" About a hundred yards distant from this mount are placed two other pyramids,
but of much smaller size, not above a fourth part as big, and, like it, both are
encompassed with a circle of stones, set at some distance from one another, round
their bottoms."
In 1770 a paper on "New Grange," by Thomas Pownall, was read before the
Society of Antiquaries of London. From a sketch of the mound appended to
this communication it appears that at that date it was entirely destitute of trees,
and more symmetrical in form than is at present the case. The measurements
for his ground-plan and section were made by Mr. Samuel Bouie, a surveyor, and
are approximately correct. The base, according to these, covered two acres of
ground. Ten stones of the environing circle were at that time standing, and
measured from 7 feet to 9 feet high. The mound itself is described as but a ruin
of its former self, all the roads in the vicinity having been made with its stones.
" The mouth of the gallery lay concealed and shut up, near 40 feet within the body
of the pile. . . . This gallery is formed by large, flat stones. Those which compose
its sides are set on edge, and are of different altitudes, from 2 feet to 7 feet high,
and of various breadths, from 2 feet to 3 feet 6 ins. The thickness of each could
not be taken with certainty, but some of the large ones are from i foot 6 ins. to
2 feet thick. . . . The mouth of the gallery is 3 feet wide, and 2 feet high. ... At
13 feet from the mouth, it is only 2 feet 2 ins. wide at the bottom. . . . We made
our way by creeping on our hands and knees till we came to this part. Here we
were forced to turn upon our sides, and edge ourselves on with one elbow and
one foot. After we had passed this strait we were enabled to stand, and by degrees
the height above us increased from 6 feet to 9 feet."
On the third side-stone of the passage from the central chamber, or dome, were
the traces of a spiral line. "Were I to indulge my own conjecture," proceeds
Governor Pownall, "I should rather suppose that this stone, as well as some others
in the compilation of this structure, had formerly belonged to some other monu-
ment of a much more ancient date, and that they were brought from the sea-coast
indiscriminately with the rest of the materials, and without knowledge of their
contents, as well as without reference to the place they were here fixed in, being
placed just as the shape of the stone suited the place assigned it." In parenthesis
1 may remark that had this writer observed that some of the stones have carving
on the back as well as on the face, he would have felt his view on this point
further confirmed.
"The central chamber," he says, "is upon the whole an octagon, with a dome of
about 20 feet in height, and of an area which may be circumscribed within a circle
of 17 feet, or 17 feet 6 inches." In his details of the construction, Pownall does
not differ from Molyneux, but he holds that the latter was mistaken in placing
a basin in the third cell, and that Lhwyd was right in stating that there was not one
there. He describes the northern cell, or " tabernacle," as he quaintly terms it,
as having a large, flat stone for its flooring. The two others had only the natural
ground for their floor. Each had a rock-hasin placed in it. The basin in the left-
354 The Dolmens of Ireland,
hand, or western one, stood on the floor ; that in the right-hand, or eastern one,
upon " a kind of base," wiiich must have been tlie second basin described by Lhwyd.
The plan and section in Pownall's paper seem to have been those adopted by
antiquaries ever since, until the appearance of Mr. George Coffey's excellent paper
on "New Grange, Dowth, and Knowth," printed in the "Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy (vol. xxx. part i.)," to which I shall presently refer.
A notice of this monument, together with an illustration of one of the cells, will
be found in Sir Richard Colt Hoare's " Tour in Ireland." He observed that the
basin in the E. cell had two depressions of the cup-type sunk into its surface.
Another account of the tumulus, by Petrie, occurs in the DiiHiii Penny Magazine
for 1832-33, where a rough engraving of the eastern cell is given.
In the " Archseologia," vol. xxx., the discovery is recorded in the year 1842 of a
gold chain, two finger-rings, and two gold tores, of rope pattern, by a labouring
man, within a few yards of the entrance to the " caves at New Grange," at a depth
of two feet below the surface of the ground. The place where they were found
was further searched, and a denarius of Geta (a.d, 211-212) was found.
In jSIr. Wakeman's excellent little work, " Arch^ologia Hibernica," are some
illustrations which admirably illustrate the external appearance of the tumulus,
as well as the mouth, or entrance, to the passage, the basins within the cells, the
various sculptured patterns and devices, and a so-called inscription.
These illustrations are reproduced in Sir William Wilde's " Beauties of the Boyne
and the Blackwater," with the addition of a graphic representation of the right-hand,
or E. cell, with its basin and sculpturings.
I regret to have to notice the existence of another account of this monument,
which, as far as its illustrations are concerned, gives a most inaccurate and
altogether misleading conception of the structure and its sculptured work. It
is contained in the " Proceedings of the Oxford Architectural and Historical Society,"
before the members of which it was read (March ist, 1865) by the Rev. H.
Estridge. Its inaccurate representations have been twice reproduced, namely,
in the Gentleman' s Magazine for 1865, and, what is the more to be wondered at, by
Mr. Brash in his " Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland." The " specimens of
carved decoration " which this paper contains must surely have been drawn from
memory, and filled in from some vague notion that they should be made to conform
to medieval, or modern heraldic forms.
On the whole, the best view of the external appearance of the tumulus in recent
times, with some of the remaining pillar-stones forming the outer and free-standing
circle, is that given by Colonel Forbes Leslie, in his " Early Races of Scotland,"
p. 334, and reproduced by Fergusson, in his " Rude Stone Monuments," p. 201.
In the "Archaeological Journal " for 1865 will be found certain observations on
New Grange, made by General Lefroy, R.A., who made facsimiles of the incised
markings, which, however, are not reproduced in the published paper. The author
combats the theory that these designs are referable to the same epoch as the rock
markings from the Cheviots, described by Dr. CoUingwood Bruce.
In the "Journal of the Hist, and Archreol. Society of Ireland" (1S79-82) a
drawing of the sculptured stone placed lintel-wisc above the outer entrance to the
passage is given.
Fergusson, in his " Rude Stone Monuments," has produced three examples,
stated to be from rubbings, of the ornamental work which occurs both on the
faces and at the backs of several of the stones. He considered, and that justly,
the sculptured mark, or so-called inscription, of which Pownall had given a full-
County of Meath. 355
sized representation, might be aptly compared with one at Mane Lud, in Brittany,
which he also figures.
Before I proceed to epitomize the latest and most exhaustive and accurate of
the accounts yet published of New Grange — namely, that printed in the " Transac-
tions of the Royal Irish Academy," from the pen of Mr. George Coffey, there are
a few points, arising out of a comparative review of the above accounts, to which
it will be as well to refer.
1. In the first place — although it was probably removed during the half
century succeeding his visit — I see no reason to doubt the accuracy of Lhwyd's
statement that a pillar-stone once stood on the top of the mound.
2. I am inclined to think, in opposition to the opinion of Mr. Coffey, " that no
such stone ever existed" {loc. cit., p. 14), that we may accept as true the statement of
Molyneux, that a " slender quarry-stone, 5 or 6 feet long, shaped like a pyramid "
lay along the middle of the cave in the spot in which it is placed in his plan, and
that his surmise is probably correct that it once stood upright. My view on this
point is strengthened by the fact that a pyramidal pillar, shaped and rounded, was
found standing upright within the chamber of the dolmen of Yr Ogof, in Wales
(see Archaeol. Cambr., 1869, p. 140), which in form closely resembled the pillar-
stone called the Bod Fergusa, at Temain Such a stone could readily have been
removed through the passage, and its shape, so suitable for a gate-post or for
building purposes, would supply the special motive for its abstraction.
3. I perfectly agree with the view entertained by Mr. Coffey that the hearsay
account of the discovery of two human skeletons upon the floor of the cave, when
it was first opened, is wholly untenable. If such a rumour reached the ears of
Lhwyd he thought it so little worthy of credit that he placed it in the category of
those stories of discoveries which he omitted because the " labourers differ'd in
their account of them."
4. As to the number and positions of the stone basins, there can be no
question but that the account given by Lhwyd that there were only three in all, one
standing in the W. cell, and two (one within the other) in the E. cell, and none in the
N. cell, or " the appartment straight forward," as he calls it, is, as far as the latter
part of his statement is concerned, incorrect. The mistake may have arisen from
the fact that the basin in that compartment was already, as it is now, broken, and
did not present the appearance of a basin at all.
Molyneux is correct in stating that there was a stone basin in each of the three
cells, as well as a second in the E. one. In recent times the second, or upper basin
in the E. cell has been placed arbitrarily in the centre of the chamber, a position
for which there is no warrant in any account.
5. With respect to the discovery of Roman coins upon and close to the
tumulus — some dating from the beginning of the third, the others from the close
of the fourth century — it would appear that, besides third-brass ones accompanying
that of Geta, two of Valentinian and one of Theodosius were found, since the
Valentinian mentioned by Lhwyd must have been found prior to 1699, while the
Valentinian of which Molyneux speaks was found thirteen or fifteen years after
that date. With respect to the ones found in the mound, it is quite clear that they
must have got there either at the time of its erection or subsequently ; and, con-
sidering the probability — nay, almost the certainty — of intercourse having been
maintained between the Irish on the one hand and the Provincials of Britain and
Germany on the other, during the period to which these coins belong, I do not
attach so slight an importance as Mr. Coffey appears to do, to their presence on
35^ The Dolmens of Ireland.
and near this tumulus in relation to the question of its date and purpose. That it
was of far greater antiquity in its origin than the date of the earliest coin found
there I do not for one moment doubt. That it was a sacred spot in connection
with the worship of the dead I feel equally certain, while the fact that at such
sacred spots offerings consisting of a portion of the spoils of the enemy were made,
is beyond question. The barbarians of the North — to one or other division of
whom this district of Ireland then belonged — were continually at war with the
Romans and the Roman Provincials, who used Roman money, and wore Roman
ornaments. The discovery of such objects, therefore, either in the body of, or
around the circuit of such a place as this, is a fact readily accounted for. The
great importance of the discovery of coins as late as the third and fourth century
consists, however, in this, that — granted the superior antiquity of the monument,
which may I think be assigned to the Bronze Age and perhaps to an early period
of it, as we shall see in the sequel — the presence of the coins and gold objects in
connection with it may be held to show that as late as the period to which they
belong at least, tribute and offerings were brought to it by devotees who observed
the same customs and held in honour the same divinities as those who had planned
and raised the structure, perhaps fifteen hundred years before. The inference from
this is either that one and the same race occupied this district during the whole of
this period, or, at all events, at the date when the tumulus was erected, and at that
when the later offerings were made. Can the appearance of the Cruithne or Picts
in Meath (see Reeves, " Adamnan's Columba," p. 117) have been a return of those
people to their ancient settlements, or had they always been settled there ? The
continental influence exhibited at New Grange is attributable to two widely distinct
epochs : the decoration on the stones to early contact with art in the Mediterranean ;
the coins to Roman Provincial times. The absence of any trace of treasure in
the central chamber itself is natural. The superstition, which held the despoiler
accursed, once broken through, the place became at once the prey of the first
marauding chief, either native or foreign, whose followers, greedy of booty, hap-
pened to scour the district. For what length of time the belief in their inherent
sacredness guarded such shrines it is impossible to say. There appears to be
evidence, however, that when the Danes arrived, in the ninth century, they looked
on such " caves " as these as fair prey, and plundered them whenever and wherever
opportunity offered. This fact, coupled with the popular belief that treasure lay
concealed in the tumuli, goes far to prove that it was the custom of their builders
to deposit in them offerings of value which none of their own race dared to touch.
Site and Structure of the Tumulus.
Mr. R. Clark, of the Geological Survey of Ireland, supplied Mr. Coffey with
the following report on these points : —
" Both these remarkable structures, the tumuli at Dowth and New Grange, are
erected on the drift which in this neighbourhood thickly covers the coal measures
formation. The passages and chambers of the two mounds have been formed of
large slabs of the Lower Silurian rocks, which crop up within a few miles' distance.
They were apparently either rudely quarried for the purpose, or split from surface
rocks. With the exception of some of the stones in the passage and others of the
upright course, the slabs in the interior of New Grange show little traces of the
original weathered surface of the rocks from which they were taken, but, on
the contrary, even faces, which indicate that they have been split along the cleavage,
County of Meath.
357
and care taken in their selection. The spiral carvings have been cut exclusively on
this description of stone ; and, considering the exposed positions of the external
slabs, they show but little effect of weathering. Each mound {i.e. Dowth and
New Grange) is surrounded by a circle of elongated blocks and slabs placed on
edge. Such, also, are mostly derived from the Silurian rocks, interspersed with a
few varieties of traps. The parent rocks of the latter are probably to be found
amongst the igneous rocks which are associated with the Silurian beds in the
vicinity of the neighbouring town of Slane. In the outer circle at New Grange
are a number of standing stones, mainly of Silurians (grits and slates) ; a few traps
also occur, which may also be referred to the Slane district. A large standing
stone near the River Boyne, at New Grange, is composed of a fine, compact grit.
In the centre of the chamber of the New Grange structure is a granite basin,
which Wilkinson, in his ' Ancient Architecture of Ireland,' states to be of Mourne
origin. It is difficult, owing to the defective light to be obtained, to definitely fix
the locality from which the material for this basin was procured. To the writer it
appeared to bear more resemblance to some of the granites of the Wicklow series
than to those of the Mourne district.
" There is no doubt that, with the exception of the granite basin above referred
to, all the materials used were procurable within a radius of a few miles. Wilkinson
points out in his work that flags of very considerable size can be obtained in a
quarry at the old gateway of Mellifont Abbey, and it is not improbable that this was
the source from which the huge slabs at Dowth and New Grange were obtained."
The following is Mr. Coffey's account of the structure of the monument,
Fig "X^a — Boundary stone discovered by Sir Thomas Deane. From a sketch by Mr. G. Coffey,
■ ^ M.R.J. A.
artificially considered : It " appears to have been originally surrounded, a kw
yards outside the base, by a circle of standing stones, twelve of which may still be
traced. Four of these stones, forming a portion of the circle near the entrance,
are of great size, measuring, respectively, in height, 7 feet, 6 feet 8 ins., 8 feet,
and 6 feet above the ground, and in girth 18, 20, 19, and 15 feet. . . . The
rest are smaller, in some cases but a foot or two above ground, with the
exception of one on the E. side, which appears to have fallen down, and is now
level with the surface. It measures 11 feet in length. The interval between the
three stones at the entrance, where the circle appears unbroken, measures 30 feet
from centre to centre, and will be found to go, with approximate accuracy, evenly into
the distances between the other stones, giving about thirty-five stones to the circle.
It is possible that the circle was never completed ; but the regular manner in which
the existing stones are placed would indicate that they have not been set up at
random, but form portions of a circle which originally consisted of, or was laid down
for thirty-five stones. Inside this circle a ditch and rampart, mainly of loose stones,
runs round the base of the mound. It is difticult to say whether or not it is part of
OD
^8
The Dolmens of Ireland.
the original structure. For the greater part of the circumference it is well defined,
but less so at the E. side, for a portion of which it may be said to cease. . . .
"The mound, or tumulus, itself consists of an enormous cairn of loose stones,
Frc. 335. — Boundary-stone discovered by Sir Thomas Deane. Frotn a sketch by Mr. G. Coffey,
M.R.I. A.
heaped within a curb of great stones, 8 to 10 feet long, laid on edge, and touching
end to end, over which a thin covering of grass has grown. ... In plan the
Fig. 336.— Stone in tlie chamber at New Grange. From a sketch by JSIr. G. Coffey, M.R.I. A.
tumulus is circular, and covers an area of about one acre, or, taking the circle
of the standing stones, nearly two acres. The greatest diameter of the
Fig. 337.— Stone in the chamber at New Grange. From a sketch by Mr. G. Coffey, Ill.R.I.A.
mound measures 2S0 feet. Its present height is 44 feet. The somewhat flattened
top, also found at Knowth, is not an unusual feature in such structures. A
retaining wall, or revetment of dry rubble, some 5 to 6 feet high, is built
immediately on the base stones. . . . This wall partakes of the character of masonry,"
but " is microlithic, as distinguished from the general megalithic, or rude stone
construction of the tumulus. . . .
" The entrance is clearly marked by the curving inwards of the curb-stones.
, . . The large stone in front of it is one of the boundary stones, and marks the limit
of the mound at that side. This stone, riclily carved in spirals and lozenges, has
County of Meath.
359
Fig. 338.— Stone in the
chamber at New Grange.
from a sketch by Mr. G.
Coffey, M.R.I. A.
been frequently described. Until recently its lower half was covered by the
ground. But" in 1889, "the monument having been
scheduled under the Protection of Ancient Monuments
Act of 1882, the earth was excavated in front, so as to
expose the entire of its carved surface. Sir Thomas Deane's
investigation brought to light two additional richly carved
stones in the boundary circuit (Figs. 334, 335), and it is pro-
bable that further examination will add to the number. . . .
Immediately in front of the entrance, and between it and
the carved boundary-stone already mentioned, lies a large
flat stone, forming a sort of sill to the opening of the
passage. This stone, probably, sealed the entrance, with
the dimensions of which it roughly agrees. In a section
of the chamber, drawn by Du Noyer, and published in
Wilkinson's ' Practical Geology and Ancient Architecture
of Ireland' (1845), this stone is shown in an inclined
position, as if it had been forced back from the entrance ;
and in the text, Wilkinson says, ' a large flat stone appears,
from the peculiarity of its position, to have closed the
entrance.' A io.^ feet above the opening, a horizontal
slab, carved on its projecting face, should be noticed. It gives somewhat of an
architectural character to the entrance, and is re-
markable on that account, as well as for its carving. I
" In general plan the passage and chamber
is irregularly cruciform. The former measures
62 feet in length, and is formed of large stones,
set on end, some 5 to 8 feet in height, roofed with
flagstones of great size. That at the entrance is
1 1 feet long, and the stone next but one somewhat
longer. The average width of the passage is about
3 feet, but, some 14 feet in, the side-stones have
been forced inwards, and meet at the top, render-
ing it necessary to creep on hands and knees for
a distance of about 6 feet. After this point the
passage presents no further difficulty. At the
entrance it is 4 feet 9 ins. high ; it then rises
gradually to about 6 feet through a distance of
26 feet. The headway is then reduced by the
roofing-stone at that point, after which it rises
rapidly by overlapping stones to 7 feet 10 ins. at
43 feet from the entrance, when it suddenly falls
again to 4 feet 10 ins. , . . After passing this point,
the passage rises rapidly by corbelled or overlap-
ping stones, till merged in the roof of the chamber.
The latter consists of a conical or funnel-shaped
dome, formed of large flat stones laid horizontally,
and corbelled, or projecting inwards, one over the
other, till closed by a single stone. In plan it is
^n irregular hexagon, and shows considerable enterprise in the fitting of the
Fig. 339. — Stone in the chamber at
New Grange. From a sketch by
Mr. G. Coffey, M.K.I. A.
t See upper stone in Fig. 340, next page.
;6o
The Dolmens of Ireland.
passage-roofing and recesses. The principal dimensions of the chamber are : —
Height, 19 feet 6 ins. ; end of passage to back of north recess, 18 feet; back of east
to back of west recess, 2 1 feet.
Fig. 340. — Entrance to New Grange. Frojii a photograph in Mr. Coffey's paper in the Trans. R.T.A.
" Something of an architectural character is given to the construction of this
chamber by the carrying round its walls of the upright course of stone which lines
Fig. 341. — Sculpturing at New Gi;uil'c. I"ii;. 342. — Sculpturing at New Grange.
FroDi photographs as above.
the passage, and in places supports its roof. In the chamber these stones do not
County of Meath.
;6i
actually support the roof, as at Dowth ; the construction of the dome is practically
independent of such support, and is incorrectly described by Sir W. Wilde as
springing from this course of upright stones. The carvings for which the tumulus
is noted are cut chiefly on these stones. The three recesses, which give the plan
its cruciform appearance, are of unequal dimensions. That on the E. side is
8 feet 8 ins. in depth ; the north recess, 7 feet 6 ins. ; and the west recess but
3 feet 4 ins. On the floor of each recess is placed a large stone basin. . . ." [The
statement of Molyneux was correct on this point, whereas Lhwyd had stated that
no basin stood in the northern cell.] "The hoUowed-out form of the basin is
that in the E. recess. That in the N. recess is . . . broken. It shows but slight
traces of having been hollowed, and might be described as a flat stone. It,
Fig. 343. — Sculpturing at New Grange. Fig. 344. — Sculpturing at New Grange.
From photographs in Ah; Coffey's paper in Trans. R.I. A.
however, no doubt, served a similar purpose to those in the other recesses. A
much more carefully wrought basin at present stands in the centre of the chamber.
It was found in the E. recess, and stood within the basin still in that recess. It
has been recently moved into the centre, on the supposition that, as at Dowth, it
originally occupied that position. . . . This basin is remarkable for two cup-
depressions within the hollowed portion of the stone." "A slightly marked
ridge, or step, is noticeable, as dividing the two cups from the central hollow." "The
two clearly-marked cups measure respectively 7 and 8 inches in diameter." " The
stone in which the basin and cups are" is of granite, and, unless a naturally
transported boulder, must have been brought fully fifty miles to its present
destination, whether from the Mourne Mountains or from Wicklow. It "measures
4 feet by 3 feet 6 ins., and is i foot thick."
Mr. Cofifey notices the absence of the " sill-stones," which it is usual to find
placed across the entrances to side-chambers, or recesses, in other chambered
tumuli of similar class to New Grange, and suggests the view that " the basins
would seem to indicate a development, and that they replace the sill-stone as a
means of confining the interments."
VOL. II. E
;62
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Before quitting the subject of the construction of the passage and chamber, I
wish to express a view which occurred to myself when examining them in the year
1 888. It appeared to me that the great dome was a later addition to a structure,
the inner chamber of which had been the portion of the present passage, which rises
to a height of 7 feet 10 ins. by overlapping stones, at a distance of 43 feet from the
entrance. On this supposition, the tumulus which would have covered the original
structure, which may have been shallow, would have been purposely broken down
on the northern side, and the northern end of the original chamber being removed
and the dome constructed, the whole of the former structure would have been
made to serve as a passage and ante-chamber to the newer and more pretentious
erection. It is noticeable that the passage is wider at the elevated portion than
elsewhere, and I saw no way to account for this increased width and height, except
on the supposition that this had once formed the terminal chamber of a smaller
tumulus— one which, in its dimensions and in the simplicity of its construction,
would have been exactly comparable to
examples of such structures, both in
Ireland itself, in Scotland, England, and
elsewhere. In further support of this
view, it appeared to me, also, that the
material of the body of the tumulus was
difterent immediately over what I re-
garded as the original structure to what
It was on the upper and northern portions
— that is to say, in the former case it
consisted of tightly packed earth and
stones, while in the latter it was, below
the surface, a cairn pure and simple.
The construction of the dome ; the
quasi-architectural character of it, and of
the designs on some of the stones, such
as that over the entrance, for example,
which has all the appearance of having
been added at a later date ; the presence,
too, of the basins;— all point, so it ap-
pears to me, to the conclusion that the
great dome and the whole of the inner
portion of this monument to which the passage leads, was the work of more
skilled hands than those of the men who constructed the ruder examples of
chambered tumuli, to which the passage and ante-chamber might, however, well
belong. However this may be, the dome and the more elaborate sculptures
should be assigned to the period when the barbarians of the north, though
retaining their pristine customs, funereal and sacrificial, and their habit of building
mortarless chambers enveloped in mounds for the purposes of their weird
rites, had, nevertheless, been brought into more or less direct contact with the
civilization of the south and east, — with the Pontus and the yEgean on the one
hand, and the Adriatic and Tyrrhene Sea on the other. In short, the domed
tomb at New Grange appears to me to stand to the domed tomb of Atreus f in a
relation somewhat analogous — to pass to a later date — to that borne by the coinage
of Britain to the slaters of Macedon ; or, to take a third period, to that borne by
Fig. 345. — Sculpturing at New Grange.
From a fJidograpk in Mr, Coffees paper.
t For section of this see Fergusson's R.S. M. See also the section of a Tict's House, infra, p. 37 1 .
County of Meatii.
363
the columns of early Irish churches to those of the basilicas erected under Con-
stantine. The type and plan of the structure may be native and barbaric, growing
out of the ruder passage-dolmen, but the secret of construction is borrowed from
the cultured alien, in an age when the inhabitants of the amber coasts of the Baltic
were pressing westwards through the Straits of the Cattegat, or across the narrow
isthmus which separated the Suevic from the Britannic Gulfs — the forerunners of
the Picts, planting settlements in Britain, Scotland, Ireland, and the northern and
western coasts of France, carrying with them an imitative reflex, so to speak, of
Fig. 346. — Sculpturing at New Grange. From a photograph in iMr. Coffey's paper.
such art as had reached them during the process of the amber commerce, and dis-
placing, perhaps, by the force of their invasion, some of those tribes in Gaul who
now began to traverse Europe in a south-eastern direction, down the Danube, into
Greece, very possibly, I think, into the Caucasian districts, and even east of them,
and at all events into Asia Minor, to return perhaps one day as the new Bituriges
(Bitugures), the new Caturiges (Cutriguri, Cortragi), etc., to swell the numbers of
the Huns or Bolgars, descending on the Roman Empire.
For New Grange see "Trans, of the Royal Society," vol. xxvii. p. 503.
"Mona Antiqua Restaurata," by Henry Rowlands, 1st edit. (1723), p. 33S ; 2nd edit. (1766),
P- 314-.
"Discourse concerning the Danish Mounts, Forts, and Towers in Ireland," by Sir Thomas
Molyneux (Dublin, 1725), published with the "Natural History of Ireland," by Gerard Boate,
Thomas Molyneux and others, p. 202 ; or p. 187 of the edition dated 1755. [With a plan and
section of the monument, and drawing of the E. recess, and of two gold coins.]
3^4 The Dolmens of Ireland.
" Works of Sir James Ware," edit, by W. Harris, vol. ii. pi. ii. [Molyneux's plan and drawings
reproduced.]
" Arch.-eologia," vol. ii. {1773), p. 236, et seqq., with plan, section, and elevation.
Ledwich, E., "Antiquities of Ireland," pi. xxvi. [Reproduction of Pownall's plan and
section.]
" Rude Stone Monuments," Fergusson, p. 203.
"Tour in Ireland," by Sir R. C. Hoare (London, 1S07), p. 252.
Dublin Penny Magazine, 1832-1S33, p. 305.
" Archxologia," vol. xxx. p. 137. Gold ornaments found at New Grange.
'* ArchcEologia Hibernica" (Dublin, 1848), p. 21, d seqq.
" Beauties of the Boyne and the Blackwater," Dublin, 1S49, p. 188. e/ seqq.
" Proceedings of the Oxford Architectural and Historical Society," 1865.
T/ie Gcntk;iian^s Magazine, for 1S65, p. 735.
Brash, " Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland," p. 30.
By Col. Forbes Leslie, " Early Races of Scotland," vol. ii. p. 334.
" Archaeological Journal," (1865), pp. 87, 89.
"Journ. R.H., and A.A. of Ireland," 4th Sen, vol. v. (1879-1882), p. 381.
Wilkinson, G., "Ancient Architecture of Ireland," with section, p. 52.
"Trans. R.I. Acad.," vol. xxx. (1892), parti.; Paper by G. Coflfey, with map, plans, and sections,
cuts of sculptured stones, and photographs.
"Journ. Roy. Soc. of Ant. of Ireland," vol. ii. p. 430. "Note on New Grange," by the
Rev. James O'Laverty.
Note-book, W. C. B., 188S.
On the western side of the great mound at New Grange, also in the Townland
of New Grange, is a chambered tumulus. In the " Proc. of the R.I. Academy,"
Mr. (afterwards Sir William) Wilde records the discovery and examination of this.
It was about 8 feet long, and consisted of a small stone passage leading into a little
chamber formed on the type of the great barrow.
In this was discovered a vast collection of the remains of domestic animals, as
well as several human bones, some perfect and others in a half-burned state. What
gave particular interest to this excavation was the fact of the stones which lined the
floor having been vitrified on the external face, which would lead to the conclusion
that the cremation had taken place in the chamber itself.
Proc. R.I.A., vol. iii. p. 262.
Below the great mound of New Grange, and in the same Townland, are two
tumuli, one having a vallum. " Two well-defined tumuli may be seen," says Mr.
Coffey, "showing as conical grass-covered hillocks on the low-lying land by the
river." Approximately their measurements are respectively 220 feet in circum-
ference, and 300 feet in circumference, with an altitude in each case of about
20 feet. The one which is the nearer to the great tumulus, and the smaller in
circumference, " appears to have been encircled, at a distance of about 200 feet
from the mound, by a vallum, a portion of which is still traceable at the east side."
Both are " at present evenly grass-grown."
Trans. R.I.A., vol. xxx., Mr. Coffey's paper, pp. 49, 50.
In the Townland of New Grange, on the brow of a steep bank E.N.E. of the
last-mentioned tumulus with vallum, and near the river Boyne, are two pillar-stones.
" A great block of compact sandstone grit, set on end, similar to, but larger than,
those set round the great mound. It measures 10 feet high, and is 17 feet in
girth. In the adjoining field a similar standing stone will be found, but it is not
so large."
Trans. R.I. A., vol, xxx., p. 50.
In the Townland of New Grange, in the field to the left of the second pillar-
stone last mentioned, are the ruins of a monument (unclassified), described as
'' several large stones, probably the remains of some sepulchral monuments."
Trans. R.T.A., vol. xxx., p. 50.
County of Meath.
365
In the Townland of New Grange, at the top of the field next to that in which
the mined monument last mentioned stands, there is a tumulus encircled. It is
described as "one of the most remarkable of the lesser tumuli. Its base is
enclosed by a well-defined circle of boundary stones. It measures about 280 feet
in circumference, and 12 feet in height."
Trans. R.I. A., vol. xxx. p. 51.
Between New Grange and Dowth, about | of a mile S.W. of the tumulus at
Dowth, are three tumuli, one of them resembling a Long Barrow. The three
Fig. 347.
-Dowth ; plan and section of the mound and chambers. From the Report of
Co?nniissioners 0/ Public IVorks, Ireland.
tumuli are arranged in a line. The central one " is of unusual shape. It is about
150 feet in length, by 60 feet in width, and 10 feet high." In the surfaces of each
of these mounds there are depressions, from which Mr. Coffey infers they have
been plundered.
Trans. R.I. A., vol. xxx. p. 51.
In the Townland of Dowth,t nearly ^ a mile W. of Dowth House, is a
t Anciently spelt •' Dubhath " (as see above in the passages from the A. 4 M. and the A. of Ulster,
under New Grange). " Over Dubhath " was the cave of Bodan, or Boadan — a name also mentioned
in connection with a monument at the Brugh, by O'llartigan. Boadan was the "Shepherd of
Elcmar," a Tuatha De Danann ancestral celebrity. The cave there was plundered (as also see
above) by three foreigners — the kings Amhlaeibh, Imhar, and Uailsi in the 9th century, assisted by
Lorcan, King of Meath.
366
The Dolmens of Ireland.
chambered cairn. Mr. Coffey judges this tumulus to have been of about the same
size as that at New Grange. " It averages in height about 47 feet, and measures
280 feet in circumference. The base is surrounded by a curb of large stones set
on edge."
"Of the internal arrangement of this huge cairn," writes Mr. Wakeman, in his
"'ArchceologiaHibcrnica," "little, until very recently" (he wrote in 1S48)," was known."
-'The committee of the Royal Irish Academy, in the course of the autumn of 1S47,
Fig. 34S. — Sculptured stone at Dowth. Frovi a Jnizd
Dr. /■'razer, M.R.I. A.
:•)■ o. L>ii \.y^!\ lent me by
opened a cutting from the base to the centre of the mound." " The first discovery
was that of a cruciform chamber upon the western side, formed of stones of
enormous size, every way similar to those at New Grange, and exhibiting the same
style of decoration." "A rude stone trough, bearing a great resemblance to that in
the eastern recess at New Grange, was found in the centre. It had been broken
into several pieces." In the rubbish, with which the chamber was filled, was found
a large quantity of the bones of animals, in a half-burnt state, and mixed with small
shells. A bronze pin and two small iron knives were also discovered. " Upon the
County of Meath. 367
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 New Grange, of enormous
stones placed edgeways, and covered with large flags." " The chamber is smaller
than that at New Grange. The recesses do not contain basins. A passage
extending in a southerly direction, communicating with a series of small crypts,
forms another peculiarity."
"A stone, 9 feet high, and 8 feet broad, between the northern and eastern
recesses, is remarkable for the singular character of its carving." The dimensions
of the structure are given as follows : " The entrance passage measures 27 to 28 feet
long, and the chamber to which it conducts is 7 feet in diameter, the centre being,
as above said, occupied by a large hollow stone. The recess to the left is a little
over 6 feet in depth. The similar recess in front is also 6 feet in depth. The
passage running off to the right is 16 feet long. At the end, the branches into
which it divides are, the one 5 feet, the other 8 feet long, at which distance the latter
is stopped by a stone across it, beyond which is another cell, extending 5 feet further."
"A sepulchral chamber," says Mr. Wakeman, "of a quadrangular form, the
stones of which bear a great variety of carving, and among them the cross, has been
discovered on the southern side of the mound. Here, as elsewhere, the workmen
found vast quantities of bones, half burnt, 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."
Wilde gives some additional particulars. He states that, previous to the
exploration of the mound by the Committee of the Royal Irish Academy, a
considerable gap existed in the western face of the mound, and that in this
excavation, made by a quarryman, a passage, similar to that at New Grange, had
been long exposed. It was this passage which the committee determined to follow
up, and, in prosecuting their labours eastward, the cruciform chamber and the
minor chambers were reached.
Speaking of the stone basin, he tells us that when the chamber in which it now is
was first opened, only a portion of it stood there in the centre. All " the other frag-
ments, nine in number, were since recovered in the chambers and passages around."
" During the excavations," he continues, " some very interesting relics and
antiquities were discovered. Among the stones which form the great heap, or
cairn, were found a number of globular stone shot, about the size of grape-shot,
probably sling-stones, and also fragments of human heads. Within the chamber,
mixed with the clay and dust which had accumulated, were found a quantity of
bones, consisting of heaps, as well as scattered fragments, of burnt bones, many of
which proved to be human." Here Wilde repeats the list given above, and
adds : " Glass and amber beads of antique shapes, portions of jet bracelets,
a curious stone button, or fibula, bone bodkins, copper pins, and iron knives and
two rings, the latter similar to those found in a crannog or lake-dwelling at
Dunshauglin, also in Meath, were likewise picked up. Some years ago a gentleman,
who then resided in the neighbourhood, cleared out a portion of the passage, and
found a few iron antiquities, some bones of mammals, and a small stone urn, which
he presented to the Academy."
It has been also stated that a double circle of stones set on edge anciently
surrounded this cairn.
Such was all that was known of this tumulus, until, in the year 1886, Mr. (now
368
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Sir Thomas) Deane, in carrying out the provisions of Sir John Lubbock's Act for
the Protection of Ancient Monuments, as appUed to Ireland, undertook some fresh
excavations, notices of which will be found in the " Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy" for iSSS, and in the " Fifty-fifth Report of the Commissioners of Public
Works in Ireland."
At a distance of about 50 feet S. of the chamber and passage above noticed, a
round chamber, with a single recess opening off it
on the S.E., was discovered. The recess is wedge-
shaped — a feature in which these side chambers or
cells of the chambered cairns resemble the dolmens
— broadening toward the inner and S.E. end, which
is closed by a flag, 7 feet 6 ins. in length. A single
slab forms either side, that on the left measuring
8 feet 6 ins., and that on the right 9 feet long. The
circular chamber itself measures 15 feet in diameter.
It is now roofed in with concrete, but when found
the roof had fallen in. From the S.W. it is entered
by a passage, the present length of which is 1 1 feet
6 ins.
Most of the stones surrounding the circular
chamber are covered with similar carvings to those
found in the cruciform chamber. The stones of
the entrance passage were of large size, like those
of the chamber, and on the largest of them, to the
right as one enters the passage, are four hollows.
On the side opposite to that on which this
latter chamber, cell, and passage were found by
Mr. Deane's workmen, viz, to the N. of the pre-
viously existing passage, there were traces of the
existence of other vaults. " Commencing," says the
Report, " at the northern side of the known entrance
to the central chamber, an opening was made which
led to a passage terminated at either end by circular cells, carefully roofed with
corbelling stones. In this passage were found a quantity of bones, mostly those
of horses and lower animals, but none human. The passage had an incline
towards the S. On emerging from it at a point where it met the entrance to the
originally known chamber, a flight of steps was discovered. In the circular cell
at the S. end of the curved passage were found a bronze pin, a buckle, and an
iron dagger," or other instrument.
Mr. Coffey, in his paper above quoted, and Mr. G. H. Orpen, in the "Journal
of the Royal Soc. of Antiquaries of Ireland," have pointed out that the character of
this passage and of the cells in connection with it is quite different to that of the
passages, chambers, and cells previously discovered in the tumulus. " The cells,
which are of the usual beehive form, and the curved passage are built of semi-
coursed dry rubble, the latter roofed with flagstones ; they are, in fact (not mega-
lithic, like the others), but microlithic." The structure is, in short, a souterrain
of the .same type and class as those so frequently found in connection with raths,
and the inference is that the tumulus was, long after its original formation, found
by the rath-builders to be an eligible site for a rath with its souterrain, and treated
accordingly.
Fig. 349.— Dowlh : (i) Tlan of
part of ihe central cell. (2) Plan of
newly-cliscovered chamber. From
the Board of Works, Ireland.
County of Meath. 369
As will be noticed by reference to the plan, the various chambers, passages,
and cells at Dowth are all on the W. and S.W. edge of the tumulus, and occupy
a very small proportion of its area. The committee of the R.I. Academy
ascertained that there was no central chamber, and the deep depression made
in the summit is the result of their attempt to discover one.
The sculpturings on the stones of the chambers and passages I shall speak of
again in the second part of this work, but the following passage from Mr. Coffey's
paper, comparing the construction of the megalithic portion of the Dowth tumulus
with the stone-work at New Grange, must not be here omitted : —
" In construction, the chambers of Dowth are similar to New Grange, with the
exception that the roofing-flags are not corbelled, and, in general, less architectural
enterprise is shown. The flags roofing the central chamber are of great size, and
rest directly (dolmen-fashion) on the upright lining-stones of the chamber. The
latter are, if anything, rather larger than at New Grange, and in some cases measure
between 10 and 11 feet in height. The plan of the principal chamber is, as at
New Grange, cruciform, but smaller. It is 11 feet high, and about 9 feet in
diameter. The passage measures 27 feet in length. The entrance has been
recently protected by masonry, and it is not now possible to make out its original
form," which may be seen, however, in the drawing of it in Wilde's " Beauties
of the Boyne and the Blackwater." " Across the passage are placed three projecting
stones, and at the entry into the central chamber, and before two of the side-
chambers, similar sill-stones are found. The latter are smaller than at New
Grange, and do not contain slabs, or basins. At the end of the right-hand chamber
it is possible to pass round the stone at the right side, and then enter the additional
chambers above-mentioned. The chamber going forward is 8 feet 6 ins. long, and
is floored by a great flag 8 feet in length, in the centre of which a curious oval
hollow has apparently been rubbed down. At the end of this chamber a smaller
one, 2 feet 6 ins. by about 3 feet 6 ins., is divided off from it by a high sill-stone,
and closed in at the back by the roof, which slopes to the ground at this point.
The two chambers, one within the other, at right-angles to those described, measure
about 2 feet each in depth. The furthest is divided off by a sill-stone, and a
flat slab rests on its floor."
"The two chambers, with separate entrance to the S. of the principal chambers,
do not require detailed description. In construction they are of the same general
character. Sill-stones are found at the end of the passage leading into the circular
chamber, and at the opening into the inner chamber. The first stone at the right-
hand side of the passage . . . has a wide and deep groove sunk in its face, showing
nearly 2 feet above ground, and measuring about 8 inches in width and 3 inches in
depth." It is similar to a stone found in a dolmen at Carrickglass in Tyrone,
figured above, and also to the grooved doorpost at the entrance to the passage at
Killeen-Cormac tumulus in Wicklovv (see Proc. R.I. A. 2nd Ser. vol. i. p. 125).
" Archseologia Hibernica," by W. F. Wakeman, p. 31.
" Archaeological Journal," vol. xxii. (1865), p. 88.
•' Beauties of the Boyne and the Blackwater," by W. Wilde, p. 204, et seqq.
" Proc. R.I.A.," 3rd. Ser., vol. i. (188S), p. 161. *
"Fifty-fifth Report of the Commissioners of Public Works, Ireland," Appendix, p. 64.
Trans. R.I.A., vol. xxx. p. 51.
In the Demesne of Dowth, in the grounds at the back of Dowth House, on
the W. side are two tumuli, one of them a chambered tumulus. There are two
smaller tumuli also near by. The southern of the two is open at the top. " The
centre of it consists of a corbel-roofed chamber, formed of flags laid on the plan of
o/
o
The Dolmens of Ireland.
an irregular hexagon. The chamber thus formed," adds Mr. Coffey, "is about
S feet high, and lo feet in diameter. Five cells are placed round the sides, formed
by small flags set on edge. No trace of a passage is apparent, but probably a
passage exists. None of the stones are inscribed."
Trans. R.LA., vol. xxx. p. 51.
At a place called Cloghalea, also in Dowth Demesne, are the ruins of a
monument. In the same field as the great ring fort (see next below), Wilde
Fig. 350. — Knowth. J-'roiii an original drawing !>}• Mr. IV. F. Waketnan, M.K.I.A.
mentions that there was " a portion of a stone circle, evidently part of the side
wall or basement of a sepulchral chamber, similar to New Grange." He adds that
"human remains have on more than one occasion been found in the vicinity of this
remnant of an ancient tumulus."
Pownall, in his paper on New Grange above quoted, notices this circle, eleven
stones of which were standing. ''I paced this circle," he says, "and, as well as
I recollect, it is not above 21 feet. The stones are large and massive, and about
5 or 6 feet high. There remains eight of these stones together in one part of the
circle, two in another, and one by itself. On the left hand from the entrance into
the circle lies a large flat stone," which he thought might have been the top of a
kistvaen, or cromlech.
Trans, R.LA., vol. xxx. p. 51.
In the Townland of Knowth f is a chambered tumulus. This tunuilus has
been generally supposed to be the largest of the three great tumuli in this group.
Mr. Coffey, however, pronounces it to be the smallest, although " almost equal in
size to that of Dowth." " It measures," he states, " nearly 700 feet in circumference.
t Pronounced by the Irish, *' Knoo-wa." The old spelling was "Cnodhba," "Cnogba,"
"Cnoghbhai," as see the passages (jiioled under New Grange, recording the plundering of tiiese
places by the Danes. It is when writing of Knowth that O'Donovan, as above-quoted, says that
there is a tradition in this county that all these " moats " have caves within them, in which bars of
gold are laid up ; but it would be dangerous to open them, as evil sjiirits are watching the treasure.
As we have noticed above (§ec note to New (!range), Cnogba is mentioned in the Dindshenchas
of Cam Conaill as one of those good lands upon which King Cairbre Nia-fer permitted the sons of
Umor — that is, the Firbolg — after their flight from the Tuatha de Danann and banishment by the
Cruithne, to settle. Another mention of itio same place occurs in the Dindshenchas of Nas (Naas
in Kildare), which, as translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes, is as follows : —
"Nas and V,(A, two daughters of Kuadri son of Caite (?), King of Britain, were the two wives of
Lugh son of Sc.il Balb, ' the Dumb Champion.' Now, Nas was the mother of Ibec son of Lugh.
There (at Naas) Nas died, and in N.is she was buried, hence it is called Nas. Her sister Boi died
straightway of grief lor her, and was buried on Cnogba, whence that name {Ljiot^ha = Cnoclnta).
County of Meatii.
371
or about 225 feet in diameter, and between 40 and 50 feet in height. The mound
is more regular in appearance, and has suffered less from dilapidation than those
at New Grange and Dowth.
No trace of base-stones is at
present to be seen, but pos-
sibly they are covered by the
sod, which is evenly grass-
grown, and makes it difficult
to say exactly where the mound
ends, and the natural slope of
the ground begins. ... At
the northern side some large
stones showing above the
surface of the ground seem to
indicate the entrance to the
tumulus." The top of the
mound presents " a flattened
form," and " a considerable
depression existing in the
centre portion, gives the ap-
pearance of a rampart round
the margin." " A similar for-
mation " is observable at New
Grange, and Mr. Coffey throws out the hint that "these mounds may have been used
at various times for purposes of defence," in which case the circular, rath-like rampart
would have been purposely thrown up, and formed no part of the original design.
14
Fig. 351.— Section of a " Pict's House " — chambered tumulus
— on the Holm of Papa Westra. The incised markings
are on the wall, some over the entrance ; others on the
E. side of the chambers.
O.S.L., Co. Meath,
E. 23'
151 ; Trans. R.I. A., vol. xxx. p. 68.
Some yards to the N. of the Knowth tumulus are " several large stones,
forming," says Mr. Coffey, "a more or less defined ellipse, of about 70 feet by
30 feet, possibly marking the site of another sepulchral monument."
Trans. R.I. A., vol. xxx. p. 68.
Lugh gathered the hosts of the Gaels (Gaidel) from Tailtiu to Fiad in Broga, ' the land of the
Brugh,' to bewail those women on the first day of August in each year ; so thence was the itasad,
'assembly,' of Lugh, whence Liigh-nasad, ' lammas-day,' that is, Lugh's commemoration, or
remembering, or recollection, or death-feast " (" Rev. Celt.," vol. xv. p. 316).
From the poem on the same subject in the "Book of Leinster" (194a, 17), Mr. Coffey gives
three extracts. He points out that in the last line of the second stanza Bui is called Bui in bvoga,
i.e. " Bui of the Brugh." He next quotes the lines, " Her sister and Cnogba, it is there Bui was
buried;" and thirdly, "Hosts of fair Gaedels came to mourn the women to the Brugh from
Tailtiu." Commenting on these passages, he justly concludes that, " not only in direct statement,
but in the reference to Bui as ' Bui of the Brugh,' is the traditional association of Knowth with
Brugh definitely established."
In " Folk Lore," vol. iii. p. 506, Dr. Whitley Stokes translates a passage from a copy of the
Dindshenchas, in the Bodleian, with the following reference to the name Cnogba : " Englic, daughter
of Elcmaire, loved Oengus mac ind Oc, and she had not seen him. They had a meeting of games
there between Cletech and Sid in Broga. The Bright Folk and fairy hosts of Ireland used to visit
that game every Halloween, having a moderate share of food, to wit, a nut. From the north
went three sons of Derc, son of Ethaman, out of Sid Findabrach, and they eloped with Elcmaire's
daughter, (going) round the young folk without their knowledge. When they knew it, they ran
after her as far as the hill named Cnogba. Great lamentation they made there, and this is the
feast that supported them — their gathering. Hence, ' Cnogba,' that is, Cno-guba, ' nut-lamenta-
tion they made at yon gathering.'
" Hence is Cnogba of the troops.
So that every host deems it famous,
From the lamentation alter reaping nuts , . .
Following Elcmaire's daughter."
3/2
The Dolmens of Ireland.
COUNTY OF WESTMEATH.
In the Barony of Rathconrath.
*i. In the Tovvnland of Ushnagh Hill, and Parish of Conry,
a quarter of a mile W.N.W. of the ruins of the ancient hill-town
Fig. 352. — " The Cat-Stone " at Ushnagh. From a sketch by the Author.
of Ushnagh, an oblong area on the summit of the hill, is marked
Patrick's Bed in Ord. Surv. Map No. 24.
A quarter of a mile S.S.W. of Patrick's Bed is the natural
cleft rock marked Atlnai7iireann, or Cafs Rock, Pctra Coithrigi,
in the Townland of Kellybrook.
A little over a quarter of a mile due S. of Patrick's Bed is the
well called Tobernaslath, or FmtileascacJi in the Townland of
Ushnagh Hill.
The ruined hill-town of Ushnagh, with its cave, and a second
site covered with ruins are in the Townland of Rathnew.
Count V of Westmeath. 2)7
0/ o
There is a place called Usnagh in the County of Tyrone.
If there are any remains on Ushnagh Hill of a structure of the dolmen class,
they are to be looked for in a long raised area crowning the elevation, and
called Patrick's Bed. It is surrounded by stones on edge, and is about 2 1 feet
long, and 4 or 5 feet wide. O'Donovan says that the people complained that
"the sappers removed stones from it, before which it was much more perfect."
Its situation would have been just the one for a dolmen, and it is too narrow to
have been a church. I carefully examined it, but cannot speak with certainty as
to its having been a dolmen, although what it can have been, if it were not, it is
difficult to say. No trace of a roofing-stone is visible.
As to the idea that the so-called Cat's Rock was artificial, or that an artificial
monument of the dolmen class had been set up beside it, that may be dismissed at
once. It is a purely natural, though very curiously shaped outcrop of limestone,
18 to 20 feet high, and 60 feet in circumference, having a gap, or crevice, running
through it in a N.E. and S.W. direction. The roofing-stone of this passage
is a detached piece of the limestone which has fallen from the upper portion of
the mass on to a lower portion. The ope of the gap is about 5 feet wide, and
its height 6 feet.
No doubt it was an object of veneration, and the crevice was probably used
for creeping through, in obedience to superstitious practices. It appears that
a bank of earth has been raised around it, and an intelligent labourer suggested to
me that the rock was more deeply embedded in the soil originally, and had, at some
time or other, been dug around to expose more fully the crevice and lower
portions. I think this not unlikely.
See O.S.L., Co. Westmeath, — ^, pp. 69, 72, 73, 117, 150; Proc. R.I. A,, 2nd Ser.,
G. 13
"Pol. Lit. and Antiqq.,' vol. i. pp. 118, 120 ; Note-book, W. C. B., 1895.
In the Barony of Clonlonan.
*i. In the Townland of Labaun, and Parish of Ballyloughloe
(the Church of which is in this Townland), was probably a dolmen,
not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 30.
There is another Townland bearing the name Labaun in the
County of Cork.
In the Ord. Surv. Letters, it is mentioned that a " cromlech " existed " near the
esker of Ballyloughloe," and that in the Townland of Ballyloughloe there was also
a fort called the " Grianan." I have been unable to identify this place, as I find
no Townland of the name. The name Labaun, however, seems to point to a leaba,
which may possibly be the monument in question.
14
O.S.L., Co. Westmeath, ^ -, p. 321.
Ci. 14
In the Barony of Moycashel.
*i. In the Townland of Ballybroder, and Parish of Durrow,
is a site marked Slaghta in Ord. Surv. Map No. 40, and
indicated by three rocks.
,74 The Dolmens of Ireland.
COUxXTY OF QUEEN'S COUNTY.
In the Barony of Stradbally.
1. In the Townland of Grange, and Parish of Dysartenos,
is a monument of the dolmen class not marked in Ord. Surv.
Maps 13, 14, 18, or 19. It is two miles W. of Stradbally, and
three-quarters of a mile S.E. of the Rock of Dunamase, in a field
called the Clash Field.
Mr. D. Byrne describes "a sepulclne of unusual shape" in this Townland. He
also presented sketches of it to the Kilkenny Archseol. Societ}'. The peculiar
shape in question he compares to the print of a shoe for the right foot.
The monument lay about 2 feet beneath the surface, in sandy earth. " It
was formed of surface limestones of nearly flag form. The stones were set on
their edges and covered over by smaller stones. That part answering to the heel
of the shoe was made by small stones set one over the other." The " sepulchre "
contained ashes, oak charcoal in small portions, and bones. A great quantity of
ashes of oak wood and animal matter lay in the chamber, but the remains of bones
were very few.
" The fire appeared to have been very great, as the stones towards the S. were
crusted with lime. The circular part of the tomb was about 9 feet in circumference.
The entire length of the monument was 21 feet. It varied in breadth from 1
foot 6 ins. to 2 feet, and its depth was from i foot 6 ins. to 2 feet."
"Trans. Kilk. Archrcol. Soc," vol. i. p. 13S.
2. In the Townland of Manger, adjoining that of Coolrush on
the S.W., and in the Parish of Tullomoy, is a dolmen marked
Asss Manger in Ord. Surv. Map No. 25. Mainsair Asal, i.e.
Asses' Manger, is the name of a dolmen at Galway in Kilkenny.
3. In the Townland of Monamanry, and Parish of Tullomoy,
a mile and a quarter W. of the Asss Manger, is a dolmen marked
Drtuds' Allarin Ord. Surv. Map No. 25.
This is the monument generally described as on the top of Coolrus Hill. Mr.
D. Byrne, who characterizes it as " an exceedingly curious cromleac," supplied
a notice of it, accompanied by a plan which was not published, to the Kilkenny
Archa^ol. Society.
This monument is certainly of a most instructive character. The removal
of earth from it caused the upper stone to slip from its original position, and it
consequently rested with its southern edge on the roadside, the other end being
supported by two upright stones measuring respectively 4 feet and 5 feet. " At
County of Queen's County. 375
no time could the upper stone," in Mr. Byrne's opinion, "have been more
than I foot 6 ins. above the surface of the hill. Underneath it, however, was a square
pit sunk about 5 feet, faced with large flags and dry masonry. The upper
edges of the flags which formed this pit were level with the surface of the
hill, and, when the upper stone was in its original position, about 2 feet of
the pit was left uncovered to the north.
" The upper stone measured 8 feet by 6 feet 6 ins., and was 12 ins. thick.
"To the east, a passage, like a sewer, about 3 feet square, extended 9 feet
in an easterly direction from the pit, and opened on the surface of the hill.
It was formed by flags and dry masonry well built, and covered over, and had
not any communication with the pit, from which it was separated by a large
flag which formed the east side of it. Adjoining the west side of the pit, two flags
of about 3 feet high were firmly fixed in the earth in a chair-like fashion. Close
to these were discovered the calcined remains of a considerable quantity of the
bones of some large animals."
" At a radius of about 150 feet from this monument, formerly stood a large
circle of upright stones, now removed." "An old man, a resident on the
spot, stated that he had found and opened, to the S.E. of the structnre, many
small rectangular cists, formed of six flags, and containing burnt bones, but
no urns, or arms, or ornaments."
I am disposed to regard this monument and also that at Grange above described
rather as burning-places in which the bodies were consumed than as dolmens. In
some parts of France, as, for instance, near Toulouse, dolmens are termed cibournies,
that is, "piles of cinders, or ashes," from the ash-heaps which lie around them.
(See Alex, du Mege, " Archeol. Pyreneennes," vol. ii'. p. 9, and note p. 26. See
also the description of a monument similar to this in Cornwall, in Part II. of this
work, infra.)
"Trans. Kilk. Archceol. Soc," vol. I. p. 131.
;76
The Dolmens of Ireland.
COUNTY OF DUBLIN.
In the Barony of Coolock.
In the Demesne of Howth, and Parish of Howth, immediately
(beneath the diff called Muck Rock, a little over a quarter of a
^%"%^>
r^'\
i;v^:^"
Fig. 353 — Howth. J-'ro>;i a drawttti; by Mr. Henry O'A'eil.
mile E. by N. of Saint Fintan's Church, and a quarter of a mile
W. of Ballkill Cottage, is a dolmen marked Cromlech in Ord.
Surv. Map No. 15.
This dolmen was described and figured in 1852 by Mr. Henry O'Neil. In the
arrangement of the blocks of stone which compose it, as well as in the colossal
proportions of its covering-stone, it bears a close resemblance to that at Kernanstown
.(Browne's Hill), in Carlow. The material, however, is different, the latter being com-
posed, like that at Mount Venus in the County of Dublin, of granite, and therefore
showing a comparatively smooth exterior, while this one is formed of rugged masses
of quartzite rock detached by natural causes, like others adjacent, from the pre-
cipitous side of the eminence called Muck Rock, which rises immediately behind it.
According to the measurements which are given by Mr. O'Neil, the roofing-stone
was 17 feet in greatest length by 12 feet in breadth. The thickest portion
measured 6 feet at the least, and the estimated weight was 90 tons.f The vault
t Sec this and other estimated weights of roofing-stones revised in Part II, of this work, infra,
V- 433.
County of Dublin.
m
or chamber lay E. by N., and was 1 2 feet long and 4 feet wide. The flooring was
of clay. He considered that the chamber had been enclosed by eight stones, three
on either side, and one at either end. He adds that there were " several rocky
fragments lying around, which in one part formed a sort of rude entrenchment to
the monument."
This description fairly represents the structure in its present condition, although
the measurements of the roofing-stone require correction.
My own plan of the monument was taken on August 10, 1895. The cross-
shaded portion in the upper left corner indicates the point at which the massive and
A
Fig. 354. — Howth. Plan by the Author. Scale \ inch = i foot.
rugged roof-stone impinges on the natural surface ; the other and smaller ones the
places where it bears on the supports. The measurements of the stones were taken
as follows : —
A = 6 feet long by 4 feet broad, lying in a sloping position, the N.E. upper
edge being i foot 6 ins. above ground.
B = 8 feet long from W.N.W. to E.S.E., and 5 feet 6 ins. broad at the medium.
It is 2 feet 7 ins. thick. Only that portion of this rock which lies below the dotted line
crossing it in the plan is fixed in the ground, as it stands inclined to the northward,
supporting one extremity of the roofing-stone at a height of 4 feet above ground.
C = a pillar-stone standing upright, 7 feet 9 ins. high, 6 feet 8 ins. broad, and
3 feet thick.
D = a large stone resting in an inclined position on the natural soil, its upper
and northern side forming one of the points upon which the roofing-stone rests. It
measures 6 feet 8 ins. long from E. to W., 5 feet 8 ins. broad from N. to S., 17 ins.
thick, and, at its highest point, stands about 3 feet above ground.
E = a stone resting in an inclined position, measuring 5 feet 2 ins. from E. to
W., and 2 feet broad from N. to S. Its most elevated point to the W. forms another
support of the roofing-stone.
VOL. IL F
78 The Dolmens of Ireland.
F = an upright pillar-stone standing parallel with and close to C. It measures
4 feet 6 ins. long on its N.W. face, 2 feet thick, and 6 feet 6 ins. high.
G = a rugged upright block presenting a fairly smooth face only on its W. side,
which is turned inwards, and which measures 4 feet 6 ins. broad. Of the other three
faces, the S. one is 3 feet broad, the E. one 4 feet broad, and the N. one 3 feet 8 ins.
broad. It stands 7 feet 6 ins. high, and affords, at its N.W. point, towards which
direction it slopes, the most important prop for the covering-stone, which, near this
point, attains its greatest thickness, namely, between 6 and 7 feet At the angle
of the pillar-stone there is a socket-like cleft which receives the weight of the
incumbent mass.
H = a stone resting in an inclined position on the natural soil, measuring
5 feet 2 ins. long from E. to W., and 3 feet broad from N. to S. It lies close to E, on
the S.E. side of the latter, and rises 2 feet above ground.
K = a stone lying at the back of E, on the N.W. side of the latter. It
is a flattish block, and about 2 feet only of its superficial breadth is visible, owing
to the inner side of it being the point at which the roofing-stone comes in contact
with the ground.
L = a rugged block lying immediately beyond the edge of the roofing-stone at
N. £. its^S;4;. corner. It stands about 2 feet above ground, and is about 3 feet square.
M = the position of another stone lying outside the edge of the roofing-stone, the
dimensions of which the overgrowth of brambles, fern, and grass prevented my taking.
N = the massive roofing-stone, the dimensions of which are less than those
of the Kernanstown monument to be presently noticed, while its position is
similar. The circumference, measuring from point to point round the edge, I
made 56 feet. The girth, taken at the thickest, round the body of the stone in
a direction E. and W., I made 45 feet, estimating, that is to say, 17 feet for the
breadth of the top or back of the stone, 18 feet for the breadth of the under surface,
6 feet for the almost precipitous slope to the E., and 4 feet for the corresponding
thickness on the W. The length of the stone measured over the incline from
N.W. to S.E. cannot be less than 20 feet, in which direction the entire monument,
if measured from out to out, that is, from the outer edge of L to the outer edge
of C, measures 30 feet. For the weight of the cap-stone, see Part II., infra.
From the S. edge of H to the line, indicated by dots, where B's N. side rests
in the ground, measures 6 feet, while from the E. face of A, to the W. face of G
measures 14 feet. These dimensions may represent those of an original chamber.
The circumstance that the roofing-stone at its N.W, extremity rests solidly on the
ground, while of the four stones on which it is propped, the two innermost, E
and D, are prostrate, while the two outermost, B and G, are leaning in a N.W.
direction, might be taken as justifying a supposition that the roofing-stone had
sHpped down, and the whole structure more or less collapsed towards that point
of the compass. If so — if, that is to say, the chamber had ever been completed,
and the roofing-stone been raised to a horizontal position — it is probable that F
and C also played their part as supporters. The main difificulties in accepting this
view are — (i) the absence of adequate supporting stones on the N.W. side of the
monument, which certainly do not seem to lie under it ; and (2) the enormous
weight of the roofing-stone, which one would think must have defied the efforts
of man to have placed horizontally on columns three of which measured close
on 8 feet high. My own impression is that a compromise between the two views
would furnish us with the truth. From the analogy of the Kernanstown dolmen,
I think that, ponderous though the roofing-stone was, its S. edge was actually
County of Dublin.
379
raised on to the points of the columns on that side, which would correspond to
the pillars C, D, and E in the Kernanstown structure. The N. edge of the roofing-
stone would then have rested on the sloping backs of E, H, and D, at a height of
some 2 feet above ground, these lower supports corresponding to A and B in the
Kernanstown structure, which are exactly 2 feet above ground, and upon which the
roofing-stone in that case does actually rest. From these points I think it probable
that the roofing-stone in this case has slipped back to the point were it now rests
on the ground, dragging with it in its fall the pillar-stones B and G, and causing
them to support it diagonally, while F and C were left standing upright in their
original places, relieved of its weight.
Whether this supposition is well grounded or not, it would be difficult to
conceive two megalithic structures, although composed of different materials, more
precisely similar in detail than are the dolmens of Kernanstown and Howth.
"Trans. Kilk. Archseol. Soc," vol. ii. (1852), Mr. Henry O'Neil's paper, p. 40; W. C. B.
Note-book, 1895.
In the Barony of Castlenock.
I, 2, 3. In the Townland of Chapelizod, a part of Phoenix
Fig. 355. — Chapelizod (Knockraary). Etched from a photograph.
Park, and Parish of Chapelizod, is a dolmen marked Cromlech
in Ord. Surv. Map No. 18. It is usually called Knockmary.
Another smaller one, and also a cist, were discovered not far
distant from it, both of which have been removed.
The mound which contained this dolmen was situated on an elevation, but
had "long since been removed" in 1852, and the small dolmen which it covered
is all that now remains. No traces of a passage leading from the exterior to the
central chamber are now apparent, and it is impossible to say whether such existed
;8o
The Dolmens of Ireland.
or not, and also whether a circle surrounded it. The resemblance of the structure,
as it stands, to dolmens inclosed in tumuli of the Carrowmore type, leads us to
think it more likely than not that these features once existed. If this were not the
case, it would form a link between two classes of monument, namely, the open-
passage dolmen, and the cist wholly surrounded and closed in by its tumulus of
earth or cairn of stones.
The height of the tumulus was 15 feet, and its diameter 120 feet. In the
exterior portions of it four small urns
containing ashes and fragments of
burnt bone were found. These were
enclosed in small stone cists.
In the centre of the mound was the
"rock-chamber" or dolmen. The
covering-slab measures 6 feet 6 ins.
long, 3 feet 3 ins. wide, and i foot
thick. The longer axis of it bears
N.N.E. It is supported on several
stones, enclosing a vault in shape ir-
regularly oval, about 4 feet long by
scarcely 2 feet deep. The floor of the
chamber, which was below the level
of the surface, was of clay. Within
the chamber were two skeletons, both
of men, the one about forty, and the
other, whose skull wants the lower
jaw, upwards of fifty. There were also
the tops of the thigh-bones of a third
human skeleton, and the bone of an animal supposed to be that of a dog.
A number of small sea-shells [Ncfifa) were also found, prepared by perforation
for stringing, and some of them still retaining the string of seaweed which had
Fiu. 356. — Urn from Knockmary.
Fig. 357. — -Urn from Knockmary.
Fin. 35S. — Urn from Knockiiiai \-.
served for the purpose. A small bone fibula and a flint knife were also among the
contents of the chamber.
The urns are preserved in the museum of the R. L Academy. The one which
County of Dublin.
bears the greatest amount of ornamentation, and which has been frequently figured,
measures 6 inches high, and about the same in its greatest diameter, that is, across
the centre of the vessel.
Both the skulls were dolichocephalic. For their measurements, and for 1 )r.
Davis's remarks upon them, the reader is referred to that portion of this work which
deals with the Anthropological evidence derivable from the contents of megalithic
vaults and chambers.
The roofing-stone of the dolmen is calp-rock, and is water-worn. It was
probably taken from the bed of the river Liffey, which flows at the foot of the hill.
Another large cist, or rather small dolmen, was removed from a spot in the
Phoenix Park, " not far from Knockmary," and placed in the Zoological Gardens
at Dublin, where it now stands as re-erected.
Not far from the place where this last one was found, "a dome-shaped cist"
was discovered, " constructed of small stones, and closed at the top by a larger one."
It contained a skeleton, " the major part of which was placed at the bottom of the
cist, with the long bones crossed, and the calvarium at the top, the lower jaw upon
it." Dr. Davis considered this skull to be that of a young man about thirty. It
was of the brachycephalic type. For further observations upon it, the reader is
again referred to the portion of this work which treats of Anthropology.
"Trans. Kilk. Arch^ol. Soc," vol. ii. (1852), pp. 274, 275; Wilde's "Cat. of the Mus.
R.I, A.," pp. 181-3 ; Thurnam and Davis, ''Crania Brilaiinica," vol. ii. p. 4.
In THE Barony of Dublin.
I. Somewhere in the E. suburbs of the City of Dublin there
was a dolmen, the site of which is now unknown.
"In November, 1646," writes Walter Harris, in his edition of Ware, "as people
were employed in removing a little hill in the east suburbs of the City of Dublin, in
•order to form a line of fortification,
there was discovered an ancient
sepulchre placed S.W. and N.E.,
■composed of eight black marble
stones, of which two made the
covering, and were supported by the
others. The length of this monu-
ment was 6 feet 2 ins., the breadth
3 feet I in., and the thickness of
the stone 3 ins. At each corner of
it was erected a stone 4 feet high ;
and near it, at the S.W. end, another
stone was placed in the form of a
pyramid, 6 feet high, of a rustick
work, and of that kind of stone which is called a mill-stone [? mill-stone grit]. A
draft of the monument was taken before it was demolished. Vast quantities of burnt
coals [? charcoal] ashes, and human bones, some of which were in part burnt, and
some only scorched, were found in it."
I append the illustration which accompanies this account for what it is worth.
"The Works of Sir James Ware," edit. Walter Harris, vol. ii. p. 145; with illustration, id.,
pi. i. No. 9.
Fig. 359. — Anomalous monument in the "suburbs
of Dublin." From an old engraving in Harris's
" Ware:'
382
The Dolmens of Ireland.
In the Baron V of Uppercross.
1. In the Townland of Ballinascorney, and Parish of Tallaght,
in BalHnascorney Commons, nearly one mile N. of Ballinascorney
House, is a dolmen-cairn encircled marked Cromlech in Ord.
Surv. Map No. 24. To the S.E. of it is Raheendhu, and there
are other mounds and circles to the westward at sites marked
Knockanvinidee and Knockannavea. Two miles to the westward
is a pillar-stone. The dolmen-cairn is about one mile W. of
the Dodder, and two miles and a quarter to the E. of Saggart
Hill.
This must, I think, refer to the dolmen-cairn to which O'Curry calls attention
in the " Ord. Surv. Letters." After speaking of cairns on Saggart and Tallaght
Hills, he proceeds, " Two cairns on Sliabh Toghail are open. The larger of them
was very large and high, and was opened within the last fifteen years (dating back
from 1837). It contained a large grave, covered by a very large flagstone, which
was broken and carried away, but the supporters still remain, though not in their
proper places."
14
O.S.L., Co. Dublin, — - , pp. 52, ct scqq.
C. 23
2. In the Townland of Woodtown, and Parish of Cruagh, in
V."' ^' ■V/'k
Fig. 360. — Woodtown (Mount ^'enus). Etched from a plwtograpli.
the grounds of Mount \''enus, is a dolmen marked Cromlech in
Ord. Surv. Map No. 25.
This dolmen, which must be classed with those of Howth and Browne's Hill
(Kernanstown), must have been, supposing it ever to have been completed —
County of Dublin.
383
supposing, that is to say, that the immense roofing-stone was ever raised on to the
summits of pillars of the height of the two which are beside it — one of the most
magnificent megalithic monuments in the world.
A vast granite block of tabular form (A), having its longer axis N.W. and S.E.,
rests at an angle of 45° at its N.W. corner, against the shoulder of an upright block
of somewhat pyramidal form, the upper portion of which, broken off from it, lies
at a distance of 13 feet from it to the southward.
The greatest measurement along the surface of the inclined stone is 23 feet.
Fig. 361. — Woodtown (Mount Venus), another view. Etched from a photograph.
The S.W. side measures 21 feet, and the N.E. side the same. The S.E. end
measures 6 feet 6 ins., and the N.W. end (measured in three divisions of 3 feet,
5 feet 8 ins., and 2 feet 6 ins. respectively), 11 feet 2 ins., giving total circuit of
59 feet 8 ins. The actual breadth (N.E. to S.W.) in the centre was 12 feet.
The actual thickness on the N.E. side is 3 feet 4 ins. ; on the S.W. 3 feet 8 ins. ;
and at the S.E. end 2 feet.
The stone has a smooth, flat, and symmetrical appearance, not so much like a
boulder as that at Browne's Hill, nor so rugged as that at Howth.
The stone on which it rests (B) stands almost at right angles to it, and, together
with it, presents two sides of an oblong ground-plan. It measures at the base
5 feet long on the N.W. side; 5 feet 6 ins. on the S.W. side, 3 feet 5 ins. broad on
the N.E. side, and 4 feet on the S.W. side. The highest point of this stone is
8 feet above ground, but the shoulder on the S. side, on which the great sloping
stone rests, is 6 feet high.
The severed piece (C) lies, as has been said, to the southward, at the farther
end of the area in front of the inclined stone. Its measurements and shape leave
no doubt as to its having been the upper portion of B, and prove that the pyramidal
form was maintained to the top. It lies on its side, the apex to the E., and
measures 6 feet 6 ins. on the S. side, 6 feet 3 ins. on the N. side, and 3 feet on
tlie W. side, tapering to 6 ins. at the E. extremity. Its height above ground,
(84
The Dolmens of Ireland.
which, as it lies on its side, is to be taken as its breadth or thickness, is 3 feel,
6 ins., corresponding exactly to the thickness of the upper part of B, at the
shoulder. The total height of the two pieces, if C were placed on B, would be
approximately 12 feet 9 ins. or 13 feet
To the N.W. of C. lies a fourth stone (D), which has the appearance of a fallen
pillar. It measures 15 feet in extreme length, by 4 feet 6 ins. wide, at the widest,
and is 2 feet 2 ins. above ground. Its height, if ever upright, and allowing for
several feet below ground, would fairly correspond to that of B + C.
E represents a flattish stone, which, with several others, lies under and around
the end of A.
At a distance of 8 feet S.E. of C lies another stone (F), 8 feet 6 ins. long, 4 feet
S ins. wide, and i foot above ground ; and 34 feet to the S. of that again, lies yet
Fjg. 362.— Woodtown (Mount Venus). Plan by the Author. Scale \ inch = l foot.
another granite block, probably a portion of the original monument, measuring
4 feet 8 ins. long, 3 feet wide, and i foot 4 ins. thick.
Evidently, whatever the structure was, it has been much dismantled, and it
seems likely that many stones have been carried away by persons recognizing the
excellence of the granite for building purposes. A drawing by Gabriel Beranger
shows several more stones than are at present in place.
On the whole, after most careful consideration, I am not inclined to believe
County of Dublin.
6^:)
that the great inclined block was ever lifted bodily on to pillars on each of its
sides, but that, like the Howth and Browne's Hill examples, it rested obliquely upon
or against several pillars on the S.W. side, from one of which (B) the long-continued
strain of its weight may have cracked off the upper portion C, a circumstance which
would not have occurred had the weight been incumbent on the summit of the
stone. D may have formed another supporting column, while F and the stone on
the S. (not in the plan) may have been portions of others, broken up and partially
carried away.
The weight of the inclined stone A is estimated in Part II., in/ra. The floor
of the oblong area beneath it is of clay. It has been excavated, and it is said
that the sides were found to be faced with small stones set together without mortar.
The monument, as Mr. Henry O'Neil remarks, " is remarkable for the sharpness
of the angles in every part of it " — as sharp, indeed, " as if recently quarried."
"Trans. Kilk. Archaeol. Soc," vol. ii. (1852), p. 40 ; drawings by G. Beranger in Lib. R.I. A. ;
W. C. B. Note-books, 1888, 1892, and 1895.
In the Barony of Rathdown.
I. In the Townland of Ballyedmonduff, and Parish of
Kilgobbin, three-quarters of a mile N.N.W. of Glencullen House,
Fig. 363.— Ballyedmonduff. From a sketch in the Ord. Surv. Letters.
on the N.E. slope of Two-Rock Mountain, is a dolmen marked
Giant's Grave in Ord. Surv. Map No. 25.
O'Curry speaks of this monument as a " very fine Giant's Grave, resembling
the Bed of Callan More on Slieve GuUion, only that it is much more perfect."
" I doubt," he says, " if we have met so perfect a pagan grave in any other counties
hitherto examined. It was discovered four or five years ago" (he writes in 1837)
" by Alderman Blacker of Saint Andrews, Dublin. It was then a tumulus, but
now the earth is cleared away, and the grave is to be seen. The country people
say that ashes were found in the grave, but I (O'Curry) could not learn from them
that anything like an urn, crock, or ' ould thing like a pitcher ' was found."
;86
The Dolmens of Ireland.
In the " Ord. Surv. Sketches " there is a good ground-plan and elevation of this
monument, of which there are also two sections. From these it appears that it was
enclosed in an oval tumulus, and that its longer axis, which was also that of the
tumulus, was directly E. and W. The chamber itself was coffin-shaped, and towards
the W. end was divided into two portions or chambers by a flag on edge, fixed
across the area in a manner which showed that it — the partition — was not sub-
sequently inserted, but formed a feature in the original design, since the S. end of
the flag formed part of the S. wall of the entire structure. From this partition an
antechamber was extended to within a foot of the edge of the tumulus, where no
stone closed its end.
The side stones of the two chambers, or rather of the inner vault or cell, and
Fig. 365. — Ballyedmonduff; cross section.
its outer portion or portico, were in all ten in number, five on either side, although
one was missing near the S.E. corner.
The width of the chamber internally was 2 feet 9 ins. at the E. end ; 3 feet
7 ins. at the W. end (that is, up to the cross-flag), and must have been about 4 feet
wide at the widest. One covering-stone remained in its place, about 7 feet long
by 5 feet wide at the widest point. It was supported by three thin stones on the
County of Dublin. 387
one side, and five on the other, resting one upon the other on the top of the main
side stones of the chamber, one of which measured 5 feet, the other 3 feet 6 ins.
in height, giving to the whole chamber a height of 6 feet 6 ins. This point of
construction, it may be noted, differentiates this monument somewhat from the
ordinary dohiiens in their elongated state, such as the great one at Burren, near
Elacklion in Cavan, and brings it nearer to those the roofs of which are formed in
corbel fashion.
The length of the chamber is 11 feet 6 ins. The single slab at the end
^^
r^-.
Fig. 366. — Ballyedmonduff ; long section.
measures 3 feet 4 ins. in height, a measurement which, when a small stone at the
top is added, would give a height to the chamber, at that point, of only 4 feet 4 ins.
The height of the partition-stone which crosses the chamber at the ^V. end is
2 feet 6 ins., a fact which shows that a cavity existed between the upper edge of
it and the roofing-flag.
In breadth the side stones of the chamber measured respectively — those on the
N., counting from the E., 4 feet, 3 feet 8 ins., and 4 feet; those on the S., 2 feet
(then a gap), 4 feet 2 ins. and 3 feet 2 ins. The side stones of the antechamber
measured — those on the N., 2 feet and i foot 3 ins. ; those on the S., 9 inches and
3 feet.
The little additional chamber or portico — so like those at Blacklion and else-
where— narrows to about 2 feet 6 ins., where it reaches to within a foot of the edge
of the tumulus, which appears from the section to have been steep, so that the
entrance would have opened on the side, the end being, as stated above, enclosed.
14
O.S.L., Co. Dublin, — , p. 9, el scqq. ; "Ord. Surv. Sketches," in Lib. R.LA.
C 23
2. In the Townland of Ballybrack {I.),t adjoining that of Bally-
edmonduff on the S.W., and Parish of Kilgobbin, is a dolmen
marked Giant's Grave in Ord. Surv. Map No. 25. It is half a
mile W.N.W. of GlencuUen House, a quarter of a mile N. of Glen-
cullen River, on the N.E. slope of Two- Rock Mountain, the sides
of which latter are covered with circles and tumuli.
I suppose this is the same dolmen to which j\Ir. Henry O'Neil alludes as being
on the hill on the Dublin side of GlencuUen. He describes the covering-stone as
t There are in this Barony two Townlands of this name, in each of which is a dolmen. I
number them therefore L and IL
iS8
The Dolmens of Ireland.
measuring lo feet long, 8 feet broad, and 4 feet thick, and the chamber as "greatly
disarranged."
"Trans. Kilk. ArchKoI. Soc," vol. ii. (1852), p.
40.
Fig. 367. — Ballybraclc (I.). ]'rom a drawing by G. Du Noycr,
3. In the Demesne of Kiltiernan, and Parish of Kiltiernan, a
quarter of a mile N.W. of Kiltiernan House, and about half a
Fig. 368. — Kiltiernan. From a sketch by the Author.
mile \V. of Golden Ball, is a dolmen marked Cromlech in Ord.
Surv. Map No. 26.
The rock which forms the roofing-stone (A) of this dolmen measures 22 feet in
extreme length from E.N.E. to W.S.W., and 13 feet 6 ins. in e.xtreme breadth near
the N.E. end. At the W. end it is 6 feet thick, but only 2 feet 6 ins. at the
opposite end. It rests on four of tlie stones which form the sides of the area of a
chamber beneath, which runs in a direction nearly due E. and W. Some of the
stones seem to have been pushed out of position by the weight of the incumbent
County of Dublin.
;89
block, the circuit of which, measured into the crevices in its sides, is no less than
58 feet 9 ins. For its estimated weight, see Part II., inp-a.
It appears to me that the mode in which it was brought into its present
position was by sliding it down the rocky plateau of the shelving hillside above^
from its original bed, from which, if it be not a transported boulder, it may have
become detached by natural causes.
As seen at present, the whole monument has the appearance of a sphinx-like
monster, advancing out of the rocky hill on some half-dozen short and rickety legs.
The breadth of the chamber (if the area under the covering-stone may be so
termed), measures 14 feet 8 ins. long, and varies in breadth from 3 to 10 feet,
although so disordered are the stones that it is impossible to decide what was the
original shape intended.
The pillar-stone, B, which is the most important supporter, measures 3 feet
8 ins. long by from 3 to 2 feet broad, and is 5 feet high. The next behind it, C,
measures 5 feet 6 ins. high, 2 feet long, and i foot 10 ins. broad, and on this the
^./
CC3C^
Fig. 369. — Kiltiernan. Plan by the Author. Scale \ inch — i foot.
roof also rests. D and E are, as it were, supplementary stones, which possibly may
have formed a portion of an outer range. The former is 4 feet high, 2 feet 2 ins,
long, and i foot 8 ins. broad ; the latter, which leans upon D at its top, is 5 feet
high, 2 feet 6 ins. broad, and i foot 6 ins. thick. It also leans against the roofing-
stone. F, G, H are three stones set on edge, forming a line about 2 feet 2 ins.
high, running up to the monument. They are respectively, i foot 6 ins., 3 feet,,
and 5 feet 10 ins. in length. J is a rough block, possibly the end stone of an outer
range. K is a natural shelf of rock extending horizontally like a raised floor across
the N part of the chamber, and on which rest L, M, and N, — M measuring 3 feet
8 ins. long, and 3 feet 4 ins. deep by about 10 inches thick, and supporting on its-
390
The Dolmens of Ireland.
flat face the inner or N.W. end of the roofing-stone. P forms the fourth and last
supporter of the roof, and measures 3 feet 8 ins. long by i foot 6 ins. thick. It is
about 4 feet high. Q, standing behind it, as D does behind C, may possibly have
been set there as a buttress, or one of an outer range. It measures 3 feet 3 ins.
long, I foot 6 ins. wide, and 5 feet 10 ins. high, sloping against the roofing-stone.
Behind it, again, stands R, 2 feet i in. long, i foot 6 ins. broad, and 4 feet 5 ins.
high. S is a block lying at the entrance of the chamber, 3 feet long by 3 feet broad,
and I foot high.
At the back of the monument the letter T represents the position of a natural
ledge of rocks, above which the slope of the hill rises. At U is an arrangement of
rough blocks, perhaps in double line, placed there by human agency, but whether
in ancient or modern times it is difficult to form an opinion.
W. C. B., Note-books, 18SS and 1S95.
4. In the Townland of Brenanstown, and Parish of Tully, by
Fig. 370. — Brenanstown. Etched from a photograph.
the side of a stream running through a valley commonly called
Glen Druid, half a mile W. of Carrickmines, is a monument
marked Cromlech in Ord. Surv. Map No. 26.
This dolmen is a very interesting one, since it alTords an example of a perfect
and typical chamber and portico, surmounted by a roofing-stone which in size and
weight approaches the immense blocks at Browne's Hill (Kernanstown), Howth,
Woodtown (Mount Venus), and Kiltiernan, under neither of which can it be said
that a perfectly arranged chamber exists, the reason, I believe, being that, in these
latter instances, the weight of the roofing-stone and the consequent difficulty of
setting it in place has either made the construction of a chamber impossible, or
has crushed it out of place when partially formed. In point of construction, having
County of Dublin.
391
regard to the size of the roofing-stone, this Brenanstown dolmen is more nearly
in accord with the W. end of Leaba Callighe, near Fermoy.
My measurements of the roofing-stone agree with those of Mr. Henry O'Neil,
I made it 15 feet 6 ins. in length from E. to W., and 15 feet in breadth from N.
Fir,. 371. — Brenanstown. Etched from a photograph.
to S. The thickness is from 3 to 5 feet. Mr. O'Neil consequently estimates its
weight at about 60 tons, (See Part II., infra) The stone is granite, the under
\
0 0
0
ih.
IDS 000
Fig. 372.— Brenanstown (Glen Druid). P/a/i liy the Atithor. Scale \ inch = i foot.
surface smooth, while in the upper surface are two deep depressions, from the
E. one of which two ducts lead to corners of the stone.
The chamber measures internally 10 feet 6 ins. long, by 4 feet 8 ins, broad at
the E. end, 9 feet 6 ins. in the centre, and nearly 4 feet at the "W. end, where the
392
The Dolmens of Ireland.
terminal stone forms the partition between the main chamber and the ante-
chamber beyond. The heiglit in the centre from floor to roof is 7 feet 2 ins.
The ante-chamber measures 5 feet wide at the entrance, 4 feet i in. at the E.,
or inner side, 3 feet 2 ins. deep on the S. side, and 2 feet 5 ins. on the N. The
roofing-stone rests on the two ajitct, or sides of the portico, and on each of the
large side-stones of the chamber, the S. one of which, since it is in two parts, may
possibly have been cracked by its weight. The chamber lies due E. and W.
Beyond the E. end is a ciuadrangular arrangement of stones set in the ground.
Two of these, standing next the monument and a little outside it, may have formed
part of an outer range. As to the rest, they suggest the presence at some time or
other of a modern building, or adjunct of some sort. The floor of the chamber is
considerably below the level of the surrounding field, while this square enclosed
space is even with it.
The measurements of the side and end stones are as follows : —
Length.
Thickness.
Height.
ft.
ins.
ft.
ins. ft.
ms.
ft. ins.
A= 6
0
3
0 to I
8
S 2
B= 7
0
3
6 to I
10
5 0
C = 2
8
I
7 to I
3
3 9 (outside)
D= II
0
I
2
3 6 (outside)
E= 5
F= 5
6
0
3
3
0
0 to I
0
5 6 (sloping)}^"'^ ^*""= ''^"'^'^"
G= 4
0
0
7
2 9 (inside)
H= 4
6
3
0 to I
2
2 0
J= 4
6
I
10
2 10
"Trans. Kilk. Archreol. Soc," vol. ii. (1S52),-
Note Books, 1888 and 1895.
-Mr. O'Neil's paper, at 40, ct scqtj. ; W, C. 1>.
5. In the Townland of Shankill, and Parish of Rathmichael,
by the side of the road, midway between Shankill House and
Shankill Castle, was a dolmen marked Cromlech in Ord. Surv.
Map No. 26.
In Cromwell's " Excursions " a drawing by Petrie is given of a dolmen at this
place. Mr. Henry O'Neil states that he had heard it had been carried away.
Cromwell's "Excursions through Ireland," vol. iii. p. 159; "Trans. Kirk. Archa-l. .Soc,"
vol. ii. (1852),— Mr. O'Neil's paper, p. 40, et seqq.
6. In the Townland of Ballybrack (II.),f and Parish of Killiney,
Fig. 373. — Ballybrack (IL), or Shanganagh.
t Not to be confused with the other of that name ; see above, No.
County of Dublin.
\93
in the Townland next to that of Shanganagh, half a mile E. of
Loughlinstown, is a dolmen marked Cromlech in Ord. Surv. Map
No. 26.
This is usually called the Shanganagh dolmen. Mr. Henry O'Neil gives a
• A-'>,^.-
FlG. 374. — Ballybrack (II.) (Shanganagh). Etched from a photograph.
description and illustration of it. The supporting-stones are four in number, two
on either side. One of them is broken off in the middle, and the one opposite to
it has fallen in. On these the covering-stone rests. It is nearly 7 feet 6 ins.
square, by about 3 feet thick. The under side is, as usual, nearly flat. The weight
of the stone is probably about 12 tons. The chamber lies E. and W., and
measures 6 feet 7 ins. long by 2 feet 6 ins. wide. It was probably 5 feet high.
The floor is of clay, and the material of the dolmen granite.
"Trans. Kilk. Archseol. Soc," vol. ii. (1852). Mr. O'Neil's paper, p. 40, et seqq.
7. At Carrig-Gollane, on the S. flank of the mountain so
called, was a dolmen.
Among the sketches of Mr. Du Noyer there is one of a dolmen at this place,
which I do not find, however, in the Ordnance Maps. It is mentioned also in
Miss Stokes's MS. list, but not in her printed " Carte des dolmens d'lrlande."
7*. In the Townland of Taylor's Grange, and Parish of
Whitechurch, i| mile S.W. by S. of Dundrum, in the grounds of
Glensouthwell, is a stone monument called " The Druid's Chair,"
possibly the remains of a dolmen. Beside it was another stone
since destroyed.
The Rev. M. H. Close, M.R.I.A., has kindly given me the following notes upon
it : " It consists of three blocks of granite, forming the N., W., and E. sides. The
stone on the W. side measures g feet 3 inches in height, that on the N. 8 feet
I inch in height, and that on the E. 8 feet 9 inches in vertical height, but measured
VOL. II. G
194
The Dolmens of Ireland.
along its median height its length above ground is 9 feet 4 inches. This last
stone leans against the N. one, and it also leans towards the S. at an angle of 23^
from the vertical. The flat faces of the three stones, clearly joint planes, form three
sides of a rectangle, whose open side looks S. 10° W. (S. 5° \V.,.true).
*' The * chair ' had formerly a large block of granite beside it to the E. by N.
Fig. 375. — Carrig-Gollanc. From an original drawing l>j G. Dii Noycr.
This was broken up by blasting just about twenty years ago, say 1876. It was
described by Gabriel Beranger in 1776 as a 'cromlech' in itself. He made a
drawing of it, not very accurate, on account of its being enveloped in thorn bushes,
and states that the supporting-stones were three in number, although only two are
shown in the sketch."
Mr. Close adds that when, in 1861, he made a careful sketch of this stone, it
was lying on the ground beside the "chair," and he makes no mention of supporters.
The stone was 6 to 7 feet in diameter, and 4 feet thick.
It appears to me to be more probable that this stone was either a part, or
intended to be a part, of the "chair," than that it was an independent monument.
8. In the Townland of Kilmashoge, and Parish of White-
church, in the grounds of Larch Hill, 3^ miles S. of Rathfarnham,
i^ mile from the Glensouthwell monument, and less than i^ mile
from Woodtown. It is | of a mile from a cairn with a vaulted
chamber on the summit of Tibradden Hill, an urn taken from
which is in the Mus. R.I. Academy, and i^ mile from a cairn on
the top of Two-Rock Mountain, not yet explored.
The Rev. M. H. Close, M.R.I. A., has kindly given me the following notes
upon this dolmen : — " It is surrounded by a circle of six stones lying half-buried.
Four stones of the dolmen are still in place, and there are two smaller blocks near
which evidently belonged to it. There are two side-stones measuring respectively
County of Dublin. 395
5 feet 6 inches and 6 feet in height, one of which is still upright, while the other
has succumbed to the weight of the cap-stone. This latter measures 12 feet 4 inches
long, 8 feet 4 inches broad, and 2 feet thick. It rests upon the prostrate side-
stone in such a position that it keeps the side-stone from falling flat on the ground.
Its upper end is distant 2 feet 9 inches from the side-stone which still remains
upright, and Mr. Close observes that it appears utterly impossible for it ever to
have touched this side-stone, and then slipped back to where it is. As, therefore,
it was being edged up to the standing-stone, upon the top of which presumably it
was intended to rest, some accident seems to have happened, so that it fell against
the side-stone on which it rests, and knocked it down. It is therefore an unfinished
structure. Behind the cap-stone, at the inner side of the cist, rises a pillar-stone,
perfectly upright, measuring 9 feet 10 inches high, with an almost square horizontal
section, averaging 3 feet 5 inches in the side.
I found a pillar-stone similarly placed behind a small dolmen buried in a
tumulus, and beneath which were burnt bones, in a tumulus at Tregiffian in the
Parish of Buryan, Cornwall. (See "Nrenia Cornubi?e," p. 107.)
396
The Dolmens of Ireland.
COUNTY OF CARLOW.
In the Barony of Rathvilly.
1. In the Townland of Ballybit, and Parish of Rathvilly, was
a dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. Maps Nos. 3 and 4.
Mr. R. jMalcolmson states that a " cromleac of hexagonal form, rudely carved
at the top " [!], existed on this estate. An urn was found " under a granite
boulder " in the same Townland.
Carltno Sentinel, Nov. 23rd, 1861 ; " Kilk. and S.E, of Ir. A.S.," New Ser. (1862), vol.
iv. p. 12.
2. In the Townland of Haroldstown, and Parish of Harolds-
town, is a dolmen marked Cromlech in Ord. Surv. Map No. 9.
Fig. 376.— Haroldstown. Etched from a photograph.
It Stands on the E. bank of the River Derreen, opposite the
Townland of Tobinstown, and in the land adjoining Acaun(or
Accaun) Bridge.
This dolmen* has been sometimes called the Accaun, and sometimes the
Tobinstown dolmen. Grose's description of it is extremely inaccurate. He
regards, for example, the two long covering-stones as one stone, to which he gives
a length of 23 feet. He mentions, however, the very interesting fact that in his
day " from the portico "—as he terms the arrangement of stones at the N. end of
the structure— stretched "a sort of avenue about 40 yards long, formed of some
irregular hillocks," and "which led to the portico." Since this feature is shown in
his otherwise worthless drawing, and as the river appears from it to have been
County of Carlow.
197
nearer the dolmen than it is at present, I reproduce it from his " Antiquities of
Ireland."
A family at one time lived in this dolmen, which has a singularly house-like
Fig. 377. — Haroldstown. From Grose.
appearance, and in order to keep the cold out, plastered up the interstices with cob,
some of which is still to be seen between the stones.
The chamber lies, according to my compass, nearly due N. and S., although
Grose speaks of the higher end, where
the portico is, as the W. end. In the
centre it has an internal breadth of 9 feet,
but I think several of the stones on the
W. side have suffered displacement. From
this point it narrows to 4 feet broad at
the S. end, under the smaller of the two
cap-stones. It is 12 or 14 feet long.
The larger and higher roofing-stone is
somewhat pear-shaped superficially, and
when looked at vertically resembles a
mushroom top, being thicker at the middle
than at the edges. It measures 13 feet
6 ins. in length, about 13 feet in extreme
breadth near the S. end, tapering to 4 feet
where it protrudes over the portico. It
is flat on the under side, but on the top
it is deeply channeled and hollowed into
basins, and what might be called cups,
evidently by the action of water. At the
N. end it rests upon the end stone of the
chamber and upon the two side-stones,
which, together with it, form the ante-
chamber, or portico. The arrangement is
exactly similar to that at Brenanstown in
Dublin. At the S. end the large roofing-
stone rests on the N. end of the second
and lower one. This latter measures 10
feet from E. to W., by 8 feet from N. to S
Fig. 378.— Haroldstown.
Author.
Plan by the
At the S. end it is partly buried in a
398 The Dolmens of Ireland.
bank of earth and stones. The upper surface is also channeled and pitted like the
larger stone. The thickness of the larger stone is from 2 feet to 3 feet 9 ins. ; that
of the smaller about 2 feet.
The E. side of the chamber, including the portico, is composed of five stones,
marked A to E. A measures 4 feet 5 ins. long, 4 feet 2 ins. high externally, where
a bank abuts on it, but about 6 feet internally, and 14 ins. thick; B = 3 feet
4 ins. long, 6 feet 6 ins. high internally, and i foot thick ; C = 2 feet 9 ins. long,
3 feet S ins. high externally, and i foot 6 ins. thick ; D = 4 feet long, 3 feet 5 ins.
high, 1 foot 4 ins. thick; E = 3 feet long, i foot high, i foot thick. The W. side
of the chamber may also be said to be composed of five stones, marked F, G, H,
K, L. F = 4 feet 3 ins. long, 6 feet 2 ins. high, and i foot 2 ins. thick. Between
it and the lumpy block G, which is out of line, as also is H, behind it, is a sort of
entrance into the chamber, formed, I suspect, by the people who inhabited it, and no
part of the original design. This stone, G, = 2 feet 8 ins. long, by 2 feet broad, and
about 3 feet high ; H = 5 feet long, 5 feet 5 ins. high, and 2 feet broad ; K = 5
feet 9 ins. long, 3 feet 8 ins. high, and 10 ins. thick ; L = 3 feet long, and
almost buried. An artificial bank about 6 feet broad, and containing several large
stones, rises against the side of the structure on the S.W. The stone which forms
the partition between the portico and the chamber measures 6 feet high, 3 feet 6 ins.
broad, and 2 feet thick in the centre. The portico measures internally 3 feet on
the E. side, 2 feet 6 ins. on the W., and 3 feet 6 ins. on the S. It is, therefore,
nearly a square, with the N. side open, over which the end of the cap-stone pro-
trudes about 2 feet 6 ins. The area of this portico is choked up with large stones,
and others of equal size lie in disorder in the bank without. A line of stones buried
in a bank, and running parallel with A, represents possibly the remains of an outer
range, or peristyle.
" Antiquities of Irel.ind," by Grove, vols, i., xi., and plate ; " History and Antiquities of
Carlow," by John Ryan (Dublin, 1833), p. 353 ; I'roc. R.LA. (1882), Paper by Mr. Kinahan, with
plate; W. C. B., Note-book, 1895.
In the Barony of Carlow.
I, 2, 3. In the Townland of Kernanstown, and Parish of
Urghin, two miles E. of Carlow, to the N. of Browne's Hill, or
Browneshill House, also called Mount Browne, are three dolmens.
The largest of the three is marked Cromlech in Ord. Surv. Map
No. 7.
There are three dolmens on this hill. One is of enormous proportions, the two
others are smaller. The former has been described by Ryan, Ledwich, and G. Du
Noyer. Of one of the latter there is a drawing and plan in Miss Stokes's
collection of drawings of dolmens. The remaining one is situated a distance of
50 yards to the N. of the latter.
The great dolmen stands in the centre of a large flat field in permanent
pasture, and has no trace of a bank or cairn near it. It consists of a splendid block
of granite, the longer axis of which is N. and S., raised at an angle of 35 degrees to
the horizon, upon four blocks, three of which, pillar-like, support its E. side, at a
height of 6 feet above the floor, while one sustains its lower and W. side, at a
height of only about 2 feet above ground.
The following are my measurements of the block thus elevated into position :
Superficial measurement from N.K. to S.W., 23^ feet; ditto from N.W. to S.E.,
County of Carlow.
399
22 feet; girth, 65 feet ; thickness at W. side, 6 feet ; at S. side, 5 feet; at E. side,
6 feet ; and at N. side, 4 feet.
Mr. Du Noyer's measurements make it somewhat less. He makes the length
Fig. 379. — Kernanstown. Etched from a pliotograph.
of the stone 22 feet 10 ins., the breadth 18 feet 9 ins., and the thickness
4 feet 6 ins. Even then his estimate for its weight was no tons, but it is not
so much. (See estimated weights
of covering-stones in Part 11.)
In any case, it is, I believe,
the largest block raised from
the ground by the dolmen-
builders which is known, not
only in the British Isles, but on
the continent of Europe.
It covers what may be called
a chamber, open at each end,
the greatest width of the opening
at the N. end being 8 feet, and
at the S. end 4 feet. On the
E. side at the S. end of the line
of three pillars stands a fourth
block, which does not support
the incumbent rock.
With regard to the block on
which it rests on the N.W., and
to another which lies beside it to
the S., and which together form
the W. side of the passage or vault, the question naturally arises as to whether
Fig. 380. — Kernanstown. Plan hy the Author.
403
The Dolmens of Ireland.
they ever stood upright, like those opposite them, and sustained the block on
their summits. I do not think they did, for had they done so, and subsequently
fallen, they would not have fallen into the positions in which they now lie. The
measurements of these two stones are — A, from N.W. to S.E, 7 feet 6 ins. ;
from N.E. to S.W., 7 feet 3 ins. ; height variable, but about 2 feet. B, length
8 feet ; greatest breadth 2 feet 8 ins. ; height 2 feet. The four stones on the E.
side measure— C, 3 feet 3 ins. long, 2 feet 9 ins. broad, 5 feet high ; D, 5 feet
long, 2 feet 9 ins. broad, 6 feet high ; E, 4 feet 6 ins. long, 3 feet broad, 9 feet
high ; F, 6 feet long, 4 feet broad, 6 feet 6 ins. high.
Ryan, " Hist, of Carlow," Dublin, 1833 ; Ledwich, "Antiquities of Ireland ; " Du Noyer, " Kilk.
Archa-ol. Journ.," vol. i. (1868), p. 40; Kinahan, Proc. R.I. A. (1882) ; Miss Stokes, MS. "Notes
on Dolmens;" W. C. B., Note-book, 1895.
In the Barony of Forth.
I. In the Townland of Ballynoe, als. Newtown, and Parish of
Ardoyne, at Aghade Lodge, on the River Slaney. The dolmen
is not marked on Ord. Surv. Map No. 13. On the N. of the
wt^>^^
Fig. 381. — Ballynoe (Aghade). Etched from a photograph.
Townland of Aghade, which lies on the W. side of the river,
opposite to that in which Aghade Lodge is, the holed stone called
Clochaphoill is marked.
At this place was " a dolmen and several pillar-stones," some of the latter 8 feet
in height, described in the Ord. Surv. Letters as being " channeled from the tops
on all sides to the middle." " This dolmen," it is added, " possessed a peculiar
roofing-stone, having grooves down the side, giving it the appearance of the body of
an animal with protruding ribs ; or, on the underpart, that of a sow's dugs."
This peculiarity of grooves, or ribs, is not uncommon in waterworn boulders of
granite. In several parts of Ireland natural rocks are to be found presenting this
peculiarity, as near Bunbeg on the coast of Donegal ; and wherever this is the case,
it seems that some superstition attaches to them.
O.S.L., Co. Carlow,
14
B. 14'
p. 404.
( 40I )
COUNTY OF KILDARE.
In the Barony of Narragh and Reban East.
I. In the Townland of Colbinstown, and Parish of Davids-
town, a quarter of a mile from the boundary of the County of
^=^*^^fesw
Fig. 382. — Colbinstown (Killeen Cormaic). From a drazving by Sir Samuel Fergusson.
Wicklow, is a chambered tumulus marked Killeencoimtack Grave-
yard m Ord. Surv. Map No. 32.
This tumulus is mentioned and a plan of it and the country surrounding are
given by the Rev. W. Shearman, in his " Loca Patriciana." A drawing of it by
Sir Samuel Fergusson is published in the Proc. of the R.I.A. The end of a natural
"esker" is fashioned into an oval tumulus, on the summit of which an oblong
depression marks the site of a primitive church. There is a central vault or
chamber under the tumulus, and on the E. side of the mound was a grooved stone
similar to ones found in the dolmen of Carrickglass in Tyrone, and in a passage at
Dowth, which seemed to have been one of the jambs of the entrance to it. There
was another chamber on the other side of the mound, the entrance to which was
closed by a thin slab. The whole mound was covered with graves, and there was
also an inscribed stone on which were both Roman and ogham letters.
Proc. R.I.A. , vol, i. (1879), p. 123 ; Shearman, "Loca Patriciana."
402 The Dolmens of Ireland.
COUNTY OF KILKENNY.
In the Barony of Galmoy.
1,2. In the Tovvnland of Ballynaslee, and Parish of Durrow,
were two dolmens, called respectively Cloghan-carnecny and
Mainsair Asal. Two stones are marked in Ord. Surv. Map
No. 4, near a fort in this Townland.
At this place, according to Tighe, was " a great stone, called in Irish Cloghan
£arncen. It was about 15 feet long by nearly 8 feet broad, and 20 inches thick, and
was supported on six or eight large stones which stood in the side of a cavity, and
raised it 3 feet above the ground. Beneath was a place hollowed out and floored
with stones." The monument was destroyed, the hollow place only remaining, in
one angle of which, when the stone was broken, was found a heap of bones, with
teeth like those of pigs.
On the hill, a hundred yards above, a cavity appeared, from which the great
stone might have been raised, and slipped down upon its supporters.
Not far from this dolmen, adds the same writer, was "a square enclosure,
formed of four large, upright stones, with two others forming a roof Three or
four side-stones had been taken away. On digging within, human bones, it was
said, had been found. The earth around it was raised. The entrance was at
an angle.
This latter monument was called in Irish Mainsair Asal, or the Asses' Manger,
a name which occurs again in the case of a dolmen at Manger in the Queen's
County, about 12 miles to the N.W.
On the hill above was " an elliptical enclosure, 40 yards by 34, surrounded by
a bank of small stones. A pit and heap had been made in it. To the N. and E.
of this, on the side of the hill, were marks of small enclosures, and foundation walls
showing the site of an inconsiderable town. A small, oblong building was said to
have been a chapel. Among these enclosures were seven or eight circular pits,
mostly filled up, about 12 feet wide at top, narrower below, their sides formed of
stones. Between this hill and the river, a great many human bones have been
found, and among others, a skeleton enclosed between flags.
"Stat. Account of the County of Kilkenny," by W. Tighe (Dublin Society, 1802), p. 625.
3. In the 7'ownland of Ballyspellan, and Parish of P^rtagh,
was a dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 8. There is
a large rath, or ring, in this Townland. The dolmen is called
" Cloch-Bannagh, or the Stone of Blessing, by the country-people."
Tighe describes this as " a very large stone, which was formerly supported on
smaller ones." *' Not far from it was a conical stone lying on its side."
" Stat. Account of the County of Kilkenny," by \V. Tighe, p. 625.
County of Kilkenny,
40:
In the Barony of Fassadinin.
I. In the Townland of Coan West, and Parish of Dysart, was
a dolmen or cist not marked in Ord. Surv. Maps Nos. 6 or 11.
Dr. Anderson stated that it was reported to him that "a large sepulchral
chamber, covered by a massive stone, 6 feet long, and containing an earthen vessel
filled with burned human bones, which was destroyed," had been discovered at
this place, some years before he wrote.
"Trans. Kilk. Arch.-eol. Soc," vol. i. {1849), p. 28.
In the Barony of Gowran.
I. In the Townland of Dangan, and Parish of Columbkille, to
the S.E. of Thomastown, on the E. bank of the river Nore, is a
dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 28.
The dolmen here is thus described : '* The cap-stone measures 1 2 feet square.
It rests quite flatly on three supports, and weighs about 3 tons. There is a
remarkable feature in it, namely, that these supports, which appear, however, to be
only 18 inches in height, are not single stones, as is usually the case, but that each
one consists of two or three joints, or different pieces." This mode of construction
is found in the case of some of the dolmens of North Africa.
" Near it are some groups of standing-stones ; and, within the limits of three
townlands around, are no less than thirty-six large and perfect barrows.
" Near one of these barrows a gold torque was found in ploughing."
'•Trans. Kilk. Archoeol. Soc," vol. i. {1849), p. 26.
In the Barony of Knocktopher.
I, 2. In the Townland of Ballylowra, and Parish of Jerpoint
Fig. 383. — Ballylowra (I.). From the " Trans. Kilk. ArcJucoi. Soc."
404
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Church, are two dolmens, one at Ballylowra, the other a quarter
of a mile distant. The second is called " Cloch-na-Gobhar.'
Neither is marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 32.
The existence of a dolmen at Ballylowra is mentioned by the Rev. James
Graves in describing the Cloch-na-Gobhar.
The latter, to judge by the drawing which Mr. Graves gives of it, is very
Fig. 384. — Ballylowra (II.). From a drazviiig by the Rev. James Graves.
similar to that called the Cloiche-leithe in the Townland of Glencloghlea {vide infra).
It is, he says, of peculiar construction, one end of the covering-stone resting on
the rocky surface of the hill, and the other on two uprights. The covering-stone
measures 12 feet 4 ins. long by 6 feet 10 ins. wide, and is, on an average, i foot
8 ins. thick.
"Trans. Kilk. Archseol. Soc," vol. i. (1850), p. 130.
3. In the Townland of Derrynahinch, and Parish of Derryna-
hinch, was a dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 32.
This monument is described as " one of those ancient stone enclosures called
" Leaba Diarmada is Ghraine." It is of an oblong form, having eight upright stones
on the S. side, six on the N., and one at the W. end, the stones varying from 4 to
6 feet in height, and from 4 to 3 feet in breadth,
O.S.L., Kilk., ^^, p. 131.
E. I
4. In the Townland of Castlemorris, and Parish of Aghaviller,
between Castlemorris and Kilmacoliver, was a dolmen not marked
in Ord. Surv. Map No. 31.
There was a dolmen here, and also a pillar-stone prostrate at the date of the
Ord. Survey.
O.S.L., Kilk.,
E. i'
p. 130.
County of Kilkenny.
405
5, 6. In the Townland of Ballynoony West, and Parish of
Kilbeacon, there were two dolmens. Neither of these is marked
in Ord. Surv. Map No. 40 ; but one of them is perhaps indicated
by a circle of stones around a central one. It is near the hamlet
of Ballynoony South.
The name of this Townland has been derived from baile-inneona, i.e. " town of
the anvil." Within its limits there is "a Giant's Grave," 12 feet long, and 4 feet
wide. This monument was originally enclosed by lines, or, rather, a fence of large
standing stones, three of which remained at the time of the Survey on the N. side,
about the middle, one on the S. side, and one at the E. end. They varied from
3 to 4 feet in height, inclining very much inwards.
There was another monument of the same character about half-a-mile N.E. of
this one, of which two of the stones only remained upright, while some half a dozen
or so lay prostrate.
The Lackmore marked on the map in this townland is a large menhir. Near
this was a cairn in which cists and urns were found.
O.S.L., Kilk., - "*-, p. 145 ; cf. "Trans. Kilk. Archoeol. Soc," vol. i. (1849), pp. 27, 28,
7. In the Townland of Ballymartin, and Parish of Listerlin,
is a dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. Maps Nos. 36 or 40,
called by the people " The Pooka's Grave."
The Rev. P. Moore records the existence of a dolmen in this Townland. It
was of the class known to him as " Giants' Graves," and measured about 14 feet long
and 4 feet wide, its sides secured by coarse
upright flags, which were quite perfect and
uninjured in 1849. It lay E. and W. The
spot where it stood was considered a favourite
haunt of the "Good People."
In a rock forming the bed of an adjoin-
ing stream, is a track somewhat resembling
the impression of a human foot, which the
people call the " Pooka's Footprint."
"Trans. Kilk. Archoeol. Soc," vol. i. (1849),
p. 12.
8. In the Townland of Kil-
mogue, and Parish of Fiddown, is
a dolmen marked Leac-an-Scail in
Ord. Surv. Map No, 35. Tighe
calls it Lachan Scakl, and Mason,
Leac-an-Sgail. The name is de-
rived from leac, a " flagstone," and
seal, a "champion." This name is also given to a dolmen in the
County of Kerry.
Fig. 385.— "The Leac-an-Scail," Kil-
'- mogue. Reduced from a large drawing
by G. Dii Noyer.
4o6
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Of this dolmen, which is the most remarkable in the County of Kilkenny,
Tighe says: "The upper stone is 45 feet in circumference, and is supported
before upon three upright stones, two of which are 12 feet high, and one 9 feet
high, being further in. The other end rests on an horizontal stone, propt up by
others, forming (with side-stones, in all nine) a small enclosure under the lower part
Fig. 386. — "The Leac-an-Scail," Kilmogue. J^rom a draiving by IVakeman in the Ord. Sun:
Sketches.
of the great stone, which is 6 feet from the ground at the lower end, and 15 feet at
the upper. It slopes to the S.S.W. The stones are all silicious breccia."
Fig. 387. — Leac-an-Scail, Kilmogue. From the ^^ Archaologia,'^ vol. xvi. pi. 18.
Mason, after describing other Kilkenny dolmens, says : " But the most
County of Kilkenny. 407
stupendous work of this nature, as well as the most perfect, is that called Leac-an-
sgail. . . . The vast altar-stone is 16 feet in length, 12 feet in breadth, and 2 feet
6 ins. in thickness, with an elevation from the E. of upwards of 15 feet. ... It is
supported by high rocks, standing upright on their edges, in such a manner as to
strike every beholder with awe and astonishment."
The Rev. James Graves says that the highest point of the covering-stone is 18
feet above the base of the monument.
As in the instance of the dolmen in the " Giant's Ring," at BalUnahatty in
Down, a circular embankment, or rath, formerly surrounded the spot where this
dolmen stands.
Eugene O'Curry, in the " Ord. Surv. Letters," describes this dolmen as " the finest
he ever saw." He says that Mason (Sandys) " has well described it," and terms
Tighe's account as "accurate also." It has been sketched at various times, and
from several points of view, by G. Du Noyer, W. F. Wakeman, and others.
"Stat. Account of the County of Kilkenny," by W. Tighe, pp. 621, 624; "Trans. Kilk.
Archreol. Soc," vol. i. p. 129; O.S.L., Kilk., ^T, p^ 20S, et seqq.; " Stat. Account of the Union
of Fiddown," by J. Sandys, in " Mason's Survey of Ireland," vol. i. pp. 364, 365.
In the Barony of Kells.
I. In the Townland of Frankfort, and Parish of Killamery,
was a dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 30, but a
tumulus is indicated in Frankfort East.
Mr. Dunn records the fact that in a tumulus levelled at this place by a farmer
shortly before the year 1849, "acromleac" had been found, the scattered stones
of which were then to be seen. It was in the centre of the tumulus, but it was not
ascertained whether human bones had been found in it.
"Trans. Kilk., Archceol. Soc," vol. i. (1849), P- 26.
In THE Barony of Iverk.
1. In the Townland of Mullenbeg, adjoining that of Booly-
glass on the S., and Parish of Fiddown, was a dolmen marked
Cromlech in Ord. Surv. Map No. 35. There is also a rock
marked Carricktriss.
There is a dolmen in this townland, and a large rock, which seem to be
wrongly placed by the writer of the " Ord. Serv. Letters " in the townland of
Boolyglass, or Bolliglas.
14
O.S.L., Kilk., TTT,, P- 130-
H.. I
2. In the Townland of Garryduff, and Parish of Owning, was
a dolmen marked Lcaba-na-con in Ord. Surv. Map No. 35.
Eugene O'Curry describes this as an oblong enclosure, fenced in by large upright
stones, three of which remained standing on the E. side, one on the West, and one
prostrate near it. Four more of them had been thrown out of their places — three
on the AV., and one on the E. side. The people of the place asserted that the
stones of this enclosure amounted to over fifty in number, forty years previous to-
4o8 The Dolmens of Ireland.
the Survey. The " grave " appeared to have been 3 feet 9 ins. wide. The highest
of the standing stones was 5 feet by 4 feet 6 ins. broad.
At the foot of the hill was a large flagstone, 1 1 feet high, and from 5 feet 6 ins.
to 2 feet wide, and 2 feet thick. The S. side of it was very rough, the other sides
smooth,
Tighe mentions these monuments, and also stone circles near them. " On the
upper part of the hill of Garridufif," he says, " is a place called Lcibe-na-cuhn, or
the Dogs Grave. It is somewhat hollow in the centre. There were sixteen stones,
placed in four rows, but two or three have been taken away. The largest are about
6 feet high. The two centre rows were 4 feet distant, and had five stones each,
close to each other. The outer rows were closer to the others, and had three
stones each. There might have been more stones. A large stone lies against
the ditch near it, and there were said to have been formerly stones covering
these, and forming cells. Some burnt bones were said to have been found near
the surface." " Lower down," he adds, " on the lands of Garriduff, were the
remains of enclosures, or stones deposited by art, and about 300 yards lower
down stands a tapering stone, 10 feet 8 ins. high, at the base 6 feet round, in
thickness varying, from one side to the other, from 2 feet to 10 inches. In other
places upright stones, as well as some ancient heaps, were seen."
"Stat. Surv. of the County of Kilkenny," by W. Tighe, p. 627 ; O.S.L., Kilk., -^ , pp. 193,
E. I
208; "Stat. Account of the Union of Fiddown," by J. Sandys, in "Mason's Survey," vol. i.
p. 364.
3, 4. In the Townland of Owning, and Parish of Owning, were
two dolmens, one of them marked Druid's Altar in Ord. Surv.
Map No. 35. It is a short distance N. of Owning Church, and
near it is a well called Toberitna.
Mason mentions the "cromleac" here as being " of the same construction
as that at Carrick-na-gawg" (see below), but the altar-piece (so he calls the
covering-stone) " had fallen from its position." The length of the covering-stone
was about 9 feet 6 ins., its breadth 7 feet, and its greatest thickness 2 feet. It
rested on three supporters in front and two behind, and sloped to the S.S.W. It
had two side-stones, making a cell.
There was, he adds, another " cromleac " on the side of the hill, entire, but low,
and filled up with loose stones.
" Stat. Account of the Union of Fiddown," by J. Sandys, in " Mason's Survey," vol. i. p. 364.
5, 6. In the Townland of Ballyhenebery, and Parish of Owning,
were two dolmens not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 38.
Eugene O'Curry mentions a prostrate dolmen at this place. It was supported,
he says, by four or five upright stones, three of which were standing in their original
position, the others being prostrate. The covering-stone was 16 feet long, 10 feet
4 ins. broad, and 3 feet thick.
It would appear that there was a second dolmen on the same townland, a mile
E. of the one at Killonerry (see below). The length of the covering-stone was
15 feet, its breadth 12 feet 6 ins., and its thickness 3 feet.
O.S.L., Kilk., ^"* , p. 188.
E. I
County of Kilkenny, 409
7. In the Townland of Killonerry, and Parish of Whitechurch,
is a dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 38.
The covering-stone of this measured 1 2 feet long, 9 feet 9 ins. broad, and i foot
6 ins. thick. The monument had partly fallen.
" Stat. Account of the Union of Fiddown," by J. Sandys, in " Mason's Survey," vol. i. p. 364.
8. In the Townland of Raheen, and Parish of Fiddown, to the
N.W. of Bessborough, and adjoining on the W. the Townland and
Wood of Tinnakilly, is a dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. No. 39.
This is mentioned as a " small cromliagh."
" Stat. Account of the Union of Fiddown," by J. Sandys, in "Mason's Survey," vol. i. p. 364.
9. In the Townland of Tubbrid, and Parish of Tubbrid, is a
dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 39. Saint Bridget's
Holy Well is in the same Townland.
It is stated that there was a " cromliagh " on this townland.
"Stat. Account of the Union of Fiddown," by J. Sandys, in "Mason's Survey," vol. i. p. 364.
10. In the Townland of Licketstown (written by Mr. Moore^
" Lickerstown," and in Irish, Baile-aii-CheadaicIi), and Parish of
Portnascully, N. of Moonveen, in a bend of the River Suir, is a
dolmen not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 45.
"The grave," says Mr. Moore, "is about 25 feet long, and 10 or 12 feet wide.
It was lined by huge flags, and at the head and foot were enormous stones, about
1 6 feet in height. On one of these there were some indentations." The grave
was opened about the year 1790, and a skeleton of gigantic proportions and a
" huge sword " said to have been found (see the tradition about this dolmen,
infra).
"Trans. Kilk. Archreol. Soc," vol. i. (1S49).
IT. On the S.W. side of the summit of Carrick-na-Gawg, is
a dolmen. Carrick-na-Gawg is a mountain between the Barony
of Kells and that of Iverk. The meaning of the name is " Rock
of the Cleft, or Chink."
"The covering-stone of this dolmen measured 13 feet long, 6 feet 9 ins. broad,
and I foot 9 ins. thick. It was supported by four other bare stones, placed upright.
Its elevation from the ground was about 5 feet." Mr. Sandys adds that "it seems to
have been one of that description called cairns, composed of heaps of loose stones,
piled together, which are so frequently found on the tops of mountains in Ireland."
" Stat. Account of the Union of Fiddown," by J. Sandys, in " Mason's Survey," vol. i. p. 363 ;
O.S.L., Kilk., -'-^ , p. 208.
E. I
In the Barony of Ida.
I. In the Townland of Brownstown, between Inistioge and
Rosbercon, and Parish of Listerlin, is a dolmen not marked in
VOL. II. H
410
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Ord. Surv. Map No. 2)7 • ^t lies on the E. slope of the hill, near
the wood of Brownstown.
Mr. Moore describes this dolmen as "a deep trench, about 12 feet long
by 4 feet 6 ins. wide, lying nearly N. and S. in a level field, unaccompanied
by any barrow or artificial elevation of the ground. Its bottom is carefully floored,
not flagged, but the clay trodden or beaten hard. The sides and ends were lined
with large upright stones or coarse flags. The monument was partially destroyed by
the farmer, who used the greater portion of the side-flags to pave the yard around
his dwelling. Nothing was found during the excavation. The grave had been
uncovered within the memory of man."
"Trans. Kilk. Archx-ol. Soc," vol. i. (1849), pp. Ii, 12.
2. In the Tovvnland of Glenclo^hlea, and Parish of Shanbogh,
Fir.. 388. — Glencloghlea (Gleann-na-cloiche-leithe). From a draiving by the Rev. James Graves.
is a dolmen called " Cloiche-Leithe," about a mile and a half
W.S.W. of Rosbercon, not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. ^il-
The Rev. James Graves states that this dolmen measured 8 feet in height, from
the surface of the field. The supporting-stones were five (? three) in number, the
tallest of them being 5 feet high, 5 feet wide, and i foot thick. These were at the
N. end. At the S. end the covering-stone rested on a third stone, which inclined
very much to the N. The covering-stone measured 9 feet 10 ins. long, 7 feet wide,
and, on an average, 3 feet thick. Two of the uprights were slate, a third was
granite, as, also, was the covering-stone. The latter sloped towards the S., at an
angle of 40 degrees from the horizon. It was difficult to stand on its sloping and
uneven surface.
"Trans. Kilk. Archccol. Soc," vol. i. (1850), p. 129.
Note. — In the Demesne of Mr. Neville, at Marymount, was
a dolmen, described as one of the smallest of its class. The
County of Kilkenny. 411
covering-stone measured 27 feet in circumference, and was sup-
ported on three others. The two front supporters were 8 feet
high, and on these, when it was described, it still rested. The
hinder one had slipped away and been broken. All the stones
were limestone, and beneath there was a flat stone, under which
it was said bones had been found.
412 The Dolmens of Ireland.
COUNTY OF WICKLOW.
In the Barony of Rathdown.
1. In the Townland of Tonygarbh (? if Toneygarrow), and
Parish of Powerscourt, was a dohnen not marked in Ord. Surv.
INIaps Nos. 3 and 7 ; called locally " The Giant's Grave."
14
O.S.L., Co. Wicklow, 77 — , p. Q.
G. 21' ^ '^
This monument is described as " a place 6 yards long, and 2 yards broad."
2. In the Townland of Parknasillage or Barnasilloge, and
Parish of Powerscourt, was a dolmen marked Cromlech in Ord.
Surv. Map No. 7. It is W. of Knocksink Moat, half a mile W.
of Enniskerry, and N. of the main road through the Townland.
It is called locally " The Giant's Grave."
"There is," says O'Curry, "a perfect, unmutilated cromleac here." "There is
first a square enclosure measuring 2,^ feet in length by 18 feet in breadth. Ten
of the large stones which formed this enclosure remain, but those on the S. side
have been removed. Immediately within this is a small, circular enclosure, unbroken,
and consisting of ten large stones, some laid flat but deep in the ground, others set
on edge. In the centre of this circle is the cromleac, consisting of an horizontal flag,
5 feet square, and i foot 2 ins. thick, supported by three rude stones placed on
edge, lengthwise — one on the N., one on the S., and one on the E., each 5 feet long
and 2 feet 2 ins. high. The space between the side-stones is 2 feet, and thus a
cavity is formed, 5 feet long, 2 feet broad, and 2 feet high. It is open at the W.
end, but completely closed at the E. end by the supporters.
14
O.S.L., Co. Wicklow, , p. 14.
G. 21 ' ^
3. In the Townland of Glaskenny, and Parish of Powerscourt,
is a dolmen marked CromlccJi in Ord. Surv. Map No. 7. It lies
N. of the Glencree River, and has the Townland of Lacken-
darragh on the W. The country-people call this dolmen
" Donnchadh Dearg," that is, says O'Curry, " ' The Red Donogh,"
but why, no one knows."
"There is," says O'Curry, "a very fine cro?nlcac in ruins at this place. The
horizontal stone measures 10 feet long, 8 feet broad, and 2 feet thick. It lies with
its end on the ground, reclining against the two eastern of six upright stones, which
County of Wicklow.
413
at one time had supported it. The upright stone at the W. end is 10 feet high
above the surface of the ground. The stones at the E. end are about 5 feet high.
14
O.S.L., Co. Wicklow, /; , p. 10.
' ' G. 21' ^
In the Barony of Talbotstown Upper.
I. In the Townland of Baltinglass East, and Parish of
Baltinglass, half a mile S.E. of Baltinglass, marked Remains of
Cromlech in Ord. Surv. Map No. 27.
In the Barony of Newcastle.
I. In the Townland of Parkmore, and Parish of Derrylossary,
was a dolmen marked Giant's Grave in Ord. Surv. Map No. 24.
It is to the N.E. of Moneystown Hill, and about six miles W.N.W.
of Wicklow.
In the Barony of Ballinacor North.
1. In the Townland of Ballintombay Upper, and Parish of
Knockrath, is a dolmen marked Giant's Grave in Ord. Surv. Map
No. 29. It is near the bed of a stream, and is S.E. of the top
of Kirikee Mountain.
In the Barony of Ballinacor South.
I. In the Townland of Mongnacool, and Parish of Ballykine,
is a dolmen not marked
C2za
in Ord. Surv. Maps 34
or 35. It is called " Lab-
banasigha" in Irish, and
in English, " The Fairy's
Bed." It lies on a slight
eminence in a boggy flat,
on the E. slope of the
high ground between
Ballynaclash and Augh-
rim.
Mr. Kinahan describes this
monument as being constructed
**in an oval mound of clay,
measuring 30 feet long, and 20
feet wide." The chamber lies
along its length, this longer
axis being in a direction N.N.W.
and S.S. E. The chamber itself
measures 21 feet long, 5 feet
wide, and from 3 to 5 feet high.
At one end of the main chamber is what Mr. Kinahan terms a small parallel
Fig
389,— Mongnacool. From plan and section by Mr.
Kinahan. a, cover-stone, slipped off; h, a second
one, under it, broken in two ; c, small chamber ;
V), supplementary chamber ; e, a layer of flags ;
F, charcoal ; g, soft yellow clay ; h, hard white clay ;
K, yellow clay ; l, hard brown clay ; M, broken flags,
stones, and clay ; N, confused mass of stones and clay.
414 The Dolmens of Ireland.
chamber, or rather, as it may be, perhaps, more properly described, a cist within
the larger structure.
Over the main chamber one roofing-stone was in place, and another Mr.
Kinahan regards as possibly so, having been placed "over what was perhaps the
entrance." "The mound had been originally surrounded by flagstones on edge,
some of which remained."
An exploration of the interior of the chamber resulted in the discovery of
charcoal, but no bones. The detailed results of the exploration may be gathered
from the explanatory section which is subjoined, and which is copied from Mr.
Kinahan's paper.
Mr. Kinahan is of opinion that this structure is allied to those in the Aran
Islands in Gahvay.
Journ. R.H.A.A.L, 4tli Ser., vol. v. (1879-82), pp. 253-257; Proc. R.LA. (1879), p. 161,
and pi. ix.
In the Barony of Arklow.
I. In the Townland of Castletimon, and Parish of Dungans-
town, is a dolmen marked Cromlech in ruins called the Long-Stone
in Ord. Surv. Map No. -^G. It is near Castletimon Church to the
N. The next Townland to the S. is called Brittas.
This must be the Brittas dolmen described by Mr. Tuomey, and by Eugene
O'Curry. When the former saw it the covering-stone had been thrown off. It {i.e.
the covering-stone) was of circular form, and measured 14 feet by 12 feet 6 ins., this
measurement " including the thickness of one of its curved edges." Its weight was
estimated at about 26 tons. Four pillar-stones had formed its supports. Of these
the first measured 6 feet 9 ins. " in slant height from the grass." Its breadth was
from 3 feet to i foot 2 ins. The second, also standing, measured 5 feet in height.
The third had a height of 7 feet 5 ins., and a breadth of 5 feet 7 ins.
In O'Curry's notice of this monument, he says that the covering-stone is 3 feet
thick, and the space enclosed under it 8 feet by 4 feet.
14
"Trans. Kilk. Archreol. Soc," vol. iii. (1854-58), p. 137 ; O.S.L., Co. Wicklow, r. , p. 283.
In the Barony of Shillelagh.
I. In the Townland of Moylisha, and Parish of Moyacomb,
'•^■^\
\
'^^.
Fa-,. 390.—" The Labba-na-Sigha," Moylisha. rrom a plan by Mr. Kiitalian.
County of Wicklow. 415
is a dolmen marked Labbanasighe in Ord. Surv. Map No. 4-2. It
is indicated by a circle of six stones, with one in the middle.
This must be the dohiien mentioned in the " Ord. Surv. Letters " under
Moyacomb. It is simply noticed as a " Pagan Grave," bearing the name, not of
Labbanasighe, as in the map (with which we may compare the name of the
Mongnacool monument), but of Leaba-na-Saighc, explained Lectus Cams Vcnaticce,
" where it is supposed a famous huntsman of old interred a favourite greyhound."
14.
O.S.L., Co. Wicklow, 7 , p. no.
4i6
The Dolmens of Ireland.
COUNTY OF WEXFORD.
In the Barony of Gorey.
*i. In the Townland of Cummerduff, and Parish of Cross-
patrick, is a structure not marked in Ord. Surv. Map No. 2. It
is locally called the " Quaker's Hut."
I am not sure whether this structure is entitled to be considered a genuinely
ancient monument or not. If it is so, it belongs to the class of chambered tumuli.
A passage, running E. and W., terminates at its inner or E. end, in a circular
structure. The length of the passage is 20 feet 5 ins. and its width only 15 inches.
The diameter of the circle to which it leads is 16 feet. In the centre of the
circular chamber is a pit 6 feet in diameter.
To Mr, Kinahan, who describes it, it appeared never to have been used as a
habitation ; but, as far as the question of antiquity went, it bore, he thought, an
ominous resemblance to kilns, used for diying flax in Ulster, There were traces of
a fire having been lighted in the pit.
Near this anomalous structure there were others, and in the vicinity of
Cummerduff some fine urns (one of them said to have been nearly 2 feet high) had
been found, as well as cists, etc. The place has been described by Mr. Kinahan
in the Proc. R.I.A.
In the Barony of Bantry.
I. In the Townland of Bree (Brea), and Parish of Clonmore ;
Fic. 391. — Bree, looking W. /'roin a dra'wingby G. Du Noyer.
County of Wexford.
417
near the River Slaney, to the W. ; about four miles and a half S.
Fig. 392. — Bree, looking N. From a cira'coing by G. Du Noyer.
of Enniscorthy, is a dolmen
not marked in Ord. Surv.
Maps Nos. 25 or 31.
The sketches which I am able
to give of the dolmen on " Brea
Hill " are copies from those in Mr.
George Du Noyer's collection of
drawings in the R.I.A.
In the Barony of Forth.
I. In the Townland of
Saint Vogue's, and Parish
of Carn, a quarter of a mile
S. of the chapel and well of Saint Vogue, on the extreme point
of the promontory of Carn sore, was a dolmen marked Gimifs
Grave in Ord. Surv. Map No. 32.
At the time of the Survey the remains of this monument were " nearly effaced."
14
O.S.L., Co. Wexford, — , p, 297.
G. 17 ^
Fig. 393. — Bree. Plan by G. Du Noyer.
The foregoing catalogue of Irish megalithic monuments is
formulated under three heads: first, the dolmens properly so
called according to my definition,! presendy to be given ; second,
the chambered tumuli, also according to definition, differing from
t For definitions, see pp. 424, 425, infra.
4rS
The Dolmens oe Ireland.
the dolmens in the essential particular of the construction of the
roof, but connected with them in certain details of plan and section,
and, presumably, in purpose. To these, in spite of my best
efforts to avoid the necessity of doing so, I have been obliged to
add a third division, the notices of which on the list I simply
desire to be regarded as indicative. Under it are comprised
certain monuments marked in the Ordnance Surveys by various
names, some of which are no longer extant, some of which I
believe may be dolmens, but have been unable to visit, and which
I therefore commend to the attention of those with antiquarian
tastes who may happen to be within reach of them.f
The total number in each of these divisions is as follows : —
Cork
Kerry ...
Limerick
Tipperary
Waterford
Clare
Totals for Munster ...
Galway
Mayo
Sligo
Leitrini
Roscommon
Totals for Connaught
Cavan ...
Tyrone
Fermanagh
Donegal
Londonderry ...
Antrim ...
Down .
Monaghan
Armagh
Totals for Ulster ...
Louth
Longfortl
Meath
Westmcath
Queen's County
King's County
Dublin
Carlow...
Kildare
Kilkenny
Wicklow
Wexford
Total for Leinster ...
Grand totals
olmens.
22
Ch.imbered
tumuli.
Uncertain.
9 ...
4 ...
Total
80
26
11
—
13
19
—
3 ••■
22
15
—
—
15
94
—
—
94
234
0 .
. 16 ...
250
30
—
2
3-
45
163
3
2
2
10
50
175
4
—
I
5
6
—
I
7
248
5 •
16 ...
269
12
—
—
12
10
—
6 ...
16
29
82
I
. 14 ...
96
22
—
I
23
29
...
—
29
19
J4
2
I
3 ...
3
24
18
10
2
I
13
227
5 .
2-) ...
261
4
—
2
6
14
6
28
9
2
71
780
39
40
50
7
68
4'
o
6
I
28
9
3
118
898
This list does not include any cairns or tumuli which are not
t '1 hesc iittccr/ain monuments arc marked * in the list.
County of Wexford. 419
known to contain or to have once contained a dolmen or a
chamber, nor any stone circle or other stone-setting unless it
surrounds one of these monuments, or was otherwise attached to
it. Pillar-stones are also omitted unless in proximity to a dolmen
or chamber. f
The venerated natural rocks, the menhirs, the circles, or other
settings of stones, the great unexplored cairns, as well as the
cairns and earthen tumuli which, having been explored, have been
found to contain comparatively small cists, with urns, etc., together
with cists uncovered by cairns and their contents, are not con-
tained in the list. The chambered tumuli, such as those at
Newbliss, Annaclochmullin, Slieve na Callighe, New Grange, and
Dowth, have been added because their structural details prove
them to be connected with the dolmens proper, presumably in
relation to an identical cultus of the dead shared by their
respective builders. The ornamental details which occur in some
of them, and which belong to the Bronze and Iron Ages, afford
points of comparison with early decoration in the Mediterranean,
thence transferred by northern trade routes to the shores of the
Baltic, the German Ocean, and the English and Irish Channels,
and belong to a new epoch in archeeology, in and through which,
however, dolmen-building survived.
t I may here add, however, the following examples of circles and pillar-stones which, amongst
others, have come under my notice. Other examples of circles in Ireland will be found in the
second and comparative portion of this work.
Fig. 394. — Circle at Caugh Hill, near Banagher, Co. Londonderry. From an oil painting by
G. Petrie.
This circle is one of several still remaining on the mountain. In the " Life of George Petrie,"
by Dr. William Stokes, mention is made of this picture at p. 19: "The tall stones of the circle
raise their dark forms against a saffron sky," — the effect impressively indicating " the solitude and
silence " of the spot on which they stand. According to the tradition of the peasantry of the
district, these circles are the tombs of the chiefs slain in a great battle fought here, from which the
mountain has received the name of Caah {i.e. Cathach), or Battle Hill. This same word "Cathach"
(pronounced Caah or Caugh) was the name of the famous relic of Saint Columbkille.
In searching for dolmens in the County of Cork, I met with a small and very curious one
{fig. 395) standing on high ground at Caolkil. It is oval rather than circular, measuring 7 ft. 8 ins.
420
The Dolmens of Ireland.
from N. to S., and lo feet from E. to W, Nine feet to the N.E, of it stands a dallan 7 ft. 6 ins.
high and 5 feet broad. Fifteen feet to the W. of this stood another, which has fallen, having
Fig. 395. — Circle at Caolkil, Co. Cork. From a sketch by the Author.
broken from its base. When upright it must have been 17 ft. 9 ins. high, and 3 ft. 4 ins. broad.
Twenty-seven feet S.E. of the circle were the remains of two long stone graves or cists which
had been apparently covered by a cairn.
The next three examples I subjoin are also in the County of Cork.
Fig. 396.— Circle at Knuck-r.a-Nyrk, near Kilmurvy. It is 1 1 feet in diameter, and one of the
stones has two hollows in the upper surface. From a dra-ving by J. Windcle.
."-Hj-Ai^ '/■■•*>> ■■-.lll'^
fN /.» J '» •.*'•• ^■*^'''' Al{/-- .. , -■ . --«,
Fig. 397.— Circle near Lettergorman. From a draiving by J. Windele.
County of Wexford.
421
That at Lettergorman has a central stone like the "domrings " of Scandinavia, which i.tQinfra
That called Dallan-crom-na-thittim is at Knocknakilla,|and is itself called also the "Gill/
Fig. 398. — "Dallan-crom-na-thiltim." From a sketch by J. IVindde.
The diameter is 9 feet, and the pillar-stone, called " Crom," from its slanting position, is 12 feet Sr
of it. The stones of the circle are about 4 feet high.
Fig. 399. — Circle at Dromiskin, County Louth. Etched from a photograph.
The fourth circle is at Dromiskin, in the County of Louth.
422
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Fig. 400. — Pillar-stone at Bawnatouniple, Co. Cork. From a sketch by the Author,
^■'^'^<jjk
,4- ^- #<1
<^
')}'.
r^. ',>A,\*
lS/<e^
^^^'■<?'.
'•>>\
Fig. 401.— Tlic " Long-Stone," Furnace, Co. Kildare.
County of Wexford.
423
The first of the three monoliths which I also subjoin is in the vicinity of Gougann-Barra in
Cork. _ It stands on high ground at Bawnatoumple. It measures 19 ft. 8^ ins. above ground, by
3 ft. 6 ins. wide, and i foot 6 ins. thick. At a distance of 500 or 600 yards S.W. of it stood a
Fig. 402. — Pillar-stone at Doonfeeny, Co. Mayo. Fro//i a drawing by IV. F, ]Vakeman.
second, which has fallen and is broken into three pieces, measuring respectively 14 ft. 6 ins., 9 feet
and 5 feet.
The second monolith stands in the centre of a rath in the Demesne of Furnace, or Forena^hts
in Kildare. It is a four-sided pillar of granite, 20 feet in height, and is mentioned in the Su*rvey
of the County of Kildare by T. Rawson, p. iii.
The third monolith is _at_ Doonfeeny in Mayo. It was no doubt of pagan origin and un-
sculptured, before the Christian cemetery was formed around it, and the interesting "cross carved
on its face. It measures about 14 feet in height.
Giants and Dwarfs building the Dolmens of Drenlhe ; Picardt's representation of the popular tradition.
PART II.
THE DOLMENS AND CHAMBERED TUMULI.
Classification, Construction, and Distribution.
The definition which I propose for a dohnen is somewhat
wider in its scope than archeeologists have hitherto adopted ; but
it has been, as it were, forced upon me, owing to the difficulties
I have found in drawing any line of demarcation between what
Irish antiquaries have termed Cromlcacs and those they have
termed Giants Graves, between the more square and upstanding
monument, that is to say, roofed with a single stone, on the one
hand, and the trough-like monument on the other, roofed witli
a succession of slabs. I had, indeed, commenced my work by
making this very distinction between what the French call the
dolmen carree and the dolmen allongdc or allde couverte ; but
experience has caused me to re-write my pages for reasons which
I will presently demonstrate.
A dolmen, then, is a covered structure formed of slabs or
blocks of stone in such manner as that the stone or stones which
Classification, Construction, and Distribution. 425
constitute the roof are supported in place by the upper points or
edges of some or all of the other stones which, set on end or edge,
enclose or partially enclose an area or vault beneath.
A chamber differs from a dolmen constructively, in the circum-
stance that the roof is not formed by a single slab spanning the
vault, but by successive layers of slabs approaching each other
as they rise, the lowermost resting on the tops of the perpen-
dicular side stones which surround the vault, and the uppermost
supporting the large flat slab or slabs which, laid across them,
serves at once to close in the central space so as to form the apex
of the dome, and, by its weight, to consolidate and keep in place
the overlapping layers which support it.
Over structures so formed a superincumbent cairn or mound
was essential in order to make the structure impervious to the
elements, and, by pressure from without, to give strength to the
whole. In cases where the roof of the vault or passage has fallen
in, the tumulus, on being explored, is found to contain two parallel
lines of slabs or walls, often compared by explorers to a sewer,
the space between them being filled with small stones like paving-
stones, which once formed the layers of the roof.
The varieties in ground-plan exhibited by some of these
structures are exceedingly curious, and serve to differentiate them
from the dolmens. Nevertheless, they have points in common
with the latter, and sometimes are found in close association with
them, as near Lough Arrow in Sligo, and in Achill Island in Mayo.
From a constructive point of view, the magnificent dolmen of
Labbacalle, near Fermoy, would at its higher and west end
approach the chamber class, since the roofing-stone does not
actually rest on the side stones, but on two, probably once on three,
narrower stones placed respectively on the terminal upright slab
and each of the side ones. Again, in the case of the monument
at Annacloghmullin, in Armagh, the roof construction is that of a
chamber, while the plan is precisely that of a typical dolmen.
It is impossible, then, to separate these structures from the
dolmen series, and in the sequel I hope to show that a similar
cultus was provided for in the one class of monument and in the
other. The chambers bear witness, however, to an architectural
departure which seems to mark the limit where the "rude stone"
roof gave place, not, I would say, to the embryo arch, as a dis-
covery made by the insular natives, but to a barbaric attempt to
VOL. II. I
426 The Dolmens of Ireland.
copy in unhewn materials some elaborate models of hewn-stone
domes and arched vaults which had become known to the builders
through contact with the cultivation of the Mediterranean or the
r>lack Sea coasts, — the tomb of Atreus, for example, or the
vaulted chamber tombs of Etruria. The sculptures they contain
may be rude copies of decorative art in the same districts.
Meanwhile, to return to the dolmen, I believe that, in common
with the chamber, but in distinction from the cist, it was the
intention and object of the builders that access should be had to
it from without. At the same time I think that it was invariably
surrounded by a cairn or mound, but that sometimes so slight was
the envelope, that it only reached the edges of the cap-stone.
Sometimes, again, it was covered by an immense tumulus, the
result, in some cases, of the veneration of ages, such a veneration
as brought together the vast pile of stones which surrounds the
holy-well in Glencolumbkille in Donegal ; in others, of the labours
of the thousands of hands which assisted in the construction of
the original tomb.
It was the opinion of Mr. John Bell of Dundalk, an antiquary
of no mean repute for painstaking and observation early in this
century, and who was said to have disinterred over sixty "crom-
leacs " from cairns in Ulster, that all dolmens were covered by
tumuli — a view which, as I need hardly say, has commended itself
to English archaeologists, and found a specially strong exponent
in the late Rev. W. C. Lukis.
That dolmens answering to my defmition have been entirely
denuded of their envelope, and left standing in their simple
nakedness, with hardly a stone of the cairn which formerly covered
them about them, and that within the last few years, is certain.
Monuments marked cairns in the earlier Ordnance Survey, and
where then no trace existed of the megalithic structure, will in
several places have to be marked dolmens in subsequent surveys^
since the cairn has been removed and the structure exposed to
view. Of this fact a good example occurs in the Townland of
Leana in Clare.
Again, the magnificent monument, as it must have been, at
Carnbane in Armagh, the destruction of which is more to be
deplored than that of any other known to have existed, was
brought to light from its cairn between the years 1744 and the
end of that century, when it was removed for building purposes.
Classification, Construction, and Distribution. 427
Large tumuli, however, such as these, were not essential to the
dolmen structure. All that was necessary was that the walls of
the cell or crypt should be impervious to the elements and to wild
animals. Indeed, that no more than this was aimed at by the
constructors of those of the type which is almost universal in
Munster, is shown by the proximity of the peristyle, or outer
range of stones which girdled the monument, to the sides of the
main structure itself. This outer range evidently formed the base-
ment or outer retaining wall, within which and between which and
the side slabs of the dolmen a kind of hedging of stones, bound
together probably with clay and turfs, was raised to a sufficient
height to meet the overlapping edges of the covering-stones, and
so fill up the interstices between the side slabs which supported
the roof. In the case of the Labbacalle, where, on the north side,
this filling between the ranges has not been removed, its effect in
closing out the light from the interior of the structure may be
observed even at the present day ; and in the case of the Giant's
Grave at Drumcliff, in Sligo, Col. Wood-Martin's plan shows that
between the outer lines and the walls of the structure the filling
was still in place. Now, since the peristyle marked the outmost
circuit, in almost every case, of monuments of this type, it follows
that the monument was not buried in a mound, nor indeed is it
possible to conceive (had such been the case) what could have
become of every stone of the superstructure in situations where,
for example, the dolmen stood on a mountain-side, or on a lime-
stone plateau, or in the middle of a bog, in any spot, indeed, to
which access was difficult — far removed too from stone dwellings
or fences or roads for which the material micjht have been
requisitioned.
I have been speaking here more particularly of the long
wedge-shaped dolmens which are particularly plentiful in Munster,
and have endeavoured to account for my view that, in the majority
of cases at least, the envelope of the dolmen did not reach higher
than the edges of the cap-stone, or, if it did, only surmounted it by
a slender covering of stones and turf. I come now to another
type of monument, where the dolmen is surrounded by a circle, as
in the examples common on the north-west coast of Antrim, at
Carrowmore, and elsewhere. Col. Wood-Martin has drawn a
distinction between two types of these dolmen-circles, namely,
(a) those in which the circle is subordinate in size to the dolmen,.
428
The Dolmens of Ireland.
and (d) those in which the dolmen is subordinate in size to the
circle. In the latter case the so-called dolmen may sometimes
be merely a closed cist, to which there was no access from the
side of the mound. In both cases the circle or circles — for there
were frequently concentric ones — formed, I feel sure, the basis and
enclosino- wall of a cairn or earthen tumulus which covered the
entire monument, the cap-stone of the dolmen being enveloped
to a depth of several feet at least below the apex of the original
pile.
Although, however, this type differs so materially from that
of the wedge-shaped monuments with their parallel outer ranges
of stones, there are points of construction common to both, as
well as forms which hold an intermediate place. A reference to
several of the plans of the Carrowmore group f will show that the
interior crypt was not intended to be absolutely closed, but that,
as in the case of the dolmen of Yr Ogof in Wales, of many
Portuguese examples, of the covered dolmens of Brittany,^ and
of the chambered tumuli of Great Britain and Ireland, a creep
or passage communicated with the edge of the mound.
There is one example, owing its state of preservation to the
sandhills which covered it, at
Streedagh in Sligo,§ planned
by Col. Wood-Martin, which
affords an excellent illustration
of the combination of types, a
wedge-shaped dolmen with its
peristyle being surrounded at a
distance nearly equal to its
length by a circle of stones,
which seems, when perfect, to
have been double and con-
centric.
In the Land's End district
of the county of Cornwall, on
the farm of Brane, and in the
Parish of Sancred, a locality
in which Irish types are pre-
valent, I discovered many years ago a monument of the
Fig. 403. — Plan and section of dolmen in iiiniii-
lus at Brane. By IV. C. J.itkis and //'. C.
Borlasc.
t E.j^. Nos. X., XXXVir., and Col. Wood-Martin's R.S.M., p. 78.
X For plans of these, see injra. § P- '28. su/ra.
Classification, Construction, and Distribution. 429
wedge-shaped type surrounded by a circular peristyle in close
proximity to it, and the little conical mound over which was
still perfect. It was one of many others which had been re-
moved, and it owed its preservation to its fitness for a goat-
house. In the circumstance of the peristyle being circular while
the structure within is wedge-shaped, it occupies an intermediate
position between the two types to which I have just referred.
It affords an excellent example of the truth of my contention that
where a peristyle is found to be in close proximity to the structure,
the covering of the latter was comparatively slight.
Having now seen reason to draw a distinction between dolmens
of the long-oblong, or wedge-shape, and the dolmen-circles, I
return to the question whether a further distinction should be
drawn between the former class of monument popularly known
as the "Giant's Grave" in Ireland, and the structure for which
the name of " Cromlech " has been specially reserved, and which
consists, as at present seen, of a single stone raised on the
summits of two or more pillar-stones, forming the end and sides
of a more or less irregular vault below, almost invariably open at
one end.
Such a distinction has, I may say, been drawn by every Irish
antiquary who has dealt with the subject, as well as by many
authorities in Scandinavia, France, and Germany, and it requires,
therefore, some assurance, which I would mingle with all deference
to the opinion of those who have preceded me, to meet and attempt
to controvert an opinion so long held and so frequently asserted.
At first sight, certainly, no two monuments could seem more
distinct than the " Cromlech " and " the Giant's Grave." We need
not go further than Ballymascanlan, near Dundalk.f to find a
typical specimen of each at a distance of only about 80 yards
apart in one and the same field. The " Cromlech " is the most
lofty in Ireland, consisting of a huge granite boulder poised in
an inclined position upon the points of three blocks, two of which
are fixed in the ground, while the third is wedged into place
by the weight of the cap-stone and its impingement on one of the
pillars, and at its lower point on two small stones in the soil. Viewed
from the " Giant's Grave," the whole structure looks like a
gigantic fellow in grey bending beneath the weight of a huge and
well-filled sack, which he is making off with away from you
t See pp. 305-307, supra, " Proleek."
430 The Dolmens of Ireland.
towards the west — an appearance which gave rise to its name,
the "Giant's Load."
The " Giant's Grave" at the same place presents, on the other
hand, an equally excellent example of the long wedge-shaped
structures which have been compared to troughs, their sides lined
with flags, slabs, or blocks, and the space between covered over
with from two to five proportionately large roofing-stones.
Now, in the case of these latter monuments, it may be laid
down as a rule, in the case of the Irish examples, that one end is
higher than the other. That end is generally the west end, and
if you climb upon the monument at the other extremity, and the
cap-stones are all in place, you will find yourself ascending step by
step until you stand on the summit of the block which covers the
higher end. It is at that end that the structure is most con-
solidated, both the pillar-stones and the end stone, as well as
the roofing-stone, being the largest superficially, and the most
ponderous, and, consequently, the most difficult to throw down or
carry away.
Supposing, now, that the smaller stones composing the lower
end were to be removed, a structure would remain which in
ground-plan and general appearance would be a " Cromlech," in
the sense in which antiquaries have used that term as distinct
from a " Giant's Grave." Take the monument at Brenanstown,
in the county of Dublin. f It is called a *' Cromlech," but its
ground-plan shows it to be the ponderous western end of a
" Giant's Grave," the eastern end of which dwindled away into
insignificant proportions, and the stones of which have been
removed. Take, again, the monument at Haroldstown, in the
county of Carlow.J That is also, to all intents and purposes,
a "Giant's Grave;" but take away all the stones except the
northern covering-stone and its three supporters at that end, and
you have a " Cromlech," the roofing-stone of which would probably
have toppled over for lack of support at its southern end, and
would be resting in an inclined position against the two uprights
(A and F in the plan).
It comes to this, then, that the " Cromlech," hitherto technically
so called, is the more megalithic portion of the " Giant's Grave,"
also technically so called, and that both types, despite the
differences in their appearance in the condition in which we now
t See p. 390, supra. \ See p. 396, supra.
Classificatiox, Construction, and Distribution. 431
find them, belong to one and the same class of dolmen, originally
of elongated form, in all probability surrounded by a peristyle
either parallel to the sides, or circular, or oval, and closed in, it
may have been, up to the edge of the roofing-stone, but, in the
case of the larger structures especially, I think no higher.
The constructive details of these dolmens at their higher
extremities next call for
remark. Sometimes, as
in the striking example
called Kit's Coity House
in Kent, only four stones
are left, consisting of two
side stones on edge or
end, a transverse stone,
also on edge, crossing the
centre of the space be-
tween them, and a roonng-
stone coverinor the whole.
An exactl}^ similar ar-
rangement is observable at
Brenanstown and Harolds-
town, but in the latter cases
the presence of other por-
tions of the structure prove
clearly what the intention
was, namely, to leave on the one side of the transverse stone an
open outer crypt or porch, and to construct on the other side of
it a chamber or cell, of the sides of which the inner ends of the
side stones formed part.
In examples where the entire sides of a monument were formed
each of an immense slab, as is frequently found to be the case in
Clare, the transverse stone was placed at a short distance within
the ends of the slabs, so as to form the portico, over which the
cap-stone protruded ; and such an arrangement is in some cases
observable also in the case of the terminal stone at the opposite
end of the monument. For examples, I refer to the dolmens at
Ballyganner-South, Leana, and Tully Commons.f
Sometimes, again, the transverse stone crossed the entire
structure, the side slabs of the cell within and of the porch
Fig. 404.— "Kit's Coity House," Kent.
t See pp. 67, 73, 75, supra.
432 The Dolmens of Ireland.
without being set at right angles to the ends of its faces. For
examples of this, I would refer to the dolmens at Ardaragh in
Bear Island (Cork), at Burren (Cavan), and at Gortakeeran
(Sligo).t
The likeness which, when viewed from the open side, this
arrangement of stones presents to a porch or portico, has been
frequently noticed. A review of the plans which I have taken
myself, in addition to other considerations, causes me to feel sure
that porticoes they in reality and designedly were ; that they were
always intended to be open — that is to say, that they were never
entirely enclosed in a mound and inaccessible from without ; and
that some means of communication, either through, or under, or
at the side of, or above the transverse stone, was always provided
for with the inner vault or cell.
Rude as they are, they may be as truly called porticoes to the
cell within, as were the antcc or 7rapacrTdSe<; to the cc//a of the
Romans and to the vaos of the Greeks. To those points of
similarity between shrines and dolmens I shall recur later on.
From a constructive point of view, dolmens may be divided
into two classes : (a) those in which the formation of a regular and
symmetrical vault or crypt, was the first consideration, and the
question of the size of the roofing-stones, although they were
always massive, subordinated to it ; (d) those in which the per-
formance of a colossal feat of strength in raising and placing in
position the most enormous block for a roofing-stone obtainable
was evidently the first consideration, and the symmetry of the
crypt beneath, which would of necessity be liable to be upset
during the process, a secondary one.
All dolmens covered in with slabs or stones of moderate but
sufficient size, are examples of the first class. Examples of the
second class are those at Mount Browne (Carlow), Mount Venus,
Howth, and Kiltiernan (Dublin), and Ballymascanlan (Louth).
The dolmens of Labbacalle in Cork, and those of Haroldstown
and Brenanstown in Carlow and Dublin, and " the Labby " at
Carriglass near Lough Arrow in Sligo, stand in an intermediate
position, the roofing-stones, especially in the latter case, being
very massive, while the chamber beneath is symmetrically
formed.
t Sec pp. 41, 20 1, I So, siif^ra.
Classification, Construction, and Distribution. 433
The following are the estimated weights of some of the larger
covering-stones : — y
tons.
Kernanstown, i.e. Browne's Hill, or Mount Browne (Carlow)... 100
Carriglass (Sligo) ... ... .. ... ... ... ... 72
Howth Demesne (Dublin) ... ... ... ... ... 70
Woodtown, or Mount Venus (Dublin) ... 44
Kiltiernan (Dublin) ... ... ... ••■ .•• ••• 43
Brenanstown (Dublin) ... ... ... ... ... ... 38
Ballymascanlan or Proleek (Louth) ... ... ... ... 30
Labbacallee (Cork) ... ... ... ... ... ... 24
At Kernanstown, Howth, and Woodtown, it can scarcely be
said that a chamber exists at all, the incumbent block being in each
case supported by a pillar or pillars on one side only, and on the
other or lower side, resting, in the case of Kernanstown on low
stones, and in those of Howth and Woodtown on the natural soil.
In the Kiltiernan example the crypt is much disarranged, owing,
apparently, to the weight of the roofing-stone.
The Howth cap-stone rested, probably, originally at its lower end
on the backs of two low stones still in place, from which it has
seemingly slipped back, carrying perhaps with it out of their
perpendicular several of its supporters. If this supposition be
risfht, the monument at one time bore the closest resemblance to
that at Kernanstown.
In spite of what might seem precedents at Ballymascanlan or
Kiltiernan, I cannot bring myself to believe that either of these
three inclined blocks of Kernanstown, Howth, or Woodtown, were
at any time raised upon pillars at that side which is at present the
lower.
The question to which such a list of mighty weights naturally
leads, and to which we should surely be prepared with some
rational answer, is, *' By what agency were such masses transported
to the spots in which we find them ; and how could people, in the
savage state which the natives of Ireland must have been in in
the days when they were erected, have brought appliances to bear
to raise them into the positions in which we find them } "
As to the question of transportation, so much requiring
t For assistance in estimating the weights of these stones I beg to accord my best thanks tO'
IMr. Thomas Matthews, C.E., of the Trinity House, and also to the Rev. M. II. Close, Treasurer of
the Royal Irish Academy, to whom (after he had made personal visits to Kernanstown, Howth,
Kiltiernan and Woodtown) I am indebted for a revision of my own estimates of the weights of
those stones. The loo tons, at which figure the fust of these is estimated, rests on no merely
approximate guess, but is based on measurements most carefully checked.
434 The Dolmens of Ireland.
explanation In the case of the blocks which form the pyramids of
Egypt, I do not think it need trouble us much. The stones are
approximately in situ geologically, either portions of the bed-rock
naturally detached, or erratics left upon the surface. The
quart/ite block at Howth is a portion, unusually large, of talus
which lies under the Muck Rock immediately behind it. The
Kiltiernan stone is one of a thousand Qrranite masses like It on
the hillsides around it. The same may be said of the Woodtown
mass, and that at Brenanstown has found its way from the granite
mountains into a valley below, and lies beside the stream which
once in flood-time left it where it is.
The Kernanstown stone is also a granite boulder, resting
where it has ever rested since the *' Great Ice Age," and only
tilted up on edge on other stones by man.
The great flat limestone slabs which form the Clare dolmens
are, perhaps, as Interesting from the point of view of their
material as any used in these structures, and excite the wonder of
the Intelligent farmers of the locality, who Impressed on me again
and again the fact that no such splendid blocks were to be found
on the surface of the "crag" (as the broken surfaces of limestone
are called) nowadays.
Three modes suggest themselves by which the Immense
covering-stones of dolmens may have acquired the positions which
excite our wonder.
In the first place. It Is possible to conceive that there may be
cases In which the block may never have been removed from its
position in siltc at all, but may have been undermined, and the
side stones of the crypt inserted beneath it, the surrounding ground
being then removed, and the block left to rest upon the upper
edges of the stones forming the walls. In examples where the
under face of the overlapping edges of the roof-stones are close to
the level of the surrounding soil, and where the vault it covers
seems to be a lined pit beneath it, this view suggests Itself strongly.
The huge block at Carriglass, near Lough Arrow, is a case in
point, and so, also, planted as the crypt Is In the alluvial soil of the
valley, I have sometimes thought the Brenanstown dolmen might
be. No such theory, however, would be for a moment tenable in
the case of a monument such as that at Ballymascanlan, where the
surrounding ground shows no sign of having been levelled, and
where the block rests upon the points of pillars 8 or 9 feet high.
Classification, Construction, and Distribution. 435
The agency by which one of these covering-stones was lifted into
place was probably that which was applied to them all, and there-
fore I do not hold that even in some few cases this first theory of
the block beinof in sihi is tenable.
The second mode is that of which His Majesty the King of
Denmark made himself the exponent many years ago, namely, that
the covering-stones of dolmens were worked up into place over an
inclined plane or bank. No theory appears to me so hopelessly
impossible as this with regard to such structures in general, and
to those in Ireland in particular. Such a bank of new-made
material, in a climate notoriously wet, would be a hopeless
impediment to moving onward and upward, a rock weighing 60 or
70 tons. It would literally "stick in the mud" beyond all possi-
bility of extrication. In addition to this, in the majority of
localities where dolmens abound, the question might fairly be
asked from whence could any hard material of the kind necessary
have been obtained, or what can have become of it since the
object for which it would have been collected had been gained ?
The savage people who had brought the stuff together would not
have been so excessively careful to have swept away every trace
of their preparatory work when once the monument stood
perfected on the mountain-top or the moor.
In one sense, and one alone, the theory of an inclined plane
may possess truth with regard to the erection of Irish dolmens.
We have seen that, when in their perfect and elongated state,
they rise step by step (generally, but not universally, from E.
to W.). One end is low and narrow, the side-stones approaching
each other closely at the small end of the wedge (which in shape
they resemble), and gradually expanding from each side, and
becoming taller as they approach the end on which is to rest the
largest covering-stone. Now, it is quite possible, and I think
probable, that over this incline so formed, each cap-stone, the larger
one first, was slid upward in turn — a theory which would account
for the frequent disarrangement noticeable in the lines of the side-
stones of the crypt. The stone on edge would have afforded a
solid support such as no bank could give, and the presence
occasionally of buttress-stones, placed at right angles against their
sides, may be taken as evidence that they were prepared to
sustain unusual pressure from above. Be this as it may, enor-
mous leverage would have been required to move the huge
436 The Dolmens of Ireland.
masses Into position, which brings me to the third theory as to
the mode of their erection, which is that which I adopt, and
which may be stated in a few words.
The very existence of these megahthic structures appears to
me to be an indication — if, indeed, such were needed to
demonstrate the fact — that Ireland was once a well-timbered
country. It must have been by the power of mighty leverage
that these stones were lifted into place, and such leverage
could only be obtained with felled timber. The trees once
felled with the aid of chisels of stone or bronze and the application
of fire, and points for purchase being obtained beneath the rock,
four or five trunks, heavily weighted at the opposite extremity,
could, with the aid of the united action of a fairly large body of
men, be brought to bear at once in lifting the stone little by little.
As the work of elevation went on, stones would be inserted to
prevent the mass from falling back. The pillar-stones destined
to support it would then be fixed in the ground beneath its edge,
the small trigging stones gradually removed, and the mass allowed
to sink on to the summits of the uprights.
Mr. Du Noyer has supplied a drawing j of a monument which
he regarded as a dolmen in an unfinished state, showing a mass
of small stones inserted beneath a ponderous rock, in an inclined
position, illustrating, if my theory be right, that stage in the
process of elevation which preceded the insertion of other columnar
supports than that up to the point of which one end of the stone
has been raised.
Timber was doubtless used also for the removal of stones,
both for rollers beneath them and levers to propel them. An old
friend of mine resident in Clare showed me the root-crown of a
tree which his workmen had discovered in a bog, and which bore
on its upper surface thousands of marks made by the narrow
wedges, probably of flint or other stone, with which in remote
acres the trunk had been cut throu";h.
For the construction of a dolmen large gangs of human beings
would be doubtless required, and, as in the case of the pyramids
of Egypt — to compare great undertakings to comparatively small
ones — these monuments are silent witnesses to human misery in
days when slavery was predominant, but in a land where the means
of subsistence was readily obtainable.
t Sec !>. 57, supiii.
Classification, Construction, and Distribution. 437
A dolmen in Ireland is more or less rugged in its appearance
according to the nature of the stones which the district provides.
The most symmetrical one which I have seen— the slabs being as
well squared by nature as those of a mediaeval altar-tomb by art —
is that on Slieve Callan, in Clare.f With almost equal neatness,
resembling boxes which children build with cards, many of the
ofreat limestone dolmens of the Burren in Clare are formed.
Where, again, the material is altered slate, or quartzite, or green-
stone, a ruder appearance is the result, and the internal area of
the chambers is often rendered shapeless. In the case of granite,
which often presents one smooth face, that face is always turned
inward, so that the crypt is symmetrical within, both as regards
roofing and side-stones, though rugged without. The upper side
or back of the cap-stone is often found to be traversed with
channels and hollow basins, the result of exposure to the action
of water or other disintegrating influences. It has often struck
me that, both with regard to dolmens and other megalithic
monuments, stones with some natural peculiarity were pre-
ferred to others. The channeling on the roof of the Harolds-
town dolmen is especially curious, and natural cups and hollows
are almost the rule, and certainly not exceptional. On one of the
cap-stones of a dolmen I myself unearthed in a tumulus at
Tregaseal in Cornwall was a most peculiar excrescence, J rising
perpendicularly more than 6 inches above the surface of the
granite, and rounded at the top ; in another was an artificial
bowl or rock-basin such as the Irish call a btdldii. Artificial cup-
markings are also found on the cap-stones of some dolmens.
Circles are carved on the supporters of one in Meath. Rude
scribings are incised occasionally, both on roofing- and side-
stones, and, in one instance at least, a stone with an artificial basin,
or btdldn, stands on the threshold of a dolmen-crypt.
Details of these points in Irish examples have been already
given. Meanwhile there remain some few amplifications and
varieties of type to be noticed in the plan and arrangement of
the monuments.
At Magheraghanrush (Sligo), at Ballyglass (Mayo), and at
Cashel § (Donegal), are large oval areas of peculiar but distinctive
form, having arrangements of dolmens at either end of the oval,
t See p. 79, supra. X See fig. 40S, p. 442, infra.
§ Called the Cloghan in Glenmalin.
438 The Dolmens of Ireland.
as well as, in the Donegal example, in the side. The two former
monuments arc free-standing, but the latter was partially, if not
entirely, covered over by a pear-shaped cairn.
Three or four examples may be quoted of dolmens arranged
in lines, as many as six forming the line, as at INIac Kee's farm in
Glenmalin in Donegal.
In some districts — Antrim especially — two dolmens, the one
smaller than the other, occur in close proximity.
In no case have so many been found together, contained in so
limited an area as at Carrowmore in ShVo. Here, with the
exception of the great dolmen described by Dr. Walker to Sir
William Wilde, and of w^iich one side-stone of the cist, or crypt,
measured i6 feet long and 6 feet broad, and of the chamber at
Clover Hill, all the examples are of the dolincn-circle type.
The builders of the dolmens of the long wedge-shape type
often placed their monuments in groups of four or five, or even
more ; but as a rule they are rather grouped in districts than in
adjoining fields, and lie a mile or two apart, as parish churches do.
The chamber-cairns were gathered together in large groups
on the Boyne and at Loughcrew. They do not, so far as I
know, occur in Munster, but examples of them are found in
Mayo, Sligo, IMonaghan, Fermanagh, and Armagh.
Dolmens of the wedge-shaped type are more evenly dis-
tributed over Ireland than are those of either of the other
classes. They are sometimes found by the seaside, occasionally
close to the sea, but they are found in inland districts as well,
which cannot with like truth be said of the dolmen-cairns, such as
those of Carrowmore. In Sweden, the Danish islands, and the
southern coasts of the Baltic the same two types of monument
occur, and there also it is the dolnicn-cainis which hug the shore,
and the zucdge-s/iapcd iuo7mviai/s which lie by the lake-sides in the
interior. In these latter districts the wedge-shaped dolmens, with
their peristyles, are referable to the early Bronze Age, and in the
Iberian Peninsula, where they are also found, the same observation
has been made. Further remarks, however, on the age and
purpose of the dolmens would be premature, until we have
compared the Irish examples with those in other countries.
IMiss Margaret Stokes, in her "Carte des Dolmens d'Irlande,"
has laid some stress upon the distribution of Irish dolmens in river-
basins, on the coast, and in mountainous districts respectively.
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 439
A large proportion of her sea-coast examples are dolmen-
circles and dolmen-cairns. As to the position of those in
mountainous districts and spots which are now wild and bare,
we must remember that it is certain that in most cases these
heights and moors were richly wooded, affording a plentiful
supply of timber, — the material necessary for the purposes of
leverage, — for the work. Even the limestone flats of Aran, and
the apparently verdureless Burren of Clare, that might be taken
for an ice-field upheaved, with its deep crevices, where the
maidenhair and geranium flourish snugly and warmly deep down
and out of sight, were once overshadowed with fir, and oak, and
ash. In the clearings of these glades, sometimes at the summit of
a " divide," so as to attract the veneration of the traveller, — some-
times on the top of the mountain itself, above the forest line, —
sometimes by the side of a lake, the veneration for which survives,
maybe, in some weird legend ; sometimes close to a spring-well or
a stream, for water was in some way connected with the cultus of
the dead, stood the dolmen, no mere sepulchre made once for all
and forgotten, but the goal of the pilgrim who sought the abode
of the spirit, — the ancestral shrine at the porch of which the
dead were communicated with, and the accustomed offerings made.
Indeed, where dolmens occur in river-basins, it is generally on the
hillside, or by a lake or stream that they must be sought. From
the flat lands of Westmeath and Meath, of the King's County and
the Queen's County, and Kildare, they are almost entirely absent.
Two in Carloware on river-banks, and one, the largest in Ireland,
in the same county is upon a richly wooded hill.
Such were the spots ever chosen for the cultus of the dead,,
whether the objects of the worship were the Sidhe, as in Ireland,
or the Sitte, as in Lapland, or the Shinto or Sinto, as in Japan at
the present day.
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles.
As might reasonably be supposed, the closest resemblances to
Irish megalithic monuments are found in those examples which
are located on the opposite coasts of Britain. The Cornish series
may, indeed, be said to be identical ; and upon that, since I have
myself either planned or assisted in planning every individual
structure, many of which I have also explored, I may be permitted
to offer some preliminary remarks. The dolmen-cairn or dolmen-
440
The Dolmens of Ireland.
circle type is found, as in Ireland, hugging the coast, while the
wedge-shaped dolmens occupy positions on the hills further inland.
The ground-plans of the Zennor and Trethevy dolmens
might have been designed and the structures erected by the
same persons who set up those at Ardaragh in Bear Island (Cork),
at Brenanstown (Dublin), or any of the Clare series. The same
details have been carried out in each case. There is the feature
of the ante-chamber or portico, and the hole or creep connecting
it with the inner cell, a characteristic specially marked in the case
of Trethevy.
In the Land's End district and in the Isles of Scilly, examples
occur of long-oblong, or wedge-shaped structures, each surrounded
by a peristyle, which forms the base, from which a tumulus rises
just high enough to overtop the covering-stones. Dr. Borlase has
described two of these in Scilly. The mouth of the first was 4
feet 6 ins. wide, the length of the cell 13 feet 8 ins., and the
height 3 feet 8 ins. It was covered from end to end with large
Fio. 405. — Plan of Zennor-Quoit, Cornwall, liy IV. C. Lukis ami \V. C. Borlase.
flat stones. The second was entered at its E. end by a passage,
I foot 8 ins. wide, " betwixt two stones set on end." The cell was
4 feet 8 ins. wide in the middle, 22 feet long, and 4 feet 10 ins.
high. At the W. end — it bore nearly E. and VV. — it was
terminated by a large Hat stone on edge, and from end to end
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 441
it was covered by great flags. In Scilly these monuments were
called "Giants' Graves" by the natives. In one respect they,
or some, at least, of them, seem to have differed from Irish
examples, for their side walls
were formed not of single .•■"■••....
slabs, but of layers of stones.
Those on the mainland, how-
ever, are, with one exception,
formed in the usual manner.
One of the latter, that at
Brane (Par. of Sancred), near
the stone hill-fort of Caer-
Bran, I have already men-
tioned as illustrating the mode
in which dolmens of this class
were covered. Of another,
near the stone-circles of Tregaseal (Par. of St. Just-in-Penwith),.
I made a most careful examination. The cairn, which rose
from an oval peristalith, just overtopped the two covering-stones
Fig. 406. — Plan of Trethevy, Cornwall.
Fig. 407. — Dolmen in tumulus, Tregaseal, West Cornwall. Etched front a photograph.
of the cell, which were still in place. The interior measurement
was 1 1 feet 3 ins. long, and at the entrance, 2 feet wide, but the
VOL. n. K
442
The Dolmens of Ireland.
vault expanded as it approached the N.W. end, and was 4 feet
high.
At the inner and broader end a sort of dais, raised platform, or
table had been formed in the manner indicated in the section
(fig. 409). Generally throughout the floor, but mostly upon and
under this table, was a stratum, or " mat," of a dark substance,
P"lG. 408. — Interior of dolmen at Tregaseal, showing stone platform and excrescence on roofing-
stone. Etched frovi a photograph.
which proved to be composed of charcoal, small burnt fragments
of human bones, and a great quantity of broken pottery, many
of the specimens of which w^ere decorated. The confusion in
which they lay caused me to form the opinion that the vessels,
some of which had probably once contained the bones, had never
been placed whole in the
vault, but thrown in in
the shattered condition in
^ which I found them. On
-^ the platform, however,
some of the bonesappeared
to have been arranged in
little piles. In the stratum was a perforated whetstone.
Immediately beyond the outer end of the terminal stone, and
almost in the centre of the tumulus, a rude cist had been formed,
Fig. 409. — Section of dolmen-mound at Tregaseal
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 44;
which contained an urn about 2 feet in height, with two large
handles, highly ornamented round the upper portion, and having
Fig. 411. — Plan of tomb near Halle.
Fig. 410. — Section of tomb near Halle.
a cruciform design raised in relief on the inner surface of the
bottom, a design which is almost exactly reproduced on the
exterior of the bottom of
an urn taken from a cist
on Knockmunion, near
Navan in Meath. The
Treeaseal urn was in-
verted over burnt human
bones.
In 1826, Herr Hart-
niann, of Halle, explored
a structure buried in a tumulus 53 paces long, 34 paces wide, and
about 10 feet high, at Niedleben, near Halle in Saxony, which so
much resembles this one at Tregaseal that I shall not reserve it
for my section on Germany, but notice it at once. The vault was
formed by two slabs on edge on either side supporting two cover-
ing-stones, and closed at the inner or N. end by a single large
slab. At the S. end three smaller stones on either side supported
another covering-stone, and formed a sort of ante-chamber or
narrow portico, separated, apparently, from the main cell or vault
by a stone slab which nearly reached the covering-stone. The
whole structure the writer describes as divided into three sections,
viz. entrance, vestibule, and vault. I do not find that the dimen-
sions of the vault are given, but it appears to have been about
10 feet long. The sandstone slabs which covered it were 10 inches
thick. It was wedge-shaped, expanding from about 2 feet wide
at the entrance, to about 5 feet 6 ins. at the inner end. At
this inner end was placed a wooden table-slab about 3 feet long,
2 feet broad, and 2 inches thick, which had been joined to another
slab with oblique ridges which went right across it, and with
444
The Dolmens of Ireland.
square holes at its ends, through which wooden pegs were fixed.
The entire vault was covered at the bottom with ashy earth mixed
with small pieces of charcoal. This stratum was continued under
the table, \vhere it contained fragments of decorated urns, and
dish-like vessels, one of which latter was covered by a wooden
lid. Urns were also found both within and
without the stone which partitioned off the
vestibule. In the N.W. and in the N.E.
corners of the vault respectively, were a
skull and a backbone, and betw^een them
the ribs and leg-bones. Kruse mentions in
a note that over a hundred perforated boar's
teeth were found when the earth was sifted,
besides numerous Hint knives or chisels, a
flaying instrument (? a stone celt), several
pieces of amber, one of them perforated and
in the form of a little round hammer, but no
object of metal.
The side stone in the centre on the \V.
had a few roughly carved marks at its base,
and opposite to it on the slab in the E.
^, T 1 , . side was a + rei^ularly cut. Herr Hart-
riG. 412. — Inscribed stones ^ >
from a wedge-shaped tomb in maun sDcaks of the iucised marks on the
tumulus near Halle, /'rom -.^r , , , • it r^
Krusc, ''Deutsche Alter- W. slab as " um decoratlou. One of the
thiimv" 1827, tab, i%'. r ' ^ r 1 r im
ngures reminds us ot the tern-like pattern at
New Grange, while others are not unlike ogauis^ and others,
again, resemble wild runes.
With regard to the pottery, Kruse considered that one of the
/^
■
111
iim-
Mm
Hi
^m^
^\ — ^^ — g
1
\ 1
Fig. 413. — Specimens of jtottcry fioin ilic loiiib at Halle.
larger urns probably served for meat-offerings, and a smaller one
for drink-offerings. He compares the whole structure to one
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 445
explored at Farrenstadt.f and thinks that it belongs to the same
race of people. The feature of the ante-chamber is more than
once noticed by him, as, for example, in the case of a "grave-
hill " near the Zschornhugel, near Langendorf, upon which Herr
Bergner, the explorer, remarks that " as it " {i.e. the ante-
chamber) " was large enough for a person to sit in," he con-
sidered that it was formed with the object of affording " a place
for praying to, or visiting the dead." This latter tomb was also
wedge-shaped, narrowing from 8 feet to 4 feet 6 ins. in the
middle, and to 3 feet at the further end. Bones and teeth of
animals, several decorated vessels, a copper needle with an eye,
and some flint implements, were found here.
Had these German antiquarians seen the wedge-shaped dolmens
of Ireland, or been present at the exploration of that in Cornwall,
with its wedge-shaped form, its stone table-slab, and its stratum
of ashes and broken pottery, they must, I think, have come to
the conclusion that, in spite of the fact that inhumation had been
practised in the German instances, and cremation in the Cornish
one, both belonged to one race, one state of culture, one order of
customs, and approximately to one date.
The evidence of the Cornish tumuli proved to me that in that
district the practice of inhumation preceded that of cremation, and
that the latter custom, including urn-burial, was still in use in the
Roman epoch. In two great tumuli on the edge of the cliff near
Newquay, I found in each case a stone cist containing an unburnt
body, representing the primary interment. Upon the roofing-
stone of one of these a fire had been kindled, which, to judge by
the immense quantity of burnt earth and stone above it, must have
been kept alight for a very considerable time. With the skeleton
in this tumulus lay a beautifully polished stone axe-hammer 4 ins.
long, and showing no marks of wear, exactly similar to a Scottish
example taken from a cairn at Fardenreogh, in Ayrshire,^ in
which an unburnt body was also found. In the case of the Cornish
tumulus, I discovered near the top of the mound, and many feet
above the cist, a little pile of burnt human bones, representing
a secondary interment, placed without urn or cist in a hole dug
t The stone structure in this case consisted of " two oblique rows of stones inclined towards one
another. Two entire skeletons, fragments of a very thin little vessel, a tusk of a pig perforated, a
pig's snout over one of the skulls, a vessel six inches high, and other small pigs' teeth with holes
ivere found in this structure." See Kruse, " Deutsche Alterthihiier," Bd. 2, Heft 2, 3 ; pp. 27, etseqq.
X Dr. J. Macdonald, "Ayr and Wigtonshire ArchKoI. Assoc," vol, iii. p. 78.
446
The Dolmens of Ireland.
to receive it. These Newquay mounds, with their central cists,
roofed in each case by a large thick stone, and containing unburnt
remains, belong to the end of the Neolithic, and beginning of the
Bronze Age, and are precisely comparable to the tumulus and
cist at Knockmaraidhe, in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.f
Chambers, such as those in Scilly and West Cornwall, which
Fig. 414.— Section of dolmen in tumulus at Tregiftlan, West Cornwall. By ilic Aul/ior.
resemble the long dolmens, except that their sides are formed of
walling instead of single slabs, are of later date than the purely
megalithic structures, and belong to the age of incineration. Sonie
Fig. 415. — Dolmen-mounils, and section of an incineration chamber in one of them, in Japan.
From Morse. Popular Science Monthly, 18 So.
of them, like the chambers in the sepulchral tumuli of far-distant
Japan, which they closely resemble, were actually the burning-places,
or C7'cmatoria, in which the fire was kindled for the destruction of
the body. I explored one such at Tregiffian, in the same parish
as the Tregaseal monument (I'ig. 414).
t See " Naniia Cornubice."
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 447
A narrow passage (running N.E. and S.W.), 4 feet 6 ins. long,
2 feet wide, and 2 feet 6 ins. deep, more like a creep, or sewer, or
the draught-hole of a furnace than an entrance, led into a chamber
roughly square in shape, measuring 4 feet 6 ins. each way. The
lower portion of it was constructed in a pit sunk in the natural
soil. One single block of rugged granite, 6 feet long by 5 feet
wide, roofed it in. In the debris, resting on the floor-level, were
found the fragments of an urn, and on the floor itself, burnt into
the surface of clay which formed it, was a stratum of calcined
human bones, mixed with the ashes of a peat fire. This con-
glomerate of burnt bones, charred wood, ashes, and clay extended
for some 3 feet into the passage adjoining. Burnt stones found
in the chamber, as well as indications of great heat on the walls
and roof, testified unmistakably to the fact that the fire which
consumed the body had been made in this instance within the
structure itself.
For the sake of comparison, I give, side by side, a section of
this monument, and that of one of the incineration chambers in
the Japanese prehistoric dolmen-mounds.
The Tregiffian structure is precisely comparable to that at
Coolrus, in the Queen's County, where a square pit, sunk 5 feet
in the ground, and faced with flags and dry masonry, was roofed
in by a stone 8 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 12 ins. thick, and
approached by a " sewer-like " passage extending 9 feet in an
easterly direction. Near the Coolrus monument many small cists
were found containing burnt bones, which may have been calcined
in the pit.
At another place, also called Tregiffian in Cornwall, but in
the Parish of Buryan, adjoining that of St. Just-in-Penwith, and
forming one of a group of megalith ic remains, including a circle,
three menhirs, and several other cairns, I explored a dolmen-
circle of exactly the same type as those at Carrowmore. A
monolith, now prostrate, once stood on the tumulus beside the
little dolmen. Upon the top of the covering-stone of the latter
lay a large quantity of ashes, burnt and splintered human bones,
and among them a flint flake or knife. Under the covering-stone
a very considerable quantity (enough to fill a cart more than
half full) of calcined bones mingled with ashes was taken up ;
and under a smaller flat stone, placed beneath the S. edge of the
large one, was an entirely separate and more carefully arranged
448 The Dolmens of Ireland.
deposit. The small pit in which it was placed was lined with
shell sand, peculiar to a particular cove — not the nearest cove —
but one situated some three or four miles distant. The bone
chips and ashes in this deposit would have filled a quart measure.
No pottery or metal object was found. The dolmen had been
enclosed in a ring of stones which formed the base and retaining
wall of the tumulus of stones and earth which covered it.
Thus we see that these types of Irish dolmen, — firstly, the
wedge-shaped elongated one ; secondly, the dolmen-circle or
dolmen-cairn ; thirdly, the cycviaforium, such as that at Coolrus —
are severally repeated in Cornwall.
The one type which would seem to be absent in Cornwall
is the chamber-tumulus, which I believe, however, is represented
in a way by such examples as that at Tregiffian, where the
narrow portion does not correspond to the narrowing termination
of the wedge-shaped dolmens, as in Clare, which were, I think,
always closed at the lower end, but open at the higher, but to
structures entered through a passage, as at New Grange.
It is further to be observed that Cornwall possesses its stone
circles, and menhirs, and stone cathairs, and cliff castles, and
earthen raths, and hut-towns, and hut-clusters, just as Ireland
does, and of types which are identical. The Caer, i.e. Catkai}-, for
example, of Chyvvoone, stands close to a fine dolmen, just as is
the case with several of the cathairs in the Burren of Clare.
Beehive huts, similar to those at Mount Eagle in Kerry, are to
be found in various places in the Land's End district, and, beneath
them (for they are generally on hillsides), almost every headland
on the coast is traversed by its lines of primitive fortifications,
as is the case on the Irish coast. A comparison of Cornish hut-
clusters with some near Glencullen on the Dublin mountains,
and of both with Welsh examples in Carnarvonshire, can leave no
doubt as to the identity of the series. These hut-towns, however,
were inhabited as late as the days of the Roman occupation of
Britain, so that from the Age of Stone, to which the earliest dolmens
belong, through that of Bronze, to which the cisted tumuli pertain,
and far into that of Iron, when a mining population dwelt in the
clustered beehive-huts, the Dumnonian peninsula (for Dartmoor,
with its alignments, and avenues leading to cairns, and stone
^athah's reproducing exactly those at Slievemore in Achill, must
not be excluded) was, as far as the races or tribes by whom it was
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles.
449
visited and settled were concerned, in the closest relation ethno-
logically with Ireland and Wales.
From Cornwall the transition to Wales is only natural. The
occurrence of dolmens on either side of the British Channel —
or (as it was once euphoniously called) the " Severne Sea " —
those at Pawton in Cornwall, for example, and Drewsteignton in
Devon, on the one side, and those in the Gower peninsula and
up the W. coast of Wales, on the hills N. of Barmouth especially,
on the other, coupled with the fact of their absence in North
England, and their great scarcity in Scotland, while the coasts
of Ireland possess them in plenty, all tend to give plausibility
to a theory that the route by which those who erected them
arrived was from the south, either down the English Channel or
up the western coast of Europe, and so round the Land's End
and up St. George's Channel and around the entire coast of
Ireland, which island they specially made their own.
In the peninsula of Gower are a very considerable number of
Fig. 416. — Plan of the Anta de Pa^o da Vinha. From Cartailhac. Scale O'oi m. = I'oo.
Showing cup-marks on cap-stone.
prehistoric remains, pre-eminent among which is the immense
dolmen called Arthur's Quoit, on the northern slope of Bryn Cefn,
r^'/almt* ^PTTwraa ^ffifflia
jimajuiii|[|||t»u'y ^^
^BOEJJJIjgj, ^E23
Fig. 417. — Plan of the chambered tumulus of (Javr-lnis. After Bertrand.
surrounded by upwards of eighty cairns. The cap-stone, although
pieces have been broken off it, still measures 14 feet 6 ins. long,
450
The Dolmens of Ireland.
6 feet 8 ins. broad, and 7 feet 5 ins. high. It is said to have
rested originally on ten or eleven supporters. In size and rugged-
ness it is comparable to such
structures as Kiltiernan and Bally-
mascanlan, in Ireland.
Another point of comparison
between Welsh and Irish dolmens
is to be found in the circumstance
that two monuments are fre-
quently found in near proximity to each other. In the case
of those between Carnarvon and Barmouth, I have observed
Kir,. 418. — Plan of dolmen at Kercado.
From MoriilUl.
^^^i^mmm^m^msmm
Fig. 419. — Plan of tlie alL'c couzerlc at Mane Lud. Frotii Bcrtrand.
several instances of this, which recall examples in the counties of
Antrim and Donegal.
Among the dolmens of Wales is the extremely interesting
Fk;. 420. — Plan of the dolmen of Vr Ogof. Etched hy the writer from that by Captain I.uhis iit
the '' ArchtEol. Caml>r." 1869.
passage-dolmen of Yr Ogof.f a structure of a class which, while it
is well represented in the long covered dolmens in Brittany, such
as those at Mane Lud J (Locmariaker), Kercado (Carnac), and
Gavr Innis,§ finds almost, I may say, its double, both as regards
t •' Archreol. Camb." (1869), p. 140.
§ II/k1.
+ Bertrand, " Diet. Archeol.," in voc.
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 451
the form of its chamber and the passage approaching it, in the
passage dolmens of Portugal f (Fig. 416). It is, according to my
definition, a dolmen and not a chamber, being roofed in with Hat
Fig. 421. — rillai-sti ne at Temair. A/ici' Petrie.
flags ; but it takes its place, not among the wedge-shaped
structures, which were closed at the lower and narrower end, but
midway between a monument such as that at Coolrus, consisting
of an avenue and covered pit, and the chamber of the tumulus of
New Grange, of which latter, again, the Loughcrew cairns in
Meath and some of the Caithness and Argyllshire examples are
reproductions in miniature.
The shaded circles in the plan of Yr Ogof are pillar-stones
abraded or worked in circular form so as to be described as
" nearly polished." That in the inner chamber has been removed.
It appears that it was free-standing, that is to say, it did not
touch the original roof. It must have resembled the pillar-stone
commonly called the '* Bod Fergusa " at Tara, and Captain Lukis
compares it with the styles on altars in India, against which
stone celts were customarily placed. In the older plans of
New Grange, as we have seen, a conical stone is shown as
having been at one time in the centre of the principal chamber
there.
In the peninsula of Gower is the Cwm Park tumulus explored
by Sir John Lubbock, with which and others of like type in
t Cartailhac, "Ages Prehist. de I'Espagne," fig. 254, Anta de Pa9o da Vinha.
452 The Dolmens of Ireland.
Britain, namely, those of Plas Newydd in Anglesey, of Uley and
Rodmarton in Gloucestershire, of West Kennet in Wiltshire, of
Stoney-Littleton in Somersetshire, and that known as Wayland
Smith's Cave in Berkshire,! are to be connected the Irish
■chambered tumuli, all situated in the counties of Meath, Armagh,
Monaghan, Sligo, and Mayo.
According to Canon Greenwall, all monuments of the elongated
type are developments of the Long Barrows of the Yorkshire
Fig. 422. — Plan of the tumulus and chamber at Ulejbury. From T7uirna»i.
wolds, that strange class of structure which the same authority
and Professor Rolleston attribute to the earliest inhabitant of
Britain, the dolichocephalic monopolist of the previously unpeopled
isle.
Whether a Long Barrow of this primitive type has ever been
found in Ireland is doubtful. Mr. Plunkett,J of Enniskillen,
examined a mound in Fermanagh, which he took to be one, but
his excavations were without result. It is necessary that we
should have a right conception of what a Long Barrow is,
and for this purpose I turn to Canon Greenwell's work.§ It is,
then, a tumulus in the form of half a pear divided lengthways,
and placed with the flat side downwards. The higher and
broader end of the mound is usually towards the east, the longi-
tudinal axis of the pile lying E. and W. In cases where the
drain or passage beneath terminates in a chamber, the entrance
to this passage is almost invariably at the eastern extremity,
although examples occur where it is in the side. This entrance
is not unusually in the centre of a semicircle formed by horn-
shaped protuberances either spreading out from the mound, or
recurved, like rams' horns, into it, flanked in either case by low
t "Congres Internal." (Norwich, 1868), p. 46.
% Troc. R.I. A., and Ser,, vol. i. p. 323. § "British Barrows."
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 453.
containing-walls of stone. Where these horns spread outwards,
the whole structure, if looked down upon from above, would
not be unlike a bovine head.
To examples of these types we shall return. At present we
are only dealing with the simpler class. These latter are to be
found in the north of England, in parts of Yorkshire especially,
where Canon Greenwell and Professor Rolleston have thoroughly
investigated the structure and contents of several examples, the
only drawback to the account they have published being that
the descriptions, although lucid, are unaccompanied by plans.
The simpler mounds do not attain the great dimensions of
the chambered tumuli, nor, as has been said, do they possess
the feature of "horns." Their form, however, their rude and
peculiar internal arrangements, their contents, and in especial
the distinctive type of the human remains they cover, justify the
conclusion (supposing, with Professor Rolleston, that custom in
this case may safely be taken as a test of race) that they are the
work of one and the same people with those who constructed the
chambered examples, although it may be at an earlier period, and
in a less forward stage of savage existence.
In the process of construction in the Yorkshire Long Barrows,
the preliminary operation seems to have been the placing upon
the natural surface of the ground a long layer of clay or a
pavement of flagstones, which was destined to occupy a position-
immediately under the centre line of the tumulus when subse-
quently piled up.
Upon these floorings it is usual to find deposits of bones, botli
of man and beast. In some cases, as in that of the Westow
Barrow in the North Riding, " it seemed almost certain that
some of the human bodies . . . had been buried in an entire
condition, and with the bones in their proper order and juxta-
position;" but this condition of things appears to have been
rather the exception than the rule. Indeed, in this very same
deposit the bones of other bodies were found " in a broken and
dislocated state." Speaking of a Long Barrow at Rudstone, Canon
Greenwell remarks, "In this, as in some other Long Barrows,
there was apparently no burial of what seemed to have been an
unmutilated body, all the bones having been, before they were
deposited in the mound, more or less disjointed, and, in some
cases, perhaps, fractured."
454 The Dolmens of Ireland.
Sometimes the remains of as many as five bodies were found
upon the central area beneath one of these barrows, all of them
beino- in a disjointed condition. This phenomenon, to whatever
custom or cause it. is to be assigned, is not confined to the
barrows of the ruder sort, but is observable also in the case of
the remains found in the more elaborate chambered tumuli of the
south-west of England, that is, in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and
Somerset.
Over the bone-deposit was raised, in the case of the Yorkshire
barrows, a pile of stones intermixed with turf or wood. Upon
this heap the tumulus was raised, and (what is most singular)
after this had been done, as it would appear, fire was applied to
the interior of the mound, kindled, seemingly, in cross trenches or
in holes which are found filled with ashes at the end of the
tumulus, and thence driven by means of a draught through a
duct, or through hollow stones, into the part where the bones
were, with the result that the latter are found to be partially or
wholly calcined, according to the strength of the fire introduced,
and its power to reach the part furthest from where it was kindled.
Upon this curious feature in the arrangement the explorer
observes that "it is not easy to say how the fire was applied in
the first instance, but it is not unlikely that the cross-trench at the
S.E. end of the mesial deposit" in some barrows, "and the holes
found in a similar position " in others, " were connected with the
ignition of the pile." In one example " there seemed to have
been a further provision for continuing the operation of burning,
by means of side openings along the line of the mesial deposit. The
mode of arrangement of the stones in the form of a ridge-shaped
pile by means of which a draught might be kept up, and which
corresponds with the manner of placing the limestones in certain
descriptions of kilns for burning lime at the present day, seems
to show how the fire would gradually spread from the place where
it commenced until it reached the limits sought to be attained.
This complete ignition was not always effected, for, in the cases of
two barrows, the burning gradually decreased in intensity towards
the W. end of the deposit of bones, where it was found to have
died out, leaving them entirely uncalcined. . . ." " It is probable,"
adds Canon Greenwell, " that at the end of the deposit furthest
from that where the fire was applied, there was a construction
of the nature of a chimney through which to carry the draught ;
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 455
of this, however, I have not met Avith any distinct signs, though
there was somewhat of such an arrangement in one barrow."
"In one instance," however, "there was an evident provision
for creating a draught, made by narrow chimney-shaped upright
flues, connected with the Hne of burning along the centre of the
mound. The way in which the ordinary material of the mound
was affected by heat appears to make it certain that the whole
of the barrow was thrown up before the fire was applied ; and,
though it does not seem to be an easy operation to ignite any
material covered up by incombustible matter in the way in which
it is found to be enclosed in these barrows, yet, when the peculiar
arrangement of the stones immediately overlaying the bones is
considered, it does not appear to be at all impossible. The men
who were employed in opening one of these barrows were
accustomed to burn lime, and they all agreed that there would
be no difficulty in setting on fire and igniting the deposit in which
the bones were placed, even though that was covered by the
ordinary material of the mound ; indeed, it became quite clear
to them how the operation had been completed before my doubts
on the subject were resolved."
This most interestine account makes it clear that tumuli of
this class were not sepulchres in the ordinary sense of the word,
but that they were raised over the sites where some savage
ceremonial had been performed, presenting phenomena quite
distinct from what would have appeared if either simple in-
humation or cremation on a funeral pile had been practised.
The fact is that, instead of looking for simplicity of custom
among the savages of primitive ages, we should expect to find the
reverse. Civilization has tended to divest the rites connected
with death and the disposal of the dead of the superstitious
practices and barbarous orgies which accompanied them when
the fetich faith was the only form of belief known to man, when
Death and Deity were synonymous, when the cultus of the
inanimate, and especially of that form of it which had been animate
— the worship, that is to say, of dead ancestors — was the sole and
universal religion of the world.
As to the fact that the bodies had been severed into pieces,
that need not imply, as some have thought, the practice of can-
nibalism. Diodorus Siculus states that the inhabitants of the
Balearic Isles, who, it must be remembered, were Iberians, had a
456 The Dolmens of Ireland.
strange custom with regard to the burial of the dead : " They
cut the corpse into fragments with wooden knives or axes, and
placed all the several portions in an urn." The use of wooden
instruments for the performance of a rite, at so late a period as
that in which this author wrote, when iron was ready to their
hand, points (like the stone knife employed in the rite of circum-
cision in the East) to the premetallic antiquity of the custom.
The MM. Siret found that a similar method of disposing of the
body had prevailed in South-Eastern Spain, and Herr Schliemann
states that he found jars containing human remains at Hissarlik.
In Smith's "History of Cork"j will be found an illustration
representing a jar containing human remains found in that county.
It was found with three others, placed in a kind of triangle in the
earth, and made of fine clay, each capable of holding about
i6 gallons. Around their rims was "a rude kind of carved
work." Each urn was 4 feet high, 2 feet in diameter at the
centre, and 16 inches at mouth and bottom. "In one of them
was the skeleton of a man. The ribs and smaller bones were
bundled up, and tied with copper wire, rusted green, as were those
of the thighs, arms, etc. The skull was placed near the mouth of
the urn. None of the bones had passed through the fire." In
the second urn was an anomalous substance, supposed to be the
remains of the flesh ; and in the third, a small quantity of pieces
of copper of irregular shape, like chipped money devoid of in-
scription.|
Some similar mode of disposing of the body, perhaps by its
having been left exposed for a considerable time and allowed
to fall to pieces, may account for the presence in neolithic
sepulchres in various parts of Europe, of little piles of bones
carefully arranged, and having the skull disposed on the top of
them.
There is, however, another question which I will postpone
until I have briefly noticed the chambered tumuli in England
and Scotland, which may be regarded as developments of this
primitive type. That question is, " Do the phenomena presented
by the Long Barrows point to the practices either of anthro-
pophagy or human sacrifice, or of both '^. "
The Cwm Park tumulus in the Gower peninsula contained
t Vol. ii. p. 410, and pi. xi.
+ Can they have been copper arrow-heads, such as arc found in Spain ?
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 457
a regularly built passage and chambers,f in which latter the
remains of at least forty human bodies were discovered. The
bones were jumbled together in a state of utter confusion, and
were unbiirnt. They were not accompanied by any implement
or object of metal. The entrance consisted of a funnel-shaped
passage which led to the cells, and the excellence of the dry
masonry of its retaining walls led Fergusson to the just conclusion
that this approach was " meant to be seen and kept open."
The Plas Newydd tumulus presents a similarly wide-splayed
entrance. It is near a fine dolmen with two covering-stones. The
mound in this case measures 50 yards long. The funnel-shaped
entrance is at the E. side. The chamber measures 7 feet long and
3 feet 3 ins. wide, and is roofed by two slabs. An avenue of stone
leads up to the entrance, another proof that it was intended to be
visited. Two holes have been pierced in the slab which crosses the
entrance, a feature which I will notice separately and at more length.
The Uley tumulus is very similar in its internal structural
arrangement to that at Cwm Park. In each case there are four
cells, two being placed on either side of the passage. The
mound measures 120 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 10 feet high.
The chamber is 22 feet long, 4.^ feet wide, and 5 feet high. As
at Cwm Park, a confused mass of unburnt bones was found.
The West-Kennet example is a mound measuring 336 feet long
^'i>
'J,
Fig. 423. — Plan of chambered Long Barrow at West Kennel. Scale 60 feet = i inch.
From Thiirnavi and Davis.
by 75 feet wide at its broadest part. In common with that at New
Grange, one of the Clava cairns, and others, it was originally
surrounded by a peristyle, as is shown in the curious drawing by
Aubrey in 1665 (Fig, 424). The passage is 15 feet long by 3 feet
t See plan, infra. Part IV.
VOL. II.
458
The Dolmens of Ireland.
6 ins. wide, and leads to a chamber 8 feet long by g ins. wide. Dr.
Thurnam found here six original interments under a stratum of
black, sooty, greasy matter, 3 to 9 ins. thick. The bones were
C? "vEs ^3 s^ CD c? <c^ ^_
Fig. 424.
■ Barrow at West Kennet, Fro/n a sketch by Aubrey in 1665, /row e/ie
" Crania Bn/aniiica,'^
k^
not burnt, and, in the case of two of the skulls, fractures had
been made, which the eminent craniologist who explored the
chamber considered to have been the cause of death, and to have
been purposely inflicted by
human agency. Other
skulls were found entire.
Pieces of coarse black pot-
tery were also present in
remarkable quantities. No
vessels were found whole,
but there were fragments
of fifty at least, piled to-
FlG. 42:;. — Ground-plan of chamber at West Kennet. ., • i^i. ,
^ ^ gether m corners. rlmt
implements, chippings, and cores accompanied these remains, but
nothing of metal.
In point of plan and construction, the West-Kennet monument
may be said to be identical with
that of the Hiinengrab of Nas-
chendorf, in Mecklenburg.f Sir
John Lubbock has remarked the
resemblance of the former to one
in the island of Moen, and it
may be compared also with that
known by the name of " Harold
Hildetand's Tomb" at Lethra,
in Zeeland. In these Scandi-
navian examples the bones are
imburnt, as has also been found
to be the case in the very similar
Htinebedden of Mecklenburg, Hanover, and Drenthe.
Fig. 426. — Weyland Smith's Cave. Scale
20 feet = I inch. From the Nonvich Con-
gress of Prehist. Architology, 1868.
t Schroter and Lisch, " Friderico-Francisceum," Leipzig (1824), pi. xxxvi. Vide infra.
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 459
Two varieties of these structures in England remain to be
noticed, each of which has its counterpart in respect of its charac-
teristic feature amonof the chambered tumuH of Scotland and
Ireland. The first variety is the cruciform arrangement of the
chambers or cells, of which in Ireland we have examples at
New Grange, Loughcrew, and in the island of Achill ; and of
which the Orkney Islands afford us so notable an example in that
of Maeshowe (Fig. 427), fa structure, by the way, the ground-plan
of which recalls those of the Siva temples of India.
The English example of this cruciform arrangement meets us
in the case of no less noteworthy a monument than that called
** Weyland Smith's Cave," in the county of Berkshire, a plan
of which I have given above (Fig. 426).
" Congres int. d'Amh. et d'Archreol." (Xorwich, i86S), p. 46.
The second variety is that displayed by those tumuli in which
the so-termed horns at the extremity do not curve backwards
like rams' horns, and so form a funnel-like entrance, but turn
Fig. 427. — Plan and section of chambered tumulus at Maes Howe.
outwards in a semicircular or crescent-shaped form. In Ireland
the best example of this peculiarity is to be seen in the ground-
plan of the chambered cairn at Annacloghmullin,| in Armagh.
It is also observable in that near Newbliss,§ and in the form
•of the tumulus at Doohat, in Fermanaorh.jl The two latter
t "Archreol. Journal," vol. xviii. p. 355 (Petrie).
: Fig. 278. § Fig. 269. II Fi^
219.
460 The Dolmens of Ireland.
monuments have their exact counterparts in cairns in Argyllshire,
Caithness, and the Western Islands. The Armagh example
presents us with a far more interesting comparison, namely, in the
" Tombeaux des Gcants " of Sardinia, examples of which I will
presently subjoin.
For English examples of this feature we may turn to Sir
John Maclean's paper on tumuli on the Cotteswold Hills, in
Fig. 428. — Ground-plan of chambered cairn at Varhou>e. From Anderson.
Gloucestershire. One of these, which may be taken in illus-
tration, called the West Tump Barrow, measures 149 feet long,
76 feet broad at one end, and 41 feet at the other. The height.
at the highest point, is ro feet 3 ins. " Horns " forming a semicircle
are placed at the broader end, which faces the S.E, There is
no sign of a similar arrangement at the other end, as in several,
if not all, of the Scottish examples.
For an account of the exploration of the Caithness cairns we
turn to Professor Anderson's "Scotland in Pagan Times." f Two
very large cairns lie from E. to W. across the crest of a hill
overlooking the southern end of the loch of Yarhouse. Both
are of elongated form, and both have at either end horn -like
projections, "falling gradually to the level of the ground." The
larger cairn measured 240 feet long, 66 feet broad at the E. end,
and 36 feet at the W. end ; 12 feet high at the E. end, and 5 feet
at the W. end. In this respect — namely, that the most elevated
point was towards the E. — these cairns present a parallel to the
Long Barrows of Britain, and to the Hiinebedden in Drenthe,
but differ from the wedge-shaped dolmens of Ireland, the highest
point in which is almost invariably towards the west, the
monument sloping downwards and diminishing also in breadth
towards the east.
At Yarhouse, in the centre of the semicircle, is the entrance to
t Tlie volume entitled " Hronac and Stone Age," p. 230, e! scqq.
Structurat, Comparisons in the British Isles. 461
a passage, 2 feet wide, 10 feet long, and 4 feet high at the inner
end, where it communicates with a chamber 12 feet long by about
6 feet broad, the walls of which, after rising vertically for 7 feet, are
replaced by an overlap which forms the first stage of a vaulted
roof, as at New Grange. The chamber is divided into three
sections or compartments, following on each other consecutively, as
at Annacloghmullin in Armagh (where there are four), by divisional
stones projecting from the side walls, so as to leave an aperture
about 2 feet wide between their inner edges. The third and inner-
most chamber differs from the others in the construction of its roof,
which is not formed in the beehive fashion, but consists of a single
enormous block of stone, resting in front on the second pair of
partition stones, and supported at the back by another great slab
set on edge. Were the rest of the chamber and the cairn to be
removed, this portion would exactly resemble a dolmen. The
height of the cell beneath the roofing-stone was not more than
3 feet in front, and 2 feet at the back. The entrance into it was
closed by a slab fitting the aperture. The interior was found to
have been filled with stones from fioor to roof. Taken together,
the three compartments did not occupy more than a twentieth part
of the entire length of the cairn. The floor of the compartments
was formed of a dark-coloured clay, in which rough paving-stones
had been partially and irregularly laid. The surface of the clay
was hard, like a well-trodden floor. The substance of the
floor was a compacted mass, about 5 ins. thick, of earthy clay,
plentifully intermixed with ashes, charcoal, wood, and calcined
bones in a condition of extreme comminution. The amount of
bone-ash in it was very large, but no fragment of bone in it
measured above an inch in length. About a dozen chips of flint,
and two fragments of pottery, well made, hard-baked, thin, and of
black paste, were also found in it. In these details it will be
noticed how exactly the contents of these chambers correspond
with those of the Cornish examples explored by me.
The second cairn was almost precisely similar to the first, with
the exception that the innermost of the three compartments of the
chamber was semicircular, and seemed to have been included
under the same vaulted roof which covered the other two. On
the floor of the first compartment, to the left of the entrance, a cist
had been placed, formed by slabs set on edge, and covered by
smaller slabs. It measured 4 feet 4 ins. in length, 20 ins. in width,
462 The Dolmens of Ireland.
and 9 ins. in depth, and upon the floor of it was a whitish layer of
bones, in dark, earthy clay. At the E. end of this cist were the
softened fragments of an urn, ornamented with parallel bands of
impressions of a twisted cord, with which a necklace of small beads
of lignite had been deposited. With this smaller cist within the
chamber I should venture to compare those discovered by me in
the Ballowal tumulus in West Cornwall, described in the " Archceo-
logia." The floor of the chamber itself consisted of a layer of clay
and ashes, intermixed with charcoal and burnt bones, both human
and animal. On the surface of this compacted floor, which was
6 ins. in depth, was a loose layer in which were fragments of
human bones imbitrnt. In the corners of the compartments were
numbers of human teeth. No pottery or flint was found here.
Other cairns in the same neio;-hbourhood showed variations
from the type presented by these two. In one instance two
passages entered the tumulus from one side, one of which was of
the usual tripartite construction, the other a long straight passage,
17 feet in length, terminating in a small and roughly circular cell,
havinor a beehive roof. In the former of these chambers was the
usual compacted mass of clay and ashes, mixed with burnt bones,
human and animal, and upoti it, in a loose layer, a few fragments
of skulls and other human bones, mingled with splintered bones of
the horse, ox, deer, and swine. No pottery or flints were found
in this case.
Another variety of these cairns is of a shorter form, the
chamber occupying the centre, and the horns giving to the ground-
plan a cruciform appearance. In some cases the explorations
disclosed a layer of ashes extending under as well as over the
pavement of the chamber, a circumstance also found by me to be
present in Cornish chambers. The natural subsoil underneath
was occasionally deeply pitted, the pits being filled with the same
compacted mass of ashes and bones. In one chamber as many as
thirty fragments of skulls were found. The bones were very
irregularly burnt, some being merely charred for a part of their
length, a fact which is to be compared with what is found in the
Long Barrows of Yorkshire, as also are the evidences that rites
connected with fire had been practised on the surface previous to
the erection of the chamber or tumulus. Besides human bones,
those of animals and birds were distinguishable, namely, of the
horse, ox, deer, dog, swine, and leg and wing bones of fowls.
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 463
Fragments of pottery, of dark round-bottomed vessels, hard and
smooth, but without ornament, were found, as also flints, in one
instance a flint knife and arrow-head, and a finely polished instru-
ment of grey granite perforated.
To this truncated and cruciform variety belongs the Cah'n of
Get, lying in a hollow among the
hills at Garrywhin, near Bruan. In
this case the floor was composed
of the usual compacted mass of
ashes and bones. Four imburnt
skeletons were found here, the skulls
lying close to the wall on the right
of the entrance. The quantity of
human and animal bones in this
instance was very great. Flints,
chips, and flakes also occurred,
pottery of a blackish colour, belong-
ing to round-bottomed vessels, and
three leaf-shaped arrow-heads. The
positive identity of this structure
with one near Newbliss in Mona-
ghan will be seen at a glance on
turning to the plan of that monument (Part I., p. 269).
Another variety of these cairns is circular. One at Camster,
measuring 75 feet in diameter, has a long passage leading to a
high central chamber. The plan and section of this is so exceed-
ingly like New Grange that I reproduce it here. " A number of
Fig. 429. — Ground-plan of the " Cairn of
Get." From Anderson.
Fig. 430. — Section of clianiljurcd cairn at Caai.-^lcr. I-roin Anderson.
bones, both human and animal, were found on the floor of the
chamber. Among these bones, on the surface of the floor, was an
iron sinele-edeed knife or dao-aer-blade, about 4 ins. in leno^th.
Two human skulls, with the bones of the upper extremities, were
found among the stones with which the passage was filled. As
464
The Dolmkn's of Ireland.
usual, a layer of burnt bones and ashes formed the lloor of the
chamber, from 9 ins. to i foot in thickness. Human bones were
mixed with those of animals, for the most part burnt. Three
different human skeletons, at least, had orone to form the fragments.
Many pieces of pottery were
found, all of which had be-
longed to round-bottomed
vessels, thin, black, and hard-
baked. Some of the vessels
had thickened and others
everted lips. One of them
was pierced with holes im-
mediatelyunder the rim. Very
similar vessels occur in the
Gra//teuvelsoi North Brabant. f
A small and finely formed flint
knife was also found among
the debris!^
All these cairns show
evidence of the same structure
internally, namely, a tripartite chamber. In one instance the third
chamber opens off the second, not from the end, but from one side,
being thus placed at right angles to the passage, an arrangement
which may be regarded as a commencement of the cruciform
<^'^0=^{j't)«'OMjad;w<Qf|J
Fig
431. — Section of chambered tumulus at
Camsler. From Anderson.
Fig. 432. — Section of chambered cairn at Achnacree. I'rovi Anderson.
shape of structure observable at New Grange, at Slieve Callighe,
and in many other examples.
The chambered cairns of Argyll and Orkney show the same
general features as those of Caithness. That at Achnacree, in
Argyllshire, is in section as strikingly like that of New Grange as
is that of Camster, just mentioned. The cairn in which it is, is
approximately circular, with a diameter of 75 feet. On the floor
fragments of urns were found, of a fine, dark-coloured, hard-baked
paste. One of them is a wide-mouthed, thick-lipped, round-
t Prosper Cuypers, Nijhoff, Hijdragen, vol. iv. p. 194, pi. ii.
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 465
bottomed vessel, 7 ins. in diameter and 4 ins. deep. Canon Green-
well explored a cairn at Largie measuring 130 feet in diameter.
In the centre was a chamber 19 feet long, divided into four com-
partments by partitional slabs set across the floor, the number of
septa therefore corresponding to that of those at AunaclochmuUin.
In the largest compartment was a cist placed in one corner, as at
Yarhouse. The substance of the floor was dark, earthy matter,
plentifully interspersed with burnt bones, human and animal,
together with flakes, knives, scrapers of flint, and barbed arrow-
heads unburnt. Close to the side of the chamber was found a
vessel, 6 ins. in height and 12 ins. in width at the mouth. It is
round-bottomed, and has a broad, flat lip. It is composed of a
dark, hard-baked paste, and the surface is ornamented with vertical
flutings. At Kilchoan another cairn was opened by the Rev. R. K.
Mapleton. It contained three compartments, in which were found
burnt bones, flint knives, scrapers and flakes, and the fragments
of a well-made urn.
On the Holm of Papa-Westra is a chambered cairn 115 feet in
length, 55 feet in breadth, and 10 feet in height. The entrance is
in the middle of the eastern side, and consists of a low passage
I foot 10 ins. in width, 2 feet 8 ins. in height, and 18 feet in
length. The chamber measures 67 feet in length by 5 feet in
width, and is divided into three compartments, the central one
being 45 feet in length, the one at the north-eastern end 7 feet,
and that at the south-western 12 feet. Opening off the long
passage-chamber are a series of cells, round or oval in form. One
is placed at either end, and six on either side. They average
4 feet in length by 3 feet in width, and from 3 feet to 5 feet 6 ins.
in height. No results attended the exploration of this most
curious cairn. In the case of another cairn, also at Papa Westra,
having a tripartite division, as at Caithness, the chamber being
12 feet in length, the entire floor was strewn with bones of
animals, and in it were imbedded the remains of at least ten
human skeletons tinbiinit. The bones of animals included those
of common domestic kinds. Among them were also no less than
eleven pairs of the antlers of red deer.
At Burray is a cairn with horned or crescent-shaped endings,
as at Caithness. Near the opening into the entrance-passage ten
human skulls, unburnt, were discovered. Bones of domestic
animals were also found here, and among them seven skulls of
dogs.
466
The Dolmens of Ireland.
At Unstan, near Stennis, is a chambered cairn measuring 50
feet in diameter. A passage on the south-eastern side, 2 feet in
width and 14 feet in length, opens into a chamber 21 feet in length
by 6 feet 6 ins. in width in the centre, but narrowing to 4 feet
in width at one end and to 5 feet at the other, giving the whole
a boat or barge-shaped appearance. It is divided into five
compartments. Across the entrances to the two terminal com-
partments slabs had been placed in the manner of doors. Upon
the floor was a large quantity of bones, human and animal.
Evidence of cremation was present in burnt bones and charcoal.
Pieces of broken pottery were exceedingly numerous. They were
the fragments of large, shallow, round-bottomed vessels, with more
or less vertical rims. One measured 14 ins. in diameter, and 5 ins.
in depth in the centre. The pattern round it is composed of
alternate triangles, filled up with diagonal and horizontal lines.
The prevailing type of vessel here, as also in Argyllshire, found
in cairns is round-bottomed, with vertical brim, and thick, flat, or
bevelled lip. The composition is a hard, dark-coloured paste.
The ornamentation is that which belongs to the Bronze Age,
and the shape somewhat resembles that of vessels found in the
artificial cave of Palmella, in Portugal.
From the floor of the Unstan cairn were also taken up
numerous flint implements, such as arrow-heads, scrapers, and
knives, which had passed through the fire. " Taking the Orkney
group of chambered cairns as a whole," says Professor Anderson,
" we find it presenting the same essential characteristics as are
exhibited by the groups which have been described on the
mainland of Scotland. There is considerable variation in the
arrangement of the chambers, and a strongly marked tendency
to a grouping of smaller cells round the main chamber, which
may be regarded as a local peculiarity of the Orkney Islands."
" Comparing the general features of all the groups (namely, those
of Caithness, Argyll, and Orkney), we find that while the typical
relationship is abundantly obvious, there is also obvious a strong
local differentiation in each of the groups, which imparts to it a
special character of its own."
A chambered cairn at Clawa, in Strathnairn, near Inverness,
may here be mentioned before we part with tlie Scottish series.
It is circular in shape, with a diameter of 50 feet, and a height of
10 feet. A ring of large blocks — a peristyle, that is to say, as
Structural Comparisons in the British Isles. 467
Islands. From '■''Mai. pour
Hist, de niomine"
at New Grange — surrounds the base. A passage, 18 feet in length
and 2 feet in width, enters a circular chamber 13 feet in diameter.
In structure this chamber was a beehive. On the floor were burnt
bones and fragments of urns.
Of these urns it is remarked that
they were larger, thicker, more
rudely formed, and less carefully
fired than those from the cham-
bered tumuli of Argyllshire.
Taking into consideration,
therefore, the structural affinities
between the chambered cairns
just described and those of New
Grange, Dowth, Loughcrew,
Annaclochmullin, and Newbliss
in Ireland, we may safely con-
clude that a race, possessing
similar customs, inhabited, at
that epoch, the North-West of Fig. 433.— Canary
Scotland and the islands, and
also portions of North Leinster and Ulster. These districts
are those which tradition assigns to the Picts. A comparison
of sculpturings, both on the walls and lintels of the so-called
"Picts"' House at Papa Westra (Fig. 351), and on covering-
stones of cists such as
those of Carnwath (Fig.
436) and Annan Street
(F'ig. 437) near Yarrow,
with the Irish examples,
show parallel affinities.
The concentric circles, T«L\i-' xj ^.^ "^^-^ r-^)
with the line to the «fe^-'~^ ^0/3 ^., &:
central cup in Fig. 435,
connects these patterns
with those in ruder
sculpturings, as, for example, one found near Youghal now in
the museum at Kilkenny.y The cist-cover (Fig. 437) shows
also the simpler type. It is a very remarkable fact that
similar sculpturings occur not only in Brittany, as we shall see,
t See Journ, R.H.A.A.I., 1885-86, p. 604.
Fig. 434. — Cover of a cist at Carnwath.
468
The Dolmens of Ireland.
but in the Canary Islands, where the typical boat (Flo-. 341,
Fk;. 435. — Sculptured cover of a stone cist at Carnwath (Scotland), //ww Anderson's
^"^ Scotland in Pa^an 7iincs" " S/one Age" p. 87.
New Grange), the spiral, and the serpentine figure are all
present f
Fig. 436.— Annan Street, near Yarrow. From D. Wilson, " Prchist. Ann. of Scotland^' p. 334.
Some antiquaries have denied the existence of dolmens, as
distinguished from cisted cairns and
chambered tumuli, in Scotland.
This is, however, untrue. Dr.
Angus Smith \ has proved the
existence of two, at all events, on
Ledaig Hill in Achnacree-Beg,
near Loch Etive. So near together
p.., „ ^ r • - u I un T> were they that the circles of the
V 10. 437. — Cover of a cist, Bakerhdl, Ross- -^
shire. From Simpson, '■'■Archaic caimS which SUrrOUttdcd them mUSt
Sculpturtngs.'^
t See M.S. Berihelot, ••Antiquities Canariennes," 1879, pi. 18, Fig. 8. The sculpturings
are at the entrance of a cave at Belmaco in the He de la Parma. See also Figs, i, 3, and 5 for
marks similar to those on rocks in Ireland. See also pi. 3 in the same work for a dolmen habitation
at Fortavcnlure.
X •'Loch Ktive," p. 257.
Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice. 469
have met. One of them he describes as a large granite table
on ten boulders ; the other as a smaller one upon five boulders.
Near a well on this hill it was customary to hang pieces of cloth or
string on the bushes.
Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice.
Before extending my comparisons of the Irish dolmens and
chambers beyond the limits of the British Isles, I would here
return to the question, " Was the primitive and dolichocephalic
inhabitant of these islands a cannibal, or, whether he was or was
not so, does the exploration of the monuments tend to prove that
he offered human or other sacrifices at these places ? "
The rites performed by those who raised the Long Barrows
of the Yorkshire Wolds were, as we have seen, of the most
barbarous kind. Limb had been separated from limb, and the
bones broken, and all this before the tumulus had been raised
over the remains. In addition to this, the human bones were
accompanied by those of animals, which had been treated,
apparently, in a precisely similar manner. We should not
hesitate to regard the latter as evidence of feasting — what are
we to say of the former .'*
The eminent Danish antiquary, Worsaae, has made the curious
remark that in the fetich stage of the worship of ancestors^
the eating of the body may have borne some direct relation
to the religious ideas which gave occasion to the feasting, and
he throws out this hint to account for the discovery in the
shell-mound refuse of Denmark, of disjointed fragments of the
human body, and bones artificially split, just such phenomena as
the Long Barrows present. f
Sr. Delgado regards the natural caves of Cesareda, on the
Tagus,J as the " halls for cannibal feasts." In these Spanish
caves, marks of posthumous trepanning have been found, which
must have been the work of human agency, and if it be concluded
that the object of making such incisions was to extract the brain,
all doubt on the subject would be removed.
In the Province of Reggio (Emilie), in Southern Italy, the
t Mr. Morse noticed in the shell- and refuse-mounds of Japan human bones which had been
broken in the same manner as those of the animals which were found with them.
X Commissao geologica de Portugal, " Noticia acerda das grutas de Cesareda," Lisbon, 1867.
470 The Dolmens ok Ireland.
Abbe Chierici explored a natural cavern in which he considered
that there were evidences of human sacrifice. The primitive
population of this district was dolichocephalic. In the inner
end of the cave was a raised platform, formed by stones set
along the wall, to the height of half a inHre. This platform
measured 5 m. long, and from 1-50 m. broad. Upon it were
deposited the remains of skulls which had been subjected
to fire, while scattered around were human jawbones unburnt.
There were distinct traces of a fire having been kindled within
the cave, the floor of which was composed of layers of carbon,
burnt earth and stone, stone axes and other implements, and
broken pottery, and interspersed with this mass of dddris, human
bones dismembered and scattered about, together with those of
animals — pig, dog, and sheep. A bronze nail and a vessel of
bronze were also found. To quote the words of the explorer :
*' La caverne contient, en effet, tous les elements necessaires
pour representer des semblables sacrifices. Pour dire toute ma
pensee, je pense qu'au sacrifice s'ajoutait la distribution des
membres du victime, ce qui expliquerait la confusion, et la
dispersion des ossements."
This writer adds a very curious theory with regard to the
unburnt jawbones. He states, and truly, that in other cases
in Western Europe, where human remains have been found in
connection with burning-places, the jaws have been found with-
out the other portions of the head, and he might add that the
other portions of the head have been found without the lower
jaw. This fact, he thinks, affords evidence of identical ob-
servances.
With regard to the sacrificial uses to which caverns in Apulia
had been put, M. Regnoli, as a result of explorations made in
them, came to a similar conclusion.
I will quote M. Chierici's own words in support of the theory
he was led to adopt —
" Les deductions que je viens d'eniettre sont confirmees et
completces par la tradition. Rappelons-nous le celcbre oracle de
Dodone aux Pelasges qui allaient cmigrer vers I'ltalie : 'Allez
chercher une terre (Saturnia) des Sicules, et une refuge (KOTv\r)v,
sinum) d'aborigenes ou surnage une ile. Conjointment avec ces
aborigenes vous enverrez la dime a Zebus (Phccbus), et vous
offrirez des tetes au Tcnebreux (Dites) et des enfants males
Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice. 471
au pere (Saturnus).'f Macrobe ajoute qu'en effet les Pelasges
etablis en Italic ' diu humanis capitibus Ditem et vivorurn victimis
Saturnum placare se crederent.' Et nous avons aussi, chez les
Latins, la formule execratoire ' hominem, caput consecrare.'
Virginias, levant son poignard, s'ecriait vers Appius Claudius,
' Te tuumque caput hoc sanguine consecro.' En outre, on sait
que les sacrifices a Dites se faisaient ' in loco abdito, sub effossa
humo.' Plus tard des moeurs adoucies ont substitue aux tetes
humaines des petites tetes d'argile (les oscilla), et, aux victimes
des Saturnales, des effigies qu'on jetait chaque annee dans le
Tibre, apres les avoir exposees en public. II est curieux de
constater qii'un usage semblable s'est conserve dans ma patrie,
meme jusqu'a nos jours." %
The writer concludes with two observations on the words of
the oracle —
" II dit expressement," he says, " que les Pelasges devaient
accomplir les sacrifices a Dites et a Saturnus avec le concours
des aborigenes. Ceux-cl participerent done a ce rite, et il est
permis de reconnaitre en eux nos peuples itallens de I'age de la
pierre polie. D'autre part, les tetes humaines destinees a Dites
sont designees par I'oracle sous le nom de Ke(f)a\a<5, mot signifiant
d'une maniere precise la partie de la tete qui contient le cerveau.
Cette interpretation ne nous apprend-t-elle pas pourquoi les cranes
trouves sur I'autel (i.e. in the cavern he explored), sont tous brides,
tandis que les machoires eparses alentour ne le sont pas ?"
The absence of the lower jaw has been frequently remarked in
the case of Irish skulls from cists in tumuli. That the sacrifices of
human beings (infants where a good harvest was required and
famine to be averted, and prisoners of war, malefactors, and
strangers, where the war-god or the national deity was to be
specially honoured or appeased) took place throughout the whole
of North-Western Europe — in Ireland, in Britain, in Scandinavia,
in Germany, and in Gaul — we have ample testimony, not from
f STei'xeTe juai(^/uecot Si/ceAaJv ^arovpinav aJai'
'H5' 'A^optyivfooi' KoTuATjf o'u vaaos ox^^TUi,
Kal KicpaKas KpoviSr] Koi Tij? irorpl TrejuTere (pura.
Dionys. Hal. "Ant,," i. 19; Macrob. " Saturn.," lib. i. c. 7.
X A precisely similar modification of the ancient observances which ordained that human
victims should be slaughtered on the grave-mounds, took place in Japan, when, by command
of an Emperor, well within historic times, little figures of men, formed of baked clay, were
buried in the tumuli in place of the real human subjects who had previously had to pay the penalty.
The younger Von Siebold has figured some of these images in his "Notes on Japanese
Archaeology," Yokohama, 1879.
47- The Dolmens of Ireland,
classical sources alone, but from the traditions which mediaeval
writers have rescued from the past. Caesar has made us
acquainted with the barbarous orgies which, among the Britons
of his day, accompanied the sacrifice, — the burning of captives
and felons, Irish tradition has similarly pointed out to us a
district lying round Ballymagauran, in the County of Cavan,
called Mag Slecht, that is. " Plain of Prostrations," where infant
sacrifice was practised. f
I will here quote from Dr. Whitley Stokes's recent trans-
lation of the Dindshenchas, the passage which relates to this :
" 'Tis there was the King-idol of Erin, namely, the Crom
Croich, and around him twelve idols made of stones ; but he
was of gold. Until Patrick's advent, he was the god of every
folk that colonized Ireland. To him they used to offer the
firstlings of every issue and the chief scions of every clan.
'Tis to him that Erin's King, Tigernmas, son of Follach, repaired
on Hallontide, together with the men and women of Ireland,
in order to adore him. And they are prostrated before him,
so that the tops of their foreheads, and the gristle of their
noses, and the caps of their knees, and the ends of their elbows
broke, and three-fourths of the men of Erin perished at those
t The deity was called Crom Croicli, or Cromm Cniaich, or In Cromm Crin, or Cenn Cruaich,
which, if Crotn means, as I think it does here, a worm or serpent, Cruach, a mound or cairn, a
high place, or marked Iiiil, whether natural or artificial, Crin (compare Crineamh = fate, destiny ;
or Crineamna, another name for the Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny, at Tara), fate (or perhaps it is
the adjective Criona = old), and Ccnn, "a head," would signify respectively, " Mound Serpent,"
" the Serpent of Destiny," or simply " the Old Serpent," and " Mound Head." With this idea of
Serpent and Head, comp. Pausanias (Bseotia, bk. ix., cap. 19): "As you go on the high-road
from Thebes to Glisas is a place surrounded by unhewn stones, which the Thebans call the Head of
the Serpent."
Crom, as an adjective, means "crooked" or "slahting," as GalldnCrom = "slanting pillar-
stone;" Cromlacka = shelving-rocks on the sea-coast, etc., but here it seems to be a noun-
substantive. Crom Dubh, that is, "Black Crom" (? Black Serjient), is represented as a Pagan
opponent of Patrick, connected with Croagh Patrick, a natural hill in Mayo, from which that saint
was supposed to have driven the serpents out of Ireland. Cathair Crofinn (? from Crom and
Fionn — White Serpent) was the most ancient name of Tara, or Temair. Crofinna herself was a
mythological being of the Tuatlia Dc Danann, the mother of a trinity of divinities, Brcs (Eochaid),
Nar, and Lothar, answering to the Norse divinities Odin, Hcenir, and LotSer, whose mother was
Bestla (comp. Ir. peist = a serpent) : compare also Crovdearg (? from Croiiili and Dean; = Red
Serpent), a half-pagan and half-mythical personage worshipped at a well near the Paps in Kerry ;
Crom = crui//i ; Welsh prem ; Lat. vermis; Eng. wurm, worm. The Wurm-dyke is a name
applied to a rampart traversing the country. A Peiste, or snake, in Ireland inhabits the bottoms of
venerated lakes. A similar superstition exists in Hailand at the magic lake of Helsjo, to which
pilgrims flocked, just as was the case in Ireland. In the " Life of St. Barbatus " we find that the
Langobartli in Italy worshipped, among other relics of idolatry brought from the North, a golden
sitimlacnim viperiv, an image of the bestia t/uir vulgo vifera dicitur. Crom, as we have seen, was
made of gold. In a German legend in Cirimin we find a Black Worm lying coiled round a heap of
gold. In Ireland the great Croach, literally, "Mound," a venerated mountain in Mayo, was
connected with Crom Dubh, the Black Crom, and, as we have seen, Crom Cruaich means Crom of
the Mound. In old German poetry the Devil is called Ilcllewurm. In Styria was the Silberberg,
a mountain full of fabulous snakes, over which a queen — the Great White .Serpent — ruled. On
Ararat, too, dwelt a royal race of snakes, who possessed a stone called llul, or the stone of light,
which they tossed in the air, which reminds us of the Druids and their serpent's egg.
Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice. 473
prostrations." In a poetical version of this account of Mag
Slecht, the object of the worshippers is set forth : " Milk and
corn they used to ask of him urgently ; for a third of their
offspring. Great was its horror and its wailing." From other
authorities we learn that Tigernmas died in the "great meeting"
held in this plain, and three-fourths of the men of Erin along
with him, while adoring Crom Croich ; also that he was a special
god of Foilge Berraide, that is, of the chief of the Hiii Foilge,
Failge, or Falgi ; and also that the twelve f surrounding idols were
covered with bronze. It was reserved for Patrick to destroy
this idol. Tigernmais signifies " Lord of Death." The eminent
philologist who translated the above passage states that he infers
from it that among the Irish, as among other races, " the Earth-
gods could be propitiated by human sacrifice."
Turning to Germany and the North, we have the statements
of Tacitus that " on certain days " the god whom he calls
Mercury, and who is probably the Teutates of Lucan, and the
Odin or Woden of the North, was propitiated with human
victims. The Semnones, too, who occupied a part of the Mark
of Brandenburg, and held themselves to be the oldest and noblest
tribe of the Suevi, were wont " at a stated time to assemble in a
wood consecrated by the auguries of their forefathers and ancient
terror, and there, by the public slaughter of a human victim, to
celebrate the horrid origin of their barbarous rites."
At Upsala, in Sweden, every ninth year nine persons were
sacrificed, chosen from among the ranks of captives if in war-
time, or of slaves if they were at peace. Olaus Wormius, after
describing the temple of Kialarnes in Iceland, with its altar for
sacrifice and its deep well close by, states that although for the
most part animals were the victims, which were subsequently
eaten by the devotees, yet that human victims also had not only
been slaughtered, and their bodies plunged in the well, but had
formed a part of the pagan feasts.
With such evidence as this that cannibalism accompanied
human sacrifice, and may even have been an essential part of
the rite, as Worsaae thought, it is impossible not to compare the
following passage from Pliny : —
" Very recently," he says, " on the other side of the Alps, it
was the custom to offer human sacrifices, after the manner of
t In the Norse pantheon there were twelve principal gods (Anderson, p. 185).
VOL. II. M
474 The Dolmens of Ireland.
the Cyclopes and LcEstrygones who formally existed in Italy
and Sicily ; and," he significantly adds, " the difference is but
small between sacrificing human beings and eating them."
That ancient rite in Italy was connected with the worship of
Saturnus, who is to be equated with the Dis of the Gauls, to whom,
according to the Druids, the whole of that people traced their
orio^in as to a common father. The distinction drawn between
these two names by Macrobius, who states that the Pelasgi built a
sacelhim to Dis and an ara to Saturnus, and the fact that Gruter
gives us an inscription at Rome which mentioned Ateria, a
priestess of Dis- Pater, need not interfere with the conclusion
that Ccesar's Dis- Pater is Saturnus, or rather his Gaulish
equivalent. Cicero, indeed, states that among the people of the
West the worship of Saturnus was most widespread and popular,
while Dionysius of Halicarnassus assigns his cultus to the Celts.
Pliny,! after mentioning the fact that human sacrifices were
not forbidden in Rome, but were actually practised there until
the year a.u.c. 657, connects these rites with necromancy.
" The Gallic provinces," he says, " were pervaded with the magic
art, and that even down to a period within memory. ... At the
present day, Britain, struck with fascination, still cultivates this
art. . . . Such being the case, then, we cannot too highly
appreciate the obligation that is due to the Roman people for
having put an end to these monstrous rites, in accordance with
which to murder a man Avas to do an act of the greatest
devotedness, and to eat his flesh was to secure the highest
blessings of health."
Diodorus Siculus brings against the inhabitants of Ireland
a distinct charge of cannibalism. " Those Gauls," he says,
" towards the north, and bordering upon Scythia, are so exceeding
fierce that, as report goes, they eat men, like the Britons do who
inhabit Iris." It will be observed that the doubt expressed in
this sentence is Avith regard to the Gauls next to Scythia,
not with regard to the Britons of Ireland. That they were
anthropophagi was evidently as much a matter of general know-
ledge among the literati of the South in the time of Diodorus
as is the news which Mr. Stanley and others have brought us that
there is a race of dwarfs in the " Dark Continent " to-day.
Lastly, we come to the horrible accusations of Jerome with
t Hk. XXX. cap. 4.
Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice. 475
regard to the Attacotti, a people which he assigns, however, not
to Ireland, but to Britain. Before quoting his words, I may say
that a possible explanation of the name of this tribe may be
looked for in the Goidelic word Aikack, meaning a "giant," and
corresponding, therefore, in sense to the Teutonic lot, lohm, lotr,
Eoten, etc., which, whether or not it included the idea of great
stature, signified a person of a lower race, non-Aryan, perhaps,
but, at all events, like Hun, a term denoting an allophylian. That
the giants got the name of having been cannibals our folk-lore
abundantly shows us, and had Jerome when a boy lived under the
shadow of St, Michael's Mount in Cornwall, and heard the tale
of Jack and the Giant Blunderbore, we might well imagine that
in later years he might have persuaded himself that he actually
had seen that which had made so deep an impression upon his
youthful mind. That a story of the kind may have reached him
with regard to the Attacotti, who were probably regarded, being
allophylians, as one of the giant races of the North, and that it
may once have had a shadow of truth in it, I do not deny ; but
that it was true at the time Jerome wrote, even of fierce
mercenary bands in Gaul, I hesitate to believe. Here is the
statement : " Quid loquar de cceteris nationibus, quum ipse
adolescentulus in Gallia viderim Atticottos, gentem Britannicam,
humanis vesci carnibus."
Jerome f had reason to dislike the Britons, whose country had
given birth to Pelagius and in which heresy flourished, and he
was a man for the coarse venom of whose tongue no unscrupulous
slander was too vile an ingredient. And yet, in ages which then
would not have so long gone by that the tradition would have
wholly passed away, there may have been truth in the assertion
that Britain, and Ireland too, possessed tribes who, on sacrificial
occasions, were actually cannibals.
It is doubtless a long jump backwards from Jerome's time
to the Neolithic Age, in the Long Barrows of which Thurman
thought that he found evidence of human sacrifices in the broken
skulls, and Greenwell and Rolleston of possibly cannibal practices
under those of the Yorkshire Wolds. But custom, we must
remember, had all this time nothing to check it, until first of all
the reflected civilization of Rome, and then Christianity, appeared
t Jerome makes Pelagius an Irishman, " Scoticte gentis de Britannorum vicinia," Pref. lib. iii,
in Jerem.
476 The Dolmens of Ireland.
on these shores. Just contemporaneously with the first of these
events comes the statement of Diodorus, the general truth of
which I am not disposed to question, with regard to Ireland,
supplemented by that of Pliny, that necromancy, involving the
sacrifice of human life, was prevalent in Britain.
The question arises, " Where would such weird rites have
been performed ? " and the answer to it is, " At the tombs of
ancestors of the race ; — at the tumuli zn^o which, as the Norse
poets say, their heroes died ; — at the dolmen, at the circle,! and
at the cairn."
Illustrations of the fact that such monuments were no mere
sepulchres of the dead, but places set apart for the sacrificia
mortuo7'7i7n, for pilgrimages, for the periodical assembling of the
tribe or tribes for religious or social purposes, for the holding of
fairs, for the contracting of marriages, and for unrestricted feasting
and revel, will be introduced as we proceed.
At the root of all this lay the cultus of the dead, and there
IS no need to shun the fact that in the British Islands, in the
days when their inhabitants were little different from the other
savage peoples of Northern Europe, human sacrifices, almost
certainly combined with cannibal practices, prevailed.
ScANDiXAVL\, Denmark, Schleswig, and Holstelnt.
The Malar Lake appears to be the northern limit of the
dolmens of the Scandinavian peninsula. North of this — that is,
in West Bothnia and Lapponia Pithensis, the countries where
legends placed the second, or northern, lotunheim.J — the Risaland
or Hunaland of the sagas, the kingdom of the Jsette, or Reise or
Huns, there were tumuli, it appears, and pillar-stones,§ but no
dolmens. To the primitive inhabitants of these countries, namely,
the Same or Lapps, the natural cavern in the hillside, in imita-
tion of which the artificial stone structures, with their long
passage-entrances and expanding interiors, covered over by
mounds and forming artificial hills, were probably formed, served
as the sepulchres of their race.
t That circles were unquestionably places where human victims were slaughtered will appear
when we come to speak of the Dom-rings of Scandinavia.
X The other and southern lotunheim, Mr. Du Chaillu thinks, was between the Dnieper and the
Volga and Don, north of Asgard, which was between the Dnieper and Don on the shores of the
I'alus Maiotis.
§ J. D. Stecksenius, " Dissertatio gradualis de Westro-Botnia" (Ups.ila, 1731), P- 12; " Cippos
esse atque tumulos, magnum antiquitatis indicium respondemus."
Scandinavia, Denmark, Schleswig, and Holstein. 477
Scheffer tells us that these Lapps buried in caves, the mouths
of which were stopped up with stones, and that with the dead they
buried a hatchet, and a flint and steel. They sacrificed a reindeer
in honour of the dead, and feasted on it for three days after the
burial. The bones of the animal they gathered up, put them in a
coffer with the wooden figure of a man upon it, and buried themi
underground. Their names for the ghosts they worshipped was
Sitte. When offering them sacrifices (presumably at the cave's
mouth), their first business was to inquire the will of the dead.
They said, " O ye Sitte, what will ye have '^. " Then they beat
the drum, on which was a ring, and if the ring fell on any creature
pictured on the surface, they understood that that was what the
ghost desired. They then took the animal, ran through its ear
or tied about its horns a black woollen thread, and sacrificed it.
In every particular of this account we see precisely what
archaeological research on the one hand, and legend and tradition
committed to writing in the Middle Ages, coupled with folk-lore
still in oral survival, on the other, lead us to believe occurred
in the case of the dolmens and chambered tumuli. We will
recount them in order: (i) The burial in a cave, formed arti-
ficially ; (2) the hatchet and the flint interred with corpse ; (3) the
sacrifice of an animal ; (4) the subsequent feast ; (5) the interment
of the animal bones ; (6) the interment of the painted figure of a
man in place of the original human being sacrificed ; (7) the name
Sitte,\ so closely similar to the name given by the Irish to the
spirits of the dead who inhabited the chambers in the tumuli,
namely, Sidhe, a word unexplained in Celtic ; (8) the veneration
of the dead shown in the desire to supply their wants ; (9) the
practice of necromancy ; (10) the woollen thread tied on the
horns of the beast, just as threads and rags may be seen to this
very day attached to thorns round venerated spots, such as the
dolmen of Maulnaholtora in Kerry ; — all these point to an
identity of custom between the Turanian peoples of Northern
Europe and a primitive race in the British Isles.
Whether there were monuments of the dolmen class on the
other and eastern side of the Gulf of Bothnia, that is, in Finland,
I have not been able to ascertain with certainty. It would
certainly appear, from what Ruehs says, that there were. *' One
t This word has been compared with the name of \.)^^Sito7ies, a people of Scandinavia mentioned
l)y Tacitus. Muellenhoft', " Deutshe Alurtums," ii. 9, derives Sitones from the Gothic silaits, a stranger
478 The Dolmens of Ireland.
meets," he tells us, " in Finland with hiincngrdber, roofed over with
enormous stones, in which have frequently been found vessels of
gold, silver, and other metals, with quantities of bones of birds,
and skulls of small wild animals." f The discovery of golden
vessels ma}' be ascribable to the exaggerations of the rustics who
gave this writer his information, as is so commonly the case in
Ireland, where similar stories are current, the popular belief in
the latter country being that, even if the vessel appear to be of
clay and its contents bone-dust and ashes, they were gold origi-
nally, but have been turned by the ill-natured fairies or some
neighbouring witch into valueless rubbish to spite the finder.
The existence, however, of the megalithic monuments must surely
have been a fact within the knowledge of so careful and generally
accurate a writer as Ruchs.
Turning to Sweden, we have dolmens in plenty, and, what is
more, we have for our guide one of the greatest of modern
antiquaries, ]\I. Oscar Montelius.j whose system of classification
of these monuments very closely agrees with that which I have
made for Ireland. He divides them into —
(i) Dolmens proper (called in Swedish ddsar, sing. dds).
(2) Passage-tombs, scpttlttires d galerie (called in Swedish
gaiiggrifter^ sing, ganggn'fi), ox j'dttestiigor, " Giants' Graves."
(3) Cists, or great slab-graves, cercueils en dalles (called in
Swedish Jidllkistor, sing, hdllkistd), the tops of which are not
covered over with earth or stones.
(4) Cists, or slab-graves, eercucils en dalles, covered up com-
pletely in earthen tumuli, or piles of stones.
A Swedish monument, of which Rudbeck, in his " Atlantis,"
gives a rough ground-plan, does not readily fall into an}' of these
divisions, but resembles rather some structures, perhaps transitional,
such as those of Killachlug and Kilberrihert § in the County of
Cork. I give it for what it is worth.
All his several divisions M. Montelius refers to the Neolithic
Age, and adds that there are other interments, referable to the
same period, which are found to have been placed simply in
the ground, without any protecting stones.
In Sweden, during the Stone Age, the dead were not
t C. F. Ruehs, "Finland unci seine Bewohner " (Leipzig, 1S09), p. 27 : Abo-Tidning, 17S2,
S. 221.
t " Congres intern. d'Anth. et Archeol.," 1874, p. 153.
§ I'P- 32, 34, supra.
Scandinavia, Denmark, Schleswig, and Holstein. 479
cremated. They were buried, often in a sitting posture, and at
their side were placed their arms or implements.
In the case of the first of the above divisions, that of the
"dolmens proper," the sides are formed of large slabs of stone.
Fig. 438. — Plan of monument in Sweden. From Riidbcclc's '■'■Atlantis.^''
fixed in the ground, and reaching from floor to roof, the inner face
of each slab being flattish, the outer one generally rough and
irreorular. The floor of the cell within is of sand or eravel. The
roof consists of a single large block, the under surface of which is
flat, the upper one rough and rugged.
The ground-plan of the vault is either square, oval,
pentagonal, or nearly round. Its average measurement is from
2*5 m. to 4*5 m. long; from i'5 m. to 2 m. broad, and from
o*9 m. to I "6 m. high. On one side — either that facing the S. or
that facing the E. — it is very frequently open. The lower portion
of the structure is in general covered by an artificial knoll of
circular or oblong shape, formed of earth or stones {cailloiix), and
environed by large blocks.
Of dolmens of this class I give examples from Bohuslan,
Scania, Zeeland, and Denmark ; and, for comparison with the
encircled examples, I add Fergusson's sketch of the Leaba na
dh-Fiau, at Carrowmore. I may add that I hold the same opinion
with regard to these as I do with regard to the Irish examples,
namely, that each had a passage-way to the edge of the mound,
a portion of which the Herrestrup example retains. A rough
drawing from Liljegren shows a low prolongation, as at Brenans-
town in the county of Dublin (Figs. 440-446).
It is added that on the surface of the block which forms the
roof of the cell, little basins, or round scooped-out pittings are
often found, measuring 5 to 10 centimetres in diameter, intended
48o
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Fig. 439. — Sketch and plan of the dohiien at Stala, Island of Oioust, Bohuslan.
From MouteUus, " Coiigns lu/crtia/.," 1874, p. 155.
u:isiCj^^:-^: '^^niiCyL'^:^
I'IG. 440, — A Swedi>h dolmen. Fro/it IJljcgi-cft an,/ Jirunins, ^^ A'ordiska FornUmni»gar,''
1823, vol. ii. pi. Ixxv,
Scandinavia, Denmark, Schleswig, and Holstein. 481
(so M. Montelius thought) to be the depositories of offerings in
honour of the dead. Stones whicli have such Httle cups [pierres
Fig. 441. — Herrestrup, in Zeeland. From Ilolmben^, '' Skandhiaviens Ual.'ristintioa);^''
1848, Tab. A and B, Fig. 24.
Fig. 442. — Danish dolmen. From JVorsaae, '■'' Xordiske Oldsager" 1859, pi. i. Fig. I.
Fig. 443. — Dolmen at Hafang, Scania, Fivm HildeOratid, *' Forhistoriska Foiken i Furopa,^' p. 68.
d ^cuclles) are known to the Swedish peasantry as elfqvarnar,
that is, " fairy-mills," and are held in traditional veneration.
M. Montelius gives an example of a dolmen, on the covering-
482
The Dolmens of Ireland.
stone of which is an arrangement of cups. It is at Fasmarup, in
Scania (Fig. 449). In the Meneage district in S.W. Cornwall an
Fig. 444. — Cairn at Canowmore. From Fcr^iisson, R.S.M.^ p. 183.
example occurs of cup-markings upon the roofing-stone of a structure
comprising a natural rock, a block set on edge lengthways beside it,
Fic. 445. — Danish dolmen, l-'roin ll'orsaae, '■'• Prim. Ant." transl. Thorns, pi. ii.
and a cap-stone laid across the passage thus formed. A larger cup
has been sunk into the surface of the natural rock at the N.E. end of
the passage. It seems that some super-
stition, involving creeping through the
passage, was practised here ; and that
the cups w^ere, like those of Scandi-
navia, intended to receive offerings,
while the larger one may have con-
tained water for some preparatory pro-
cess of oblation (Figs. 447, 448).
In Halland is a natural rock, on
the back of which rests another,
Fig. 446.-rian of the "Three forming a crccp between them.t Here,
ZTcll^!'^'Bf]h'^^^^^^^ too, cup-basins have been sunk into
w. c. Boriase. ^-^^ surface of the stones. In Portui^al
several examples occur of such cups on the covering-stones of
dolmens, as in the case of the Anta de Paredes, to be noticed
presently. In Wales a good example exists at Clynnog Fawr,
in Carnarvonshire. In Ireland I have repeatedly found them, in
many instances evidently artificial. In other cases, where they are
purely natural, I have been led to suppose by their position that
t "Sketch from Iliklebrand," \<. 129.
Scandinavia, Denmark, Schleswig, and Holstein. 48,
the stone had been specially selected because it contained them. I
feel sure that wherever found in such situations they were connected
with pilgrimages, and with the superstitious practice of creeping
Fig. 447. — Section of the " Three Brothers of Grugith," Cornwall.
By /r. C. Liikis and II\ C. Borlasc.
under the rock. Several Scandinavian and Danish dolmens —
such, for example, as that, often figured, at Herrestrup in Zeeland
(Fig. 442) — have sculptured figures upon their cap-stones. A
Fig. 448. — Dolmen of Fasmorup. From jMonlcliiis, '''■ Coiigi\'s Interuat.,^'' 1874, p. 157.
rock in Scania presents some fair samples of these, which we may
compare with some of those at Loughcrew (Fig. 452).
Another rock in the same province presents figures of ships
and carriages (Fig. 453). With these figures of ships we may
compare a sculpture at New Grange (Fig. 341) ; and with those
of the carriages, or chariots, those on a stone at Castle Archdale
(Fig. 211). A ship of later date and superior design occurs on
the stone wall of a church in Langeland (Fig. 451). There is another
on one of the carved stones in a chamber at Kivik in Scania. f
The contents of dolmens of this first class may be judged from
the following list of objects found in one at Luthra in Vestergot-
t vSee Fig. 454, and .Sjijhorg, " Samlingar j(3r Nordens Fornaiskare," 1830, iii. pis. xi. and xii.
484
The Dolmens of Ireland.
lande ; namely, five spear-heads, one arrow-head, nineteen axes,
all of tlint ; four pins and eighteen beads, of bone ; four beads of
amber ; eleven perforated teeth of bears, dogs, and pigs ; several
bones of cows, and a large number of human skeletons.
The second division, that of the passage-tombs, comprises
Fig. 449.— Clyiinog Fawr, Carnarvonsliirc. From Simpson's ^'■Archaic Scitlpltirings.'"
monuments constructed in the same fashion as the dolmens, but
distinguished from them by their elongated form, by a plurality
of covering-stones, and by the presence of a covered-passage, of
considerable length, leading
into them from the S. or E.
side. The entire structure is
surrounded by an artificial
mound, which does not in
Sweden cover the roof, except
in rare instances, although in
the examples in Denmark the
reverse is the case. The
average measurement of the
vault itself in these structures
is from 4 m. to 17 m. long,
from 1-5 m. to 3 m. broad, and from 1-3 m. to 2 m. high.
The passage is narrower and lower than the vault to which it
leads, but often quite as long. In the majority of cases it entered
the vault at or near the centre of its S. side, approaching it at a
right-angle, and thus forming a ground-plan in the shape of a T.
In these instances the vault is a long- oblong, its angles being
right angles. There are, however, examples in which the
Fl<^>. 450. — Ship on a stone wail of the churcli of
Skrobelef, Langeland, Denmark. J'lom Dii
Chaillu, " Viking Aj^'e," ii. 141.
Scandinavia, Denmark, Sciileswig, and Holstein. 485
passage is much nearer one end— the S.E. end— than the other,
and in these cases the vault is narrower at that end than at the
other, approaching in this respect the wedge form. In structures
Fig. 451. — Rock-sculpturing in Scania.
From Dii Chailln.
Fig. 452. — Rock-sculpturing in Scania.
From Dii Chaillu.
Fig. 453.— Shbs from the ciiin of kivik ncai Cimhrishavn, Sweden. Inom Du Chaillu.
•' Viking Age,'' p. 88.
ol the third and fourth (Jidllkistd) types, the passage is wholly
absent, and, where this is the case, in the generality of cases, the
two longer sides of the vault were not parallel, so that the ground-
plan was actually wedge-shaped, and precisely similar to Irish
examples. These latter structures had their longer axis almost
486
The Dolmens of Ireland.
invariably N. and S., the S. end being the narrower, as the E.
end is in Ireland, and are almost always open at that extremity,
Mr. Du Chaillu regards this latter form as "the outcome of the
omission of the passage," and remarks that "several intermediate
forms have been found, showing how the passage was gradually
lessened, till it could only be traced in the opening which narrows
at the S. end." The seemingly analogous structures in Ireland
do not lead me to this con-
clusion. It is true that I
Qittt ciacxa
8
I
csaraca
^
gij/^i!-"^ «!.'»«"*
,,;rBW> *ai»s*^
have sometimes found the
narrower end open ; but in
the case of some of the
finest monuments of the class
I have found it closed by an
immense stone, evidently an integral part of the structure, never
intended to be moved,! nor any entrance effected from that end,
<m^ ^^^ ^^2, ^^^<^^^'^^52iG^^^^^
Fig. 454. — Plan of cist at Knyttkiirr, Dalslande.
From O. Montelius.
Fig. 455.— Danish passage-dolmen. l-'rujn ll'orsaae, '•'• Friin. Ant.,''^ transl. Thorns, pi. iii.
whereas at the broader-and loftier W. end, there was, invariably,
I think, a hollow place or passage, either above, under, or at the
side of the closing Hag, and a porch-like arrangement without.
I regard the two types of structure, therefore, as distinct, and from
the form of such examples as those at Labbacallee (Co. Cork, p. 9)
and Knyttkarr,J in Dalslande, I should venture to hint that, if
t E.g. liallyganncr South, Co. Clare, p. 67. % " Congrcs Internal." (Siockholm), p. 169.
Scandinavia, Denmark, Sciileswig, and Holstein. 487
those of the T type are to be looked upon, as they have been,
as models of houses, those of the wedge type may be plausibly
rfffr7r7r/777rrnrFnT/!77f77r,'77/rpri7/f/r/mn!///m77ir>rTi
^^ilSsnTPrrTTTrmrrnrm^ini.
Fig. 456.— House ofa Norwegian Lapp. From Sir A. Dc C. Brooke's " Winter in Lapland" p. 31S,
regarded as models of ships. In the Knyttkarr example the
peristyle has its counterpart in numberless Irish structures,
besides the Labbacallee, of many
of which I have given plans, as,
for example, in the Lacht-Niall
and Leaba Owen (Eogain) ; in .
those at Lackaduv, Keamcorra- '{^^
vooly, Coolaclevine, and very many
more.t The view that the former
were models of houses arose from
a comparison of them with the
houses of the Lapps, to which in
form the typical Danish example
in Worsaae, and the Ottagarden
one given by Montelius, certainly
bear a strong resemblance (Figs.
456, 457> 45^)-
A good example of the T-
shaped type, which seems to be
in some measure repeated in the
case of one of the monuments in
the Lough Arrow group (Co.
Sligo), is that on A.xevalla
Heath,J near Lake Venern, in
Fig. 457. — Swedish passage-dolmen, at Otta-
garden, Vestergotlande. From Montelius^
'■^ Congres Inlern.," 1874, p. 164.
Vestero^otlande.
The passage measures 20 feet long by 2^, to 3 feet
t Figs. 1 8, 23, 28, 31. 34.
I Du Chaillu.
488
The Dolmens of Ireland.
broad, and 3 feet high ; the vault 32 feet long, 8 or 9 feet broad,
and 5 or 6 feet high. Nineteen bodies, all unburnt, were found
crushed into small cists, arranged mostly around the walls of the
vault
The slabs forming these cists measured 3
feet hiofh.
Fig. 458.— " Elfsten " in Ilalland. From Hihlcbraml, '• Die Forhistoriska Folkm i Fiiropa,'" ]}. 129.
Madsen gives an interior view, and a ground-plan of a vault
covered by a tumulus, at Uby, in Zeeland. The mound measured
300 feet in circumference, and 13 feet in height. The entrance
passage was 20 feet long, and the vault 13 feet long by 8 feet
rJ ; ^,. "V--A
Fig 459.— Dolmen at Axevalla. From A. F. Holmbcrg, '' Nordbon tinder Hednatiden"
p. IS, and Du C/iailltt, " Viking Age," i. 73.
wide. The walls were formed by nine huge slabs set on end, the
interstices between them being filled up with small stones neatly
fitted. The roof consisted of two immense blocks.
?^lr. Du Chaillu gives a plan of a passage-tomb near Karleby,
in Vestergotlande, which illustrates the type of those entered near
Scandinavia, Denmark, Schleswig, and Holstein. 489
the end. It is described by M. Montelius as the largest in
Sweden, covered in with nine great slabs, and measuring 17 m.
long by about 2 m. broad, the passage having a length of 2 m.
Two very fine examples of passage-tombs in Denmark were
Fig. 460. — Ground-plan of dolmen with passage near Karleby.
FroDi Du Chaillu, " Viking; Age,'' i. p. 75.
visited by the members of the Congres International during their
stay in Copenhagen, in 1869, in the " Proceedings" for which year
they are figured. The first is the Jcette-Sttte (Giant's Chamber)
of Om. The passage measures 13 m. long, and the walls of the
vault itself are formed, like those at Uby, of great upright
blocks, with smaller stones forming a dry walling between them.
Upon these blocks rest the covering-stones which span the vault,
the interior of which is large enough to afford standing-room for
twenty persons, and high enough to allow them to stand upright.
The second is the langdysse,^ of Trollesminde, near Hillerod.
A langdysse is defined as " un dolmen-tumulus allonge presentant
t For typical specimens of a langdysse and a rundJysse, see Worsaae, " Nordiske Oldsager,"
1859, pi. i. figs. 2 and 3.
VOL. II. N
490 The Dolmens of Ireland.
des tertres artificiels, entourcs de grandes pierres dressees
perpendiculairement, et contenant, en dedans du cercle, un, deux,
ou trois dolmens, ou tombes, faits avec de grandes blocs." This
particular mound, which is covered with turf, is about 30 m. long
by 10 m. broad. It lies E. and W., and contains only one vault
or dolmen, and that under its eastern end. The roof is formed
Flc. 461. — Dolmen with gallery, \'estergcitlancle. J'roiit I\Ioiilcliiis, " Coiigih hitcrii.^'' 1874, p. 161.
by a single stone, which rests, at either end, on one of the
blocks which form the sides of the vault. The tumulus is
surrounded by a free-standing ring of upright stones.
It may be compared with the monument called popularly
" Harald Hildetand's Tomb," at Lethra in Zeeland, of which
Sjoborg f gives an illustration, which shows it to be a mound of
elongated form, with a dolmen upon it at one side, and an
arrangement of free-standing blocks around it. With monuments
of this type may specially be compared the " Long Barrow" at
West Kennet, and the HUnebedden of Mecklenburg, Brandenburg,
and Hanover.
Another structure of the same class is that on the island of
Moen, which has been described by Sir J. Lubbock. J
To one of the monuments of the Ji'dllkista type of M. Montelius,
I would call especial attention, since both in construction and
arrangement it affords a most convincing proof of the oneness
of design and purpose which prompted men in past ages to
erect those structures, whether in India or Palestine, on the
I "Saml. for Nordens Fornalskare," vol. ii. fig. 214, and p. I46.
X " Prehistoric Times," 5lh edit. p. 162.
Scandinavia, DeNxMARk, Schleswig, and Holstein. 491
Vistula or the Elbe, in Scandinavia, in Denmark, in Britain and
Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, North Africa, and the islands of
the Mediterranean.
Like the vault in a British " Long Barrow," or the dolmens of
Brittany and Spain, it was roofed with flags and buried in a
mound, and, like the cairn-chambers of Annacloghmullin and
Caithness, it was divided into compartments, three in number.
Fig. 462. — Karlsgarden, Vestergotlande. From Montclius, ^' Coiigrcs Intent. ," 1874, p. 166.
Access from one compartment to another was provided, not by
means of a narrow space between upright stones, but by semi-
circular holes cut out of the single flagstone, which, in each case,
forms the partition. Of similar holes in
structures at Karlsgarden, in Vestergotlande,
and at Rod in Bohuslan, Montelius has
given examples.
The structure is near that at Karleby,
above mentioned. It measures, in its entire
length, 7 m. The largest compartment is
that at the N.W. end, which measures
4"3 m. long, 2 m. broad, and 2 m. high. The middle one measures
about I m. long, and the third, or S.E. one, which has the
appearance of an antechamber or porch, rather than a closed
compartment, being open at the end, i'5 m.
When explored by MM. Montelius and Retzius, each of the
Fig. 463. — Entrance to a
cist encircled by a ring of
stones at Rod, Bohuslan.
From Montelius, ' ' Congres
Intern.,^'' 1874, p. 186.
Fig. 464, — Ground-plan of chamber at Karleby, Vestergotlande. From Montelius, loc, cit., p. 173,
apertures between the compartments was found to be closed by
a flag placed against the S.E. side of the slab. It is not stated
492
The Dolmens of Ireland.
what were the dimensions of the apertures, but from the drawing
it would appear that in each case they were large enough to admit
the passage of a human body.
In the inner compartment were no fewer than sixty skeletons,
and with them had been deposited thirteen daggers, six lance-
heads, four arrow-points, one chisel, one saw (semicircular), six
scrapers, and ten splinters — all of flint ; five little polishers of
black schist ; two pins and four awls of bone ; two beads of amber,
and two others of bronze, and the point of a lance of the same
metal ; — the whole affording evidence that the date of the structure,
like that before described, near Halle, was towards the close of
the Neolithic and the commence-
ment of the Bronze As^e. A
proof that the wedge-shaped type,
broad at the W. end and nar-
rowing towards the E., existed
Fig. 465. -Wedge-shaped tomb at VambNegre- in Sweden, is afforded by an
garden, rrom Montehus, loc. cit., \y. 167. _ •'
rt = an orifice between the chamber and ante- example giveU by MontcHuS at
Vamb Negregarden, near Skofde,
in Vestergotlande. The appearance of this form of monument at
the beginning of the Bronze Age, to which period, following the
lead of M. Cartailhac with regard to Portuguese examples, and of
M. Montelius with regard to Swedish examples, I would refer
the Irish specimens also, is a fact of very great importance, if we
look at it, as we surely must do in the case of that at Labbacalle
in Cork, as the model of a ship. For the ship is no Viking's
ship — no ship like those of the ancient Sueones, with pointed prow
at either end, such as have been dug out of mounds in Sweden
and Denmark — no ship like those, the shape of which in stone
occurs in the ancient cemeteries of the North ; but a ship like the
inhabitants of the Greek islands of the Mediterranean used to
build, and of which models in pottery enrich our museums.
It was a ship with a lofty and squarish stern, the " castle," or
puppis, beneath the deck of which was a small apartment, opening
by a low and narrow doorway into the central portion of the vessel.
When we take into consideration the undoubted fact — proved
by the influence of the civilization of the yligean on the earliest
metal work and fictilia of the North — that intimate commercial
relations were at the period in question taking place between the
amber-people on the Baltic coast and the merchants of the
Scandinavia, Denmark, Schleswig, and Holstein. 493
South, along routes which Archaeology is now able to indicate, the
form which these rude temples of the dead now took for the first
time, strikes us as not a little remarkable.
Have we in them evidence of a rude attempt to copy the
vaos and TrapacrraSe? of the Greek shrine, from which were copied
the cella and the antes of the Roman temples ?
This is a question to which we must return again when we
come to speak of the Nau des Tudons, or great stone ship-tomb
in Minorca, and to note the re-emergence of the form in Ireland
under Christian auspices.
Meanwhile, it will not have been amiss to have indicated the
possibilities of the existence of a connection so singular, and, if
true, of such surpassing interest.
One hundred and forty structures of the " Passage-Tomb " type
are known to exist in Sweden, and of these one hundred and ten
are in the Province of Skaraborg. Near Falkoping they are
clustered thickly. The distribution of the dolmens of Sweden, with
special reference to the respective types he indicates, is shown
by M. Montelius in a valuable map.f From this it appears that the
dolmens proper — those, that is to say, which accord exactly with
the dolmen-cairn and dolmen-circle type in Ireland — are only found
on the south and west sides of the peninsula — that is, in Scania,
Halland, Bohuslan, and (in a single, small group of four) on the
west side of the island of Oland. They occur invariably on, or at
no great distance from, the sea-coast, as is also the case in Ireland.
On the other hand, the passage-tombs and hdllkista types
are, as in Ireland, often located far inland, and generally near
rivers or on the shore of some large lake. An exception to this
latter rule is the great group of passage-tombs near Falkoping
in the midst of the most fertile plains in the whole country.
Passage-tombs occur side by side with dolmens in Scania, where
they are numerous, and in Bohuslan, where they are not so plenti-
ful. In the Falkoping district no dolmens are found. Two
isolated examples, closely resembling those of Sweden, occur —
the one in Nerike, the other in Sodermanlande. The large un-
covered cists are not found in Scania with the dolmens, but they
occur plentifully in the southern part of Vestergotlande, in
Bohuslan, Dalslande, and the south-west of Vermlande. Lastly,
the cists covered by a tumulus or cairn are found in all the
t loc. cit., p. 176.
494
The Dolmens of Ireland.
^*
'^^^i^
Fig 466.— Old engraving of the "Brut Camp." From Christian Dethkv Rhodes, " Nov. Lit.
' Ba/tici Maris," Sept. 1699, pi. ix., and Eccart, '' Dc Orig. Germ.;' i)l. ix. sec. 44.
Fk;. 467. — Dolmen at Biilcke, or lUitlckcn in Ilolstcin. ]-'roiii Major, '' Devol. Ciiith-;' p. 42,
and Eccart, "Z>(? Orig. Germ.;' pi. vii. sec. 43.
Scandinavia, Denmark, Schleswig, and Holstein. 495
provinces of Sweden which were peopled at the close of the
Neolithic Age. They appear in districts where none of the other
^,0
mm
Fig. 468. — "The Brut Camp," in Schleswig. From " Letters from Mecklenburg and Ilolsiein,'" by
G. Downes, 1822, title-page, and p. 203.
types occur. This set of facts is in some respects similar to what
we find in Ireland. Early in the Neolithic Age a seafaring people
Fig. 469. — Dolmen in Schleswig-Holstein, near Albersdorf. From Mestorf, " Vaterliind.
Altcrthiiiner Schles7c'ig-I/olsteins" pi. iv.
were erecting their dolmen-cairns upon the coast, whereas a
settled population in the late Neolithic Age and in the early
496 The Dolmens of Ireland.
Bronze Age erected a difterent class of monument in the interior
— namely, in the case of Ireland and Sweden alike, the long,
wedge-shaped dolmen. The passage-tomb people, who, in the
case of Ireland, built New Grange, did not arrive until later, and
then confined themselves to only a few rich districts, where the
remains of their monuments show that they had attained a higher
degree of culture, architecturally speaking, than was the case with
apparently the same people in Scandinavia. The larger and open
h'dllkista in Sweden corresponds to the wedge-shaped dolmen of
Ireland, and the smaller and covered type to that of the cists with
urns and unburnt bodies, referable also to the latest Neolithic and
earlier Bronze Age. Of the skulls found in the monuments, indi-
cating the existence of two distinct races, I have to speak later on.
In the Danish peninsula, again, we have the passage-tombs
and the dolmen-cairns, well-known examples of which are given by
Worsaae. Some of the latter class bear a most striking likeness
to those of the Antrim coast and the great Carrowmore group.
There appear, also, to be dolmens of the more massive type, such
as that at Kernanstown, As an example of one of these, I give
one in N.W. Holstein, in the Dithmarschen, near Albersdorf. It
is described as standing on a hillock in an oblong field enclosed
with hedges, called " De Brut Camp," supposed to mean " The
Bride's Plain," in allusion to a tradition that marriages were cele-
brated there, and sacrifices offered before a person began plough-
ing, and before he was married. Possibly the name gave rise to
the story, and the word Camp may be Kempe, " a Giant," as in the
name " Kempe Stone " in the Co. Down. If so. Brut would be the
proper name of the mythological being, and might be associated
with some early god or hero. The structure is of granite, and
consists of an enormous block (Fig. 468), supported, says Mr.
Dovvnes, upon " the usual number of five large stones." The
vault is circular, as in Spanish examples, and the hillock on which
it stands was surrounded with trees, as shown in an older drawing
given by Rhode (Fig. 466).f
At a place called Buelcke, on the eastern side of the peninsula,
two miles E. of Kiel, was another fine dolmen (Fig. 467), very
similar indeed to a Portuguese example on the Douro. The
illustration I subjoin is from Major. I append an illustration of
another Schleswig-Holstein dolmen from Mestorf (Fig. 469).
t Grose has blundered in his description of this dolmen. Sec his" Antiqrj. of Ireland," vol. i.xii.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast. 497
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
Riigen.
The prehistoric monuments of the island of Riigen approach
more closely, as might be expected, to the German than to the
Scandinavian types. Grlimbkef describes several which are
evidently Hunebedden, like those of Mecklenburg. One, near
Nobbin, consists of forty flags set upright contiguously, so as
to form a wedge-shaped figure, 44 paces long from N. to S., and
10 paces broad at the N. end, but widening towards the S., at
which extremity stand two pillar-stones — a marked feature in the
Mecklenburg monuments — each 9 feet high. Within the area
some large stones are probably the remains of the ancient dolmen.
Another at Mukrahn, which is called the Giant's Grave, is
raised in the centre, and encircled by flagstones. At the W. end
appear the two tall stones, one fallen, the other standing on end
to the height of 12 feet. The monument is 36 paces long, and,
at the W. end, 12 paces broad. There is a legend told regarding
it that it was the burial-place of two children of a giantess, who,
through the negligence of their mother, were drowned at sea. J
There are, or were, some curious monuments on the island of
Huen. Near the centre of it there is marked in Blaeu's map,
'' for tun judi dale rusticonnn," indicated by a circle formed of seven
stones and a long tabular structure like a dolmen, with a covering-
stone supported by four uprights. At four places on the coast
accumulations of stones are shown, marked Vestigia qtiattwr arciwn
dirtitartim. These places are connected with a story of a giantess,
Huenella, and her children, Hago and Grunilda, who, says Blaeu,
are mentioned in the story of the Champions among the Germans
{les Athletes chez les Alleniands).
In the Stubnitz, to the N.W. of the Black Lake and the
Borgwall — at a place which a clergyman of the district endeavoured
to identify with the temple of Hertha, and called the Herthaberg —
is a dolmen which consisted of four flags set on edge and a cover-
ine-flae, with regard to which a tradition seems to have been
prevalent that it was used as a treasure-house for offerings, and
an altar for sacrifice. It is so difficult, however, to separate
genuine ancient folklore from the Hertha stories invented by the
t Neuer Darstellungen von der Insel Riigen (1819), part ii. p. 209, et seqq.
X Compare the "Children of Mermaid" in Sligo, p. 175.
49S The Dolmens of Ireland.
parson, that we cannot be sure that here, too, as well as at the
borgUHiU, his genius has not been at work. Near the dolmen,
which is called the Pfc7iniiigskastcn, is an alignment of pillar-stones.
Another monument of the Hiinebedden class is in the Patziof
and Borow wood. It lies in a narrow valley, and, from Grllmbke's
description, would seem to be a long tumulus surrounded with
stones on edge, 2 or 3 feet apart. It is over 60 paces long, and
from 4 to 5 paces broad, its longer axis lying E. and \V., where
it comes to a point "on an oblique slope."
There are stone-circles in Riigen, and at Ouoltitz a so-called
altar-stone, in which is a duct or furrow, and five circular artificial
cavities, in which the natives say the priest used to place the
bhitgrapen — i.e. the offering-bowls or saucers, that is to say, the
sacrificial cups.
The writer I have been quoting adds two other types of
monument found in this island — namely, the steinkisten wakkcn-
bettcn, " sandstone stone-chests," and the huueugrabcr, or Giant's
Graves. Near Silvitz is one of the former type called the "Steinhof."
Blocks of stone, placed contiguously, form an oblong vault, upon
which are placed two roofing-stones over 4 yards in length, and
lying E. and W. There are several near Krakow, many of which
have lost their covers. Some must be of considerable height, as
a man can stand upright in them. In one of these, in 1793, were
found, under strata of sand, pebbles from the shore, and earth, ten
human skeletons in contracted positions, with the legs bent under.
Some vestiges of hair-cloth were found with them. Beneath this
stratum was a hard mass of clay, containing nine urns. Of these
three were " of the usual size," the other six only as large as
ordinary apples. The exterior of each was ornamented with short
incised lines. The interior had been strewn with leaves, which
had left their impressions in the clay, and upon them ashes and
fragments of bone had been placed. Under each of the three
larger urns lay a worked flint axe, one of which was of large size.
Near the little vessels were found some flint knives and an
implement of Jiarz,\ having a hole in the centre, and pointed at
either end. A layer of flint splinters lay under the urn-stratum
and upon the floor of the vault, which was stamped hard.
Hilnengrabci^, by which Griimbke means tumuli, are very
numerous in Riieen.
■\ I do not understand what Griimbke means by tliis word : Ilarz = resin.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
499
Mecklenburg.
For the ancient sepulchral monuments of Mecklenburg Lisch
proposes the following classification : (i.) Steinkisten, constructed
of great flags raised on edge, in the form of a square, and
covered by another, not, however, enclosed in a tumulus :
■"^^^
Fig. 470. — Dolmen at Rudenbeck, Mecklenburg. From " Tiiisko-Land," ^i. 64.
(ii.) Earthen tumuli, generally round, but sometimes oval and
cone-shaped, sometimes having a circle of small stones round the
base ; in the centre a rough cist or heap of stones, to protect the
*' St*"*
« Kt^'S^-^i;
*''^ .'•-«#•
'M^^^P'^M
■V
^jf •'''■
Fig. 471. The Fliinengrab of Katelbogen. From Lisch and Schroler, '■'■ Fridcrico-Franciscciim,"'
pi. xxxvi. fig. 3.
remains : (iii.) Stone cairns, of like form with the last, sometimes
having a ring round the edge : (iv.) Hiinengraber, in the form of
a lono- parallelogram, with an environment of great granite blocks.
In the area so surrounded a " trough-shaped " mound of earth is
raised, not much above the height of the surrounding stones, and at
one end, usually the E. end, a structure is erected, covered over.
500
The Dolmens of Ireland.
in, the generality of cases, by four roofing-stones : (v.) Tumuli in
oval form, having at the E. end, close under the covering of earth,
a small cist, sometimes formed of stones set on edge, sometimes
without them, and covered over with thinnish slabs, enclosing
urns with ashes: (vi.) Stone circles, surrounding little round or
oval tumuli of earth : (vii.) Low earthen tumuli without a bor-
dering of stone: (viii.) The so-called "Wendish Churchyards,"
consisting of wide elevations of earth of irregular form, in which
Fio. 472. — Hiinengrab of Katelbogen near Biitzow. From Lisch atid Schroter,
^'' Friderico-Franciscenm" \i\. xxxvi. fig. i.
stand urns in great numbers, near each other, and often packed
between stones : (ix.) Roman graves.
The writer observes that, although it is comparatively easy to
classify the sepulchral antiquities of Scandinavia, the question
is rendered complex in Germany on account of the Sclave bury-
ing-places and the Middle-German tombs.
With two only of the types here classified will it be necessary
to deal, namely, the Stcinkisten and the Hiincngraber, and these
really here, as in Riigen, most frequently resolve themselves into
one, since the Steinkister is the vault contained in the area of the
Hiinengrab ; it is the Hiinenbed, or Hiincbed, or Hilnegrab itself.
Close to Katelbogen, about a mile W. of Butzow, is a very
fine Hiinengrab. It consists of a larije mound of oval form and
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast. 501
rounded on the top, having its longer axis E. and W. The
external circumference of the base measures 175 paces. The
foot of this elevation is surrounded by a ring of little stones, which
may be no part of the original plan. On this base are erected
the great setting of stones which forms the oval ring surround-
ing the mound itself, many of which have sunk in or fallen away.
They seem to have been about twenty-five in number, and were
6 or 7 feet long in some cases, and 3 to 4 feet high. The longer
diameter of the oval area which they enclose is 80 feet, and
within it the mound has been thrown up. On the top of this
mound, in the middle, lie contiguously four huge covering-stones,
measuring together 25 feet in length. The longest of them
is that at the W. end, which is 10 feet long, 7 feet wide, and
4 feet thick ; the next to it is 8 feet long and 5 feet wide ;
the third, 8 feet 10 ins. long and 6 feet 11 ins. wide; and the
fourth, 7 feet long by 5 feet 6 ins. wide. The three last are
between 3 and 4 feet thick.
These covering-stones rest upon the upper edges of wide
supporting-stones, which, rising from the floor of the vault, form
with their flat sides the interior walls. In this manner a regular
Steinkister is formed. It is filled with earth. The walls are
not parallel, but form a zvedge-shaped chaDiber, the W. end
of which is 8 feet, and the E. end 5 feet 2 ins. wide. At the
W. end, in front of the covering-stone, lay a stone of conical form
broken into two pieces, the breadth and thickness of which would
exactly allow of its having filled the aperture under the covering-
stone. This Hiinengrab differs from the usual form, in the fact
that it has an oval stone-setting around it instead of the more
usual oblong or wedge-shaped form. The stone structure, too,
lies in the middle instead of at one end of the enclosed area.
Formerly there was a grove around it.
The exact resemblance which in every particular the Steinkister
here described bears to the ordinary long wedge-shaped dolmens
of Ireland will have been remarked. In common with the latter,
the larger and broader end is towards the W. The presence
of an outer stone-setting supporting a low tumulus or cairn, in
the midst of which the dolmen rises, is not an uncommon feature,
as at Kilcloonyf (Co. Donegal) and at ScreggJ (Co. Roscommon),
where a large area is enclosed around the monument.
t p. 239. X p. 199.
502
The Dolmens of Ireland.
A typical Hilnengrab, of the class found in Mecklenburg, lies
in a fir wood about a mile E. of Grevismuhlen,f between Nasch-
endorff and Barcndorff. On a low tumulus, which serves as its
base, a setting of fifty coarse granite stones has been set up,
averaging 6 feet in height and 4 feet 6 ins. to 5 feet 6 ins. in
Fig. 473. — Plan and section of the Hiinengrab of Naschendorf. J^ro/// Lisch,
" Pfahlbauten m Meklcubtirg-Sch%verin ,'''' 1865, p. 12.
width. Inside these stones is a circular bowl-shaped mound
of earth. The whole monument forms a regularly extended
oblong, 150 feet long, and 36 feet wide. The longer axis is
S.E. and N.W. At the S.E. end four large granite covering-
stones, placed contiguously and in line, rest upon supports, each
one of which measures on an average 9 to 10 feet long by 7 feet
broad. The whole length of the structure is 28 feet, and its
breadth 10 feet 6 ins.
Circles.
Lisch, to whom we are indebted for the illustration of the last-
mentioned structure, gives also a plan and illustration of three very
remarkable stone-circles in a wood near the village of Boitin. They
are known in the country as the Steintanz, i.e. Stone-dance, and
many legends attach to them, as, for example, that the peasants
of a village which had disappeared had, on the occasion of
a wedding, danced upon cheeses out of bravado, and had as a
punishment been turned into stones. The pillars are of granite,
t See '•Friderico-Francisceum," Lisch and Schiotcr, pi. xxxvi. figs. 2, 3.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast,
503
and there is no trace of a mound either in or near them. Two
were still perfect, and the three are so arranged that they form
a semicircle open to the E. The middle circle is the largest ;
Fig. 474. — Stone-circles of Boitin, Mecklenburg. From Lisch and Sclnvfct; " Friden'co-Francis-
ceiim," pi. xxxvii. fig. i.
^ c:^
z^
o»
^
o
•^
OP
r^
(Xt
Fk;. 475. — Ground-plan of the circles and ' ' altar-stone " at Roitin. From Lisch and ScJiroter, loc. cit.
the one to the S.E, the next in size; and that to the N.W. the
smallest. They consisted of nine stones each, but the smallest has
lost three. The largest circle is somewhat oval, measuring 60 feet
at its greatest diameter, and 48 feet at its least. The second
circle is 50 feet, and the third 30 feet in diameter.
504
The Dolmens of Ireland.
One of the nine stones in the S.E. circle is called the Opferstcin
(altar-stone). It is a great flat stone lying on the S. side. It
is lo feet long, and 4 feet 2 ins. wide, and over its centre length-
ways a row of thirteen cubic cavities have been cut, each measuring
about z\ ins. cubic content, and about the same distance from
each other. The fourth stone towards the W. from this "altar-
stone " is called the Kanze/slem (pulpit-stone). It is a block of
Fig. 476.-Circ]e at Bearhaven, Co. Cork, showing a " pulpit-stone." From a skelch
by the Author.
Fig. 477.— Dom-ring:, Blomsholm, Bohusliin. From Du Chaillu, "■ Vikirt^^ Age," i. 370.
Stone 6 feet 8 ins. high, and on its N. side it has, 2 feet 8 ins.
above ground, a hewn step, so that a man standing on it looks
towards the stone altar. It appears that each circle had its altar-
and pulpit-stones.
Similar stone altars, with rows of hewn cubic cavities, are
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
505
found in Pomerania ; in some cases a single groove is cut across
the stone.f
At Harbour View, near Bearhaven (Co. Cork), there is a
stone-circle (Fig. 476), one of the pillars in which has a step in
it precisely as described in the case of the pulpit-stones. There
can, I think, be little doubt that such circles, whether found in the
British Isles, or Scandinavia, or Germany, were, many of them,
places of human sacrifice.
" Not far from the large ship-grave of Blomsholm, in Bohu-
slan," says M. Du Chaillu, " in a silent pine forest, stands a
magnificent Dom-ring (sacrificial circle) (Fig. 477). The ring is
about 1 00 feet in diameter, and is composed of ten standing-stones.
Near by is the eleventh. In the centre is a huge boulder over-
looking the rest. Its uncovered part
stands about 5 feet above ground. It
measures 9 feet long by 7 feet wide."
In several Norse sagas distinct men-
tion is made of these Dom-rings. The
central stone was called Thor's Stone,
upon which the backs of the victims —
strangers or prisoners of war — were
broken. There was one at Thorsness,
which was regarded as a very holy place, J
In Sweden the enclosure is some-
times oval, as is also the case in Ireland.
We may take from Hildebrand an
example in Vestergotlande (Fig. 479),
and from Du Noyer, for comparison with
it one from Carrabeha in Cork (Fig. 478),
upon one stone in which are markings
similar to those on the dolmen at Scraha-
nard (Fig. 20).
These customs, we may feel sure,
Fig, 478. — Stone circle at Carrn-
beha, Co, Cork, From a plan
original by G. Dii Noyer. The
central stone is white quartz, and
the stone marked X is inscribed.
survived far into the Iron Age ; but similar circles may be
traced back to the Neolithic period. Dr. Lissauer has supplied
t Pomm, Gesellschaft, ** Jahresbericht," iii., p. 83 ; and iv, p. 75.
X In Ireland the practice of going a circuit around a venerated object was called making a
furas, or, vulgarly, turrish. This word has been referred to the same origin as that which gives us
" tour," dolour. Circles were, however, connected in Scandinavia with the worship of the war-god
Thor, Among the Finns, too, the war-gods were called Turri, Turras, and Turrisas. Thyr was a
warrior — their Mars. May not the turas of the Irish have a similar origin? (Grimm,, "Teut.
Myth.," p. 940.) May not the name have been applied to the dance round the central stone, on
which the sacrifice to the god was made ?
VOL. II.
O
So6
The Dolmens of Ireland.
a most interesting description of a group of monuments of this
class. J In the Royal Forest of Odry, not far from the Schwarz-
\ \^
o
G?
o
CS>
o
o
©
Fig. 479. — Stone oval in Vestergiitlande. F^om HildebronJ^ Forhislorisha Folken
i Etiropa, p. 124.
Fig. 4S0. — Kough bird's-eye view of circles near Odry. Fivm Lissatur.
wasser, and almost covered by the growth of the forest, he
counted nine stone-circles. The stones composing them ranged
t Nahtr-Forschende Gcsdlschajt in Daiitztg,\iA. iii. (Neue Folge, 1871-1874), pp. 16, 17. 1874.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
507
from 2 to 5 feet high, and were sunk from i to 2 feet under
the surface. They were placed at regularly arranged intervals of
from 4 to 6 feet apart, while in the centre of each circle stood one
The radius of each circle averaged from
larger stone by itself.
'•Dili'
~x.^
Fig. 481.— Circle and trilithon near Odry. From Lissaiter.
II to 22 paces. The single central stones were frequently
pyramidally shaped at the top, as if hewn, and were from 2 to 3
feet thick. It would have taken eight men to move one.
Dr. Lissauer explored these circles, stone by stone. In each
case, close to the central
stone, towards the E.,
about I or 2 feet under
the level of the earth, was
an incinerated deposit,
consisting of charcoal and
burnt human bone, placed
in a plain hole v\/ithout
cist or urn. Close to the
rear of the outermost circle
was found a beautifully
polished stone-hammer of
serpentine, with a hole
for the handle smoothly pierced through it. The group of circles
lay at a distance of about 250 paces from the Schwarzwasser.
In conjunction with the circles were six other monuments
'LL
Fig. 482. — Group of Danish circles. From " Baer,
VorgescliichtUche Alensch,^' p. 276.
5o8 The Dolmens of Ireland.
described as trilithons, and consisting each of a large block of
granite between two smaller ones. On digging in the middle on
the E. side of them, Dr. Lissauer found, at a depth of i to 2 feet
under the surface in three cases, urns with burnt bones, in two
cases nothing, and in one case bone fragments placed in a hole
without cist or urn. Near one of the urns lay a flint " strike-a-
light." The vessels were of good shape, but poorly baked. One,
which was of a brown colour (another was black), was ornamented
with a single zigzag pattern, roughly formed, around the neck.
These circles are very similar to those in Denmark, a group of
which I here insert from Baer (Fig. 482).
Vistula and Dniester, Galizia, Bulgaria.
The Odry monuments are of especial interest, since remains
which must be referred to the Stone Age are so rarely to be met
with in West Prussia or E. of the Oder, and I shall permit
the consideration of them to lead me into a digression which,
while it will carry us southward to Galizia, will bring us back to
the S.E. corner of the Baltic, namely, the country of the Estho-
nians, and thence into East Prussia.f Megalithic tombs, however,
to which MM. Kohn and Mehlis give the name of dolmens, do
occur at rare intervals on the Vistula and the Dniester. These,
it seems, are referable rather to the type of that at Halle, than
to the massive inegalitJigraber type of the Hiinebedden. MM.
Kohn and Mehlis show examples in their map at the following
places: (i) S. of Dantzig, near Stargardt, W. of the Vistula,
in Pomerania ; (2) near Bogdonawo, N. of Posen, in the Province
of Posen, W. of the Warthe ; (3, 4) E.N.E. of Plock, one on either
bank of the Vistula; (5) at Trzebez, N.W. of Thorn, just E. of
the Vistula ; (6) at Kociubinsce, E.S.E. of Lemborg, in Galizia.
The last of these we may take as typical. In the course
of removing the earth from a spot in the centre of the dorj^
known from old times as " the old burying-ground," and sur-
rounded by a bank of earth, four stone slabs were found placed
together in the form shown in the plan (Fig. 483). Fragments of
two urns were found in the grave, two Neolithic stone axes, and,
on the N. side, two sitting skeletons. There were also two
small tusks of the wild boar, a piece of amber — very likely an
amulet — and a small bead of clay.
t " Vorgeschichte des Afeitsc^ien,'" Jena (1879), Archiiologische Karte.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
509
The direction of the orave was N. and S. The N. end
measured 85 cm., the S. end 97 cm., or 12 cm. broader. The S.
slab measured 79 cm. high, and the N. slab 68 cm. The grave
was 170 m. long. It is added, with regard to one of the skulls,
which was well preserved, that Dr.
Kopernicki had examined it, and
proved its undoubtedly prehistoric
origin, a vague description, which we
wish was amplified. Near the tomb
stood a menhir. This Megalithg}''db
is, as we see, of small dimensions
compared to the dolmens of the West.
Its contents, too, more closely re-
semble those of the large cists en-
closed entirely in tumuli found in
Germany and the British Isles, espe-
cially in Ireland, where the body is
placed in a sitting position, with an
urn beside it, and where the skull
is of a markedly brackycephaiic type.
From another work of MM. Kohn
and Mehlis, I will adduce one other example of a megalithic
tomb in Eastern Europe. It was discovered at the village of
Beremijany, near the junction of the river Strypa with the
Dniester, and appears to have been buried in a cairn, from which
a hundred cartloads of stones were taken away. The stein-grab
was formed of six great slabs, and in it (it is stated on the
authority of MM. Kraszewski, Zegota Pauli, and Glowacki) was
a stone cist, in which were five men's skulls, thoroughly hardened.
Near them lay a stone hatchet, which is preserved in the
Institute at Lemborg.
In Galizia there are some very remarkable monuments of
the Stone Age. Dr. E. F. Von Sacken f mentions one, which
he describes as a " kind of cromleac," consisting of an avenue
300 paces long, formed of blocks of stone 4 to 6 feet in height,
and leading to a stone-circle, in the centre of which is a monstrous
rocking-stone.
In the Sakar Planina, in the district of Gerdeme, in Bulgaria,
Fig. 483. — Megalithic grave at Kociu-
binsce. From Kohn and Mehlis,
" Vorgcschichte des Menschen," Y>' loo.
t "Leitfaden zur Kunde des Heidnischen Alterthums auf die Osterreichischen Lander Wien"
(1865), p. 76. See also Wogel.
5IO
The Dolmens of Ireland.
N. of Adrianople, are the remains of no less than sixty dolmens,
together with a stone-circle and a curiously formed rock called
Fig. 484. — Dolmen in ihe Sakar Planina in Bulgaria. From Radiinsky.
the " Opferstein." To these W. V. Radimskyf adds the Wackel-
stein at Kopfing, which he also terms an altar-stone. It is
Fig. 485. — Circle on the Sakar Planina, Uulgaria. I-'roin Kadintsky.
apparently a rocking-stone on a raised platform, and was an
t " Die prahistorischen Fundstatten . . . auf Bosnian und die Hercegovina" (1891), pp. 130, 131,
145. Unfortunately, the illustrations are very unsatisfactory.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
511
object of local veneration. From the illustration which he gives
of one of the dolmens on the Sakar Planina (Fig. 484), it
appears to be a structure of the same type as the Htinebedden.
Three covering-stones are shown, one fallen ; and there seems
Fig. 486. — Altar-stone, so called, on the Sakar Planina, Bulgaria. From Radimsky.
to be a semicircular hole leading from one part to another,
as in the monuments at Karleby in Vestergotlande, and else-
where. The resemblance of the ancient camps, both in point
of construction and in peculiarity of design found in Bosnia and
the Herzegovina to Irish examples, is a specially noteworthy fact,
as, also, is the likeness observable between certain bronze imple-
ments, ornaments, and fictilia in Ireland and those countries.
Livonia, Esthonia.
Turning from these southern parts to the coasts of the Baltic,
it is very doubtful whether any dolmens exist in Livonia and
Esthonia. Kruse, however, speaks of two stone-settings, the one
called the Klauensteine on the Duna, opposite Selburg, and the
other the Donner, or Perkuhn's Steine, at Capsehten, which
he seems to regard as the remains of megalithic monuments.
They consist, he says, of " two stones set together on edge,
like the Danish ones, with several great flat stones lying round
about, which probably formed their tops." He adds that in
512 The Dolmens of Ireland.
the case of the Klauensteine the folk-lore stones connect it
with the Devil, while they connect that at Capsehten with a
Giant. At Selburg, he says, are also found the so-called Jette-
fiat, i.e. Giant's Footsteps, which are so general in Sweden. Near
this latter place are tumuli having stone-circles around them, and
containing burnt bodies, with balls and shapeless pieces of molten
metal. In Livonia, however, it must be remembered that the
dead were burnt, even after the time when the Germans entered
the land. Henry the Lett, speaking of Corpo, who fell in the
battle fought with the insurgent Esthonians in 1216, says,
" Combustum est corpus ejus et ossa delata in Livoniam et
sepulta in Kubbe^ele."
But whether there are dolmens or not on the east coast of the
Baltic, there are other monuments and traditions which intimately
concern us, from the close comparisons which we may draw
between them and those found in Ireland. There are old altar-
stones, venerated caves, stone-circles, and holy trees. Kruse was
shown pieces of money which in his own time had been placed
on the stone altars in the holy groves. A pastor, too, had then
recently caused an old altar-place, near which was a circle, to be
destroyed, and *' the holy tree " to be cut down.
There was a famous cave, called the Livenhohle of Kuikul,
or Kukulin,f near Salis. Internally it was vaulted in the form of a
"cone-shaped dome." Kruse describes it as perfect in his time,
with the exception of the entrance, which had fallen in. He
found in it offerings which had been made by the natives only a
few days previously, and which consisted of coloured wool and
fowls' feathers. This was the district in which the native saga of
the Esthonian Finns placed the giant Kallewe Poeg. Between
Kukulin and the Lake of Ecks they still show the great rock
called Kallewe Poeg Tool, that is, Kallewe Poeg's Seat, upon
which he is said to have rested, in consequence of which it
received the form of an armchair. It is about 9 feet high, and
has a back and two arms. Another legend makes the giant cast
the rock over from Russia in order to mark the limit of the lands
he was going to occupy. Then he dug out the lake of Peipus,
and with the sand which he threw out of his apron made the hills
near Alatskiwwi.
t See this form of the name of this place in " Ur-Geschichtc dcs Estlinischen Volkstammes "
von F. Kruse, p. 183 ; the Saga of Kallewe Poeg. See account of the cave in Kruse, *' Necroli-
vonica," p. 7, and pi. 67, 3.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
513
Kruse says that this legend appears to him remarkable on
account of the likeness it bears to a story told by Saxo of a
Danish giant, Starkather, who, in like manner, left impressions of
his body on a rock on which he rested: " cujus cava adhuc
Fig. 487. — Stone on the Sadejerw Lake, thrown by Kallewe Poeg, and impressed with his
finger-marks. From F. Kruse, " Ur-Gesckichte des Esthnischen Volkslamtnes,'" p. 183.
superficies cernitur (it is not said where), ac si illam decubantis
moles conspicua impressionem signasset." It was this hero
Starkather who was said to have recovered Esthland for
Denmark in about a.d. 450.
Rocks thrown by Kallewe Poeg, i.e. Kaallew's son, were
shown on the Sedejerw Lake, and near Abo, in Finland. In
the latter case the giant threw it at the church, but it fell short.
In the former case the marks of his finger and thumb are shown
upon it, just as those of Finn Mac Cumail are shown upon I
know not how many rocks in Ireland. Upon the stones sacred
to Kallewe Poeg it was usual to place a piece of money, or other
offering, "as a memorial" — an illustration, probably, of the purpose
for which the little cup-shaped hollows found in the surfaces of
venerated rocks in Scandinavia, Ireland, Cornwall, Spain, and
elsewhere were made.
Several of the tales of Finn Mac Cumail — such an one, for
example, as " Finn and the Phantoms " — closely agree with sagas
relating to Kallewe Poeg. The resemblances, in short, between
514 The Dolmens of Ireland,
the Esthonian Finns and tlie ancient Irish in points of folk-lore
and customs are not a little remarkable, and are not, I feel sure,
without their value as ethnological indicators, pointing out to
us a connection which belongs to very remote antiquity.
I cannot do more in this place than enumerate a few of them.
The ancient Finns craved advice and assistance from the
dead. " One went," we read, " to the grave of the ancient wisdom
bard, and found the lost words of the Master." Those who
remember the story of the disciples of Seanchan Torpeist being
sent to tlic East to bring back the forgotten tale of the Taiu-bo-
Cuailgnc, but learning it on the way at the tomb of an ancient
bard, whose orhost recited it to them, will be struck with the
similarity of the superstition.
In Ireland wells and lakes, when insulted, or when evil words
are spoken beside them, migrate to some other place. In
Esthonia there is a rivulet, Vohanda, held in such reverence that
none dared fell a tree or cut a shrub in its immediate vicinity, lest
death should overtake the offender within a year. We read of a
lake, too, which departs into the air, taking all its fishes with it,
and leaving only snakes, lizards, and toads, in consequence of evil
men living on its banks.
The ancient Irish indulged in vapour-baths in little circular
houses built for the purpose. So did the Esthonian Finns, who
held in hiorh esteem " the cleansincj and healinof virtues of the
heated bath-room."
The Finns were famous for necromancy ; so were the Cruithne
and the legendary Tuatha De Danann among the Irish.
In Esthonia the smith was almost a divine personage, and
the hero of many a tale ; so he was in Irish sagas.
The Esthonians burned their dead after the body had lain in
the house for sometimes half a year, if the deceased were wealthy,
during the whole of which time drinking and sports were kept
up. The Irish also at one time burned their dead ; while in
the extraordinary practice of feasting around the dead body, we
cannot fail to note a resemblance to the "wake."
The vencratio lapicituii, against which Christian Councils issued
their anaikevias, was as strongf amonof the Finns as it was in
Ireland. It is amono^ the Turanians of the North that we must
seek for the origin of the practice of creeping under sacred rocks,
which in Ireland was kept up until recently by the pilgrims
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
515
who visited the shrine of St. Declan at Ardmore in Waterford.
Leems, in his account of the Laplanders, speaks of a sacred
rock on the summit of the mountain of Neiden, which was called
the Niackken-Karg, or Mountain of Creeping. The ancestral
hero of the race v/as said to have *' been made upon a rock."
Many an Irish saint and legendary hero was similarly " born upon
a rock."
I might, from material I have collected, add to this list of com-
parisons very considerably, but it is time that I passed to the
Southern Baltic, and the evidence of dolmens there.
Fig. 4S8.— earn with dolmen-cist at \'arzeit in Samlande. From Voight, Geschichtc Freuseiis,
J3d. I. y frontispiece.
Fig, 489. — Ground-plan of cairn with dolmen-cist at Varzeit in Samlande. From Voight, loc. cit.
East and West Prussia, Pomerania.
Cairns containing large flag tombs exist in the island of
Samlande. An illustration given by Voight of a structure which
may be compared to a Swedish hdllkista, makes this fact clear.
It is not, however, until we reach the west bank of the Vistula
that dolmen districts, properly speaking, are found.f
t For much of what follows on the subject of West Prussia, I am indebted to the works of
Dr. Lissauer, and especially to his " Prahistorischen Denkmaler."
5i6
The Dolmens of Ireland.
In Cujavia a peculiar form of grave of the Neolithic Age
exists. Examples of it bear a great likeness to those which occur
in Mecklenburg, already noticed, and to those, also, which I have
yet to notice in Brandenburg and Hanover. They consist
usually of large mounds of sand in the form, not of ovals or
oblongs, but of long-extended isosceles triangles, surrounded by
great blocks of stone (Fig. 490). At the base of the triangle the
Fig. 490. — Elongated monument in Cujavia. From Lissauer.
grave-chamber — a sort of stone cist, about li m. long, and i m.
broad — is formed. The sides are composed of rough, flat stones,
while the roof consists of well-hewn (bekaiceiieu) thin slabs, almost
sharp at the edges. In this vault, so formed, lies the skeleton, with
several urns at head and foot, and with accompaniments of stone,
bone, and amber. Inhumation was the general rule, and a
definite cidtns of the dead evidently prevailed.
There is a second kind of these monuments which has more
the form of a narrow quadrangle, 6 paces long and 3 wide, the
stones in which are carefully worked. Like the former, the
examples of it are surrounded each by a stone-setting running to
a point. The remains of pigs in the graves renders it probable,
Dr. Lissauer thinks, that feasts took place at the interment.
The Neolithic Age lasted long in West Prussia, and during it
the customs of the people were undergoing changes, consequent,
perhaps, on the approach of higher civilization. Thus, even in
graves having all the characteristics of those just described in
Cujavia, the stone vaults contain evidences of the practice ot
incineration. Stone-circles again occur, with all the character-
istics of the Stone Age structures, and yet containing evidences
of urn-burial. The stone-circles and trilithons of the Forest of
Odry contained, as has just been noticed. Neolithic objects and
incinerated remains. The same is true of urn-graves on the
Varter, On the other hand, stone-cist graves {Stcinkisten-grabcr),
which, as a rule, are attributable to the Bronze Age, have been
found to contain, together with burnt remains, objects of the Stone
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast. 517
Age. A stone axe, for example, and a bronze sword have been
found together.
Inhumation, however, undoubtedly preceded incineration, and
lasted throughout the first two-thirds of the Neolithic Age.
Only a few skulls and fragments of skeletons have been
recovered from Neolithic graves in this country, and among these
are examples of dolicho-, meso-, and brachy-cephaly. One well-
preserved skeleton was found at Janishschewek. The average
capacity of the skull, according to Virchow, is about 1650 c.cm. ;
the countenance usually powerful and high ; the nose high and
narrow ; the eye-sockets low and depressed ; the whole skull
bearino; in its formation more resemblance to skulls of civilized
people than to those of savages; the size and massiveness of the
bones admitting no effeminacy ; the extremities of the bones of
the body large and strong ; the lower part of the leg extremely
platycnemic, as flat as the sheath of a scimitar.
Having thus classified the megalithic tombs of the Neolithic
Age under two heads — the triangular, which answers to the
Hiinebedden of Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, and Hanover, and
the Long Barrows of Britain, and the oblong, which appears to
represent the survival of the structural portion of the Hunebed in
a phase of development which had bereft the latter of its outer
enclosure — Dr. Lissauer proceeds to classify the tombs of the
Bronze Age under three heads, namely, (i) the Urn-fields (Urnen-
felder), (2) the Tumuli [Hugelgrabe?'), and the Stone Cists [Sfein-
kistengraber).
In Ireland, we have, as I believe, examples of all three of
these classes. The first is represented by the Hill of Rath,
Ballon Hill, and other places where cinerary urns have been
discovered In cemeteries, which would be truly described as
" urn-fields," without any indication of their presence in the form
of a cairn or monument raised upon the surface. The second is
represented by cairns or earthen mounds which cover cists con-
taining incinerated remains. The third has its affinities, as will be
seen when we proceed to describe individual examples, in the
chambers of the chambered-cairns, but with this difference, that
whereas the Prussian structures are all under the surface, the
Irish and Scottish ones are, like the cists in the Hugelgraber,
built on, or only partially under, the ground-level, and covered
with a cairn or earthen mound.
5iS The Dolmens of Ireland.
Further remark upon the urn-fields and tumuli of Ireland I
leave for a future occasion. The Steinkistengraber, however,
since I class them with the chambered-cairns, must be noticed in
this place.
They are built at a depth which brings their roofs to within
30 to 45 cm. of the surface. They are usually constructed of
slabs of split red-sandstone. In form they are "tolerably
rectangular stone cists," by which Dr. Lissauer means that
they are generally wedge-shaped, some even approaching the
shape of an isosceles triangle. They vary in size according to
the number of urns they are intended to contain, — from one to
thirty, and more. Almost all the urns contain ashes, and they
are provided with well-fitting covers, a characteristic of some few
of the best examples of Irish sepulchral pottery. Little vessels
with handles sometimes, though rarely, accompany them, and
these are empty. The remains in the cinerary urns consist of
small fragments of human bone burnt white. The side slabs
of the cist are often supported by cobble-stones placed against
their outer sides, but sometimes entire slabs are used for this
purpose, which form a second course around the cist, like the
peristyle of many Irish and Swedish dolmens. The roof is
sometimes formed by several slabs placed one on another. The
depth of each cist is from 30 to 45 cm., the length 0*3 to 1*5 m.,
the breadth 0*3 to o"6 m. ; but many much larger ones have been
found, such as those which MM. Koln and Mehlis call dolmens,
and which extend up the Vistula, the largest known example
being in the grave-field of Steinthal, near the Semmlerischen
Gate, in Pomerania. In rare cases a cairn or earthen tumulus
of slight elevation has been raised over them.
These cists lie generally scattered, mostly on a hillside and
near water. Sometimes one is constructed close to another, so
as only to be separated by a partition wall — a feature common to
several Irish examples. In ground-plan and construction the
oblong form is most common, but there are many divergencies
from it. In Linken, Dr. Marschal discovered one in the form of
a cross. Another of the same form is figured by Beckmann. In
Oschen there is one in shape like a Danish gang-grab, or passage-
tomb. At Liebenthal there are several of octagonal form, and
at Wroblewo there were five built like beehives, but of peculiar
construction, since there was a double row of split slabs surrounded
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
519
externally by round stones. In them were urns, saucers, cups of
clay, a piece of a bronze pin, etc.
In the case of the one in the grave-field of Steinthal, in
Pomerania, the covering-stone did not rest immediately upon
the upper edges of the perpendicular side stones, but a walling
of little flat stones, which gave greater height to the roof, and
on which it rested, inter-
vened. This, therefore,
belonged to the same class
of chambers as those in
the cairns of Scotland and
Ireland.
Cists of this class are
very numerous indeed in
Pomerania, diminishing in
number as we trace them
up the left bank of the
Vistula to the Province of
Posen, where they die out.
On the right bank of the
Vistula they are frequently
found also, though not so
plentifully as on the left,
and in East Prussia they
are absent.
The people who formed
them must have occupied Fk-.. 491.— Megalithic grave in the Giaheifcid of Stein-
*U^ ^^, ,.-.♦-.-, r f^- ^ ,ra,-,, lr^t-.,^ ^^^^ (Pomerania). /^'rom IVeissenfels and Lesau. a,
the country tor a very long i,^ , ^ positions of ums.
period, since, while, judg-
ing from their contained remains, they far overlap the Iron Age
on the one hand, they extend also, more especially the larger
ones, into the latter portion of the Neolithic Age on the other,
covering the entire epoch of Bronze, including, of course, what is
known as the Hallstadt period, and proving by evidence not to
be gainsaid that commerce, moving along several routes, con-
nected the shores of the Southern Baltic with those of the Black
Sea and the Adriatic.
The ancient routes by which, from the Neolithic Age, com-
puted by Montelius to have been succeeded by the introduction
of bronze in the fifteenth century B.C., the Mediterranean peoples
520 The Dolmens of Ireland.
were brought into contact with the inhabitants of the North Sea
and the German Ocean, have been traced by the presence of
amber, a substance held in high esteem for ornamental purposes by
the civilized populations whose remains are found in the ancient
graves of Greece and Italy. That the barbarians of the North
valued it also among themselves is proved by the fact that it
is found in the great triangular " Long- Barrows" of Cujavia,
together with the skeleton, with urns at head and foot, and
implements of stone and bone, — all tending to show that, even
at that remote period, a belief in a future state, and the require-
ment by the dead of articles treasured by the living, had already
marked the first step in culture from the mere savage to the com-
paratively civilized man.
To the same early period belong in West Prussia narrow
quadrangular structures, averaging six paces long by three
paces wide, each surrounded by a stone-setting, or peristyle,
running to a point at one end, seemingly precisely similar to
the Hiinebeds of the more western districts. In these the
presence of the remains of pigs make it probable that death-feasts
took place.
During the Neolithic period the practice of incineration was
introduced into these countries, triangular monuments having
been found, in the chambers of which all the characteristics of the
Stone Age are present, together with one single urn, the recep-
tacle for the burnt remains.
The custom of incineration, however, came from the South,
where bronze must have been in use through a great portion of
the long epoch during which the Northern peoples were in their
Neolithic A^e. Can it be that the bringers of the bronze
brought also the design of those shrines for the worship of the
dead, which, although carried out with unhewn and megalithic
material, remind us so much of the most primitive form of temple
known to the Greeks ? (See pp. 637, 638.)
To return, however, to the amber trade, we find that during
the Neolithic epoch the custom of manufacturing ornaments and
fio-ures of this material extended all round the Baltic basin. Far
away to the south, through Austria, in Italy, in Greece, numbers
of amber ornaments have been discovered, proving that in the
early ages of culture this fossil gum was in request.
The Greek graves which Schliemann found at Mycenee, which,
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast. 521
according to Helbig.f date from about 1500 B.C., contained hun-
dreds of beads and balls of amber.
It has been pointed out that other countries besides the Baltic
produced amber — the coasts of the North Sea, and the British
Islands, Spain, Italy, Roumania, Austria. But, on the other
hand, the investigations of Helbig have shown that, by certain
chemical characteristics, the amber of the Baltic and the North
Sea can be distinguished from that of other districts, and that the
material of that found at Mycenae on the one hand, and in the
Necropolises of the district of Bologna on the other, is identical
with that from the Prussian and Frisian coasts.
We come, then, to the routes along which this commerce was
carried on. Mullenhof has placed the fact beyond question that
the Phoenicians never came beyond the North Sea, J and that the
stories of their having entered the Baltic are fabulous. According
to the same authority, however, a trade route by land existed
from the North Sea through Gaul to the Rhone, and thence to
the Mediterranean. From this a branch road made for the Po, and
hence communication was opened with North Italy and Greece.
Helbig, on the other hand, is of opinion that there was an
ancient road from Prussia direct through North Italy to the Po,
by which amber was carried from district to district through
Middle Europe to the Phoenicians, who sold it to the Greeks and
other southern peoples. Granted, then, that in these primitive
times commercial relations had commenced between the population
of the Lower Vistula and the merchants of the Mediterranean,
was it conducted through their western neighbours as Mullenhof
supposes, or by their southern ones according to Helbig? Lissauer
adopts both views. He points to the discovery in West Prussia,
Posen, Silesia, and the Mark, of bronze articles, as, for example, a
sword with elegant spiral decorations on the handle, and fibulae of
characteristic form which may be referred to the Hungarian
Bronze Age, the period of which has been computed to reach back
certainly beyond 1000 B.C. At the same time he indicates the
presence of certain other bronzes which must be referred to
relations with Italy. In West Prussia itself evidences of pure
Etruscan influence have not been found which can be ascribed to
so remote a period, but in Silesia and Posen, as Virchow has
t Osservazioni sopra il commercio deU'ambra in Atti d. R. Acad. d. Lincei, Anno 274. 1876-
77, 3rd Ser., vol. i.
t " Deutsche Altertumskunde I.," Berlin, 1870, p. 215, sci/q.
VOL. IL P
522 The Dolmens of Ireland.
pointed out, certain so-called " skeleton chests " (gcripptcn Cistcn)
have been found which are of ancient Etruscan origin. To
Etruscan importation in the sixth century B.C., is to be ascribed
also a fibula from Gorszewice, near Kazmierz.f
In any case, the results of accurate study have made it clearer
and clearer that from the earliest period the bronzes found in the
North were importations from the South. That the bronze
industry may have taken its rise in Central Asia, in the Hindu
Koosh and the Altai, as Virchow thinks, is not irreconcileable
with this view ; but that its spread into Europe went northwards
from the Black Sea is proved by the absence of our old friend
the bronze celt from Greece, from Asia Minor, and from the
Caucasus. The doctrine of an old Bronze People, and a
northern Bronze Kingdom in Europe, during which the bronze
industry was developed among otherwise uncivilized races, has
been completely overthrown. In fact, the contrary hypothesis
has taken its place. Instead of a development from ruder types
and unskilled manufacture to elegant forms and skilled workman-
ship, the truth is that the more finished the article the older it is,
since it was either derived directly from the cultured artisans of
the Mediterranean, or was copied by those who had been brought
into direct contact w^ith them and their work. The bronzes
made in the North were mostly recast by foreign dealers and
wandering bronze-merchants, says Lissauer, from old bronzes.
Thus, as time went on, and the industry passed into native hands,
the forms became more rugged, and the workmanship less skilled.
The trade with the South lasted on from the Neolithic Age in
the North until, in the sixth century b.c, the routes by which it
went were indicated by coins of Greek origin, and by the products
of the more distant South, such as the cowries of the Red Sea and
Indian Ocean, which were worn as ear-rings.
As regards the coin-finds, Genthe J has followed them up from
the coasts of the Baltic to the South, and been thus enabled to
indicate trade routes passing directly to the yEgean Sea from
West Prussia, through Posen, Silesia, Hungary, Transylvania,
Servia, and Macedonia, to the island of Thasos, between the
peninsula of Chacidice and the Thracian Chersonese, from which
point a great portion of these coins come. They were first
brought into the barbaric North via Thrace, Maesia, and Dacia.
t Lissauer, " Priihist. Denkmaler," p. 55, Die Hallstaetter Epochc.
♦ "Ueber die etruskischen Tauschhandel nach dern Norden, Frankrilri," 1874, p. OS.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast. 523
This route is, as we notice, quite independent of the two
previously referred to, namely, those via the Rhone and the Po.
The fact that it is indicated in the sixth century by the coins by no
means proves that it commenced at that period ; and as the
Phoenicians, as Lissauer points out, were previously settled on
this island of Thasos on the Thracian coast, this commercial
route may with probability be attributed to the period of Phoenician
trade. The absolute identity of several forms of flat bronze celts
found in India, in Hungary, in Germany, in Ireland and Britain
— not to speak of examples which may have travelled by a
route along the coasts of the Levant and Mediterranean to
Spain, where we find them also — could thus be accounted for. A
"money-cowrie" found by me in a barrow near the Land's End
in Cornwall was accompanied by Neolithic axes.y Such flat celts,
some of which are of pure copper, and seem to be imitations of
stone celts and axes, are placed by Montelius in his first period
of the Older Bronze Age in the North. To this same period
(B.C. 1 450-1 250) he also assigns riveted dagger-blades, which
partly came from the North of Italy, in which case the handles
were detached, and partly native copies, in which case the handle
and blade were cast together. Certain triangular daggers, be-
longing to the pure Bronze Age in Italy, which in about 1000 B.C.
was passing into that of Iron, he also assigns to this period. The
so-called halbert-heads were also characteristic of this period.
The ornaments consisted of simple smooth neck-rings, broad-fluted
arm-bands, or spiral finger-rings, the decoration consisting only
of straight lines. Inhumation was practised, the bodies being
placed in great stone cists. This, of course, applies especially to
Scandinavia. In North Germany the period is represented by
finds in Saxony, Neunheilingen, near Langen-Salza and Leubingen
in Mersebourg. It is exemplified also in Mecklenburg, and
Pomerania, in Denmark, and Schonen, but more rarely in the
North of Sweden and Norway. In the Iberian Peninsula, in the
British Isles, but in Ireland especially, it is well represented, in
flat celts, some of copper, dagger-blades, and halbert-heads.l
The second period of Montelius (b.c. i 250-1050) is the best
period of the Older Bronze Age. The celt is t\\e. paalslab, which
had originated in the previous period. Its edges are, however,
t See "All Indian Money-cowrie in a British Barrow," The Antiquary^ vol. i. (l88o), pp. 30,31
X See examples, pp. 673-5, ^79, 6S0, infra.
524 The Dolmens of Ireland.
higher, and a cross-bar or stop-ridge is introduced. The hollow
or socket-celt now appears. The principal weapon is the sword»
with a bronze handle, surmounted by an oval hilt-knob, and
ornamented with spirals or concentric circles. Knives, with
pointless blades and hilts like horse-heads, belong also to this
period. The ornaments were twisted neck-rings ending in spirals,
diadem-like neck ornaments, with low flutings, fluted arm-bands,
and fibular, in the form of violin bows. The decoration consists
of spirals. Inhumation was customary, but incineration had
commenced.
This period is represented in Mecklenbourg-Schwerin, Jutland,
Ftinen, Seeland, and Schonen, but it is also exemplified elsewhere
in the North. An example of a paalstab, decorated with spirals
from Finland,! must also be assigned to it. In France, on the
west coast of the Iberian Peninsula, and in Britain it is present.
In Ireland it is represented with exceptions, and with the
addition of several types not mentioned in the Scandinavian list,
but some of which belong also to Portugal.^ Of paalstabs, with
high edges, there are, of course, plenty, and the feature of the
stop-ridge is found not only on celts but on spatula-shaped instru-
ments, of long and distinctive type. Swords and dagger-blades,
with oval hilt-knobs, are not wholly wanting, but are certainly
rare. The socketed-celt has, as a rule, a round or oval mouth,
in which feature it resembles some Batavian examples.§
With an Irish fibula, figured by \Vilde,|| an Etruscan example,
figured by Lindensmidt,^ as well as two from Holstein, one from
Oppenheim,ff and an example from Bosnia, given by Radimsky.JJ
may be exactly compared. The long spatula-like instrument
found in Ireland has been found also near Maintz, and another
in an urn on the Feuerberg in Rheinbayern, and a peculiar celt
of the same type, but with a cross-piece forming a stop in the
centre, has its counterpart also in one found near Frankenthal.§§
To me it appears that at this period a Scandinavian, South
Baltic, and South-eastern influence, which had previously domi-
nated the bronze culture in the British Isles, was, to some extent,
supplanted by the establishment of a connection with the Rhenish
and Danubian districts, and thence with Italy. In Ireland, the
t "Bijdrag. til. Finland," 1863. X See paalslabs compared, pp. 672, 676, infra.
§ Nijhoff, " Bijdragen," 1837, etc. || "Cat. Mus. R.LA.," p. 567.
H "Mus. of Maintz," heft vii. pi. iii., fig. 9. ft Id-, heft ix., figs, i, 3, 4.
XX " I^ie priihist. Fundstatten," p. 37.
§§ Lindensmidt, "Mus. of Maintz," heft i. pi. iii., figs. 7, S, and 15.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast. 525
absence of the spiral in bronze decoration is noticeable. For
ornamental purposes, the chevron, the straight lines, and the
herring-bone seem to have been retained. Concentric circles are,
however, found on certain gold objects.f such as the so-called Irish
Crown J and on a few socketed celts. This curious head-dress
may be compared, both in point of its use and its ornament, tO'
three objects found respectively at Corinth, Speyer, and Poitiers,
and figured by Lindensmidt§ and by Thoms.|| The spiral, it may
be observed, although absent in Irish metal work at this period,,
is amply represented in stone as at New Grange, Dowth,
Loughcrew, and Cloverhill. The same observation holds good
with regard to Brittany. To this period, in the case of Ireland^
are to be assigned the leaf-shaped bronze spear-heads, which
belong alike to Scandinavia,^ to Hanover,!! to Bosnia,{J to
Hungary,§§ to the Lake Dwellings, and to France.
To this period, in short, it is that, with great deference to the
opinion of those who may differ from me, I would attribute the
spread of a civilization which, passing westward into Gaul and
portions of Spain, and northwards down the Rhine, carried with
it new developments of the bronze industry, the practice of in-
cineration, and last, but not least, the germs from which spread
forth the Celtic language. In support of this view, three facts
are noticeable : (i) that Archaeology demonstrates to us that much
of the bronze culture of the North, and North-West especially,
was derived from contact with North Italy ; (2) that the custom
of incineration came from the South ; and (3) that Philology
requires us to find a centre somewhere to the north of the Alps,
where those who spoke the Latin language on the one hand, and
those who spoke the Celtic language on the other, were once
dwelling side by side. If Montelius is approximately right in his
date, B.C. 1 250-1050, for this most important of all the periods of
the Bronze Age, it is to that epoch that I would assign the move-
ment in question. The extent to which the influence would have
been felt west of the Rhine and Elbe might have been the bank
of the Oder (Mullenhof has traced the presence of the Celtic
language east of the Weser),|||| and there is no reason why, passing
t See figs. 537, 539, 540, 541, 542, 543, 544; PP- 616-618, infra.
X See Harris's "Ware," vol. ii. pi. i, and the Preface to O'Connor's "Keating."
§ Op. cit., heft X. pi. iv. || Note to his trans, of " Worsaae," p. 36.
H ("Du Chaillu," vol. i. p. 1 10. tt " Estorff," p. 7.
XX " Radimsky," p. 16, §§ " Hampel," pi. xxvi.
nil See map, tab. i., in vo!. ii., " Deutsche Altertumskunde."
526 The Dolmens of Ireland.
northwards into the Cimbric peninsula, it should not have reached
Jutland, and even Scandinavia, where the presence of Celtic has
been more than suspected, though never as a lasting influence.
It is not necessary that I should follow Montelius with the
same fulness throuo^h the four other divisions he marks off in the
Bronze Age. Many types occur which are unknown in Ireland,
and as to those which are known there, they occur also in
France or on the Danube and the Rhine. In his third period
(b.c. 1050-900) he places those swords — common to the whole of
Western Europe, the hilts of which were covered wdth plates of
bronze, horn, or wood. Of these Ireland has in her museums
some splendid specimens. Among knives, too, are those, the
handles of which are perforated, also common in Ireland. In-
humation becomes rarer, and the district of Germany and the
Baltic, over which the cultus is found to have extended, is the
same as in the last period.
In the fourth period (b.c. 900-750), the socket-celts, which
were of large size in the preceding one, becomes smaller, but are
still provided with a handle for attachment. The so-called razor-
knives appear, which are also found in Ireland, as are also the
spectacle-shaped fibulae. Incineration is now practised, and the
ashes buried in small cists, in contradistinction to the larger cists
of the two last periods. This period is represented in North
Germany, Denmark, and Schonen.
The fifth period (b.c. 750-550) is described as the best period
of the later Bronze Age in Scandinavia. It is represented in
Germany from Hanover to the further side of the Oder. In-
cineration had become general, and the ashes were placed in urns.
In Ireland this would be represented by the small, plain, socket-
celts, by the open arm-rings, which end in bowl-shaped hollows,
and by pins of various forms, some with bowl-shaped heads.
Period the sixth (b.c. 550-400) marks the termination of the
Bronze Age in Scandinavia. During this epoch, inhumation
comes back again, and the corpse is buried whole. It is repre-
sented throughout the whole of the North, and in North Germany,
especially from Hanover to Pomerania. In Ireland, the little
handleless socket-celt would belonof to it ; also the crold-twisted
torques, and certain pins, with peculiar heads like swan-necks.
Weapons are absent, the bronze having presumably given place
to iron.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
527
As might be supposed from the fact that those who con-
structed the tombs of this period burnt their dead, little or no
certain evidence is obtainable as to their physical characteristics.
Two skulls, obtained from a cist at Konopath, are the only ones
assignable to it which Dr. Lissauer is able to cite. One of these
was mesocephalic, the other brachycephalic.
In Ireland, where unburnt bodies buried in a contracted
position, generally with an urn, are found in very similarly
constructed cists, the head-form is brachycephalic, and the index
high. They seem to belong, however, to the commencement of the
Bronze Age in that country, and are comparable to that at Halle,
before noticed, and being often double, to that of which Klernan
gives a section in his " Handbuch " (plate 9).
Brandenburg.
We now pass to examples of structures which resemble very
closely indeed the larger dolmens of Ireland. In Pomerania
Fig. 492. — Dolmen at Richtenberg, Pomerania Citerior.
Baltid" 1700, p. 257.
From ' ' Nova Lit. Maris
Citerior, opposite the island of Rugen, examples are not unknown.
From an old and valuable periodical I introduce in facsimile an
engraving of one at Richtenberg.
528
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Bekmann, in the grand old folio f in which he so exhaustively
describes the antiquities and relates the history of Brandenburg,
tells us that in the Altmark in his day there were numerous
" Hiinenbetten," and that there were also some few in the
neighbourhood of Prignitz and Ukermark. The longest of them
consisted of an external range of some forty or fifty large stones,
measuring from 3 to 4 feet, and sometimes more, in height.
Also, he adds, "towards the east" there sometimes stand two
rude pillar-stones, one on either side. To these he applies the
name 0/s/o(/cs, or "Guardians." They recall the two pillar-
Fir.. 493. — Iliinebed at Besewege, near Frankfort University. J^rom Bd-;//aini.
A = depressed end of the vault; r> = roofing-stone.
stones on either side the entrance of the Annacloghmullin monu-
ment in Armagh (Fig. 276, supra).
Within this outer range, and " in the upper portion of the
area " there was usually a structure reaching to one-third, or rather
more, of the entire length. It seems by his description that
these vaults were generally formed of five stones on either side,
and one at either end, supporting on their tops one or more very
large roofing-stones.
There was such a monument in the village of Besewege, near
Frankfort University, situated on a hill. The top stone was smooth
underneath, and measured 1 1 feet 4 ins. long, 9 feet wide, and 4 feet
4 ins. thick. The longer axis was N. and S., which appears to
have been usually the case. On the way to Garliep was another,
the roofing-stone of the cist in which measured 9 feet long,
7 feet broad, and 2 feet 6 ins. thick. The surrounding stones were
very large, and were thirty-four in number, and at the "top" —
t " Historische Beschreibung der Chur und Mark Brandenburg" (Berlin, 1751), by J. C.
Bekmann.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
529
that is, the highest part of the enclosed mound, and where the
cist, or crypt, was — there was, as usual, an opening. Towards
the S. there appeared to have been the remains of another similar
monument. Some of the stones here measured 2 2 German ells
in height.
At Kloden, on the way to Steinfield, there were three Hunebeds,
Fig. 494. — Hunebed in the Altmark between Steinfeld and Kloden. Fro77i Bekntann,
op. at., tab. i., fig. 3.
near together. One of them had double rows of stone enclosing
it, the roofing-stone of the cist within the area measuring 7 feet
3 ins. long, 7 feet wide, and 3 feet 4 ins. thick. Bekmann com-
pares this monument, and also one near Steinfield exhibiting the
same characteristic, with a " Heidenbette" in Wormius.f and other
monuments described by Arnkiel.J
Fig. 495. — Hunebed at Hobiscb. From Bekmann, tab. iii., fig. 3.
The village of Steinfield derived its name from the number
of these monuments which existed there. Some of these were
t "Mon. Dan.," lib. i. cap. vi. p. 35.
% " Cimbrische Heyden-Religion," Hamburg, 1690, p. 231, seqq.
Oo
.^o
The Dolmens of Ireland.
of considerable proportions, one having twenty stones on either
side, and five across each end, and another thirty-three stones
on one side, twenty-nine on the other, two at the lower end, and
four at the upper.
Near the village of Ballerstatt are three monuments of this
class, one on the Hundesrukken (Dog's Back), one on the
Hasenakkern (Hare Field), and the third and finest on the
Krummenschlag (? Bent Blow). The latter, says Bekmann, is
quite a " Hero-Bed," formed by huge stones set lengthways, "the
altar " (as he calls the dolmen or crypt) " standing within twelve
large stones." Near Bellingen was another, also described as
having double ranges of stones.
The historian Entzelt,j following a local tradition, considered
these monuments as memorials of the battles of Marcfrave Albrecht
of Anhalt, and Margrave Huder, and regarded two other monu-
ments, the Steinbette and Heldenbette, at Stafel, as the burial-
places of the Lords of Zera. Bekmann, however, combats this
view. " They are neither," he says, " Christian nor Wendish.
The Wends never took the trouble to bring together such big
stones, from far off too, and they are never found where the
J"iG. 496.— Circular Iliinebed, near DallersliiU. From Bekmann^ tab. iii., fig. 2.
Wends were settled. . . . They must have been the burial-places
of our old German heathen ancestors, and consequently much
older than any Wendish and Christian monuments in the Mark."
Near the village of Bretschen were five Hunebeds, but of
smaller size than those at Kloden and Steinfield. In one example
t These monoliths occupy the position of the columns of the portico, or rather perhaps of the
TTopao-Tt^Sts of a (jreek shrine, ur, to go further liack, of the pair of monoliths before an Egyptian
temple.
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast.
531
five long stones occupy the part of the area not filled up by the
crypt. There is another, and larger one, at Primarsch, consisting
of eighteen or twenty stones on either side, with an "altar"
within, formed of twenty stones, and a fairly large roofing-stone.
Like most of the others, it has its two pillar-stones, or CiLstodes,\
Near Diestorf were seven of these monuments.
About one near Salentin a local legend existed. The in-
habitants called the whole monument " The Lying-in Woman,"
or "the Six-Weeks' Bed," and the dolmen inside "the Cradle."
Others existed in the heath near Mesenthin, at Winterfield, and
at Ahlun, the latter a very large one.
One on the Dolchow INIountain was circular in form, the
environment measuring 30 to 40 feet in diameter. In the centre
some larger stones were set in quadrangular form, and on the top
of these rested several stones of huge size, one of which measured
7 Berlin ells long, 4§ wide, and 2 thick.
Another was near Arnberg, and Bekmann thought that there
Fig. 497. — Hiinebed near Ballerstiitt. From Bekmann, tab. iii., hg. i.
might have been many more, which had been removed. In
Prignitz he knew only of one of any importance, under the "grave
altar-stone " of which a man could crawl. Near it were twenty-eight
tumuli, and there had been others which had been ploughed over.
In the Ukermark, near Wilmersdorf, were remains of similar
megalithic structures, and at Dedelow^ was a curious monument
with two pillar-stones standing in the enclosure. In the Neumark
Hilnebeds do not exist, but only stone-circles.
Besides the dolmens, each environed by a peristyle, like those
t "Chur-Brandenburgische," Halberstatt, 1682, p. 63.
532
The Dolmens of Ireland.
just noticed, there were some which stood alone, without any stone
setting. Sometimes they were similar to those in the enclosed
areas, sometimes they consisted of three great flat slabs set up
on edge, on the upper edges of which rested a fourth flat stone.
Under these one or two urns full of bones were usually found.
Of this class there were three close together between Steinfield
and Kloden. The largest of the cap-stones measured 7 feet long,
and 3 feet 5 ins. thick. Bekmann compared these with the
monuments at Drenthe, to be presently noticed.
Near the village of Kohrberg was one with a roofing-stone 12
feet long, and 9 feet wide, resting on three others not much
smaller, set up edgeways. A man could sit easily beneath them.
With this the dolmen before mentioned at Ahlun may be
compared, but the latter was surrounded with a range of stones,
a fact which gives reason to think that there may once have been
such an arrangement round the free-standing ones, the stones
of which have been removed.
Under one at Mtirow two persons could sit conveniently. On
a high hill near Schapow in Prenzlow, four enormous flat stones
had been set up edgeways, forming a longish quadrangle, and
having a large, levelled stone on top. About 50 paces from
this another flat stone was found, resting on four others, forming
the sides of a cist in which were many small bones, and a portion
¥ic.. 49S. — Hiinebed, near Ahlum. /^'rom Jickiiiann, tab. i., (ig. 7.
of an urn with a sort of slate cover. About 2 paces from this,
again, under another flat stone not covering a cist were found
burnt bones of horses, and by the side of them a small urn of red
clay, containing about a pint of ashes and small bones.
Between Seehausen and Bertikow were the remains of a
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast. 533
monument of this kind, the largest side-stone measuring 6 feet
long and 3 feet high, and in which a rather large urn with bones
was found. Near Pinnow were several of them, described as " like
entrances to cellars." One near Grilneberg, in the Neumark, bore
the name of the " Stone Cellar." This structure stood on high
ground, and consisted of five large slabs, two of which formed the
side walls, each 8 feet 6 ins. long. The end towards the N. (the
monument stands N. and S.) was closed by a stone 3 feet 6 ins.
wide, and the same in height. The S. end was open. The breadth
and height of the crypt are 3 feet 6 ins. The roof was formed by
two large flat stones, the larger of which (24 feet in circumference)
covered the S. end, and the smaller {17 feet 6 ins. in circumference)
rested on the back wall. The space underneath was high enough
and wide enough for two people to sit together and stretch out
their feet. The stones were fairly smooth inside, but not hewn.
They were fitted, however, closely together, so that they kept out
wind and rain. Similar structures were common in this vicinity,
as Ettester observed in 1746. In most cases the covering-stone
was absent.
Besides the oblong or wedge-shaped or circular area enclosing
the dolmen, Bekmann has given numerous examples of inde-
pendent stone-circles in Brandenburg. Their presence, he says,
seems to mark a distinction of race, his reason for this conclu-
sion being that they begin to be found where the other mega-
lithic structures leave off. None of the latter are to be found
beyond MoUen, in the Prignitz, while this is the district — that
is, east of Mollen — where stone-circles and ovals are first met
with. They were formed of medium-sized stones, and were about
20 feet in diameter.
Among the peasants such circles are called, in general,
Htinen- or Heiden-Graber, while some near Writzig, close to the
University of Frankfort, are called Hiinen- or Heiden-Thoren
(Hunnish, or Heathen, Graves or Gates).
Circles occurred also in the Ukermark, in one of which an
urn and burnt bones were found, with an iron pin and a brass
ring. In the Neumark, in the Wulfsbriichern, was one which bore
the name of "Adam's Dance," or the " Stone Dance," from a story
that once at Easter some men held a dance there naked, and
were turned into stone as a punishment. The stones, fourteen
in number, are in pairs. One stone in the middle measures 2 ells
534
The Dolmens of Ireland.
(4 feet) high, and is hooped round like a cask. Two some-
what taller stones outside the ring, are said to have been the
musicians.
In some places several stone-circles are found together, some-
times measuring iS to 20 feet in diameter. A monument of this
kind lay near IMaschdorf, about one mile and a half from Frankfort,
on the other side of the Oder. There were twenty of them when
Bekmann was there in 1683. Near Zehden, in the Neumark, a
still larger number might be seen. They were often formed of
^ ^ Q
Fig. 499. — Tumulus in Sweden, with stone setting divided into compartments.
From J\iidl>cck''s '■^Atlafitis.''^
very large stones, which were sometimes square, and in several
examples a huge stone was placed in the centre, which Bekmann
regarded as the "grave-altar."
They were also to be found in groups near Teschendorf,
Steinhofel, and Janikow ; also at Grossin and Pribslaf, where they
L
■^.
■-3.;i >'J ^*^«;>,'5. '^'^^'J^ y^ ^'-'^'^^ ' *i».'* -o^^'A^^ * ^ * ^ I. .-^ .i^.
^'%'^ "a'^ %^ ' JV
Fig. 500. — Long, avenue-lii<e monuments in Brandenburg. From Bekmann, tab. iv., figs, i and 2.
were called " Hills of the Dead," " Giant Hills," " Giant Graves."
"HunenbrUkhen" (Hune-Bridges), and "Hiinenbetten." Some of
them consisted of from fifteen to twenty stones. Near Schoner-
mark and at Stendelchen were several of nine stones. In most
cases the number of stones was seven.
Not far from Oderberg, near the Krummensee, was a stone-
Germany and the Eastern Baltic Coast. 535
circle 18 to 20 feet across, with a very large stone in the middle.
Close to it, and forming a triangle, were three small circles.
There were also monuments in the form of stone avenues, or
rather exceedingly long oblongs (Fig. 500). They were to be met
with in the neighbourhood of Schievelbein. They were rounded
at the ends, and consisted of flat or raised stones. One near
Schlonnewitz measured 100 feet long ; and one at Pribislas was
180 feet long, 32 feet wide at one end, and 20 at the other, so
that it was wedge-shaped. There was another at Buzenhagen,
on the road to Pomerania, and a fourth on the river Malsto.
Similar arrangements of stones occur in Sweden, as may be
judged by the annexed rude drawing from Riidbeck (Fig. 499).
Very long Hunebeds occur also in Hanover.
Just as double ranges of stones sometimes surrounded the
Hunebeds, so was it also with the stone-circles. Sometimes there
were more than two concentric ranges, but these were divided into
several parts, and were very unusual. One circle near Arendorf
had a single stone in the middle, and around it six concentric rings.
Another had a cross of stones in the centre, and around it four
concentric oval ranges. The long diameter of the oval was 2 1
feet, the breadth 14 feet. There were four of these eccentric
monuments in the same field, called by the natives Jekkendanz
{i.e. " Dance of the Geeks," or " Silly Folk "), or the Wunderberg
(" Marvellous Mountain "}. The cruciform centre reminds us of
another example mentioned above,f and also of the cruciform
arrangement in the chambered cairns in Ireland.
It is quite clear that stone-settings, in lines close together, and
other arraneements, were at one time as common on the hills and
plains near Pinnow as they were and are in parts of Ireland. On
a lofty hill at Miirow, Bekmann describes five stones of great size
set close together. Such stones were to be seen in larger numbers
near Oderberg, on an elevation, with a very large pillar-stone in
the centre. Such also occurred on the Schlossberg, and near the
village of Melsow. Underneath one of these stones near Pinnow
three flint " wedges " (celts) and three stone axes were found.
That the veiieratio lapidwn which prevailed so largely in
Northern and Western Europe was largely in vogue in this
district, does not admit of a doubt. Near Frankfort were the
so-called Napfchensteine. In the largest of these stones there
t p. 519.
536 The Dolmens of Ireland.
were seventeen holes, mostly round, of different sizes, twelve of
them deeply sunk. Near Bossen were two more, one having a
double row of holes, and the other ten longish holes. Another
at Schwarzbrack had been, it was thought, connected with a circle.
Several others are mentioned, and one is also noticed as existing
on a hill near Stargard, in Pomerania. Footprints of a child ten
years old are said to be recognizable in a great stone at Reidenitz.
At Zehden, in a wood, lies the Kuhtrafpe, or Cow's Foot, used
as an official boundary, the name of which is derived from a well-
hewn mark of a cow's hoof, close to which is a dog's footmark,
and opposite them another but unrecognizable footprint. A mile
from Stendal, in the Altmark, is a stone in which is the rather
deep imprint of an unshod horse's hoof. There was a legend
regarding it, that the devil carried off a woman who kept an inn
near by ; and also another that a general said that he was as sure
of winnins: a battle as he was that his horse's hoof would sink
into the stone, which accordingly took place. So-called footprints
are frequently pointed out in venerated rocks in Ireland, and
identical legends told about them.
At Mohrin was a stone which, as seen above ground, looked
like two stones wide enough apart for a horse and his rider to
pass through the gap, though underground it was all one stone —
this form having been produced, so Bekmann states, artificially.
At Ostherrn, near Darmstat, was a stone with a child's shoe
imprinted on one side, and a woman's on the other. Between
Reez and Rietzig was a large stone around which lay some
smaller ones, and on which occurred all kinds of figures of hands
and claws, among which was a footprint of either a child or a
woman, while a hand and a horseshoe were very distinct. Beside
the Wandel Lake at Mullenbek was an enormous block, which
bore on its surface the imprint of a very large human hand, with its
five fingers perfectly clear and distinct. Legend averred that a
giant took it up and cast it from the opposite side of the lake, and left
the impression of his hand on it. Bekmann compares this legend
to that told of stones on the Petersberg and at Weltin, in which
were likewise marks ascribed to a similar origin, as also two hands
in a stone near Sonnenwitz. We can add to these the stories of
the stones thrown by Kallewe Poeg in Finland, and by Finn Mac
Cumail and other giants in Ireland, on each of which they left the
imprint of their fingers and thumb (see p. 513, supra).
North-West GerxMANy. 537
It was said of stones standing against each other near Saltzwedal,
that Drusus cut the original block in two with his sword at one
stroke. Near Arnswalde was a stone which the people called the
Wend-Stone, and which they said was used as an altar. About
other stones the tradition exists that they were altars. Near
Freienwalde is a great stone, resting on three others, which
Bekmann compares to one figured by Arnkiel.f He says it was
evidently a " grave-altar " — a name which he applies to dolmens.
He thinks that the so-called "Hiinenstein" near Trebnow may
be of the same kind. Of two large stones at Konigstat, one
was called the " Bride's Bed," and the other had an opening
in it, as though it had been cut through with a saw.
The conclusion at which Bekmann arrives with regard to the
ethnological question as indicated by the distribution of the great
Hunebeds, is that, since they are to be found westwards as far as
the North Sea (that is, as far as Drenthe), and further northwards
through Holstein, Schleswig, Jutland, Sweden, and Schonen, they
must have been first erected by the old German peoples, the
Suevi, Vandali, and Langobardi, when, " as they journeyed towards
the North, they made a halt here and there, and established for a
time fixed settlements, for such monuments," he adds, " could not
have been the work of a nomadic race." He mentions that they
are found to reach as far south as Magdeburg, and that two still
existed near the village of Hohenziass, one in the village of
Behrden near Zerbst, and one near Dornbourg, but that from
thence in the Anhalt-Zerbst district, and in Prignitz, Middle-
mark, Ukermark, and Neumark they become scarcer, and die out.
North-West Germany.
The principal authority for the dolmens of Hanover, at which
we now arrive, is G. O. C. von Estorff, who, in 1846, published
his " Heidnische Alterthiimer" of that district.
To the S.W. of Edendorf, to the E. of the Ilmenau river, lay
a group of five megalithic monuments and several tumuli. One
of the former, which he calls an oblong Hunengrab, was a particu-
larly fine one. It lay E. and W., and stood upon a low artificial
mound. Thirteen blocks of granite, from 3 to 4 feet high and of
t Lib. ii. cap. vii. 3, p. 242.
VOL. IT. Q
538
The Dolmens of Ireland.
the same breadth, served as pillars to support the stone cover,
which consisted of three blocks of the same material, which over-
lapped the pillars. The E. covering-stone, measuring 1 1 feet
long, 6 feet broad, and 3 feet 6 ins. thick, rested on four of the
pillars, and, towards the E., on a broad closing-stone. The middle
cover-stone measured 10 feet long by about 6 feet broad and
3 feet thick, and rested originally upon four stones. The W.
cover-stone, if there ever was one, was not in place.
One of the dolmens of this group has a wedge-shaped environ-
ment or peristyle, as will be seen from the accompanying ground-
plan.
There was a very remarkable group of stone monuments and
tumuli which extended in a serpentine form up to the source of
Fig. 501. — Dolmen with wedge-shaped environment at Edendorf. From Estorff.
the Wahlbeck, and close to the village of Alt-Medingen, described
as one of the most ancient places of the Bardingovv. The group
consisted in all of thirty-six stone monuments and seventy-three
tumuli. Eio^ht stone monuments and
thirteen tumuli lay close together. The
first described was an oblong Htinengrab,
measuring 24 feet from N. to S., and
7 feet wide, formed of fourteen stones,
six on either side and one at either end,
which supported four granite covering-
stones measuring from 6 to 7 feet long.
There was originally a fifth, which has
been taken away.
Fig. 502. -Dolmen at Dormte, ^he second in the group was an.
Ami Oldenstadt, Hanover, /'-r^w oblong " H uncnbcd " f— (EstOrff Calls-
a aounen without its environment,
" Hunengrab." and with it, " Hunenbed "—close to the border of
Secklendorf. It measured 44 paces long by 16 paces wide, and
t I adopt here the form of llic name used i)y Estorff.
North-West Germany. 539
consisted of fifty-one stones, averaging- from 5 to 6 feet long and
high. No " bed " or grave was visible on the exterior, but there
might have been one within the enclosed mound.
The third example of the group was an oblong Hilnenbed, with
the longer axis S.W. and N.E. This is the longest of them, since
it measured 400 feet long, while it was only from 12 to 14 feet broad.
It was formed by 166 stones, from 3 to 5 feet high, and the same in
width. No grave, i.e. dolmen, was visible. The fourth was an
oblong Hiinengrab, 24 feet long from S.W. to N.E., 5 feet wide,
and formed by twelve setting-stones, five on either side and one at
either end. There is only one covering-stone left, which measured
8 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 4 feet thick. The fifth was an oblong
Hiinengrab, 16 feet long from S.W. to N.E., and 6 feet wide,
formed by eleven pillar-stones, five on one side, four on the other,
and one at either end, averaging 4 to 5 feet high. Two covering-
stones remained, each 8 feet long, 8 to 5 feet wide, and i foot 4 ins.
thick. On the S.E. there was an entrance like a fiight of stairs, but
it seemed that the structure had been tampered with. The sixth
was an oblong Hiinengrab, 30 paces N. of the preceding. It
measured 18 feet long from S.W. to N.E., and 6 feet wide. The
two long sides were formed by three stones, each measuring 5 feet
high, and the ends by one stone each. The covering-stone was
6 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 2 feet thick. Three hundred paces
from the last was the seventh, which was also an oblong Hiinengrab,
lying somewhat raised, and measuring 32 feet long from S.W. to
N.E., and 6 feet wide. It was formed by fourteen setting-stones,
six on either side, and one at either end, from 3 to 4 feet above
ground. These supported five covering-stones from 6 to 7 feet
long, from 4 to 5 feet wide, and from 2 to 4 feet thick. On the
S.E. side was a staircase entrance. Another Hiinengrab lay at a
distance of 40 paces from the fourth, above noticed. The cover-
stone, which was 2 feet above the surface, and rested on com-
paratively small stones, was of considerable dimensions, measuring
14 feet long, 7 feet wide in the centre, and 5 feet wide at
either end.
A fine Hiinengrab lay on the W. side of the village of
Havekost. It was an oblong structure on a round hillock, planted
by peasants — an interesting instance of the veneration of the people
in regard to these places — with two birch trees and two aspens.
The monument measured 32 feet long from N. to S., was 5 feet
540
The Dolmens of Ireland.
wide, and consisted of seven covering-stones, each 7 to 8 feet long,
which rested on fourteen stones, which were about 2 feet above
the surface, but in such manner that they (the covering-stones), by
overlapping the side-stones, also touched with their edges the
surface of the ground. There were two tumuli near the structure
on the E. and S.E.
The next dolmen or Hunengrab to be noticed occupied a
position which deserves particular attention, since the ruins, which
■■.4.:..' 4 w t-<^
Fic. 503. — Iliinenbed at Gansan, Amt Oldenstadt, Hanover.
From Estorff.
" were high enough to sit upon," were upon a height in the
Schooten Wood, near the old road from Celle to Uelzen, a spot
where formerly the rural assemblies of Liineburgh were, according
to the old German custom, held in the open air. The place is
described as a romantic one, and was in the forest land which
formed the girdle of the Bardengow. The presence of the
ruined Hunengrab leads Estorff to remark that it was probably
a place for feasting and judgment, and that here was the original
place of assembly of the Landtag.
Another place of assembly, where the Ampt-Bodenteich Court
of Justice was held, lay at the distance of a few hundred paces
S. of the Guts-Thore, a gate of the ancient town of Uelzen, upon
a sand hillock which here forms the right bank of the Ilmenau
river. Here the people assembled, under the open sky, for the
transaction of their business, under the shadow of a few trees
which surrounded the barriers. Estorff thinks that, since such
places for the administration of justice {landgereicht) were conse-
crated by popular belief, this, too, was an ancient place of feast-
ing in connection with the rites of the dead. No Hiinenbed
is extant still, but from times past a great number of urns with
ashes and burnt human bones have been found here, proving the
spot to have been a cemetery in prehistoric times.
North-West Germany,
54J
We are at once reminded of the Oenachs or Assembly- Fairs
of the ancient Irish, all of which were held at places of burial,
as, for example, at Temair, at Tailten, and at Carman.
Near Haassel were two important Hunenbeds, the one lying
N. and S., the other E. and W. In the former fourteen stones 3
feet high formed a peristyle 26 feet long and 9 feet wide,
Fig. 504. — Megalithic monuments at Riestedt, CJross Prezier, Heitbrak.f Lehmke, and
Gansau (2), all in Hanover. From Estorff.
enclosing a dolmen (Hiinengrab), also formed of fourteen stones,.
16 feet long and 3 feet wide. Two of the covering-stones
were left, measuring respectively 6 to 7 feet long and 2 feet thick.
The latter of the two monuments consisted of eighty stones,.
3 feet high, forming a "bed" 70 paces long and 12 feet wide.
Within this area were the remains of several dolmens.
Eighteen monuments of this class were to be met with near
Uelzen. One at Retzlingen consisted of eighty-four stones,
t Note the word brak applied iiere, as in Ireland, to dolmen sites.
542
The Dolmens of Ireland.
forming the setting or peristyle, arranged in rows of thirty-nine
on either side, l^vo colossal "Gate-Stones" stand at the S.E.
end — answering to the Custodes of Bekmann — and four blocks
form the N.W. end. The whole measured 90 paces long by
~^?^^?' >w
yeich
Fig. 505. — Lird's-eye view of the Hiinenbed of Klein Piezier, Amt BodeiUeich. From Estorff.
24 feet wide, and lay on a slight artificial elevation. The dolmen
had been nearly destroyed. It lay 50 paces from a pond.
Another Hiinenbed at Klein Prezier was also near a pond, and
on a slight artificial elevation. It lay N. and S., and measured 35
paces long and 9 broad. The dolmen, which was in the N. half
of the area, measured 1 2 paces long, and was covered by four
stones resting on little pillars. Estorff noticed a human leg-bone
in the interior, and, upon making incjuiries, found that a shepherd
had found an iron (.'*) pot i foot high and 9 to 10 feet wide in the
grave, and that subsequently a "great human skeleton, fairly well
preserved," had been discovered, about a foot under the earth.
North- West Germany.
543
restin,^ on a bed of stones. According to the account given him,
the body had a leathern girdle with buckle and bands around it.
Near the breast were beads upon a wire and a buckle, all "of bronze.
A few feet S. of this skeleton lay a second, also with girdle,
buckles, and beads of clear green
glass. There was also a bronze ear- ^^liilliii^^
ring. A third skeleton lay near the ^ W
second, and (like the others) in a '^\-\^'^^^\'^^'^^l''\'^
direction E. and W. With this were '^ ' '""' " ' • ' ^
bronze earrincjs and two hollow bronze fl'
plates with enamel in the centre, and J(
fastened with two rivets to another
bronze plate. To the S. of the last
were two more skeletons without
metal accompaniments, and at the S.
end of the Hunenbed was a sixth and
last. It lay close to the surface, and g
was 6 feet in length. A quantity of %
stones and broken pieces of pottery
were found in other parts of the area, % _ 1
including fragments of a very large % -'
and thick vessel, and a few pieces of
charcoal. There can be, I think, no ^
doubt that these discoveries indicate u-,
late secondary interments the remains
of which were commino^led with those %/
of the more ancient ones, in a place p
which traditionally was a tomb. 111111^^^^^^^^
Near Emmendorf, on the bank of ^ ' ^ ;' . , , ' .^
riG. 506. — Hunenbed at Lmmen-
the IlmenaU river, on the side of a flo^f in the Amt Medingen. From
hill called the Hatzberg, stood the
first of a group of ten stone monuments which were on the
borders of Mendingen and Oldenstadt. It pointed E. and W.,
and was 33 paces long, the length of the enclosed dolmen being
8 paces. In this Hunenbed, and particularly round the enclosing
wall, Estorff found many urns filled with ashes, human bones,
and ornaments. Bronze and iron fibulae, iron hooks, flint knives,
and "little knife-like flint chips " were found outside the area of
the "bed." The presence of these objects indicates that this
monument was used as a place of interment at various periods.
544
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Besides the ten structures of this class there were three tumuh,
of which that to the W. was the lars^est. It was called the
Fu;. 507.— Hunenbed at Gohlan, Amt Liichow, /■rorn Estorff.
" Weinburg/'t which, among the natives of the district, is the
Fig. 508.— Iliinenbeds of Riestadt, Amt Oldensladt ; Gross rrezier, Amt Bodenleicli ;
and Jastorf, Amt Medingen ;— all in Hanover. From Estorff.
t Wand F being interchangeable, compare Walenbostel and Fallingbo.-tcl, etc., this would be
Feinburg, with which comp. Icinni.
North-West Germany. 545
general name for a sepulchral tumulus, but for which they can
offer no explanation.
Descriptions are given of some fifteen or twenty other Hunen-
beds and Hilnengrabs in the same district as those just noticed.
They varied in shape and size — one, an otherwise oblong example,
having one end circular, and another being altogether circular.
Some, too, are described as very small. One group lay close to
the source of a brook, and several were near a spring or a pond,
or on a river-bank. The circular Hiinenbed, which was near
Gansau, is said to have contained in its chamber a human skeleton,
pieces of wood, and many objects of bronze. On opening another
near the same place, several urns ornamented with cleats, and with
lines around the upper part, of red or brownish-grey colour, were
found ; also large pieces of charcoal. One Hiinengrab, at Riestedt,
near Oldenstadt, described as in very good condition, had an
entrance formed by some smaller stones on the S.E. side (the
structure lay S.W. and N.E.), a feature which characterizes some
of the Swedish and Drenthe dolmens.
It may be observed that where Estorff speaks of a " round
Hiinenbed with the chamber not visible," he seems to refer to a
dolmen-cairn or tumulus piled up inside its enclosing ring, and un-
disturbed. He speaks of one such at Heitbrack, near Medingen,
on the summit of an elevation on the great Todtenkampe (Death-
field), near the Todtenteich (Death-pool). The word ** Hiinengrab "
is used to express a sepulchral tumulus as well as a stone monu-
ment by the people of the country.
The following names are also applied to stone monuments :
Hiinenkeller (cellar), Biilzenbett, Brautstein (bride-stone), Leu-
chenstein (.'* linked stone), Speckseite (flitch of bacon), Backofen
(baking-oven), Sonnenstein (sun-stone), Trutenstein (? trout-stone),
Ehrengang (passage of honour), etc.
A tumulus is sometimes called Branhugel (hill of burning), or
Venden-Kirchoff (Wends' churchyard).
Estorff regards the Hanover series as the prototypes of all the
others in Germany. Of the Hiinengraber he says there are two
classes: (i) that in which the roof-stones rest on the side-stones,
and (2) that in which the side-stones surround the roofing-stones
without supporting them, that is, where the roofing-stones rest
on independent pillars. The Hiinenbed he defines as a Hiinen-
grab with a setting of stones around and outside it. In Hanover,
546
The Dolmens of Ireland.
only a single range of stones encloses the area. There are three
shapes, oblong (most common), oval, and round. The stone-
setting contracts towards that end where the chamber {i.e. the
Hunengrab) is. In some of the stone settings only one end is
closed, the other being left open. In some cases the lines of the
outer setting are not parallel to those of the chamber.
As to the situation chosen for the monuments, the rule seems
to have been to place them on elevated ground, in "a holy grove,"
as close as possible to water, near " holy " lakes or ponds, rivers,
brooks, or springs; "for they always lie upon the heights, where
the land allows it, or on a declivity in places where there is water
still to be found, or where it is evident that it existed."
In almost all cases the stone monument is surrounded by
tumuli. In the same district, also, are Lager-platze, Bourgplatze
Fk;. 509. — "Sleinhaus" near Fallingbostel. From Vahrl. " Archiv.,'" vol. ii. p. 305.
[} the Castra ac Spatia of Tacitus] forts, ancient roads, boundary
stones, judgment and assembly places, holy groves, lakes, etc.
The Christians, so Estorff thinks, used the older heathen
tombs as burial-places for themselves.
Dolmens between the Weser and the Elbe have been noticed
by Dr. Edward Brown, Wormius, and Pococke.f Kelpius says
t Brown, " Reize Van Weenen, naar Hamburg," 1682 ; O. Wormins, •' Mon. Danica" ; Ric.
Pocockc, " Voyages en Orient " (Paris, 1772), vol. vii. p. 463.
North-West Germany. 547
there were many in Buxtehude, Haarburg, Staken, Bederkesa,
and in particular in the Ottenburg district. One in Steenfelder-
Holtz has three stones on either side, and one at each end,
and is covered over by three very uneven flags. Another,
called " Willenstein," consisted of a block, 8 feet long, 3 feet
broad, and 3 feet thick, raised on others to a height of about
i!!:fcs:TlV
0
0
Fig. 510. — The Biilzenbelte, near Sievern in the Amte Bederkesa (" A'c/ws VaterL Arcliiv.,''^
vol. ii. p. 154).
3 feet from the ground. Another, at Oosterholte, had four
stones on either side, and one at each end. The largest
covering-stone measured 3 paces long, and 3 paces broad, and
was of extraordinary thickness.
There is an interesting monument in the Ampt-Bederkesa,
called the Biilzenbettc, of which I subjoin a plan and elevation, t
It was near the ancient strongholds of Pipinsberg and Heiden-
statt.
Kelpius mentions seven similar structures near Godenhuizen,
lying each of them E. and \V., and measuring about 14 or 15 feet
long, and 5 or 6 feet broad. J
Near Fallingbostel in Ltlneburgh, between the Elb and Aller,
were the monuments mentioned in the Vaterland archives as
the " Seven Stone-houses " (Steinhausen), of one of which, with
others in the distance, I subjoin an illustration (Fig. 509). They
seem to have borne also the name Gudehausen,
t See Spangenberg, " Neues Vaterl. Archiv." (Zelle, 1819), vol. ii. p. 195.
X Kelpius' " Memoria Stadiana."
;4S The Dolmens of Ireland.
In 1812, M. J. Regnoul t visited some monuments called, he
says, HUnen-Steine, in Westphalia, on the right bank of the Ems,
at Baccum, near Lingen, for the purpose of comparing- them with
some he had examined the previous year near Nogent-sur-Seine,
in the Department of the Aube. He found the two series of
structures, the one in France, the other on the Ems, to be
"absolutely identical," not even differing in the number of the
supporters, nor in the feature of the double ring of stones by
which they were surrounded.
The dolmens in question stood on a slight elevation {inontictde)
S. of Baccum. They occupied the summit of the little hill, and
were three in number, placed near each other, and in a line E.
and \V. The two ranges of stones which surrounded them formed
an elongated ellipse.
The stones of the monuments which these ranees enclose
were called the " Hunen-Steine." A stone 10 or 11 feet long
by 6 or 7 feet broad, and 4 feet thick in the middle, had been set
up on three other great stones of the same kind, two facing
the S.W., and one the N.E. The three structures, which were
similar to each other, were 2 to 3 paces apart, and stood on
a mound, which seemed to be artificial, raised on the surface of
the hill.
The first or inner ran^e of stones which surrounded them
was 5 or 6 paces distant from the dolmens ; the second further off.
On digging into the monuments, M. Regnoul discovered, in the
first, ashes, heaps of calcined bones, and the fragments of an urn,
which had probably stood on a stone i foot square and 3 ins. thick.
In the second he made a similar discovery, and in this case the
urn had been decorated with an infinity of designs on its upper
part. He particularly remarks that the material of the pottery
was absolutely identical w^th that which he had found in the
similar dolmens at Nogent-sur-Seine. The structures were of
fine granite, and about 400 paces to the N. was a mound sur-
rounded by a single ring of stones.
Westendorp,;j; speaking of Hunebedden between the Ems and
the Weser, says that he visited one at Brunevoorde in Westphalia.
On either side there were thirteen stones, at each end one, and the
covering-stones numbered eight. One of the latter measured 9 feet
+ " Annales des Ant. de France," i. 449.
\ *' Verhandeling over dc Hunebedden," Groningcn (1822), p. 24. I here adopt his spelling
of the word.
North-West Germany. 549
7 ins. long, and the same wide, and was 7 feet 1 1 ins. thick. The
side stones were not close together. The length was fully jT) f'set.
At the E. end the interior width was 5 feet 10 ins. ; at the W. end,
something over 7 feet. There were two others in ruins. There
was, he says, a " Hiinebed" at Vries, about 24 feet long, with four
stones on each side, one at each end, and three covering-stones.
It was somewhat smaller at one end than at the other, "as,"
says Westendorp, " is usually the case." This writer visited a
celebrated example at Bischopsbrug. It was surrounded by an
oval formed of numerous stones, measuring 124 feet in longer
diameter. Within this lay the dolmen covered by three stones
and a portion of a fourth. These stones measured 9 feet by 7 feet.
The breadth at the E. end was 7 feet 6 ins., and at the W. rather
over 5 feet 6 ins.
Van Langen, who had a collection of stone celts, etc., found in
dolmens and tumuli, stated to Westendorp that he had never found
any metal implements in the Hunebedden, and that the urn, where
he had discovered one in any of them, was always smaller than
those taken from tumuli. He also said that the structures always
lay E. and W.
There was a very remarkable monument at Kloppenburg, lying
on rough ground on the slope of a hill. It was an oblong formed of
stones, open at the E. end, measuring 316 feet in length. On one
side thirty-three stones remained, and on the other twenty-eight,
but many were wanting. The lines were 5 paces apart. The
stones at the W. end were of great size, measuring 10 feet 6 ins.
above ground. Within this oblong, at a distance of less than
1 5 paces from the W. end, was the " cellar," as it is termed,
measuring 16 feet long, 3 feet 6 ins. broad at the W. end, and lying
N.E. and S.W. Westendorp considers it a middle form between
the open and the covered Hunebedden of Drenthe. There was
a legend about it which assigned to it the name of the " Visbeck
Bride," a lady newly married, or rather about to be married,
who had wished that she and her bridal party might be turned
to stone on the way to the wedding.
Dr. Osthoff, of Oldenburg, informed Westendorp that there
were many examples of Hunebedden at Bassum, all pointing
E. and W. He mentioned, in a printed account of one which was
explored between Reksheim and Wildhuizen, that urns orna-
mented with devices, but nothing else, were found in it.
550 The Dolmens of Ireland.
The Pastor Trenkamp explored one at Emsteck, the direction
of which was also E. and W. One at Wallenhorst, in the district
of Iburg called Hoin, was found to contain urns, bones, and
pebbles. The cap-stones appear to have measured together
32 feet long, 10 to 16 feet broad, and 2 feet 6 ins. thick.
For dolmens in these districts we may also consult the works
of Smids, Keysler, and Rump. Nunninghf mentions a dolmen
called Saaj'bohfs Jniis in the Hummelingwoud. There was a
verse about this dolmen, which will be quoted subsequently.
Westendorp was not aware of the existence of any dolmens
in East Friesland. Searches for runes, he adds, upon any of the
above structures have been fruitless.
At Helmstadt, in Brunswick-Wolfenbiittel, is another fine
Hiinenbed, an illustration of which is given by Keysler.J
Tollius noticed two monuments of the same class on his way
from Halberstad to Magdeburg.§
On the Feldberg, in Hesse, was a dolmen popularly called
the "Brunehild Stone." Lcct2d7is Brttnehildc, or " Brunhild's little
bed." The country-people believed that at night flames were
seen about this stone, and they say that it is Brunhild's place of
penance. [| Whoever this Brunhild was, she clearly takes the
place of Grainne in the Irish dolmen-legends. Von der Hagen
considered the tradition referred to the Brynhild of the Niebe-
lungen Lied, and Suhm thought he had found a passage in which
it was actually mentioned.^
Keysler describes and figures a dolmen with a single covering-
stone at Wildbaden in the district of Wurtemberg.
Nicholas Schaterius, in his " History of Westphalia," gives the
accompanying rude plan of a dolmen between Osnaburgh and
Wallenhorst, consisting of a single block, supported on either side
by four stones, about which a tradition existed that the covering-
stone had been broken by Charlemagne, after he had fought with
W^idekund at that spot. The plan shows that it was wedge-shaped.
t " Sepulcretum Westfalico-Mimigardicn-Gentili, Francos," 1814; Bussching, " Erdbeschr.,"
iii. I, 543, 662 ; Miiser, "Osnabruckische Geschicte," i. th. pp. 269, 297 (Berlin, 1819); Meijer,
" Darsielliingt-n," Dorar., 1819 ; Lodinian, "In nionum. ad arani Ilonensem, p. 120. For Sor-
bold's House or Grave, which lies in the litirgerwald in the N. part of the Iliinilinj^s, see " Alter-
thiimer im Kreise Meppen," in Archiv. fiir Ccschichtc unci Altcrthmiisktindc WcslpliaUiis, ed.
Dr. Paul Wif^and, vol. ii., 1827, p. 166, etc.
+ "Anliquitates SelectreSeplentrionalesct CeUicce," 1720. See also Conringh, " De Anliquissima
Statu Hclmstadii, Conr. Opern," vol. v. p. 358, Brunswick, 1730.
§ Jac. Tollius, "Kpist. Iiiner.," vol. i. p. 19.
II Neuhofs " Buchlcin," Ilomlnirg, 1870.
^ See " Die Edda Lieder von den Niebelungtn," Breslau, 1814.
North-West Germany.
551
In Brunswick- Luneburgh, Keysler mentions that dolmens
^^sm
^2^
Fig. :jII.— 'S-\.im L.it L-ius, ih_ L..Ll,_nste n, a IL...eL.i at IIel..ista.U ..1 l.a„.,.l.al.». /.o.,.
Conringh {,'■'■ De Ant. Helvistad. Stain.," p. 25, and Eccart. pi, viii., sec. 43).
are to be found in many places. One group bears the name
of the Seven Steenhensen.
It is near Walenbostel, and
has been previously men-
tioned at p. 547, and Fig.
509. Others are found
in the Duchy of Bremen ;
one on the top of a moun-
tain at Helmstadt called
the Ltibbenstein ; and
others, again, on some of
the heights of the Hercy-
nian, that is, the Hartz
Mountains. f
With respect to the FJG. 512. — Very nule plan of wedge-shaped dolmen in
^ Westphalia. FroDi Scliatcrius.
size of some of the roofing-
stones, this writer states that under that in the Hummelino-woud
t " Antiq. Select.," p. 6.
d:)-
The Dolmens of Ireland.
a hundred sheep might shelter from the storm, while, according
to Picardt, when a detachment of a hundred and fifty soldiers,
passing through the Munster country, tried to dislodge one at
Amasen, they completely failed in the attempt.
Holland.
The Province of Drenthe, in Holland, contains one of the
most important groups of dolmens in Europe. In a list of
the names of places in the Netherlands, Belgium, the Duchy of
Luxembourg, and the neighbouring districts, at which prehistoric
antiquities of the megalithic class occur,f forty-two dolmens
are recorded, as being in Drenthe, and since in this list the
plural " dolmens " occurs in the case of several of the localities,
Fir,. 513. — Etched from a curious old engaving in Picardt's work, representing the giants and
dwarfs who, it was believed, built the dolmens of Drenthe. Another of Picardt's illustrations
has been given at p. 425 supra.
it is clear that there were many more. On the subject of these
monuments a very curious little work is extant by John Picardt,
published at Amsterdam in i66o.;|; His view with regard to their
constructors followed the current legends and traditions handed
+ It was drawn up by Reuvens in 1845. See A. P. Schaye's "La Belgique et Los Pays Bas."
+ "Korte beschryvinge van cenige Vergetene en Verborgene Antiquitaten der Provintien en
Landen gelegen tuschen de Noord-Zee, de Vssel, Emse en Lippe," etc., Amsterdam, 1660. .\
second edition was printed at Groningen in 1731, but it does not contain the plates.
Holland.
553
down from Saxo, namely, that they were the work of the two
races of men who inhabited the country, the Giants and the
Dwarfs — the former being cannibals, and eating the smaller and
impish people, when they had dispensed with their services as
dolmen-builders. The imaeination of the writer illustrates the
scenes which took place at the building of a dolmen in two
plates, which are so quaint and curious that, considering that one
of them (Fig. 512) contains a view of an immense monument since
destroyed, I may be pardoned for inserting.
Besides the uncovered Hunenbedden there were also dolmen-
mounds, the hollow vaults in the centres of which were, he tells
us, "according to the general belief, inhabited by White Women,
and the memory of some of their deeds was," he adds, " still
fresh in the minds of many old people." The natives all agreed
Fig. 514. — A " White Woman" prophcsyiiiL; from a dolmen-mound in Drenthe ; Picardt's
i^epresentation of the popular tradition.
in saying that round about these mounds a great deal of witchery
had of old been practised, and that mournful cries have been heard
in them. Also, that these witches used to be fetched by night and
day by women in childbirth, and that they could afford them help
when all else had failed. They told fortunes, too, and could in-
dicate the whereabouts of stolen property. The States recognized
something divine in them. Some of the inhabitants said that
VOL. II. K
554 The Dolmens of Ireland.
they had themselves been inside these mounds, and seen and
heard incredible things, but that they had promised not to tell
them. They (the witches) were swifter than any creature. They
always dressed in white, by reason of which they were called
IVitte Wyven, or simply De Witter. " A large number of mounds,"
it is added, "were called Wittcn for this same reason, although
their colour mio'ht be black."
It is singular to notice here, in every detail, the exact
counterpart of Irish tradition in relation to so many cairns and
tumuli. We are reminded also of the account which Tacitus
gives of Yeleda and other prophetic women. f
The HUnenbedden described in this work are said to measure,
for the most part, from 1 6 to 20 yards in length, and from 4 to 6
yards in breadth. They lay in a direction E. and W., and
consisted of smaller pillars fixed in the ground, supporting larger
blocks, measuring from 20 to 40 feet in circumference.
Ubbo Emmius, the historian of the Frisians, J regarded these
Drenthe structures as the monuments of the ancient Frisians.
" I think it worth noticing," he writes, " as others have done,
that in this district numerous rocks are found, piled up in such
fashion that, on account of their massive proportions, it seems
past belief that any carrying power — that any force of man — could
remove them. The opinion prevails that they are altars, for
while some of the stones lie on the ground, others are laid upon
them horizontally, and underneath the latter a hole (/orauien) is
left, through which a man might creep. The tale goes that the
pagans, accustomed in former times to practise human sacrifices,,
compelled those men that were to be slaughtered to pass through
these holes, and having defiled the bodies of the intended victims
as they passed through, with dung and other filth thrown on them
by the crowd, put them up on the altar-stones, and offered them
in sacrifice. The custom prevailed, it is said, down to the time of
Boniface, Bishop of Utrecht. For this reason it is that even
to the present day the natives call these holes by a foul name."
The name here alluded to is the Duyvel's Kutte.§
Schonhovius adds to the above account that strangers (and
t Veleda herself, however, resided in tlie summit of a lofty tower, whence she issued her
prophecies. Irish legend connects the Round Towers with women, and, in the case of Clonmac-
noise, with whi(e women, who, on particular days, occupied its top.
X *' Rerum Frisicarum Historia " (Lug. Hat., 1616), p. 21, and end of lib. i.
§ See Slictenhorst, Arend van., vol. xiv. ; " Bockcn van de Geldersee Geschiedc Missen,"
Arnham (1654), vol. i, p. 78.
Holland. 555
we may presume, if there is truth in the tradition, prisoners of
war) were the victims. f
Down to the sixteenth century traces of this practice are said
to have survived. Luckless strangers, especially if from Brabant,
were subjected to the same ignominious treatment above referred
to, but stopping short of the sacrificial portion of the process, at
these places.
KeyslerJ mentions the Drenthe monuments, and compares
them to Stonehenge, to which, however, they bear little or no
resemblance, except in the size of the stones.
In 1789 Prince Dimitri de Gallitzin visited Drenthe, and sent
an account of the dolmens and tumuli there to Professor Camper,
which was published with six illustrations. He quotes a work
on the subject by M. Van Lier. He states, among other things,
that the stones of which they are composed are not found in the
natural geological formation of Drenthe. The reason of this
is that they are erratics with which the surface is covered.
His illustrations include: (i) A dolmen, or " Hunnen-bed,"
situated in a field to the W. of Nordlaren. The covering-
stone, which measures ;^^ feet 5 ins. in circumference, is sup-
ported upon five others, and there is a small additional covering-
stone. (2) A monument between Anlo and Sudlaren, having an
entrance on the S. side. There are four roofing-stones, which
diminish in size towards the east. It appears that there were
four stones at either side, and one at each end, with two thin
ones on edge forming the sides of the little entrance. The roof-
ing-stone measured 28 feet 3 ins. in circumference. (3) A
monument near Aunen, the " table-stone " of which measured
t The work of Antonius Schoahovius, Batavus, " De origine et sedibus Francorum," etc., will be
found in the " Veteris ajvianalecta of Ant. Matth^eus, Hagce-Com.," 2 edit., 1738, torn. i. p. 37. At
p. 41 is his notice of the Drenthe monuments, which I prefer to leave untranslated : " Praacipua eorum
(i.e. Teventeri, afterwards called Tencteri) regio adhuc Trenta sive Drenta dicitur, ex quo medise-
jetatis scriptores Trentones fecere. Sane non possum hie praeterire Columnas illas Herculis quas
Tacitus (' De Mor. Germ.,' c. 34) in Frisiis fuisse magna celebritate commemorat, quarum reliquiae
hac tracta Trenterorum, hoc est in Drenta, adhuc visuntur, vico Roelden, haud procul a Coevordia,
non sine spectantium admiratione. Sunt enim singuli lapides (quorum non parvus acervus est)
tantre magnitudinis, ut nuUos currus, nullasque naves admittere posse videantur : neque ibi fodinai
lapidum sunt, ut loco paludoso ; quare suspicio est eos illuc a daemonibus, qui Herculis nomine ibi
colebantur, adductos fuisse. Stabant enim super columnas arae {' Saxa vocant Itali,' ut quidam inquit
Poeta, Virg., '^-En.' i. 109), quas ad aras incolre vivos immolabant, maximeque advenas, quos prius
quam mactarent, cogebant transire augustam foramen, quod sub aris erat, transeuntemque
stercoribus infectabantur, ac petebant. Quod et hodie faciunt presertim si Brabantum nacti
fuerint, unde soepe csedes oriuntur. Foramen ipsum ob ignominiam Duvels Kut, hoc est, Dae-
monis cunnus, appellatur. \Kut Hollandice = pudendum feminos]. Sed immolationem sustulit D.
Bonifacius. Hujus monumenti videndi causa Drusus Germanicus fama excitus, auspiciis Augusti,
primus Romanorum Septentrionalem Oceanum navigavit, teste Plinio, lib. i. v."
X " Antiq. Select.," p, 6, 1720.
556 The Dolmens of Ireland.
28 feet 3 ins. In circumference, extremely like one in the
Co. Down, Ireland. (4) A dolmen near the mill of Eext,
unroofed, and in a tumulus. The vault measures 12 feet
long, and there appear to be three large stones on either
side, and one at either end. The terminal stones measure
respectively 5 feet 10 ins. by 4 feet 6 ins., and 5 feet 5 ins.
by 4 feet 6 ins. The greater axis is E. and W., and the
entrance is to the S.f (5) A " Hunnenbed " near Eext, the
stones composing which extended to a length of 59 feet.
There seem to have been four stones on either side, supporting
four on the top. Some of the stones had been displaced, and
others were covered over by sand. This great mass of stones
appeared to have formed several Hunnenbedden. (6) Another
" Hunnenbed " near Eext, completely ruined. This structure
is very similar indeed to the Labbacallee, near Fermoy. Three
stones are in place on the top. One of these measured 26 feet
in circumference, 10 feet in length, and 6 feet in thickness ;
another was 29 feet in circumference.
In 1822, Nicolas Westendorf J published at Groningen his
treatise on the Hunebedden, with special reference to those of
Drenthe, of which latter he gives examples in twenty localities,
including some forty or fifty monuments. He adds illustrations
of two of them ; first, the uncovered monument at Tinaarloo,
and second, a covered structure at Emmen. After treating the
question of the ethnological identity of the dolmen-builders by an
exhaustive process — considering the claims of each nation known
to history in turn — he comes to the conclusion that they were
the work of the Celts.
From Mr. Alfred Sadler's paper § on the " Hunebeds of
Drenthe " we derive the information that the material of these
structures is coarse granite, and that the rocks are erratic
boulders. The average height of the interior vault or chamber
is 3 feet ; Its breadth 3 feet to 4 feet 6 ins. There are spaces
between the side-stones. One of the roofing-stones of the
example at Midlaren was estimated to weigh 52,000 lbs. The
porticoes, which run at right angles to one side, are formed of
from two to six stones. Some " Hunebeds " are surrounded
t See Van Licr, " Oudheidkuiidige IJiieven," 1760.
X " Vcrhaiuleling over de Hunebedden " (Groningen, 1822), pp. 4O-90.
§ " Journ. Roy. Archaol. Assoc," 1870, pp. 53-60.
Holland. 557
by enclosures, square or oval, formed of smaller stones. In
one case the structure had been erected in a pit (as is the
case with some of the Caucasian dolmens), so that the roofing-
stones were level with the ground. Mr. Sadler thought they
had all been covered with earth.
The fullest and best account of the dolmens of Drenthe
which has appeared in any English publication is that of Dr.
D. Lubach.j
The mec-alithic monuments called Hunebedden consist, he
says, of large cap-stones, commonly of granite, supported by
smaller uprights, the latter forming two rows with a space of one
or two metres between them. The two longer sides of a Himebed
are never pai^alleL They expand to the west, or towards tha(
part ivhich is 7nost zvesterly, the consequence being that they are
widest at that end. Generally, also, the uprights and the cap-
stones increase in bulk towards the west end, and thus the whole
Hunebed is 7iot only broader, but also higher. I have given this
passage in italics because it shows an exact correspondence in
points of detail with so large a proportion of the dolmens of
Ireland.
The average height between the under surface of the roofing-
stones and the floor is one metre. The crevices between the side-
stones and the roofing-stones were undoubtedly filled with small
pieces of stone. In the best-preserved examples each end is
closed by a single stone. It does not seem probable that the
entrance was at either end. In many instances, indeed, a so-
called "portal" is found, consisting of two rows, each formed
by two or three stones, placed at right angles to one of the
longer sides of the Hunebed, and rather towards the S. end —
a point in which these monuments agree with some of those of
Sweden, but differ from Irish examples. These "portals" are
never covered over by cap-stones, a point in which they differ
from those in Sweden, and also, says Dr. Lubach, from those
in Germany. The outer surfaces both of the stones which form
the sides and roof are rough, angular, and somewhat rounded,
while the inner surfaces are flat — a characteristic of dolmen-
building which is universal.
In some of the stones formingf the structure small holes are
found, evidently artificial, and bored to the depth of one centim^etre .
t "Journ. of the Anthrop. Institute," vol. vi. (1876), p. 158.
558 The Dolmens of Ireland.
" Many of the monuments, originally perhaps all, are surrounded
by a row of stones, placed at a distance of about three steps
from the Hunebed. The position of the monument is invariably
E. and W." Dr. Lubach takes sixty instances, in which fifteen
are E. and \V., two N. and S.. twenty-four N.W. and S.E.,
sixteen N.E. and S.W., two N.W. by W. and S.E. by E., and
one N.E. by E. and S.W. by W.
Two-fifths, at least, of them stood In a hollow on the top
of a low tumulus — the hollow not being deep enough to hide
the structure from view. Dr. Lubach agrees with Mr. Sadler in
thinking that they were all originally covered with mounds of
earth, and the entrance to the " portal " was probably closed with
a large stone.
Although, as he states, only fifty-five examples now exist
in Drenthe, their number was probably once much greater, and
the eastern half of the Province once covered with them. They
are not found in other parts of the Netherlands, however, with
the exception of a doubtful monument near the village of De
Vuursche, in the Province of Utrecht. Those that are still
Fig. 515. — Hunebed of 1 inaarloo, Drenilie. From old cn^ravin^ by ll'estcndorp.
extant in Drenthe owe their preservation to the backwardness
of that district, as is evinced by the prevalence of old customs
there. Christianity reached it, however, in the eighth century,
and the people would then have destroyed their ancient monu-
ments, more especially had they been, as almost certainly they
were, the sites of pagan superstitious rites, even, possibly, as we
have seen, including human sacrifices.
]\Iany churches. Dr. Lubach thinks, may have been built
with the stones that formed them. He instances the tower of
the church at Emmen, which consists of irregular blocks of stone
like those which were used in Hunebedden.
Holland. 559
The Hunebed of Tinaarloo, mentioned by every writer who
describes the series, may be taken as typical of the rest. For
comparison with Irish dolmens I will here give its description
and dimensions in Dr. Lubach's words : " It consists of two
rows of upright stones, each row containing three stones, with
two end-stones and three cap-stones. No trace of a * portal ' or
outer circle exists. The entire length (S.E. and N.W.) is
570 m., the greatest breadth 3 m., and the greatest height 1*57 m.
The end-stones measure respectively —
Height .
Breadth.
Thickness.
a = 075 metre
I "oo metre
o'45 metre
/' = 072 ,,
I-I3 ..
0-32 „
The side-stones —
Height.
Breadth.
Thickness.
a = 070 metre
I -oo metre
0*56 metre
/> = o-7S ,,
1-25 „
0-S3 ,,
c = o*66 ,,
I'OO ,,
075 »
d=0"Jl ,,
I -GO „
075 »
t' =: 072 ,,
0-92 „
o'35 »
/=o-64 ,,
I'OO ,,
0-58 „
The roofing-stones —
Height.
Breadth.
Thickness.
rt = 2"oo metre
2"oo metre
o"66 metre
l> = I'OO ,,
2-00 ,,
o-Si ,,
(T = 1-26 ,,
2-45 .>
0-88 „
"One near the village of Borger measures 22 m. long (N.W.
and S.E.), 3-8 m. broad, and 2*8 m. in greatest height. The breadth
of the vault inside is, at the W. end 2*5 m., and at the E.
end 17 m. The space between the upright stones is 0*85 m.
The length of the largest roofing-stone is over 9 m., its
breadth 2 m., and its thickness i m. There are twelve up-
right side-stones on the N.E. side, and thirteen at the S.W.
side. There is one terminal stone at the S.E. end, and three
are roofing-stones in all. There is no terminal stone at the
N.W. end. At the S.W. side are the remains of a 'portal'
formed of six stones, three on either side.
" The largest of the Hunebedden near Emmen is 26 m. long
(E. and W.), and 13 m. broad. There are eleven upright stones
on either side of the vault, two terminal stones, and seven
roofing-stones. The length of the largest roofing-stone is
375 m., its breadth 2*5 m., and its thickness 0*5 m. The
vault is about 3 m. broad in the middle. At the S. side are
traces of a ' portal.' The structure is surrounded by an oval
range of stones.
560 The Dolmens of Ireland.
" In the Province of Groningen, near the frontier of Drenthe,
is the Hunebed of Noordlaren. Two roofing- stones are laid
on four upright side-stones, and there is one terminal stone at
the N.E. end. The structure seems to have been much larger,
but the S.W. portion has been probably removed. The largest
roofing-stone measures 3-5 m. long, 2-25 m. broad, and 1-5 m.
thick. There are traces of a surrounding circle.
" There is another on the road from Emmen to Odoorn, con-
sisting of three uprights at the N. side, and four at the S.,
with a terminal stone at each end, and four cap-stones. The
length is 5*5 m., the breadth 2*2 m., and the height 1*5 m."
Dr. Lubach mentions other Hunebedden at Rolde, and on the
way from Borgar to Rumen, the roofing-stones of which latter
are very flat on the upper side. There was also a triple Hunebed
near Emmen.
" Near Eext is a monument of a class to which the Dutch
give the name of 'Grafk elders,' i.e. Grave-cellars, but which seems
to be only differentiated from the Hunebed in the fact that the
proportions are somewhat smaller, and that the structure is buried
in a tumulus. The northern and southern walls of the example in
question consist each of three flat stones tightly joined together,
and in the S. side a space of o"6 m. has been left for ingress by
means of steps. The length of the side walls is about 3*7 m. The
E. and W. ends are each formed of a single stone, that at the
E. end being 17 m. broad, and that at the W. 2*05 m. The
roofing-stones are three in number.
" Two similar monuments buried in tumuli have been found
near Emmen. They were close together, and the space in which
they were was surrounded by an oval range of stones, measuring
about 1*5 m. high, and 0*9 m. broad. The one of which I annex
two sections bears a strikincr resemblance to monuments in the
West of France, and in the Basque Provinces of Spain, as, for
example, that at Equilaz, in the latter country, to be noticed as
we proceed.
" Explorations in the Hunebeds have disclosed, below the sand
which filled the upper part of the vaults, a floor of pebbles,
between which, and sometimes resting on a lower floor, were found,
imbedded in sand and mixed with charcoal and ashes, urns
containing burnt bones, fragments of rude pottery, implements
and weapons — ahuays of stone, never of metal — celts, knives,
Holland.
561
arrow-heads, hammer or axe-heads, etc., sometimes of flint, some-
times of granite, syenite, serpentine, jaspar, agate, etc., of various
degrees of finish and workmanship."
Dr. Lubach, from whom I have quoted, states that between
the two floors of the structure at Eext were found urns, celts, a
hammer or axe with a hole in it, a flint arrow-head, and a globular
piece of yzer-oei', or iron ore (oxyde of iron), a mineral formation
frequently found in the diluvium of the Netherlands.
Mr. Sadler adds some particulars of finds which slightly differ
Fig. 516. — Sections (Fig. i, E. and W. ; Fig. 2, N. and S.) of a dolmen in its tumulus at Drenthe.
From an old engraving in IVesteiidorp.
from the above. In addition to burnt human bones and ashes,
flint and stone implements and coarse pottery, he says that bone
implements are found in Hunebeds. With regard to the urns
found in them, he makes the remark that they are generally
smaller than those found in the tumuli, and of better workmanship
— a fact which is absolutely true in the case of Irish pottery. They
are of a brown or ash colour, occasionally adorned with straight
or wavy lines. Their appearance gave him the idea that they
had been cast in a mould, rather than hand-made. None were
glazed, but some seemed to have been polished. He contrasts
the discovery of, generally speaking, more than one urn in the
Drenthe structures, with that of a single one placed under the
central cap-stone in Hunebeds in Westphalia, and elsewhere in
Germany.
Among the objects of stone found in the Drenthe examples
were axes and hammers of grey granite, or of basalt. A great
number, also, were of jade corresponding to that found in the
mountains of Switzerland and Savoy. The implements were of
superior workmanship, and equal to the best manufacture of the
South Sea Islanders. Among the objects mentioned by Mr.
562 The Dolmens of Ireland.
Sadler are celts of llint, of German agate and of claystone
porphyry, some rough, some polished ; one piece of a whetstone ;
one bone arrow-head ; and discs of stone or baked clay, 5 or 6
inches in diameter, and 2 inches thick, having a round hole in the
centre, and marked with one or more crosses. These discs, he
considers, may have been used in a game, such as is played on
the island of Gothland, where a stone, flat on both sides, and
as nearly circular as possible, is used. One of these stones is in
the Museum at Kiel, and is similar to those from the Hunebeds.
Precisely similar stones were used until recently in West Corn-
wall. I have seen many specimens of them picked up on the
moors, and measuring, like those of Gothland, from 3 to 5 ins.
in diameter, and about i in. thick. They were thrown at a
mark at distances of some 16 to 24 paces.
I have mentioned some of the traditions relative to the Hune-
beds. I may add from Mr. Sadler's paper a few more. On the
stones of one at Oosterwoede marks were pointed out to him as
the finger-marks of the giants who had piled the rocks one on the
other. Of the stones at Borger it was said that they were cast by
ofiants a distance of a mile at a time. About one near Sleen
o
a local legend said that it was built by a spirit which still haunts
it. This monument bears a curious name among the people,
namely, the ** Parsonless Church." Some old traditions include
the Hunebeds, as well as the tumuli, in the class of structures
which were held to be the favourite haunt of the kind of witches
known as the White Women. Lastly, in times past, but still
not unremembered, few of the peasantry were bold enough to
approach these weird piles in the dark hours of night.
In addition to the megalithic monuments just described,
Drenthe possesses a large number of tumuli, a considerable group
of which lay around the plain of Ballerkoele, probably once a
place of assembly and worship. Here was the Baller-houdt, or
Baller-wood, and the Baller-kuile, which Picardt described as
a great curiosity, being apparently an enclosure surrounded by
a bank, around which were seats made of earth, where not only,
so he thought, were " the great assemblies of the States held, but
where strange solemnities were performed, for which both the
kuyl, i.e. the hollow place within the bank, and the seats sur-
rounding it were used." f
t " Kortc beschiyvinge" (1731), p. 214.
Holland. 563
The tumuli are usually round, sometimes oval, and rarely
square, from 3 to 5 mm. in diameter. There are oblong ones
also, from 3 to 5 mm. broad, and from 10 to 30 mm. long. Many
of these are surrounded by ranges of stones.
Dr. Lubach describes the contents of these tumuli as " (1) urns
of rude pottery, containing burnt human bones ; (2) small heaps
of human bones ; (3) objects of earthenware, such as drinking-
cups and other vessels, discs, etc. ; (4) implements of bronze,
rarely of iron, but (with one exception) never," as far as he knew,
" of stone ; metal spear-heads, arrow-heads, knives, daggers, the
fragments of a sword, celts — in form very like those found in
England — hairpins, fragments of armlets, etc. The urns were
often adorned with rows of lines or punctures. If there were
more urns than one in the same tumulus, they were often placed
one above the other, and sometimes were inverted. In some
tumuli no urns were found, but only heaps of burnt bones ; in
others were similar heaps and urns as well."
" Urns have been found," he proceeds, " which contain small
urns filled with bones of little children " — which latter statement,
perhaps, requires verification.
Sometimes the tumulus covers the urns placed simply in the
earth of which it consists ; sometimes they are placed on a
little pile of pebbles in the interior ; sometimes they stand on
a floor of pebbles ; sometimes they are between two such floors ;
sometimes they are surrounded with an enclosure of larger stones ;
and, lastly, they are sometimes placed in a cist in the shape
of a trough.
In some cases, where a flooring of pebbles is found, it extends
far beyond the area covered by the mound, and as much as a
hundred cartloads of pebbles have been removed from one single
floor. The earthen material of the mound is frequently found to
be mingled with charcoal and ashes in considerable quantity.f
Dr. Lubach remarks that, while it is the opinion of Dutch
archaeologists that tumuli of this latter description are attributable
t Other notices of dolmens in Drenthe will be found in " Antiquiteiten," edit, by N. Westen-
dorp and C. J. C. Reuvens ; in " Alphabetisch naamliist van de in Nederland, Belgie en een
gedeelte der aangreuzende landen gefonden romeinsche, germaansche of gallische oudheden "
(Leyden, 1845), by Reuvens; in the " Kronik van het Utrechtsgenoots " (1846), pp. 23 and 128;
in the "Drenthe wolks Almanack," 1837, p. 127; " Vrye Fries," v. p. 338; "Sim. de Vries
Wanderen de Zeen," p. 521 ; "Johan. Mensinga in Saxa Agri Trentini," 1687; Slichtenhorst,
"Gelders Geschichte," I. i. p. 78; Blancard, " Holl, Jaaregister," cent. viii. n. 96; Janssen,
quoted in Fergusson's R.S.M., and Fergusson, R.S.M., himself.
564 The Dolmens of Ireland.
to Germanic peoples, it is also their opinion that the Hunebeds
belong to pre-Germanic inhabitants.
The same problem presents itself in the British Isles, and in
Ireland especially, where we have the dolmens, which are the
Hunebeds, on the one hand, and the tumuli with urns and cists on
the other. Whatever be the true ethnic explanation in the one
case should hold good in the other also.
On the shore of the island of Urck, which in old times, says
Keysler, was washed by the Rhine, but is now surrounded by
the Zuyderzee, stones of great size are to be seen, for the most
part overthrown by the waves, which the elder school of Dutch
German antiquaries seem to have regarded as the remains of
megalithic monuments.f
Belgium.
The dearth of megalithic remains in Belgium has often
been a matter of surprise to archceologists. Before, however,
any final conclusion is arrived at on this subject, it is necessary
to refer to the local authorities, from which it will appear that,
although rare, and scattered widely apart, they were by no
means absent from the country. Many, also, are known to have
been destroyed.
In the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is the Gruenstein,\ upon
the top of the Manternach Mountain, described by Schayes and
others as a " dolmen druidique," an immense block of stone which
'* had evidently been dragged up the mountain by human hands,"
but which had been overthrown by pleasure-seekers in about
1820. A legend regarding it existed, namely, that the Evil Spirit
dropped it here on account of its weight, when carrying it to
build the " Devil's Church " (Simeonsthor) at Trier, and that he
danced with rage in consequence. Another so-called " pierre
druidique " was at Diekirch.§ It was called the DciwePs altar,
but, like the Gruenstein, it had been reduced to " shapeless frag-
ments." Only six or seven stones of this monument remained,
upon which people in old times used to think they could trace
t Kommelyn, "In de ByvjEgselen byde Beschryving van Amsteldam," v. p. 878; Dirk Bergar,
" De Scolerer Medcmblick," p. 36S ; and Slichtenhoist, " Gelders Geschichte."
X " I'ublications de la Soc. pour le recherche et la conservation des monuments historiqucs dans
la Grand-Duche de Luxembourg," vol. vi. (1S51), p. 88 ; id. vol. x. (1854), p. 69.
§ Id., vol. X. p. 69, and vol. vi. p. 88; and "Leveque de la basse-Monturie," Itin., p. 391.
Belgium. 565
the imprints of wolves' feet {wol/sklauen). In the map it is seen
that the whole district takes its name, " Diefelselter," from this
monument.
The existence of a " cromlech " (by which a stone-circle,
according to the French application of the term, is meant) on
the Waldbillig is also recorded, and also that of the Hcci^tches-ley
at Altlinster, described as a " monument druidique." These four
monuments comprise the entire list of " Celtic Antiquities " which
the Statistiqite Momcmentale of the Duchy could supply.^ At
Ferrieres-Saint- Martin, however, also in Luxembourg, are six
dolmens bearing the name of " Pierres, ou Cunelees du Diable." ^
With the latter name we may compare that of the " Duyvel's
Kutte," at Drenthe. Between Hallaux and Stavelot, and at
Malempre et Fraiture, some " pierres gigantesques " have also
been noticed,^ and at La Roche a Fresne * were some *' pierres
druidiques dits du Diable." At Mousny were menhirs and
" tombes gauloises." ^ At Salm-Chateau was a great wall of
unhewn stones, in the centre of which was a "pierre druidique." ^
There were also tumuli. Lastly, at Waha ^ was a " sort of
menhir " overthrown, and also " tombes gauloises."
In the province of Hainault, in the Commune of Hollain, near
Tournai, was the "pierre celtique," called Brunehault,^ the name
of which we may compare with that of the dolmen called
Brunefort or Brunevoord,^ mentioned by Wigand, Klemm, and
Westendorp, in Westphalia, and that of the Brynhild Stone, in
Hesse. This is a menhir 13 feet in height, standing on an eleva-
tion formerly covered by forest. The stone is a very hard grit.
M. Grangagnage,^" in his notes on " Druidical Monuments in
the Province of Liege," ^^ expressed his opinion that a " pierre
druidique" destroyed at Binche (Hainault) was a dolmen. At
Bray in the same Province was a monolith, and at Erbant and
Ghlin^^ "pierres celtiques," which here, however, mean simply
menhirs. It is stated that from the debris of monuments of this
class Christians constructed their own.
* " Soc. de Luxemb.," ut supra, loc. cit. ^ " Annales de la Soc. d'Arlon " (1847-49), p. 88.
^ Id., p. 92. ■• Id., p. 93. * Id., p. 89. * Id., pp. 90, 91.
" " Soc. de Luxemb.," ut supra, vol. vi. p. 88.
* Lambiez, '• Hist.Mon. du Nord des Gaules," p. 450; De Bast, "Ant.," pp. 197, 547 ; Nelis,
" Anc. Mem. de I'Acad. de Brux.," i. ; "Bull, de la Soc. de Tournai," i. p. 81.
" Wigand, Dr. Paul, " Alterthiimer im Kreise Meppen, in Archiv fur Geschichte und Alter-
thiimskunde Westphalens," vol. ii. (1827). p. 179.
'" " Messager des Sciences hist, de Belgique " (1849), p. 336 ; Lambiez, " Hist. INIon. du Nord
des Gaules," p. 154.
" " Bull, de I'Acad. de Brux.," vol. xviii., pt.ii. p. 113. '* Id.
566 The Dolmens of Ireland.
In the Province of Liege, there was a dohnen at Romsee.f
and also a menhir at Louveigne.J In the province of Flandre-
Occidentale was a " pierre celtique " at Kerkhem,§ and at Assche,
in Brabant,|| was a " pierre druidique."
On the right bank of the Meuse, in the " Plaine de Jambes,"
there stood, in the beginning of the present century, a dolmen
called La Pierre du Diablc. It consisted of a table-stone, 8 feet
7 ins. long, 6 feet 6 ins. broad, and 9 ins. thick, supported
upon two others fixed vertically on edge in the ground, and
measuring 8 feet long, 5 feet 5 ins. high, and 3 feet 4 ins. thick.
More anciently there were four stones, the two forming the other
sides or ends having been broken up. The longer axis of the
roofine-stone was E. and W., and it inclined to the N.E. In
the last century there were other stones lying at a distance of
20 feet from the structure, supposed to be the remains of an outer
range, or of a passage-way. They were nearly as large as those
of which the monument was composed.^
France.
If I do not speak of the dolmens of France as fully as I
have of those of North Germany and the Western Baltic, it is
firstly, bjecause the German series have hitherto been almost
overlooked as an essential factor — as I believe them to be — in
the question of the immediate origin of the West-British and
Irish dolmens, and secondly, because the general types and area
of dispersion of the French series are already so well known to
English archaeologists in the excellent and richly illustrated works
of Messrs. Bertrand, Cazalis de Fondouce, Mortillet, Cartaillac,
and others.
The areas of dispersion of the dolmens in France was shown
in a map drawn up in 1867 by M. Bertrand. Judging from this,
and from more recent sources of information, it may be said that
they are not found east of the middle course of the Rhone, and
are but sparsely scattered through the extreme south-west corner
of the Republic, where, indeed, in the llat country of Les Landes,
t " Bull, (le I'Acad. de Belg.," vol. xviii., pt. ii. p. Ii8. J Id., p. Il6.
§ Wcslendorp and Reuvcns, " Antii|uilLil," iii. p. 47.
II Communication from M. Galcslool to Schayes ; "La Beligiquc et Les Pays-Bas," in list of
monuments s.v. Assche.
\ " Ann. de la Soc. Archeol. de Namur," vol. iii. p. 151 ; Vangeois, "Mcmoires de TAcadeniie
Celtique," vol. iii. p. 329.
France. 567
they could scarcely be expected. Rarely, again, are they to be
met with north of the Valley of the Seine, so that, with the
exception of the Heraultf group on the south, and those near
Toulouse and the eastern Pyrenees, it is to the western half of
France that they specially belong. Here they occur all along
the Atlantic sea-front, with the exception of that portion of it
south of the Garonne, and between it and the foot-hills of the
Pyrenees, to which I have alluded. Especially rich in dolmens
are the valleys of the Loire, and those of its tributaries, and thence
they stretch away inland, up the courses of the southern streams,
until they reach the series which belongs to the western bank of the
Rhone, and which occupies the district between that river and the
northern bank of the Garonne. To the southward and westward
of this group, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, they are
dotted, though sparsely, along the slopes of the Pyrenees. It
is in Brittany, however, that they attain their maximum number,
and here, too, each of the several types into which French
archaeologists have divided them seem to be represented.
M. Mortillet's classification involves a threefold division,
namely, (i.) alUes cottvertes, approached by short entrance-
chambers {vestibules) ; (ii.) caveaux (vaults or cells), having long
entrance passages {couloirs d'acces); (iii.) caisses, i.e. rectangular
cists of large proportions. The long, large dolmens of the first
of these classes are well represented in central France, at no
great distance from Paris. The tumuli containing those of the
second class belong to Brittany, while the large cists of the
third class distinguish the type of those in the Lozere,J Aveyron,
Gard, and Ardeche.§ Speaking roughly, we may compare the
alUes couvertes to the Gang-grifter of Sweden, to the Hunebedden
of Drenthe and North Germany, to the structures in the Long
Barrows of Britain, and to the dolmens of Ireland, as exempli-
fied by the Labbacallee in Cork. The French examples, in
t "Mem. de la Soc. Archeol. de Montpellier," vol. vii. (1881), p. 73, et seqq, ; "Carte Aicheol.
de Dep. de I'Herault," par M. P. Cazalis de Fondouce. There are sixty-three dolmens tabulated,
divided into two principal groups, one in the extreme S.W. of the Province, in the mountains of the
ancient Pagus Narbonensis ; the other in the north-central district, in the Pagus Lutevoisis. There
are small groups of two and three E. of these. There is one isolated example in the Pagus
Agathensis, showing that the builders of these structures were known on the littoral as well as in
the mountains.
X For the dolmens of the Lozere, see paper by M. L. de Malafossa [Mat. (1869), p. 321). The
local name for them is Tombede Geant, ox Pierre des Giants. The entrances ol some are at the side
of one end. In the covering-slab of one is a basin-shaped pit, or bullan, as the Irish would call it.
Human bones and bones of pigs have been found in these dolmens.
§ For dolmens in Ardeche, see I\Ial. (1873), P- 345>
568 The Dolmens of Ireland.
many cases, however, display a decided superiority in the sym-
metry of their construction. f With the cavcanx and long coidoirs
cVacccs of the second class we may compare the structures in
the tumuli of Denmark, the dolmen of Yr Ogof in Wales, the
galcrfas of Spain, the structures in the cairns of Caithness and
Argyllshire, in the Maes-Howe in Orkney, and in the great
tumulus at New Grange, in which latter monuments — namely,
those in the British Isles — we observe an architectural amplifi-
cation in reofard to the construction of the roof which is not
found in Brittany. The caisses of the third class are comparable
with the dolmens of Clare. They occur principally in the Lozere,
in Card, and in Ardeche, in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the Pyrenees-
Orientales.
I may add to the classification proposed by M. Mortillet
that in Brittany and the Channel Islands are to be found along
the coast examples of the type of structure to which I have given
the name of dolmen-circles or dolmen-cairns, such as those on the
opposite coast of Cornwall, at Carrowmore and elsewhere in
Ireland, in southern Sweden, and in Denmark.
For the student of the early developments of dolmen-building
and the accompanying cultus of the dead, there is no country so
rich in interest as France. As we shall see when we arrive at
the anthropological portion of this work, there is some reason for
supposing that sepulchral rites were practised at the mouth of
the Caverne de I'Homme Mort, a natural cavern in the Lozere,
containing the remains of men whose cranial type and certain
other osseous peculiarities were identical with those of the Long-
Barrow men of Britain, and the Atlantic, or Iberian, type in
general. From this starting-point we proceed to the evidence
adduced by M. Mortillet, that no fewer than twenty-four natural
caves have been discovered in France which had served the
purpose of sepulchral vaults to a population living in the
Neolithic Age. He adds that the accompaniments of the dead, as
well as certain indications bearing upon the nature of the rites
performed at the sepulchre, were identical with what was found in
connection with the dolmens, so that the latter may be supposed
to have taken the place of the natural caves.
France, indeed, furnishes us with a stepping-stone, as it were,
between the natural cave and the dolmen in certain artificial caves
t See plan of llic dolmen called " La Pierre Turquaise," iii/ra.
France. 569
which offer comparison both with the former and the latter.
These, again (some of which I will presently describe), may be
compared with the artificial caves of Majorca, Minorca, Sicily,
the He Pianosa in the Mediterranean, and that of Palmella in
Portugal, Of the French examples those in the Department of
the Marne are the most important, while others more or less
similar exist in the Departments of Aveyron, Finistere, Oise, and
Seine-et-Marne. In these, also, evidence is afforded of the
presence of the same articles, and of the performance of the same
rites as in the natural caves on the one hand, and in the dolmens
on the other. The natural cave was scooped out into a large
chamber or chambers within by the swirling of water pent up in
the limestone or other yielding rock, and finding its way out
through some narrow crevice. The ground-plan and section,
therefore, is that of an allege couverte with a vestibule, — the salle, or
caveatt mortuaire being only accessible through a narrow opening,
leaving only just room enough to creep through on hands and
knees. The artificial cave is modelled on the natural one, and
yet bears, as M. Mortillet points out, a close resemblance to the
dolmen.
From the Department of Gard some characteristic examples
have been cited of the transition from the natural cave direct to
the dolmen. M. Aures explored a natural one at Aubussagues,
which had been adapted for sepulchral purposes, and closed up
like a dolmen.
The following conclusions, at which M. Emile Riviere f arrived
after exploring some natural caves and dolmens in the Maritime
Alps, may here be cited. He found evidence of the existence of
two prehistoric peoples absolutely distinct — the one living in the
Quaternary epoch, the other in the Bronze Age {^Epoque actuelle).
The Quaternary race were cave-dwellers, whose remains are
found in the Grottes de Menton, the caves near Nice, and the
Station die cap Roux de Beatdiett. These caves are all natural.
The Bronze-Age race belong, on the other hand, to the megaliths,
tumuli, dolmens, and caves in the districts of Grasse, Sant Cesaine,
etc. The Quaternary race was tall and dolichocephalic. The
race of the dolmens was short and brachycephalic. The former
made use of chipped stone, bone, and antlers of deer, shaped to
t " Antiquitc de rHomme" (Paris, 1887).
VOL. 11,
570 The Dolmens of Ireland.
serve their purpose. The latter were possessed of pohshed stone,
pottery, plain or ornamented, and objects of bronze.
The cephalic index of a skull from a IMenton cave was 73*9.
The skeletons of two children found in another were covered over
their middles with quantities of perforated shells, which had
formed their dress.
Again, we have examples of monuments which are in part
natural caves and in part dolmens. One of these, at Des Mau-
duits near Mantes, will be subsequently noticed. In that case
a dolmen had been built out from the face of the rock as an
elongation of the cave, which at the opposite end possessed a most
remarkable portico and artificial hole for ingress. f M. Cazalis
de Fondouce has described and figured monuments at Cordes and
Castellet in the Commune of Fontvielle, which are in part natural
and in part artificial, where advantage has been taken of hollow
places in the natural rock for the sides of the structure, and great
flagstones have been laid overhead.
In the Department of the Aisne, on the lands of Cierge near
Tere-en-Tardenois, on a small triangular plateau at the confluence
of two streams, at a spot called Caranda, is a very remarkable
cemetery, which has been explored and described with excellent
illustrations of the objects discovered by M. Frederic Moreau.J
It contained 2600 interments — 300 Gaulish, 100 Gallo-Roman,
2200 Merovingian, and, what is most singular, a dolmen in close
proximity. The latter is placed on the top of a little eminence.
Its shape was oblong, and it was regularly built. It measured
5 m. long, 2 m. broad, and 2 m. high, and pointed E. and W.
The entrance, closed by a slab, was between two slabs at the
E. end. Four large slabs formed the roof (Fig. 517). It con-
tained an unburnt human skeleton, a fine Neolithic spear-held,,
and other implements of flint, among which were arrow-heads,
and a pointed instrument of stag's horn. The structure was built
on the surface of the knoll.
In the case of the caves explored by M. le Baron de Baye in
the Department of the Marne, they were of wholly artificial
origin. Certain details to be pointed out in them connect them
closely with the dolmens.
t "Nouveaux Documents Archeologiques," par M. L. De Mauk-Pl, Paris, 1872, p. 15,
ei sc(](j.
\ " Collection Caranda" (1877), pi. i. ii. iii.
France.
571
The district in which they occur is the southern portion of the
Canton of Montmort, on the slopes of the Toulon mountain,
which rises above the valley of Petit Morin. They are clustered
together in groups, one at Coizard, between the Toulon mountain
Fig. 517. — Dolmen at Caranda, Department of the Aisne. Section of end, covering-stones, and
ground-plan. From M. Moreau : the letters refer to his description.
and Mount Aout, in the centre of a semicircle of foothills ; a second
at Razet, on the southern slope of the mountain ; and a third
further to the south, at Courjeonnet.
The caves have their entrances in the sides of monticules, i.e.
natural hillocks, which form a second and diminutive series of
foothills, and which serve as natural barrows or tumuli covering
the artificial vault within. The great number in which they occur
indicates the presence in ancient times of a considerable popula-
tion. The geological formation in which they have been exca-
vated is cretaceous.
572 The Dolmens of Ireland.
One group at Courjeonnet consists of three little caves in
addition to a circular excavation open at the top. Near these was
a hearth, or burning-place, in which were found burnt stones,
charcoal, and traces of other carbonized matter. Two of the three
caves \vere divided each into two compartments ; the third was
not so. A second group at the same place consisted of six caves,
differing from those in the former group in size and shape, but
identical with them in respect to the modes of sepulture, three in
number, which had been employed. Each possessed an " anti-
grotte," as M. de Baye calls it, consisting of a little chamber or
porch, through which it was necessary to pass in order to enter the
tomb. On the wall of this ante-chamber or portico is represented
in bas-relief, cut out of the natural chalk rock, a hafted axe,
accompanied by another rude attempt at sculpture, intended to
represent a female human figure.
The Coizard group consists of thirty-five caves, all grouped
together on the same slope. These vary in shape and dimensions.
Some have only one compartment, others two. In no case are
any two exactly alike. The smallest of them measures I'go m. by
2 m., the largest 3*92 m, by ybo m. The smallest of those having
two compartments measures 2*40 m. square. The height from floor
to roof in the lowest is riom., in the highest 1*70 m. Some were
more commodious, larger, and more easy of access than others.
The doorways were provided with grooves to make their closure
more perfect, and in some caves natural protuberances, like pegs,
had been left standing out in the chalk. Sometimes partitions
had been left in the course of excavation. The walls and
entrances showed a polish, denoting that they had been frequently
rubbed against by passing bodies. In some cases two sloping
steps were placed to facilitate ingress and egress. In several caves
a blackish coating adhered to the walls, such as smoke and dust
would produce. Sometimes shelves had been cut in the walls,
and there were also attempts at sculpture, and shapeless characters
such as children make. M. de Baye considered that the larger
caves, which were those in which these features were present,
might have been habitations before they were sepulchres.
The smaller ones lacked these characteristics. The entrances
to them were firmly closed up with stones laid with care.
They did not contain, as the others did, utensils necessary for
daily life. Frequently, near the entrance of the larger ones, a
France. 573
large block of stone was found, which appeared to have served
the double purpose of closing the vault, and indicating the spot
where it was.
Not only had the inner chamber or cell, in the case of the
double ones, been made the receptable for human remains, but
the " anti-grott " also. One of these porches contained the
remains of six bodies placed there subsequently to the interment
of those within. The remains found in the " anti-grottes " were
not accompanied by the primitive implements and ornaments which
were found deposited with the remains in the vault within. The
interments were of six kinds — (i) extended inhumation, the heads
all in one direction and the bodies carefully laid ; (2) extended
inhumation, but the bodies not placed in one direction, and laid
carelessly; (3) contracted inhumation in a sedentary posture; (4)
disjecta membra, Avithout anatomical connection, but unburnt ;
(5) fragments of calcined bones in heaps ; (6) bodies, unburnt,
laid in pulverized earth, with stones to support them.
Of the bodies laid carefully at full length there were compara-
tively few examples ; they occurred in the larger caves, and were
laid along the two lateral walls, the head being towards the
entrance, and the arms stretched at full length. Between the two
rows of them on either side a clear space was left along the centre
of the vault. The bodies were of both sexes and all ages, but
those of the young were scarce. It was observed that the
conformation of the skulls in a single vault thus arranged were
strikingly uniform. The position of the bodies and the articles
deposited with them evinced care. This, however, was not the
case with respect to the remains found in the porches of these
caves.
The second mode of burial, also by inhumation, but in pro-
miscuous fashion, occurred in caves in which a great number of
bodies — as many as twenty-five to forty — had been interred
apparently at one time, necessitating a peculiar arrangement.
The larger bodies had been carried in first, then the shorter
ones, and the heads were not placed in any one direction.
Warlike implements, including arrow-points, were found with
such interments in considerable quantity. The bodies had been
covered with ashes, different layers of which seemed in some
cases to indicate successive interments. The whole interior of
the cave was utilized for their reception.
574 The Dolmens of Ireland.
The third mode employed was that of placing the body in a
squatting posture, the result being that the sides of the skeleton
were found to have sunk down on themselves, the bones thus
arranging themselves in concentric circles, surmounted by the
skull. This, I may say, is the explorer's own theory for accounting
for the phenomena presented. For my own part, I am more
inclined to think that where such an arrangement of the bones
is met with, both in these caves and in many other Neolithic
sepulchres, the bones may have been denuded of flesh either by
time or customary process, and purposely placed in the symmetrical
order in which they are found. From Otheref we learn, as has
been before remarked, that it was a custom among the Esthonians
to leave the bodies of the dead for months in their houses before
the funeral rites were consummated on the pyre. In China at
the present day bodies are stored in open mortuaria, as I have
myself seen, for years, awaiting interment in the ancestral
line.
The fourth method employed seems to have been that of
dissevering the various parts of the body, perhaps by hacking, as
we have pointed out was the practice among the Iberians of the
Balearic Isles.
The fifth mode was by incineration, and in these instances the
fragments of bone were found together in heaps, as if they had
been brought in baskets, and the contents emptied with care.
The sixth and last mode was that in which the bodies had
been covered with pulverized earth, carefully selected and
prepared, and where this was the case, stones had been set in such
positions as to hold the body in its place, which w'as inhumated
in an extended posture, like those in the ashes.
In these details we discover the fact that here we have a
common meeting-ground of many customs in regard to sepulture,
among which those of inhumation and cremation are the most
markedly divergent. Intermediate between them is the practice
of interment by contraction of the body, placed on the left side, such
as is found in the Round Barrows of Britain, but which seems to
be absent here. The skulls were numerous and in a fine state of
preservation. The cephalic indices were as various as the modes
of interment, and ranged from 71 "65, to 8571, the former being
that of the Iberian, or Long- Barrow dolichocephali, the latter
t Uosworth's " King Alfred's Orosius " (1859), p. 255.
France. 575
that of the inhabitants, ancient and modern, of south-central
France, and of the Lapps.
Some of the methods of interment employed, and in especial
the presence of the bodies carelessly thrown into the porticoes,
may be referable to human sacrifice.
The objects found in the caves were disposed in a general
way without order. In some cases stone axes were found
between the side-walls and the bodies. Flint knives and arrow-
points were plentiful, and in the right hand of one skeleton was
the handle of a bone instrument. Beads for necklaces, and small
shells for the same purpose, lay near the necks of some, while
large perforated shells were dispersed over the entire body.
Broken pieces of pottery occurred in the ashes and earth, but
only one whole vase was found, and that, curious to say, covered
one of the skulls. More than 700 arrow-points were found, and in
two instances they were imbedded in human vertebrae. Axes with
stag-horn hafts, more than 200 knives, blunted arrow-heads formed
both to feather and to wing the game, lance-heads, crushers, and a
scraper like those found on the surface,! comprised the objects of
flint. Bone sockets and hafts, awls and polishers, a hoe, a club with
a short cylindrical handle, representing the kind of industries of the
people, a tibia-bone armed at either end with the canines of a pig,
pigs' teeth, more than 150 shells of various kinds, all perforated
and a great many cut, 250 necklace-beads made of chalk and of
scallop shells, numerous pendants in schist and marble, perforated
teeth, and perforated and polished belemnites, a large quantity of
fragments of pottery, rudely decorated, and the one perfect vase
above mentioned, — such is the sum total of discoveries, from which
we can, more readily than from any other collection of data known
to me, depict for ourselves man as he dwelt by the banks of the
Marne in the Neolithic Age, in a district where and at period
when, as the remains clearly prove, two races met, as plainly
distinguished from each other in physical type as they were in
the customs which attended the disposal of their dead. That it is
to the long-headed type that, in these primitive times, inJminatioii
is to be ascribed there can be little doubt, while to the short-heads
belongs the practice of inc me ration y following on that of contracted
inhumation.
We now arrive at a very important point in regard to these
t It is of the Grand- Pressigny type.
576
The Dolmens of Ireland.
caves, which in the most direct manner connects them with the
dolmens. Three of them contain sculptures in demi-relief. In
the first of these, one of the Courjeonnet group, an axe is rudely
represented, and over it a figure, in which M. de Baye recog-
nizes the rude image of a female divinity. In one of the " anti-
grottes " in the Coizart group another bas-relief portrays the
same form. This latter figure measures 44 cm. high, and 32 cm.
broad. The resfion of the neck is ornamented with a necklace made
of oblong beads, on which is shown a medallion suspended, which
retains traces of a yellow colouring substance, seemingly ochre.
The features are only rudely indicated. The nose is very
prominent, and is flanked by two black spots. The breasts
also are prominent. In the same chamber on the walls to the right
Fig. 51S. — I. Sculptured stone in the dolmen of Collorgues. From ^^Mat. pour
2, 3, 4. Sculptures in the caves on the Marnc. From M. le Baron
VHist. d,.
de Baye.
rHomme.'^
and left of the entrance two hafted axes are represented. The haft
of that on the right measures 32 cm. long, the socket 15 cm., and
the cutting edge 5 cm. The total height of the figure is 26 cm.
The portion which is meant to represent the exposed edge of the
stone axe is coloured black, to distinguish it from the socket.
The axe on the left is not so well finished. It measures 2S cm.
high, and the blade, including the sheath or socket and the stone
edge, is 19 cm, long.
France. 577
On the outer wall of the ** anti-grotte " adjoining the last is a
figure less distinctly formed than the others. It is 49 cm. high by
32 cm. wide. On the side wall on the left, in the same "anti-
o-rotte," is an imao^e analogous to that of the "divinity" before
described. In this case, however, it seems that folding draperies
surround the figure. Here, again, on the walls to right and left of
the entrance are two carved axes, measuring respectively 35 cm.
and S3 cm. high. In the interior another implement has been
sculptured with much care, the use of which is unknown. It
measures 24 cm. high by 6 cm. wide, its breadth diminishing
gradually to i cm.
Near Uzes, in the Department of Card, is the dolmen of
Collorgues, an account of which has been given by MM. Lombard
Dumas and L. Rousset.f The inner structure was a chamber,
circular in form, and of beehive construction, having a passage
leading: into it. The interments were inhumated. A large,
flattish slab formed the central covering of the roof, resting on
which was the stone of which an illustration is here given, and
which measures 175 m. in length.
It will be seen at a glance that the characteristics of the
sculpturings in the Marne caves are here reproduced, with the
addition of eyes and arms, which in the former caves may have
existed in colour. It is clear that the intention in each case was
to form a female human figure. The vertical ridge deflected
from the top is seen to be the nose, on either side of which is an
eye. The breasts stand out prominently, and the necklace is also
in high relief, below which two arms appear, and beneath them
the image of a rude axe, so often repeated in the Marne caves,
and in one example occupying, below the breast of the figure,
precisely the same position that it does here.
The correspondence here observable between an object of
remote antiquity found in the Department of the Marne, and one
found as far to the S.W. as the Department of Card, reminds us
of a parallel set of facts observed by M. de Ouatrefages,J namely,
the wide range of the brachycephalic people, during the Neolithic
Age, from the valley of the Lesse in the same direction, as
evidenced by cranial type, and distinctive flint implements.
The travels of this " Goddess of the Axe " were not, however,
t " Mem. de I'Acad. de Nismes," 1887
X " Homnits Fossiles," pp. 74 and 104.
578 The Dolmens of Ireland.
limited to this one direction. Her presence is unmistakably indi-
cated in sculpture on one of the supporting-stones of the dolmen
{allcc cmivertc) of Bellahaye, at Bourg in the Department of Oise/
and again on a supporting-stone of the dolmen at Dampsmesnil, in
the Department of Eure.'"^ Thus her image may be said to extend
from the Rhone to the sources of the Saone, and from thence to
the N.W., the line on which they are found corresponding,
roughly speaking, with the eastern edge of the dolmen-bearing
districts of France. A very similar figure occurs on prehistoric
pottery from Sardinia.^ The facial traits occur also on bone
carvings which have been found in British barrows, and with
great distinctness in bas-relief on one of the two singularly carved
circular objects found by Canon Greenwell in a Round Barrow in
Britain, and now in the British Museum.* A precisely similar
sculpturing to the latter occurs on one of the stones in the
chamber of New Grange.^ On pottery from Hissarlik, found
there by Schliemann,"' it also occurs, as well as on urns from
tombs of North Germany^ of far more recent date. The
incised representation of an axe, whether on the stones of
dolmens or on natural rocks in siin, is not infrequent. Perhaps
the example which is best known is that which occurs on the
under surface of the covering-stone of the dolmen at Locmariaker,
in Brittany,^ called the Merchants' Table. A slab figured by
Bertrand,^ also from Locmariaker, has five or six hafted axes
engraved on its surface, surrounding a bell-shaped figure, possibly
representing an inverted cinerary urn. Unhafted axes, or rather,
perhaps, flat bronze celts are shaped out in one of the stones of a
cist at Kilmartin, Argyllshire," and at Simrisland,^^ in Scania, and
at a place in Bohuslan ^^ the figures of hafted axes are sculptured
in natural rocks. The best representation of axes, however, which
Scandinavia has produced are those carved in one of the stones of
* "Materiaux pour I'Histoire de rHomme " (1876), p. 17S. The face is here represented by
an oval, below which are the breasts.
* " Materiaux pour I'Histoire dTHomme " (1888), p. 9, et seqq.
' " Voyage en Sardaigne," by M. le IMarquis Ferrero de la Marmora, pi. xxxii.
* " Archxologia," vol. li., pi. i. fig. 2, and pi. ii., figs, i and 3.
* See Mr. Coffey's photograph in the Trans. R.I. Academy, reproduced, supra, fig. 346.
\ " llios," pp. 331-345-
' These urns are found in the Steinkistengriibcr of Pomerania. They are so like old
Etruscan vases and those found by Schliemann, that the latter might have been their prototypes.
See Lissauer, " Die Prahist. Denkmaler," p. 61, ct seqq.
* Simpson, Sir J. V., "Archaic Scuipturings," pi. xxx.
" "Diet. Archeol. in voc. Locmariaker," "les pierres plates."
'" "Scotland in Pagan Times," by Anderson (Bronze Period), p. 89.
•' "Congres Prehist. .Stockholm" (Paper by O. Montelius), vol. i. p. 460.
" Id. p. 472.
France. 579
the unique sculptured cist in the Kivik cairn, near Cimbrisham,
in Bohuslan.f
Folk-lore, which is much more tenacious of the past than
language, religion, historical tradition, or even racial type, has, in
a large number of instances, preserved in the names popularly-
given to megalithic monuments and tumuli the remembrance of
the connection with them, once a reality, and a terrible reality in
all probability, of a goddess of tombs, under the designation of
Witch or Hag. Witches, as we have seen, were believed to
inhabit the tumuli and dolmens of Drenthe. In the Basque
Provinces of Spain, a covered dolmen bears the name Sorguineche,
i.e. "Hag's House," and in the same country another name for
"■ witch," Jorguina, is also found associated with such monuments.
In Ireland, the Calliagh, Cailleac, or Hag, presides over a large
number of these sepulchral sites — probably at one time over them
all — and in some instances her very name is on record. One
interesting name of a female divinity presiding over an ancient
cemetery, where, although there is no dolmen, a fair or assembly
was held in her honour, is that of Tailtiu, daughter of Magmor,
wife of Eochu Garb, son of Dua Teimin, and foster-mother of
Lug, son of Seal Balb. Her name might literally mean " Axe-
Goddess," or, more correctly, "Adze-Goddess," an appropriate one
for her, for which possibly we have, more hibernico, an etymological
explanation in the story that she requested Eochu to cut down a
wood for her, in order that an denach (fair) might be held round
her sepulchral monument {lechi).\ That this is no fanciful inter-
pretation of her name is shown in the case of a name applied
to Patrick, namely, Tailcenn, i.e. Adze- Head, in allusion to
the peculiar tonsure he wore, the whole of the fore part of the
head being shaved, and thus giving it the appearance of an
adze protruding from its socket.§ The association of Tailtiu, a
mythical Irish personage, with a sepulchral site is curious in
connection with what we have adduced in proof that an Axe- or
Adze-Goddess was certainly associated with dolmens and artificial
caves reaching back to the Neolithic Age in France. The con-
stant custom of burying a stone axe with the dead had its origin,
probably, in some cognate superstition.
It is noticeable that while in other countries the female
+ "The Viking Age," by P. B. Du Chaillu, vol. i. pp. 86-88.
% Whitley Stokes, "Rev. Celt.," vol. xvi., No. i, p. 51 (Jan. 1895).
§ Other examples might be quoted, as, for example, MacTal, " Son of the Adze," etc.
580 The Dolmens of Ireland.
divinity of the tombs has been transformed by the force, we may
suppose, of Christian anathema, into a " hag," or evil genius, she
has received better treatment at the hands of the more kindly and
gallant people of France. It is no witch, as at Slieve Callighe, in
Meath, who drops from the gauzy skirts of her robe f the Pierre
Levee (a monolith 9 feet high) at Vieux, but Saint Carissima
herself, whose legend places her in the fifth century. At Verdier,
not far off, is a dolmen around which the people believe that the
Faytillcros (fairies) come in the night to dance.J Not infre-
quently it is the Virgin Mary herself who has taken the place of
the native divinities, and who comes to play at quoits with the
Devil. In the Pyrenees, Christian mythology has supplanted the
Pagan system on its own ground. Shrines of Christian saints
have been placed in the vicinity of the venerated stones, which —
as in the case of the Caillaou de I'Araye — are still visited by the
pilgrims. Nowhere, perhaps, in Europe, with the exception of
Ireland, has the veneratio lapid^tniy inveighed against by Councils,
been retained so long as among the shepherds of the Pyrenees.
Bouquets of flowers are placed by stealth at the foot of the
menhir, and on the table-stone of the dolmen. Young girls come
to them to pray for a lover, and young brides for a child. It
was the Mother of God, they say, who descended upon these
granite blocks and sanctified them. Along the whole of the
Pyrenean range supernatural power is attributed to the fairies
who are called Hados, and in French Fees. They are dressed in
white, inhabit the mountain-tops, and cause salutary plants to
spring up wherever they dwell. They are the presiding genii of
certain wells. On the last day of December, which there seems to
have been substituted for All-Hallow-E'en, each family waits with
anxiety their arrival, and prepares a feast for them. The offerings
made to them consist of thick milk and white bread. If they are
not propitiated, wolves devour the flocks. We hear of them
making their abode in the centre of the mountains, like the Irish
sidhe, whom in all their attributes, and in the veneration paid
them, they so closely resemble.
Besides the ordinary fairies— the diminutive spirits of the
dead — there seem to have been in Pyrenean mythology female
divinities of greater power, who may be regarded as their queens.
t Tliere is a dolmen in Wales (mentioned in the " ArciiKologia Cambrensis ") and called the
Giantess's Apron-full — the very name of which shows an exact parallel to this legend.
X " Archeologie Pyreneennc," by Alex, du Mege, vol. ii. p. 55.
France. 581
Of these, the three principal were Diana, Herodiade and Ben-
sozia. The cultus of these mythological beings is matter of
authentic history in the Middle Ages. Thus we find Aunger de
Montfaucon, Bishop of Conserans, placing among the " statutes "
issued by him in 1274, the following: " Let no women dare to
boast that she rides at night with Diana, goddess of the Pagans,
or with Herodiade and Bensozia. Let no band of women enter
the lists of the divinities, for it is an illusion of the Devil." How
great is the gap in time between this admonition and the present
day, and how completely should we have imagined that all trace
of such rites in Western Europe had been stamped out, had we
not read the evidence in the recent horrible case of witch-burning
in Tipperary, and learned that it was expected that the murdered
woman would be seen at nio^ht ridinof on her witch's horse on the
old ra^/i or /is upon the hill near by ! Is it not true to say that
folklore transcends language, religion, and even racial type ?
Tradition unquestionably associates megalithic monuments —
circles especially — in the Pyrenees with the fairies. Lord Talbot
de Malahide f has described some stone-circles and other remains
in the Department of the Basses Pyrenees, in a paper in the
" Archaeological Journal," accompanied by sketches by Sir Vincent
Eyre. These " so-called Celtic " remains are within a short
distance of Pau, and were the only ones, it is stated, known to
Villemarque, south of Poitou. A group of circles is specially
mentioned in a round valley at a spot called, in the dialect of
Beam, Hondaas de las Hadas, or the " Spring of the Fairies," just
as on the Spanish side Gruta de las Hadas is the name of a
chambered tumulus.
" In the month of May" — so Lord Talbot was informed — " there
are great festivities among the peasantry, who dance and amuse
themselves under the chestnut trees, which form a grove around
the circles." It was considered a "blessed spot," and no evil spirit
could venture to disturb their innocent amusement. The spring
has a still holier character. " It is under the protection of the
Virgin Mary, and its waters are held to be a sovereign remedy
against the diseases of cattle." The circles are very small, the
largest not measuring more than 4 or 5 feet in diameter. In all,
there are between twelve and twenty of them. They are
t •' Archseol. Journ.," vol. xxvii. p. 227, ct seq,j. ; and " Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad.," vol. x, (1S66-69),
p. 472, et seqq.
582
The Dolmens of Ireland.
formed of rough stones common to the country. At a little
distance from the group, on a terrace overlooking the Gave
d'Ossau, are about a dozen similar ones. The stones are,
however, larger. These had been less disturbed than the others,
probably owing to a superstitious dread which prevails in the
Fig. 519. — Stone-circles in the Basses Pyrenees. Afler a sketch by Gcii. Sir Vijicent Eyre, C.B.
neighbourhood respecting them. They are supposed to be
haunted by Loupgarou, a class of fairy answering to the Lepra-
haun in Ireland, and "no peasant would venture to approach
them after dark." In the vicinity there is a small, but very
interesting dolmen, originally buried in a cairn, with a covering-
stone resting on five supporters (Fig. 520).
M. Paul Raymond f notices these remains more explicitly.
He counted forty-three circles in the Vallee d'Ossau, divided into
three groups. The first group is near a chapel called " De
Houdas," at the entrance of a glen which has the reputation of
being haunted by the spirits. It contains twenty-four perfect
circles, of from thirteen to twenty stones each, averaging from
25 to 60 cm. in height. The second group, consisting of six
circles, is a little higher up on the banks of a stream. The third,
comprising thirteen circles, is on a mountain plateau above the
t " Bull, de Comite d'llistoire ct d'ArchcoI. de la Prov. Eccles. d'Auch.
France.
58:
valley. Their diameter varies from 2*50 m. to 8 m. The stones
have a smooth face on the inner side, but are rough externally.
In 1862 M. F. Couraze de Laa reported to the same society
the discovery of five dolmens, one on the road to Urdos, on the
left bank of the Gave, and four in the Vallee d'Ossau. One of
these he describes as " magnifique." The others appear to be
lichaven, or trilithons, and one of them is called Qii^ebe de Barelhole.
Fig. 520, — Dolmen at Buzy, near Oloron, Basses Pyrenees. Afte7- a sketch by
Gen, Sir Vincent Eyre, C.B.
He also mentions a circle (" cromlech," as the French archaeolo-
gists term it) at Bielle.
All these are in the Department of the Basses Pyrenees, in
which M. Bertrandf places five dolmens. In this province is the
little town of Saint Bertrand de Comminges, once the ancient
Lugdunum Convenarum. The citadel occupied the level summit
of a large isolated mass of rock, on which the present village
stands, commanding an extensive view over the plain of Valcabrere
as far as the Garonne, a district in which inscriptions in the Roman
character, mosaics, altars, and coins are frequently found. An
annual fair is held at the village in August, corresponding to the
Lugnasad, or " Lug's Games," held at Tailten in Meath at
Lammastide, in honour of Tailtiu, and instituted, according to the
Irish legend, by Lug, who appears to be one and the same god,
t "Archeol. Celtique et Gauloise."
284 The Dolmens of Ireland.
whether we find him in Scandinavia as Loke, in the Wetter-au
where his statue was, as Lug, in Ireland as Lug and Lugaid,
in Spain, with his fellows the Lugoves at Uxama, or in any of
the many places to which he has given name, Gallia Lugdunensis,
Lugdunum Celtarum (Lyons), Lugdunum Batavorum (Leyden),
Lu<^dunum Convenarum (Comminges), Luguvallium (Carlisle), or,
finally, whether we seek the site of his fortress at Dunlevvey in
Done^i-al, or at Dinlleu in Wales, or that of his grave near the
town of Louth. In Ireland, as in Germany, the site of a dolmen
was also in some cases that of an assembly which gives interest
to the circumstance mentioned by M. Alex, du Mege.f that a
dolmen exists at Comminges. It is called the Pierre de Crcchcts,
and is said to have been placed in its present position by Saint
Bertrand's mule, just as St. Patrick's Grey-Mare deposited her
load in the form of a cairn at Broughderg in Tyrone. Places in
the French Pyrenees bearing the name Pierre FitaJ are, like
those called Piedra Hita in Spain, named from the presence
either now or formerly, of an upright stone or menhir. A great
upright block near Valcabrere is said to turn to the East on
Christmas night.§
In the Department of the Landes, W. Bertrand places only a
single dolmen, which is probably that mentioned by M. Alex, du
Mege, at Saint Circ.||
In the Department of Gironde, which extends across the
Garonne, M. Bertrand places seven dolmens. At Saint Pau, not
far from the ancient capital of the Sotiates (S. of the Garonne),
there was a circle of nine stones called Las Naou Peyros.^ They
are described as nine enormous unhewn blocks, near which stands
a menhir. The monument is on raised ground in the middle of a
wood, and near a lake which bears the same name.
In the Vallee d'Aran, once part of the country of the Garumni
and Convense, stands a rude block called the Peyro de Miech
Ara7i,'\j from the fact that it was supposed to indicate the middle
of the valley. Similar indicating ideas about their middle are
believed by the superstitious to attach to menhirs elsewhere in
France. One between Pont Leroy and Chateau du Rocher is
called the Pierre de MinuitX[. because at the middle hour of night
it is said to turn round. Cambry mentions a stone having a like
+ '• Archeol. ryrcnn.," vol. ii. p. 66. X I^'-. P- ^'2- § Id-. V- 62.
11 Id., p. 63. T 1(1., pp. 61 and 328. tt Id., p. 62. \X Id.
France.
585
gift near Blois, and La Pierre qui toiirne at Morancez, near
Chartres, is of the same class. Menhirs, called dalld7ts or galldns
in Ireland, are frequently pointed out as being in the middle of a
district or townland, and the famous Carrig-a-Chait, or Cat- Rock,
at Ushnagh is said to be the middle of the whole island.
In the Department of the Basses Pyranees, in the tumulus of
f^%^ rt e ^^^S^P^^Csar^eiiS^saig* c^gae^a^^^C^^^
Fig, 521. — Plan of the allie cotivcrte of the tumulus of Halliade, Hautes Pyrenees.
Puy Espy, is an interesting dolmen, which expands in the interior
from a narrow entrance closed by two small stones. It is
paved, and covered over by a slab 2*05 m. in length. f
In the Department of the Hautes Pyrenees, M. Bertrand
places no dolmens. That they do exist there, however, cannot be
Fig. 522. — " ^ Les Pierres fiches'' de tumulus
des Deux Menhirs," Hautes Pyrenees.
From '^ Mat. pour PHist. de V Homme."
Fig. 523. — The dolmen de Puyo-Mayou,
doubted. I have before me, for example, as I write, the plan of
an allh cotivcrte in a tumulus at Halliade,J in this province,
which has a special interest in connection with Irish examples of
the chamber type, such as that in Achill, and those at Lough
Arrow. The plan of the structure will show at a glance how close
the resemblance is. A long narrow chamber, covered by ten
roofing-stones, is divided into five or six compartments or septa,
by means of transverse flags. At right angles to this shaft, as it
were, of the structure, an arm branches off, while on the opposite
side a gap in the stones indicates possibly that formerly there was
another. In this case the arrangement would have been cruciform,
t "Mat. pour I'Histoire de I'Homme " (1884), p. 582.
X Ibid. (1881), pi. xviii.
VOL. II.
586 The Dolmens of Ireland.
although in any case the parallel to the Sllgo and Mayo chambers
is close enough. Another example of a dolmen in this province
which reminds me strikingly of examples in the county of Clare,
and especially of that in the Deer Park, Lemeneagh, will be found
in the " Materiaux pour I'Histoire de I'Homme" (1881, p. 522,
pi. xviii.). It is called the Dolmen de Puyo-Mayou. Together
with this is an illustration of a monument called Lcs pierres fichcs
de tunmlus des detix Dicnhirs, which shows a creep or hollow
formed by a flagstone on edge, raised on the point of another
stone.
A somewhat similar monument is the Mhi-an-tol in West
Cornwall, meaning the " Stone of the Hole."
Pottery, found in tumuli and dolmens in the Basses Pyrenees
and near Lourdes, bears in form and ornamentation a great
likeness to some of the urns found in Ireland and Cornwall,
especially to those with perforated cleats found in the latter
district.f
In 1859 and 1861 M. Charles DuponeyJ was engaged in
collecting materials illustrative of the archaeology and folk-lore of
this department. The answers he received to the questions he
circulated are of much interest. The tumuli are surrounded
with Valiums rising to half their height, apparendy like those to
which Signor Martinez de Padin gives the name of castros in
Galicia. At Lassalles there are three tumuli of this kind, bearing
respectively the names Tepoulet, Casteradon (Fairy's Casde), and
Castera. The generic names applied by the natives to such
artificial eminences are ttuoos, tiiqites, Ittsqucs, ptijoos, 2iX\d, piijolets.
In French they are called mamelons^ which corresponds to the
name for them in the Iberian peninsula, manioas. Some of these
hicoos are, like the round hill-forts or dtcns of the British Isles,
large enough to support a fortification on their summit.
At Lourdes there is a legend that the ancient town once stood
in a place now occupied by an extensive lake, and on the road to
Pontyferre is a huge rock, supposed to be a woman turned into
stone under circumstances recalling the story of Lot's wife. On
Saint John's night, that is. Midsummer Eve, the inhabitants of
Lourdes congregate on the margin of the lake, and lying on the
ground, listen at midnight for the sound, coming from its depths,
t "Mat. pour I'llist. de I'llomme," id. pi. iii.
X See the publications of the SociOte Academique des Hautcs Pyrenees, of which he was
secretary.
France. 587
of the bells of the ancient town. After that they bathe in its
waters, and by the effects of that bath they set great store. M.
Charens, the director of the High School at Lourdes, who com-
municates this legend, thinks that the great rock is a megalithic
monument.
At Argeles, in the district of Balandraii, was a great rock,
supported on another, called the Caillozt ddra Encantado — that is,
the Enchantress's Boulder. Under it, according to a legend, is a
hole which serves for the retreat of the fairy called " La bero det
balandraii." At Avezac, besides two caves inhabited by fairies,
are several tumuli, known by the names Pujoo-Lardou, Pujoo-
Houradaat, Pujoo-de-Lestaque, and Tretze-Pujoos. Near these,
says the legend, a great battle was fought, the sounds of which
may still be heard, and armed horsemen are seen coming out of
the sides of the mound, from which circumstance one of them is
called Houradaat. A similar legend attaches to a tumulus at
Slieve Kielta, in the county of Wexford.
A battle legend is also told of a great pillar-stone on the
mountain of Miremont, near Orincles, and which was said to have
been set up by human agency. The natives say that if this were
to be removed, general disaster to the crops would follow ; an
immense volume of water would rise from the spot where the
stone had stood. No human power could avail to stay the torrent,
which would carry down into the plain the wreck of forest and
mountain. Toulouse itself would be submerged, and its site
strewn with Pyrenean rocks, above which this Pierre Blanche, as
it is called, would lift its head as a memorial of divine displeasure.f
A leofend somewhat resemblino^ this is common in Ireland. It is
generally told of a woman who offended a well by omitting to
replace its cover. Lough Neagh, with the submerged city said to
lie in its depths, was said to have been formed by a flood so caused.
M. V. de Chausenque J says that a long list of venerated rocks
in the Pyrenees might be given. They seem, generally speaking,
to be erratics, which, while the ancient rustic people attributed to
divine agency, modern antiquaries, equally ignorant of their real
origin, attributed to the Druids. Such, seemingly, is the true
account of the Caillaou d' I'Araye, or de la Raille, in the valley of
t " Archeol. Pyrenn.," by A. du Mege, vol. ii. p. 271.
X " Les Pyrenees, ou Voyages pedestres," by M. le Capt. V. de Chausenque, edit. 2, vol. i.
,PP. 354r 355-
58S The Dolmens of Ireland.
Heas, before mentioned, famous for its pilgrimages, and near to
which the shepherds built a little chapel to the Virgin. It is
greatly reverenced, and is described as a great block of gneiss, of
cubical form, from which the pilgrims chip off fragments. With
this we may compare such venerated rocks in Ireland as that on
the summit of Slieve Liag, in Donegal, by the side of which
Christians built a little chapel, called, like the rock, by the name of
a supposed hermit, Aedh Brecain. It is the object of great devo-
tion and pilgrimage, and from it devotees chip off fragments.
M. de Chausenque mentions in the same category a block at
Hagetman, the sacred stones at Heycette at the entrance of
the Vallee d'Aure, certain rocks at Barousse, which look like
altars, and the Pierre de Tou above Lartique de Salabre.f
So closely similar is the folk-lore of the Pyrenees to that
of Ireland, that I am inclined to pursue the subject further.
The worship of wells and lakes is distinctly characteristic of the
Pyrenean cult. It is forbidden to say impious words when
standing near the brink, or to throw stones into the water, a
superstition most prevalent in Ireland, and found, as we have
seen, among the Esthonian Finns. The lake at Gembrie was
held in great veneration. Near it was a rock called the Pierre
de Lios, which was said to have been carried thither ; and not
far off was the " Tombeau de la Geante," or Grave of the Giantess.
The miraculous and holy wells are so numerous that three
classes of them are distinguished. The first comprises those
the w^aters of which are held to be curative at all seasons ; the
second, those whose healing properties are only manifested at
certain periods known to the inhabitants of the country round ;
the third, those which bear the name of Fontaines Solaires,
t It is worthy of note that the word Tawlmen, singularly like the Daulmen, or Tol-men, " Table-
stone," or " Holed-stone," whichever it should be, of the Bretons and Cornish, is used in the
Pyrenees in the sense of a sepulchral monument, such as those set up by the shepherds to the
memory of any one of their number who might have perished in the mountains. The account of
the customs of the shepherd community is given in M. A. du Mege's work ("Archeol. Pyrenn.,"
vol.ii. pj). 24, 31, and 38), on the authority of M. Pages, who communicated a paper upon that subject,
apparently unpublished, to the Academie des Sciences de Toulouse. The passage relating to the
Tawlmen is as follows : " Lorsque les neiges ont disparu, nos bergers se rassemblcnt aux premieres
lucurs du jour ; ils s'arrctent en silence le lever du soleil. Des que I'astre du jour parait, le plus age
d'entr'eux commence une priere, et tout I'ljcoutent dans le recueillement. La priere achevee, ce
veillard, pontife d'un moment, a perdu tous ses droits ; ce n'est plus qu'un patre. Les bergers
partagenl alors entr'eux les moiitagnes oil doivent paltre leurs troupeaux, et les huttes, les cabanes
qui doivent les abriter ; en sortant de la reunion, ces bergers forment de petites peuplades.
Chacune elit son chef ; la couronne est toujours sur des chcveux blancs. Celui qui a porte a le nom
de Vcre, de I'wtix. Lnsuite, les differents chefs s'assemblent ; ils jurent de revcrer ct d'aimer
Dieu ; de montrer la route aux voyageurs egares dans nos montagnes, de leur offrir le lait de leurs
troupeaux, I'eau,^ le feu, I'abri de k-urs chaumicres ; ils y ajoutent la promesse de poser le tawlmen
sur les infortunes que la lar-o ou la toiirb feraient perir ; de reverer les fontaines \coHla eras /louus],
et d'avoir soin des troupeaux."
France. 589
because it is at the summer solstice, when the people believe
that they see the sun dancing in the midst of the morning fog
{ech Soureil que trcpo el dio dc Sant Jouan), that the waters
acquire the power to heal terrible maladies, and to give life and
hope to human beings. On the eve of this great Midsummer
festival, fires, lighted simultaneously, blaze from the banks of the
Gironde to those of the Rhine. It is the custom to leap over the
fires, and afterwards to collect the remains of the pile. Torches
snatched from them, called ha'illas in the language of the district,
illumine the mountain heights alone the whole isthmus which is
traversed by the Pyrenean range. " They announce," says M. du
Mege, "alike to Iberia, to Gallia Aquitania, and to Gallia
Narbonnensis, at the same instant, that the day is about to
return when the sun comes once more to ripen the harvests."
The same writer adds a list of holy wells. At Bourg-de-
Viza was one to which the people resorted on the 5th of May.
The hamlet of Mas Garnier was, until 1789, the scene of a fair
held at the summer solstice on a piece of land where they built a
church of St. John. From the foundations of this edifice
issued the waters of a well, gifted with healing properties.
Thither, before the sun was up, came immense crowds of people,
the greater number of whom bathed in its waters, while others
carried away water for those who could not come. When the
sun appeared, it was said, the waters of the well turned red,
and were no lon^jer efficacious.
To the well De la Mandre, on the day of the summer solstice,
the people of Soreze came in crowds, to await there in silence
the rising of the sun, because then, they said, he would show them
his sacred dance.
A well near the Chateau de Ramondens was resorted to by
brides in hopes of being mothers, and pilgrims might frequently
be seen kneeling and dipping glasses in the basin.
At the Fonteine de la Reine, on the mountain of Candeil, a
queen {regino) presides, and never fails to cure her devotees.
At Toulouse the water has to be drunk out of a new cup,
which is then broken and the fragments thrown into the water,
together with pieces of silver. At a well near Sos is a cave into
which women go to ask the Virgin for milk to nourish their
children. This place is called the Hoim de las Poiipettes (the
Dolls' Well) ; and there is another of the same name near the
590 The Dolmens of Ireland.
ruins of the Chateau Nerac. In Basque the word for the
" poupette " which it was customary to affix to a tree on May-
day was Si/s(7.j
At the brink of a well at Latone, at an oratory bearing the
name of St. Radegonde, is a stone having a cavity scooped in
its surface, said to have been formed by the knees of the saint.
Hither, on the 15th of August, pilgrims came in crowds, to obtain
remedies for ailments in the water which escapes from the basin.
Here we have the exact counterpart of Irish custom and belief.
The bulldn stone, with the story of the knee, is found alike in
connection with wells, crosses, sanctuaries, dolmens, and circles,
resorted to by pilgrims at stated seasons and for a like cause.
Examples of the occurrence of wells by the tombs of saints are
as plentiful in the one country as in the other, and even the
reverence paid to the sacred tree which stands by the well is
known also in the Pyrenees.
Some very interesting comparisons may be drawn between the
superstitious and early cultus which attached to lakes in France
and North-Western Spain on the one hand, and Ireland on the
other.
In Gregory of Tours's " De Gloria Confessorum " we read of
a lake in a mountain called Helanus, in the county of the Gabali,
that is to say, in the diocese of Mende,J north of the Cevennes
Range, in the midst of a district rich in dolmens and menhirs and
rocking-stones.
To this lake, at a stated period of the year, the peasants were
in the habit of resorting for the purpose of throwing into it pieces
of linen cloth, and shreds of men's clothes, by way of offerings.
Some threw in fleeces of wool, but most of them figures shaped
out of cheese, or wax, or bread, and various sorts of things, too
numerous to specify, each individual according to his station of life.
They used to come, too, bringing drink and food in waggons, and
slaughter animals on the spot, and hold a three-days' feast.
Gregory goes on to describe how on one occasion a thunderstorm
dispersed the devotees, after which the cultus of the lake was
transferred to that of St. Hilary of Poitiers.
t It is tempting, but I think inadmissible, to compare this word to the Irish sidhc, and the sitte
of the Lapps. Van Eys, Diet. Basque-Fran9ais, in voc.
\ Mende was called Mimatum Gabalorum, otherwise Anderidum, Anderedon, Anderitum
(comp. Anderida in Britain). It was a bishopric, the first occupant of the see being called
Severinus, and the third Firmin, not to be confounded, however, with the apostle of Austria, and
the saint of Pfcffers. See " Zcdler," vol. .xx. p. 632, and " Greg, of Tours,'' Paris (1696), p. 894.
France. 591
At Loughadrine in the county of Cork is a "sacred lake."
On the side of the hill adjoining it on the north, a clump of furze
was pointed out, says Windele, which was called the "altar," point-
ing not improbably, I think, to the presence here in former times
of a dolmen, since, as in the case of the Bealick at Carrigdangan
which stands on an elevation above Lough Kil Hanna (Johnstown
Lake), and many other Irish dolmens, the brink of a lake was a
situation specially selected for such remains. This so-called
"altar" at Loughadrine was a grand "Station" in the times of
the " Rounds," before the priests interfered to prevent them, as
they have done, says Windele,f of late years. Offerings of rags
were tied on the bushes.
There were several " Station Days " in the year, but the
principal " Stations " were on May Eve. The great " Pattern
Day" was a Saturday in June, when faction-fights took place.
There were floating islets in the lake. The trout in it, on being
boiled, turned into blood. On "Pattern Days" the devotees
flung bread and biscuits into the water to these holy fishes, saying
certain prayers when making the offering. On such occasions
one could take up " kish-fulls " of bread out of the water. Cures
of every kind were effected at this lake. Windele's informant had
a daughter cured of the effect of some stroke (fairy-dart) by the
potency of its waters. As in the Lozere, the period of devotion
was always closed by revelry.
Windele adds to the above account, " Our lake-legends are
worth being collected and examined. Many of these sheets
of water are supposed to cover subaqueous regions — lands of
enchantment and wonder." He proceeds to refer to the lake-
legends in the medieval MSS., notably to "the story of the land
beneath En-Loch, i.e. Bird-Lake, in Magh Ai in Roscommon, into
which Laoghaire Libhan, son of Criomthan, King of Connaught,
went on an adventure." The subaqueous city with its " Round
Towers," which lies beneath Loch Neagh, is well known to
romance.
In the Pyrenees and in the province of Galicia, lake-legends,
according perfectly with those found in Ireland, are abundant.
Villa Amil y Castro states that the legend of the sunken city is
common to nearly all the lakes and pools in Galicia. About
thirty miles from Mondonedo is a lake now named Cama de
t MSS., J. Windele, in Lib. R.I. A., " Coik W. and N.E.," p. 759.
592 The Dolmens of Ireland.
Santa Christina, but in the sixteenth century La Lamas de Gua,
in which the river Tamago rises. In " La Descripcion del reino
de Gahcia de MoHna de Malaga," t it is stated that, at certain
times of the year, the noise of loud and terrible bellowing is heard
arising from the lake. Upon a person's going to that part of the
lake from which this sound proceeds it is immediately heard in
another part. Although no one has ever seen the animal from
which the sound proceeds, it is said traditionally to be a kind of
cow — precisely the Irish Phooca, in fact. The legend is fully
believed in the vicinity. It is also stated, with regard to this
same lake, that, after a dry summer, when the water is low,
quantities of iron objects, worked stones, bricks, tiles, vases, and
other things are laid bare, showing that in former times the place
was the residence of an extensive population. The Padre La
Gandara, who lived in the century succeeding that in which this
account was written, in his " El Cisne Occidental," J tells the same
story. Lastly, Bohan, who, living also in the seventeenth century,
wrote an " Historia del Reino de Galicia," goes so far as to assert
that he had himself heard the bellowing, and seen the objects
discovered.
Near the Bandon Mountain in Cork is a little lake called
Loch-bo-booirha, i.e. " Lake of the Lowing Cow." The Bandon
Mountain itself is called Sliabh-bo-booirha, from the same en-
chanted animal that once lived there.§ North of Ross, also in
Cork, are two lakes, the one called Loiigh-bo-finna, i.e. " Lake of
the White Cow," and the other Lough-a-tarriv, i.e. " Lake of the
Bull." A Piast, i.e. in general, "Serpent," was said to be still at
the bottom of one of the lakes in this vicinity ; but that it was in
this instance akin to the bovine species is clear from the legend
that it used to come up out of the lake, and consort with the cows
on its bank. II The Phooca is often represented as a water-calf,
possibly, however, through some confusion of the name of this
mythical beast with the Latin Phuca — a seal. On a man trying to
drain a lake called Veildeheen (in Desmond), the water lit up, and
a beast came out "like a dunkey," says Windele.*[[
To return to Galicia, Signor Manuel INIorguiaff tells us of
a legendary city called Villaverde [Goidelicc Ba/lyglass] lying
t Printed at Mondoni-do in 1550 (p. 40). J Tom. i. p. 44.
§ MSS., J. Windcle, "Cork W, and N.K.," p. 792.
II Id., p. 529. \ Id., " Topography of Desmond," p. 254.
tt " Historia dc Galicia," Lugo (1865), vol. ii. p. 13.
France. 593
submerged in the lake of Carrigal at Dimo. When the water
is clear there appear at the bottom the ruins of buildings, the
great beams of which are visible. The popular belief is that
this town was submerged as a punishment to the inhabitants who,
when the Virgin came there disguised as a poor beggar, treated
her badly.
M. Cartailhac I regards these stories of sunken towns and of
objects discovered at low water as evidences of the former
presence of lake-dwellings. Signor Villa Annil y Castro com-
pares the legends with those told of the lake of St. Andeol in the
Lozere, and that of Paladru in the Dauphine. M. Alexandre du
Mege, in his " Archeologie Pyreneene," J has noticed some lake-
legends at Toulouse, Beam, and Comminges — the waters at each
of which places were the object of veneration, prayers being
addressed to them, and offerings of bits of silver, woollen stuff
{dtoffes), food and flowers being thrown in. He adverts also to
the story that treasure was concealed beneath the lake of
Toulouse. The tale that it was placed there by the Volcse
Tectosages, and discovered by the consul Caepio, is to be dis-
credited. With this legend of hidden treasure, and with those of
subaqueous cities, we may compare that told of the little tarn
which sleeps beneath the summit of Slieve Callan in Clare, called
Lochbooleynagreine. Near it, at the head of a pass, is the
dolmen of Knockalassa, " Knoll of the Sea-green (Cow)," and
close above it on the hillside is a stone, upon the face of which
is an ogam inscription, and which is called traditionally Leaba
Conain, or Conoin, i.e. Conan's Bed.§ The tradition of the
peasantry regarding this stone was that it marked or covered a
grave, and that should it be removed, and the grave opened, " the
wild, inhospitable mountain would at once become a fertile plain ;
that a beautiful city which lay enchanted in the lake would be
opened by a key which was said to be buried with Conan in his
tomb, and that a great mass of golden treasure was then to be
acquired." ||
The "terrible supernatural being" who, according to M. A.
du Mege, inhabits the depths of the Lac de Tabe in the Pyrenees,
may certainly be compared to the Piast of Lough Veildiheen —
t "Ages prehist. de I'Espagne," pp. 70-73.
X Vol. i. pp. I07-IIO ; vol. ii. xxix. xxx.
g Compare this name with that of Conan's Stone in Co. of Waterford, Ord. Surv. Map No. 17.
II See papers by Sir Samuel Ferguson, Proc. R.I. A., 2nd Ser., vol. i. pp. 160, 167, 265, and 315.
594 The Dolmens of Ireland.
not far from which, by the way, is a dolmen described by Windele
as of considerable size. " This lake," says that writer in his MS.
Notes, " is enchanted. f It contains a great Worm (? Crom), or
Piast. This serpent lies imprisoned under a great tub or vat,
whence is derived the name of the lake. The monster in old
time was a pest to the country, and so powerfully malignant that
no one could approach the mountains, much less the lake. At
length St. Patrick arrived at the Galtecs on his mission of peace
and beneficence, and he held a colloquy with the Piast, who, over-
come by the soft sawder of the saint, consented to try the luxury
of a short sojourn under the cover of a vat which the saint pro-
cured, Patrick promising to set him at large after the day of Luan.
But this was a mere taking advantage of the poor monster's
simplicity, for the Saint's " Luan " is a time more remote than
Tib's Eve, or the Greek Kalends ; and ever and anon the poor
serpent is heard painfully calling out, Is fadda an Luan z a
Phad}'uig, that is, ' It is a long Luan (Monday), O Patrick.' "
A supernatural Piast resides also under the waters of Lough
Keel Hanna,J in the Parish of Kil-Michael and county of Cork.
" The Tarn is a small one, covering about ten acres. It lies in a
moory hollow, interspersed with rude rocks, and is surrounded by
low banks. It contains several floating islands, or rather turfy
tussocks, near its northern shore. The lough is sacred water, and
a place of weekly devotion. The floating islands have been
objects of superstition, apparently from pagan antiquity. * Rounds '§
are given at the part where they lie. Three islands are said to
move, but no eye is upon them when they do so. The reason
why the eastern side of the lake is bald is this : A mower once
used his scythe upon it. Immediately there shot forth from the
island and upward from it a shower of blood, and from that day to
the present no verdure has been produced upon it. The moving
islets, so runs the legend, are three sisters of different ages. The
eldest always leads, when a desire to change arises, and the two
juniors, with sisterly duty, follow. Devout people come here on
Saturday nights, to perform * Rounds.' The religious ceremonies
consist of making three rounds, and saying a rosary on the Sunday.
The water of the lake is then rubbed into such portions of the body
t MSB., J. Windele, "Topography of Desmond," p. 254.
X Id., "Cork Topography," j). 501 ; and " Cork W. and N.E.," p. 509.
§ This circuit seems to me to be the "■ paganus ciirsiis^(\wQm Yrias vocant, scissis pannis vel
calceis,' mentioned in the Capitularies of Charlemagne, Anno 743.
France. 595
as may be afflicted with rheumatism, which is the complaint for
which the water is a remedy."
On the banks of the Lac de Tabe, inhabited by the Piast
above mentioned, no person must speak an impure word, or throw
stones into the water. If they do, a fearful thunderstorm ensues.
This superstition, as to insulting wells and lakes, and causing their
migration in consequence, is found both in Ireland and Esthonia,
as we have seen.
About the Lake of Limia in Galicia many legends are told.
One of these, according to Villa Amil y Castro,f is that an
enormous swarm of buzzing gnats, which in summer-time surround
its waters, are " the enchanted army of King Arthur of England."
How this legend arrived here I cannot tell, unless we look upon
it as an importation coincident with the establishment of a
bishopric at Bretana, which was probably of Breton origin.
Legends of insects, however, seem to be connected with Irish
lakes. The name of the Lake of Connshingann in Cork is
explained by " Glen of the Ants." This lake is said, also, to be
inhabited by a supernatural Water-Serpent of monstrous length
and bulk, having a horse's head and mane. He sometimes rises
and disports himself on the surface.
At the Lake of Gougann Barra, also in Cork, I was told the
legend of St. Finnbarr and the Serpent or Dragon, who used to
dwell beneath its waters, until slain at the rapid and fall through
which it discharges its waters. Luan, a servant of Finnbarr,
was standing on the brink when the Piast rose and swallowed
him. Finnbarr was away, but returning, and finding what had
happened, he cursed the snake, who forthwith fled to the
river, and, after having vomited Luan into the first pool, was
there slain.
With the name Luan I am inclined to connect the name
Vincehma, which is explained " Lunse Defectio " in the Cartularies
of Charlemagne, and the superstitions connected with which are
there forbidden. On the occasion of an eclipse of the moon it
was believed that it had been swallowed by a monster, who could
only be forced to release it by being frightened by noise.
People therefore assembled and made all the noise in their
power by shouting and other means. The monster who com-
mitted the atrocity seems to have been the sun. Upon this
t " Antiguedades," Lugo, p. 75.
596 The Dolmens of Ireland.
subject some very curious passages might be quoted. f A similar
belief in a dragon swallowing the moon obtains in China ; and in
Japan, on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun, people assemble
and clash together sounding metal, to make her look out of the
cave in which she is concealed.
In the Department of Ariege,J Vl. Bertrand places eight
dolmens. In that of Pyrenees Orientales there are said to be ten,
Fig. 524. — Dolmen under tumulus in the Gorge de la Vail, Pyrenees Orientales. From a rough
titgraving i/i ^^Mat. pour V Hist, de P Homme,"
bordering on those in Gerona and others in North-Eastern Spain.
In this Department INI. V. de Chausenque § specially mentions that
of Vicdessos ; and another writer, in the " Materieux pour I'Histoire
del'Homme," || figures and describes two — one under a tumulus in
the Gorge de la Vail ; the other called Balma (flagstone) del Moi'o,
or otherwise the Dohien de la Roqiie. In the Department of
Aude ]\I. Bertrand places four, and in that of Tarn, to the north
of it, twelve. Of the megalithic remains found in these districts
M. du Mege has much to say. He reminds us that in early
t Plutarch, " Life of -Fmilius," Langhorne, p. 193 : "The Romans, according to their custom,
made a great noise by striking upon vessels of brass, and held up lighted faggots and torches in the
air in order to recall the moon's light." Tac. "Ann.," lib. i. p. 28 ; Juvenal., vi. (Delph. edit.),
J). 443 ; Liv., lib. xxvi. p. 5 ; Senecse " In Hippol.," notce M. A. Delrius, 1576, p. 168 : " Tinnitus
deaimus ; solebant antiqui pelvium tinnilu et tubarum strepitu deficienti lumi; auxiliari ut apud
poetas passim." See also Andoen's *' Vita .S. Kligii," in Archery's " Spicclegium," p. 97, where
this superstition is mentioned together with a number of pagan practices forbidilen to Christians —
the most curious list of them — which is preserved : " Nulius, si cjuando luna obscuratur, vociferare
pnvsumat." See also Pede, " De Remediis Peccatorum," in the " Canones Paenitent." of Ant
Augustin Archepis, Tarracon., 1584, p. 1 16 : " Nolite exercere, quando luna obscuratur, et clamoribus
ac maleficiis sacrilego usu, se defensare posse confidunt ; " also S. Maximus, Epis. Taurinensis, Romiv,
1684, p. 334, Homilia C, De defectu Luna;: "Nam cum ante dies plerosque de vestrre avaritia;
cupidiiate pulsaverim, ipsa die circa vesperum tanta vociferatio populi extitit, ut irreligiositas ejus
penetraret ad ccelum. (^uod cum requirerem quid sibi clamor hie velit? dixcrunt mihi quod
laboranti luna; vestra vociferatio subveniret, ct defectum ejus suis clamoribus adjuvaret. Risi
cquidem," etc. This homily, in a Vat. Codex (4951, p. 213), is attributed to S. Augustin, and
headed *' Ad eos qui defectum luna' suis clamoribus adjuvare nituntur ; " also Pope Gregory IIL,
" De Diversis Criminibus," in "Bib. Patr.," De la Bigne, Paris, 1610, vol. vi. p. 512: "Si quis
maleficus aut malefica hlium suum aut fdiam supra tectum aut in fornace pro sanitate febrium
posuerit, vel quando Luna oliscuratur, vel clamoribus suis vel maleficiis sacrilego usu se defensare
nossc confidunt, vel ut frater in honore, Jovis vel Beli aut Jani, secundum paganum consuetudincm
honorare presumpserit, placuit secundum antiquam consuetudincm sex annos paniteant."
\ " Arcix^ol. Celt, et Gaul " (1S76), p. 144.
§ "Lcs Pyrenees," /£7c-. t//. Il 1887, p. 440.
France.
597
historic times this was the country of the Volcse Tectosages.
He finds, also, certain names of places which indicate here as
elsewhere the presence of ancient monuments ; as, for example, the
Peyro Traucado in the Bois de Belene, called the Pierre Trouee
de Moelan, and the Peyros d'Antix near Martignac. At
Malves, in the country of the ancient Atacini— so called because
Fig. 525. — The Balma del Moro, Pyrenees Orientales. After a rough engraving in
' ' ATat. pour FHist. de rHonime.''^
they bordered on the river Atax, now the Aude — there stands, he
says, a menhir 7 m. high, 2 m. broad, and about i m. thick.
Menhirs are also found at Alet, Peyroles, Belcastel, and in the
arrondissement of Carcassone.
Proceeding northwards into the Department of Tarn, we find
mention of the dolmen of Andouque, called the " Tomb of the
Three Kings," or, as the Christians called it, "of the Magi."
Of the monolith at Vieux, and the legend regarding it, I have
already spoken.
At Vaour, in the Department of Tarn et Garonne, is a dolmen
a good illustration of Avhich will be found in the volume of the
" Congres Internationale d'Anthropologie " for 1868 f (Fig. 526).
In the country of the Albienses, on that side of it which
touched the borders of the Tasconi and Cadurci, are the remains
of stone circles and also a dolmen. J The Palet de Notre Dame
and the Palet du Diable, near the town of Alban, have been before
noticed. The most famous of these Pyrenean " Quoits " is the
Palet de Roland (Fig. 527) at Arles-sur-Tech in the Department
of the Pyrenees Orientales, on a spur of the Carrigon, a view of
t n. iv.
X " Archeol. Pyrenn.," vol. ii. p. 57.
598
The Dolmens of Ireland.
which is given in " Materiaux pour THistoire de rHomme."j In
the same locality is a trilithon on a hill called Lo Troulierro, which
bears the name Lou Sent Rouoc. It is situated in the district of
the Rutheni, near the border-line of Herault.
This monument is, like others before noticed, attributed
Fig, 526. — Dolmen clc Vaour (Tarn ct Garonne). I'rom ""Congrh d'Anik. et d'Archcol." 186S.
popularly to the Virgin Mother of the Christians* God, who
seems universally throughout this district to have taken the
place of the elder and native divinities. The supporting-stones
Fig. 527.— The " Palet de Roland," at Arles-sur-Tech, Pyrenees Orientales. From
" 3rat. pour PIIisL dc P Homme:'
she is said to have carried under her arms, the transverse stone
poised upon her head, and for all this, during the time it took her
to complete the distance from the quarry where the stones were
t Vol. for 188S, p. 100.
France. 599
cut to the spot on which she set them up, her hands being free
and provided with a distaff, she covered the spindle seven times
with a fine silken skein. Traditions of its having been a tomb
also attach to this monument, and it probably is a ruined dolmen.
The Lou Sent Rouoc overlooks to the north a larofe fertile
plain called La Coumbo (valley) of Auribal, where there is a
dolmen, and also a tradition of a bloody battle. To the north of
this, again, is a dolmen, or Cibouiniid,\ and around it a number
of small stone heaps, the debris of tumuli. The place is called
Carroillasses. West of the Lou Sent Rouoc is another dolmen
of large size, and a line of ten others, more or less denuded of
their tumuli, one of which (the covering-stones had been
removed) measured 15 m. long.
Rocking-stones are met with in the same district, among
which the best known was the Pierre Martine. Near it were
two menhirs, 30 paces apart, the one 15, the other over 20 feet
high. The place where they stand is called Belinac. Other
rocking-stones exist in the district called Sidobre, near Castres.
Of the antiquities of the Province of Herault we are
fortunate in possessing an excellent map drawn up by AL Cazalis
de Fondouce.;|; The number of dolmens there indicated is sixty-
three, the same number which jNL Bertrand assigns to it. They
are divided into two principal groups — the one at the extreme
S.W. of the Department, in the mountainous districts of the
ancient Pagus Narbonensis ; the other in the country known as
the Pagus Lutevensis, in the north central portion. Small groups
of twos and threes occur — also in the mountains — to the E.
of these, in what was the Pagus ^Nlagalonensis, whence they
extend through Card and Ardeche (where there are no fewer
than two hundred and twenty-six) to the banks of the Rhone.
The presence of one isolated example in the S. of Herault, in the
Pagus Agathensis, as well as that of a few in Var and the Alpes
Maritimes, proves that the limits of the people who erected
them were not wholly or always confined to the mountainous
districts alone.
I have hitherto endeavoured to keep myself free from
hazarding any theory as to whether the people or peoples by
t Literally " ash-heap." a name not infrequently used in France to designate the heap mixed
with charcoal and ashes which covered a dolmen or cist, and hence the structure itself.
J Published in the " Memoires de la Socicte Archeol. de Montpellier" for 1881, vol. vii.
p. 273, d seqq.
6oo The Dolmens of Ireland.
whom the dolmens in Europe were erected can be traced
ethnologically to any of those races or tribes to whom History
presents us as the inhabitants of these regions when first she
lifts the veil. The discoveries, however, which have been made
in the dolmens in this part of France force upon us the considera-
tion of the survival of this class of monument into the later ages
of archaeology.
From an ethnographic point of view the remarks of M. Cazalis
de Fondouce on this point are of considerable value. The
discoveries made in the Herault dolmens consist not only of
flint arrow-heads, but of rings and arrow-heads of bronze, also
articles of glass, amber, and even pottery of the Roman period,
all which go to prove that, however remote in origin these ancient
monuments may be, the custom which prompted their erection
for purposes of sepulture covered in survival a very extended
period, reaching to even more recent times than the close of the
Bronze Age, to which epoch, however, the greater number of
them may be most safely assigned. Some of the dolmens in this
Department, as in those of Aveyron, Gard, Lozere, Ardeche,
and in the Cevennes district generally, are found to be of the
same wedge-shaped type (in ground-plan) which is found in
Germany on the N.E., and in Southern Portugal on the S.W.
In these, and in the sepulchral caves of the same district, are
found more objects of pure copper than of bronze, and M.
Cartailhac attributes them to a period of transition between the
Ages of Stone and Metal — to a Copper Age, in fact.f
In the mountainous regions especially — so well adapted to
shelter old populations and sustain old practices, while the littoral,
being on the high-road of commerce, adopted the customs and
arts of foreign civilization — we find the dolmens, as might be
expected, in greatest number. A coast route connected what is
now the Department of Herault with Spain on the one hand
and with Italy on the other. The Phoenicians had possessed,
at a period which has been assigned to the fifteenth century
B.C., an extended line of colonies and markets all around the
western basin of the Mediterranean. For the transport of
merchandize, routes were established which traversed the country
of Nemausus, and passed into Spain and Italy. Under the
Romans these routes became the Domitian and Aurelian Ways.
t " Ages prchist. de I'Espagtic," p. 212.
France. 6oi
Polybius, who wrote in B.C. 154, tells us that these routes were
already in existence before the Second Punic War, and mentions
an ancient road which, starting from Carthagena in Baetica,
passed through Emporiae in Catalonia, and traversing the
Narbonaise, led to the Rhone. This road, says M. C. Charvet,
was already in existence before the Romans made themselves
masters of the country, and was, doubtless, the work of the
native tribes, the more civilized of whom, long before the Roman
conquest, had been initiating themselves in the art of constructing
great public works. The facilities, therefore, for close and constant
intercommunication between the tribes occupying Western Italy,
Southern Gaul, and Eastern Spain, were, from the earliest times,
very great indeed. f
Now, the people who occupied Languedoc when the Romans
conquered it in b.c. 121, were the Volcae, called, as it is
certainly curious to note, "Belgae" in some Codices of Cicero.J
They were divided into the Arecomici, who occupied the Bas-
Languedoc, and the Tectosages, who occupied the rest of the
province on the Toulouse side. The line of demarcation between
these two tribes of Volcae, running from north to south, would
have divided the present Department of Herault into two unequal
parts. These peoples, says M. Cazalis de Fondouce, whose
capitals were respectively Nismes and Toulouse, have left
behind them but few traces of their presence. In no case could
their monuments be traced very far back if, that is to say, we
accept the view taken by M. Amedee Thierry, and regard these
Volcae as an offshoot of the Belgae, who, at a date which he fixes
as the fifth century b.c, coming from the north-east, penetrated
like a wedge across the populations who occupied the coast of
the Mediterranean, and south-central Gaul. On these grounds
it is concluded by M. Cazalis de Fondouce that the dolmens
cannot be assigned to them.
Without committing myself to any theory with regard to the
origin of the Volcae, — and while feeling quite unable to admit their
identity with the Belgs, — the plausibility of the view which would
connect one branch of them (the Tectosages) with the Tectosages
whom Caesar found dwelline in wealth and honour in his own
time on the further side of the Rhine, in the Hercynia Silva,
t M. Cazalis de Fondouce, op. cit., p. 276.
X See Roget de Belloguet, " Glossaire Gauloise," 2nd. edit. (Paris, 1872), p. 402.
VOL. II. , U
6o2 The Dolmens of Ireland.
is beyond dispute. Equally is it beyond dispute that time was
when the pioneers of the Aryan speech, whoever they were,
were driving across Gaul the "wedges" of that language which
philologists have arbitrarily chosen to term " Celtic," and which
in process of time ousted all other forms of speech, imposing
itself upon the Ligurian populations, if, that is to say, these latter
peoples did not themselves possess already the germs of Aryan
speech,f and driving back the Aquitanian tongue into those
mountain passes where the latter still exists, perhaps in modified
survival, as one form of Basque, side by side with the not-
distantly related dialects of Spanish Basque, and tracing back, in
common with them, to a long-lost and ancestral Iberian stock.
That the Volcae Tectosages in Languedoc may have been
originally one of these " wedge " people who brought the Celtic
language is likely enough, but that they were an off-shot of those
in the Hercynia Silva, as M. Thierry supposed, is in direct
opposition to the explicit testimony of Caesar, J whose statement
about these people is that they it was who, crossing the Rhine,
and therefore passing eastward, had overcome the Germans, and
occupied the most fertile portions of the country around the
Hercynia Silva.
With regard to the general question of the spread of the
Celtic language in the regions of the Rhine, while on the one
hand Etymology, as interpreted by Mlillenhof, gives us reason
to suppose that it was once the spoken language of the North
of Germany as far east as the Weser, and perhaps beyond it,
whence we may suppose it to have been pressed westward by
advancing Teutons, History, on the other, taking cognizance of
later times, shows us that the German peoples further south were
giving way before those tribes who spoke this Celtic tongue, and
who, as Helvetii and Boii,§ Vindelici, Recti, Norici, and Carni,
were carrying their speech southward over the heights of the
Alps, or eastward down the Danube. That at a very early date
Celtic-speaking peoples had made their way into Greece and Asia
Minor, there is no room for doubt. Plutarch's mention of Celto-
Scythes on the Pontus, at a far later date, would seem to indicate
the presence of an element there neither German nor wholly
Scythian, nor Mongol, but which was recognized as having had
its origin in the West.
t See above, p. 526. ; " B. Gall.," vi. 24. <} "Tac. Germ.," 28.
France. 603
At the dawn of history, then, the tendency of the Celtic-
speaking peoples in Gaul was towards the South and East. For
this movement some cause of displacement must be looked for,
such as a movement of north-eastern or Baltic tribes over the Rhine
and around the northern and western coasts of France. Of such a
movement the tradition of the Belese that their ancestors had
crossed the Rhine may be evidence, as also the similarity of the
names of the peoples on the Southern Baltic and in Northern
Gaul.f The origin of the Celtic language — the first instalment
of Aryan in the West — was in the East, however, on the Middle
VolgaJ, where brachycephali and dolichocephali dwelt side by
side. Who, then, were the peoples whom the Volcse would have
found already settled in Languedoc ? In the first place, there
were those foreigners who had founded cities and established
commercial centres at various points along the littoral — the
Phoenicians, the Rhodians, the Phoca;ans, and others. At the
date to which belono- the materials which served Festus Avienus
as the basis of his geography, and which some place as early
as the sixth century B.C., the Rhone divided the Ligyes or
Ligures from the Iberes. The Helisyci, who, according to
Avienus, were the earliest inhabitants of the country about
Narbonne, are called, however, by Hecatseus a Ligurian tribe.
Scylax assigns to the Ligurians the coast of the Mediterranean
as far as the mouth of the Rhone, while the district from that
river to Emporiae in Spain he describes as one in which Iberes
and Ligures were intermingled. Thucydides, again, speaks of the
Ligures as having expelled the Sicani, an Iberian tribe, from
the banks of the Sicanus in Ibei'ia. ^schylus represents Hercules
as contending with the Ligurians on the stony plains near the
mouth of the Rhone — a legend found also in Pomponius Mela,
where two giants, Albion and Dercyon (or Bergion }), are put
in place of the Ligurians, and seem to represent two native
peoples with whom Hercules (representing the Greek colonies)
had to contend. Herodotus speaks of the Ligures as occupying
the country above Marseilles. In Italy they were to be found
around the Gulf of Genoa, with an extension southward into
Etruria, a country subsequently held by the Tyrrheni. Stephen
t e.g. Veneti ; Lemovii (Lemovici) ; Curi, Osili (Curio-solites) ; Vinili (Unelli) ; Osii (Osismii) ;
Galindas (Caletes) ; and perhaps luchti (Pictones).
X This view, held by Schrader and others, dispenses with the objection that dolicephali must
necessarily have carried the Arj'an language into Western Europe.
6o4 The Dolmens of Ireland.
of Byzantium connects their name, but unauthoritatively, with that
of the river Liger, the Loire.
The opinions of modern critics are as conflicting as is the
testimony of early writers with regard to these people. Some
French authorities, and among them M. Cazalis de Fondouce,
have reo-arded them as the precursors of the " Indo-Europeans,"
in which view, provided the term be used philologically, and not
ethnologically, the theory I venture to propound concurs. The
Lio-ures would have found on their arrival the Iberes, who are
reo"arded as the autochthones in possession of the country. Cer-
tain it is that these Ligures are clearly distinguished from the
Iberes on the one hand, and from the only Celts known to
ethnology on the other, for with both these peoples they are
represented to have been at war at one time, and intermingled
at another.f
When we speak of Celts, we must remember that this term
had two meanings, which have been a fertile source of inex-
plicable confusion. These meanings take their rise from two
seemingly conflicting statements of Ccesar, from the first of
which we gather that the people called Celtae belonged only to
the portion of Gaul which formed a central band between the
district occupied by the Aquitani on the S.W., and that occupied
by the Belgse on the N.E., and from the second of which we quite
as distinctly derive the information that Galli and Celtae are
synonymous terms, which would extend the meaning of the latter
term not only to the inhabitants of the whole of Gaul, but (as we
find it used in later writers) to those of Gallic descent in other
lands as well.J Celtica, it may be said in parenthesis, in the sense
in which Herodotus and the earlier writers use it, carried with
it no ethnological meaning whatever, any more than the term
Scythia, the latter being used as a general geographical term
including all the region north of the Danube and the Black Sea,
and the former including all the country adjoining it to the north-
west, bounded by the coast of France, the British Isles being
specially excluded, and spoken of as " opposite Celtica."
t Avienus, " Ora Mar.," 132-137 ; Skylax, " Gail," i. 237 ; Stiabo, " Geog.," 4, p. 200.
X Procopius speaks of the mountains in which the Danube rises as the Celtic mountains, and
then applies the same name to those in which the Rhine rises. Zosimus informs us that in Rhaitia
there were Celts. It is curious to observe that among the later Byzantine writers the word Celtic
regained its most ancient meaning, for it was applied to any people, irrespective of their language,
who came from the N. and W. of Europe. Pachymeres calls the Varangian guard " Celts," and
Zonaras calls the Germans — for whom the Sclavonic name was Nemic or Nemitz — a Celtic nation.
France. 605
The question then arises, "Who were the 'only Celts known
to ethnology' — the Celtae, namely, of central Gaul — whom Caesar
locates there ? " While not actually identical with the Ligurians,
whose ancestral type of race is represented by those pronouncedly
brachycephalic skulls which are found in the dolmens of the
Lozere, the Celtae, too, were brachycephalic, and, according to
M. Broca, their type was that which is found in survival in the
heads of the Auvergnats at the present day. The representative
of the earlier Ligures is the modern Ligurian of North Italy,
whose cephalic index is 86, while that of the Auvergnats is 84.
The discovery of the brachycephalic skulls, together with a
few dolichocephalic ones, and some of mixed or medium type in
the dolmens of the Lozere, while in those of Aveyron only
dolichocephalic skulls were found, seems to have weighed with
M. Mortillet in coming to a conclusion that there was in reality
no dolmen-building race, by which I understand him to mean that
the custom of erecting these structures appertained to no one
people, nor had any common place of origin. I think, myself, that
the truth on this point lies too deeply hidden in an impenetrable
past to admit of any definite conclusion on the subject. In
France, in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, we clearly have two
races occupying the country side by side, and subsequently inter-
mingling, and the dolmens present us with the skull-types of all
three, that is to say, of each of the extremes and of the middle
one, which so largely predominates that it has become known as
the dolmen-builder s skull. As a parallel to these data we have
at the dawn of history two races dwelling side by side — on the
one hand the Iberes, who were dolichocephalic, and, on the other,
the Ligures, followed by the Celtae, who were brachycephalic ;
and, besides these, in evidence of the intermingling which was
taking place, " Ligues {i.e. Ligures) and Iberes mixed " (/xtyctSe?),
as well as Celto-Ligues and Celtiberi.
Some of the discoveries in the dolmens in Herault belonged,
as we have seen, to the Iron Age and to historic times. May
we not see in these the sepulchres of the mountaineers who,
descended from these races, preserved the customs of their
ancestors ?
M. Cazalis de Fondouce would put the Ligues out of the
question, and, regarding the Iberes as autochthonous, would refer
the dolmens to them alone — a view which would ignore the fact of
6o6 The Dolmens of Ireland.
the immense divergence of racial type which an investigation of
their contents discloses. That the Iberes were the primitive in-
habitants, and may have been the descendants of dolichocephali
of the Neolithic Age, I do not doubt, but the lessons derivable
from the artificial caves of the Marne, and from the natural
caves of Belgium,! show us that the brachycephalic race was
not far behind in point of time. There is reason to believe
that both these races, — the Turanian and the Iberian or Atlantic,
— worshipped the spirits of the dead whose remains they buried
first in natural, and then in artificial caves. As in the course
of time they met, whether in war or peace, there would be
an assimilation of custom. The closed cist in the tumulus,
which experience directs us to associate with the brachycephali,
would expand into the elongated form of the dolmen, and be
provided with an aperture, or means of access to the tomb, while,
on the other hand, the dolmen would, as is found to be the case
with the caisses class of dolmens of the French antiquaries, assume
the appearance of an enlarged cist. In dolmens thus modified, we
might expect to find what, indeed, we do find, the medium type
of skull known as the " dolmen-builder's."
Having spoken of the Iberes of history as possibly the de-
scendants of the original dolmen-builders of South-Western France,
it is essential that I should say something of the Basques, in
whose country, as we have seen, a series of megalithic remains
occur side by side with a folk-lore which, from a comparative
point of view, is of very great interest, having its affinities in
Ireland and Esthonia.
With regard to their language, so much has been written that
the subject forms a literature in itself. A very curious reason has
been brought forward by the Abbe Inchauspe J for carrying it back
even into the Neolithic Age. In Basque aitz or atcJi signifies
"a stone," "pierrede roche," the Spanish "pena," and the Latin
" saxum." The word for an axe is aitzcora, literally, he says, "a
hafted stone ; " a pickaxe is aitzura, literally, " a stone for tearing
or hacking " {ddc/nrer) ; a knife is aizttoa, literally, " a small stone ; "
and a pair of scissors, aiztirac, " a small stone for hacking purposes."
With regard to this "bed-rock language "of the Pyrenees, four
dialects of which are still recognized, spoken by two perfectly
distinct types of men anthropologically considered, it may be
t e.g. The Trott Rosette on the Lesse. % Quoted by M, Cazalis de Fondouce, loc. cit.
France. 607
taken for granted that it has existed ages out of mind in the
mountainous region where it lives to-day. Some writers have
held that from barbarous ages until the present day it has never
extended far beyond the limits in which we find it, since the
rudimentary condition in which it presents itself, and its power-
lessness to express abstract ideas, show that it cannot be looked
upon as descending from a stock once belonging to people in a
high state of native civilization, such as the Iberes were on the
one side, and the Aquitani on the other. Of its relation to
these two peoples respectively, and their relation to each other,
M. Luchaire,t who made a cautious and careful study of the
question from the etymological point of view, speaks as follows : —
" At the time of Strabo, Pliny, and Ptolemy, there existed in
the southern, central, eastern, and north-eastern parts of Spain,
certain localities, the names in which are capable of probable
explanation, both as regards their form and meaning, by the
Eskuara {i.e. Basque), still spoken in a corner of the Pyrenees.
These names are so numerous and the likenesses so striking
that we can safely conclude that a language other than Celtic
was spoken, in ancient times, throughout a great part of the
Spanish territory, and that this language was related to the
Basque. At the same time we must be careful not to infer,
with Wilhelm von Humboldt,J the ethnic identity of an Iberian
people with the Basques as the latter exist to-day, nor even
a linguistic identity between the ancient Spanish form of speech
with the Eskuara. We must be content to have established
the incontestible fact that a relationship existed between the
two languages, and we shall then have arrived at the utmost
point that we can with certainty reach in the ' Iberian Question'
{la Thdorie ibdrienne). We shall have before us enough to
render extremely probable the hypothesis that in the Basque
we recognize the last representative of a family of languages
which had once dominated the entire Spanish Peninsula."
Upon the relationship of the old Aquitanian language to the
Iberian and the Basque, M. Luchaire says : " The direct
information furnished us by the ancient writers on the subject
of the Aquitanian language amounts to very little. Caesar simply
t •' Les Origines linguistiques de I'Aquitaine," par A. Luchaire, Pau, 1877, from the " Bulletin
de la Societe des Sciences, Lettres, et Arts de Pau."
X "Pruefung der Untersuchungenueber die Urbewohnes Hispaniens vermittelst der Waskischen
Sprache," 1821. Humboldt worked out a tlieory already propounded by Hervas and Leibnitz.
6o8 The Dolmens of Ireland.
states that the Aquitani were distinguished in their language from
the Celtce and the Belgai. Strabo, more expHcit, says that the
language of the Aquitani differed completely from that of the
Celts, and approached more nearly to that of the Iberes.f But
the resemblance between Aquitani and Iberes did not, according
to him, end there, for it was also in their physical characteristics
that these two peoples resembled each other, and were differentiated
from the Celts." We here recall the fact that in the " Life of
Aoricola," J Tacitus notes the resemblance which was observed
by the Roman general, who had himself served in Spain, between
the Silures of South Wales and the Iberi, so that, following
Strabo, the Aquitani would also have resembled the curly-haired,
swarthy, long-headed, plucky little Welshmen.
" To these positive assertions of Caesar and Strabo may
be added, firstly, that certain customs, such as the devotio,\
or bond by which certain warriors called soldiirii pledged
themselves to serve their chief in life and death, were common
to the Iberes and the Aquitani ; secondly, that the two
peoples lived on terms of intimacy, and made common cause
against the Romans ; || thirdly, that in primitive times the
name ' Iberia ' was extended to the Aquitanian country," and,
fourthly, that Iberes were dwelling, as we have seen, next to the
Ligures, in what was afterwards Gallic territory. From these
facts M. Luchaire infers, " that the Aquitani were linked to
the Iberes of Spain by a bond of real relationship, and that their
language was either an important dialect of the Iberian, or an
idiome related to it, and consequently that the Aquitanian language
itself belonged also to that family of language which is represented
at present by the Basque " — the last survivor of a primitive stock
which once covered we know not how much ground in Western
Europe. The great caution which is observable in all that
M. Luchaire has written on this subject only permits him
to admit that the evidence he has so far adduced from the
ancient writers furnishes only a presumption in favor of a thesis,
and not actual proof, and he therefore produces in evidence certain
nouns-substantive supposed to have belonged to the language of
t See Cces., "De B. Gall.," i. i ; Strabo, " Geog.," iv. 2; Pliny, iv. 31 and n; Pomp.,
" Mela," iii. 2 ; Amni., *' Marc," xv. 29.
X " Vit. Agrlc," ii.
§ Plutarch, " Sartorius," 14.
II Monimsen, " Hist. Rom." (French translation by M. Alcxanchc), vol. v. \^. 16S; vol. vii.
pp. 8, 9, di.
France. 609
Aqultaine, as well as proper names on coins and in inscriptions.
With regard to the majority of the words, he regards them as
Celtic f in form, in use among the Bituriges at Bordeaux, and the
Volcce Tectosages at Toulouse. The names, too, of the kings
of the Sotiates | on coins seem to be Celtic. With respect to
those in the inscriptions, however, M. Luchaire finds many which
he does not hesitate to attribute to the Aquitanian language.
Some of the names of the gods § have " an incontestably Basque
character." Certain names of men and women, of which he gives
a list, can, with great probability of truth, be explained by the Basque
language. These are sometimes comparable to proper names
actually in use in the districts in which the Esktiara, is spoken ;
sometimes, too, with the names of Pyrenean seigneurs found in
medieval documents, which do not appear to be either Celtic,
Germanic, or Roman.
From the Straits of Gibraltar to the Garonne is a large slice
out of the map of Western Europe, and yet throughout this entire
stretch of country we have reason for thinking that one race and
one stock of languages, now only found in survival in the Pyre-
nees, once prevailed. Did this race and this form of speech ever
reach further north, into Brittany, into the British Isles ? Of
the primitive people and language of Brittany we know nothing,
except that there are clustered an immense number of those
megalithic remains which are common to the whole Atlantic coast.
In the British Isles we have one primitive people at least,
seemingly the survivors from Neolithic times, namely the Silures,
who are specially selected by so competent a witness as Agricola as
worthy of mention in respect to the likeness they bore to the Iberes.
With the Silures, the evidence on the subject of nigrescence would
lead us to class the dark short race of Western Ireland, a country
filled with dolmens, and perpetuating a whole system, as we may
call it, of folk-lore and superstition which even in detail reproduces
precisely that which still survives in the mountains of the
Pyrenees. Can we fail to feel impelled to the conclusion that the
northern boundaries of the Aquitani were by no means the limit
t See"Ueber die Marcellischen Formein," J. Grimm, 1855; The prescriptions of the doctor
Marcellus contain words in which the combinations^, cr, scr, occur, admissible in Celtic, not in
Eskuara. See also Virgil the Grammarian quoted in " Ethnogenie Gauloise, Glossaire Gauloise,'
by Roget de Belloguet (Paris, 1S72), pp. 416, e( seqq.
X " Revue Numismatique," 1851, p. II.
§ Roschach, "Catalogue des antiquites et des objects d'art du musee de Toulouse," 1865 ;
Roget de Belloguet, op. cit. ; A. du Mege, " Archeol. pyrenn. ;" Sansas, *' Congres scientifique de
Bordeaux," 1861, vol. iv. p. 176.
6io The Dolmens of Ireland.
in prehistoric times of this non-Aryan, pre-Aryan stock, but that
it extended yet further northward, so as to include North-
Western France, and portions of the British Isles, and possibly has
left traces of its presence also wherever in Sweden, or Denmark, or
Germany, or Holland, the long-headed short race is found in con-
nection with the dolmens — where, that is to say, the gcing-grifter,
the hunebcddcn, the giants graves^ are the names by which the
people of those northern lands know monuments which are to all
intents and purposes, and very frequently in minute details of
construction, identical with the antas, the galcrfas, the grottes des
fics, and the tonibes dcs geants of the Iberian peninsula, the northern
valleys of the Pyrenees, and, as we shall see, the islands of the
Mediterranean respectively ?
There is a theory which would answer this question, and
account for the parallel phenomena which archaeology presents.
I propound it with hesitation and deference. It is this : — •
While still in their Neolithic epoch, and commencing to erect
their elongated dolmens in place of the caves which, whether
natural or artificial, they had previously employed for the burial
of their dead and the rites connected with sepulture, the dolicho-
cephalic inhabitants of France and Spain found themselves
pressed westward by an immigration into their country of a
brachycephalic race coming from the east and north-east of Europe.
If such were the case, traces of the later stages of the progress
of the incomers may have reached us from the earliest historic
period in the traditions of conflicts between the Ligures and
the Iberes, whether in France or Spain. The Iberes, a dark-
haired, swarthy people, were everywhere driven either into the
Pyrenean mountains or towards the western ocean, where they
held their own during a period in which the dolmen-building
industry was principally developed among them. Being still
hard pressed, as wave succeeded wave of brachycephalic intruders,
each more powerful than that which went before, three courses
were open to them : firstly, to stand their ground among the cliff
and mountain fastnesses whither they had retreated ; secondly,
to go southward into Africa ; thirdly, to go northward to the
islands of Britain and the coasts of the Baltic. The place where
they would naturally have adopted the first of those courses was
the north-west promontory of Brittany, where, as if to bear out
this theory, we find their remains thickly compressed into a
France. 6ii
comparatively small area, and where those remains themselves
show stages of development indicative of a lengthy occupation
of the district by their builders. Had any of them adopted
the second course, and passed into Africa either from the French
or Spanish coast, the vast dolmen fields described by General
Faidherbe and others would be memorials of their presence.
Had contingents of this population, again, gone north, some
might well have occupied the nearest promontory — that is, the
Land's End district — while others would have rounded it, and,
passing up the Severne Sea, have placed their tombs on the
coast, or pursued the rivers into Gloucestershire, where the Long
Barrows occur. Ireland, till then perhaps uninhabited, would have
offered to them her entire surface, of which, as the number of
dolmens may testify, they would have availed themselves. Others,
proceeding up the English Channel, may have left sparse traces
of their presence in Somersetshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, and
Kent. The coast of Belgium was perhaps held by the hostile
peoples, but Holland may have offered an open field, and, passing
over the intermediate rivers, they might have reached the southern
coast of the Baltic, where the Vistula marked the eastern limit
of their march ; again, northward, they extended themselves into
Denmark and Sweden, where the Malar Lake was their limit, and
where, in their hands, the implements of the Neolithic industry
were brought to the zenith of their perfection as objects of art.
The circumstance of the occurrence of the dolmens in greatest
numbers on the west coast of Spain, on the west coast of France,
on the west coast of Britain, and on the west coast of Ireland,
gives countenance to this view, as does also the fact that it is
in rnountainous districts, and on rivers and arms of the sea, that
they are most frequently met with. I do not mean that the
dolmens are referable to any one migration, or to one period
alone. Some may be the spontaneous creations of early settlers
in the north, whom the desire of finding new habitations and no
pressure from without induced to seek new abodes. Some, again,
may be as late as the Bronze Age, or even later. A careful study
of their several types might lead to speculation as to the point
of departure of this or that form. For example, the Yr Ogof
dolmen in Wales is so exactly similar in plan to the passage
dolmens of Portugal, that a common place of origin might well
be supposed. The wedge-shaped dolmens of Ireland, again, are
6l2
The Dolmens of Ireland.
so similar to monuments found in Sweden and North Germany,
that the same might be said of them. But there is no necessity
to suppose that these several varieties broke away from a parent
stock at one and the same time. On the contrary, the inference
is that long periods elapsed between the several migrations.
In any case, the S.W. of Europe would have been the starting-
point for such departures, and this, be it remembered, was the
cradle-land of the dolichocephali of the West. Here, in the
" Reindeer Period," dwelt the man of the Cro-Magnon cave,
with his cephalic index of 73 '34, and whose skull M. Broca com-
pares with that of the Guanches of the Canary Isles. Here, in
the Neolithic Age, dwelt the denizen of the Caverne de I'Homme
Mort, whose skull may be compared with those of the Spanish
Basques, of the Berbers of North Africa, and of the Corsicans.
In the dolmen-bearing districts of the upper tributaries of the
Garonne, we find that the distribution of these structures in the
Department of Lot reaches the highest Breton average for one
province, namely 5C0. Thence, passing to the north-west, the
dolmen-belt reaches the Loire and its tributaries, the banks of
each and all of which are plentifully strewn with them, as far east
as Loiret. In Brittany, however, the average is far the greatest,
Fig. 528. — Sectional plan of the allce couverte at Manc-Lud. AJter Bertraiid, ^^ Did. Arclu'oiy
Scale 10 millimetres = i metre.
if we take together the three coast provinces of Morbihan,
Finisterre, and Cotes du Nord, which contain respectively 500,
500, and 89, according to a computation of them taken in 1875.
Here the long dolmen, buried in its mound, identical with the
Long Barrow of Britain, the Langdyss of Denmark, and the covered
Galeria of Spain, is represented in many excellent examples.
At Kerlescant, in 1867, the Rev. W. C. Lukisf examined a mound
t "Jour. Arclireol. Assoc," vol. xxiv. p. 40.
France. 613
measuring about 130 feet long by 50 feet broad, the ends of
which were rounded off. Extending along the central line he
found a passage-vault 52 feet long by 5 feet wide. It was
divided into two compartments by two flags set up on edge, from
the inner edges of which semicircular pieces had been broken
out, so that they formed together an ovately circular slit or
aperture, which has its exact counterpart at Rodmarton in
Britain, in the dolmen of Des Maudits near Mantes, in that
ti.-.i iiiiii.ii.. ..ii.iiii.i ,1 ,1 ij
'\i^'tr7y^A!;fffktr([ttrwt^^
Fig. 529. — Section of the chambered tumulus of Gavr Inis. After BcrtranJ.
at Dilar in Andalucia, and elsewhere. In the interior of the
dolmen, Mr. Lukis found, among the debris, an immense quantity
of broken pottery, some of fine quality, and among the rest a cup
with a handle very closely similar to one found by myself in
a barrow at Denver in CornwalLf To the deeply entombed
dolmens of Brittany belong those at Mane Lud (Figs. 419, 528,
529), Kercado (Fig. 418), Locmariaker, and Gavr Inis.J With
these are to be compared that at Bougon in the Department of
Deux Sevres, where the vault measured 7*48 m. E. and W.,
by 5'io m. N. and S. ; § that at Equilaz,|| near Albeniz, in the
jurisdiction of Salvatierra, in the country of the Spanish Basques ;
that at Ubi in Zeeland, etc. The grandest monument of this
class in existence is that at Antequera in Andalucia, which we
shall notice later on.
Of the alUe couverte at Mane-Lud I have already given a
ground-plan (Fig. 419) for comparison with other elongated
dolmens. From a section which is here added, it will be seen
that the structure of the roof is that of the dolmen, and not of the
chamber (Fig. 528).
To this I add a section of the Gavr Inis tumulus (Fig. 529),
the structure in which would have been a counterpart of that at
New Grange, had the latter stopped short at the point where the
t Now in the Brit. Museum. % Bertrand, " Diet. Archeol.," in voce (Fig. 417).
§ "Monuments du Poitou, Mus. de Niort," Soc. Statist., vols. v. and viii. See also " Semi-
nario Pintoresco Espafiol," 1850-1851, p. 393 ; also Chas. Arnaud, in "Diet. Archeol."
II " Sem. Pintoresco Esp.," 1846, p. 406.
6i4
The Dolmens of Ireland.
beehive-roofed chamber begins.f Of the carvings on the stones
in the Gavr In is structure I append also six examples from
Bertrand, for comparison with those at New Grange, Dowth,
Fig. 530.— Sculptured stones in the chambered tumulus at Gavr Inis
From Bertrand' s '^ Diet. ArciieoL'''
mmm
"iG. 531. — Sculptured stones in the chambered tumulus at Gavr Inis.
From BertravcTs ''Diet. Areheoi:'
Loughcrew, Annan Street (Scotland), and with decorative designs
displayed on pottery and metal.
To these I add a sculptured stone (Fig. 535) from the tumulus
I
\\ //^ \\\ '
m ^'^'"
Fig. 532.— Vessel from Bohemia.
From Waring.
Fl(;.533.— Onan urn
from Italy.
From Hearing.
Fig. 534.— On an urn
from Germany.
From Waring.
of Renougat (Finisterre), the marks on which may be compared
t See above, p. 362.
France.
615
with those on the Horseman's Stone at Clonmacnoise, and with
others upon a rock in GaHcia, figured by Signor Murguia.f I
here insert also the covering-stone of a cist at Treogat (also in
Fig. 535. — Sculptured stone from the tumulus of Renougat (Finisterre) ; length 2'95 m.
From " Mat. pour VHist. de rHoin/ne."
Finisterre), traversed by cavities of pecuHar form (Fig. 536), very
similar to those found on the tops of dolmens in Ireland, Palestine,
Corsica, Spain, and elsewhere. Two dolmen slabs in the same
district (Fig. 546) also deserve notice.
With the peculiar concentric semicircles or arches in the Gavr
Fig, 536. — Covering-stone of a cist at Treogat (Finisterre) — an urn with ashes was in the cist.
Frot?t *' Mat. pour VHist. de Pl/ommf.'"
Inis sculptures, found also at Loughcrew and New Grange, we are
inclined to compare similar devices upon pottery found in
t Vide infra, pp. 695, 696.
6i6
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Germany, Bohemia, Italy and Greece (Figs. 532, 533, 534, 558,
559). With the herring-bone pattern at Gavr Inis we may
F1G.537. — Gold cap. From O'Connor!
preface to " Keating' s History" 1723, p. v.i
Fig. 538. — Terra cotta bottle from
Assyria, in Brit. Mus. After Waring.
jiii
z=H&
.^ \
*)C»(>)
Fk^'- 539- — From Speycr. From
Lindensmidt.
•rtx.'r.
!*•«>'
»^^-^r.>-.!_.V^
^
Fig. 540. — From
Corinth. From
Lindensmidt.
Fig. 541. — From Poitiers.
From Thomas notes to
transl. of IVorsaae's
*' Prim. Antiquities.'"
t Found in a bog, at a depth of ten feet, on the lop of a hill called Barnanely, or the Devil's
Bit, Co. Tipperary; weight about 5 oz.
France.
617
compare that on bronze celts in Ireland, of which I adduce two
examples (Figs. 545, 547). Concentric circles, chevrons, and
herring-bone patterns occur on Assyrian vessels (Fig. 538).
Fig. 542. — In the Museum, Trin. Coll. Dublin. No particulars as to locality where it was
found ; weight, 33 ozs. ; length, 8^ ins.
Fig. 543.— Gold ornament in Mus. R.I. A. ; found in 1836, lying on the gravel 4 feet deep in a
turf bog in the Townland of Burrisnoe on the E. side of Bendubh Mountain, Co. Tipperary.
Diameter (out to out), io| ins. ; weight, 4 ozs. 6 dwts. 2 grs.
An urn from a sepulchral chamber at Danesfort in the county
VOL. II. X
6i8
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Fig. 544. — Example of decoration on a golden shield, /^/oz/i a tomb at Jcvgersberg ; in the
Museum at Copenhagen ; one-fottrth of the size.
^^G. 545. — ISronzc celt (Ireland). J-'rom the collection of
Mr. T. He-uitt, of Cork. From IVindeic's MS. " Archa-
^"<i'«."P- 407.
France.
619
of Kilkenny (Fig. 548) repeats the features of the concentric
semicircle and the herring-bone, as does also, in regard to the
herring-bone, a handsome little vessel from Ballyvvillan in Antrim.
The cover is a feature of German and Danish sepulchral vessels,
on which the herring-bone type of decoration also appears. For
comparison with some of the designs at Loughcrew I give an
illustration of a very remarkable piece of pottery found at La
Fig. 546. — On slabs in dolmens
in Finisterre. From '■'■ Mat. pour
rHist. de I'Hofmne," l88i, p.
265.
A** " ♦ » . ; \ >-
^-t^
Fig, 547, — Bronze celt in the Mus. of the R.I. A.
Tourelle (Fig. 553) in Brittany. It belongs to a type usually
called Gaulish by French archaeologists, and is referable to a
survival of type into the Iron Age.
In order to instance the wide diffusion of the concentric
circle ornamentation on gold objects, I give seven examples —
three from Ireland (Figs. 537, 542, 543), one from near Copenhagen
(Fig. 544),t 01^^ from Poitiers (Fig. 541), one from Speyer
t See also Mestorf, "Alt. Schleswig-Holstein," pis. 32, 33; Worsaae, " Nord. Oldsager,"'
pp. 61, 62, etc.
620
The Dolmens of Ireland.
(Fig-. 539), and one from Corinth (Fig. 540) respectively,
point of decoration the three latter are marvellously alike.
In
Fig. 548. — Urn from Uanesfort, in iMus. R.LA. Height
of cover, 2| ins. ; total height of urn and cover, 5^ ins. j
greatest diameter, 7J ins. ; diameter at base, 3 ins.
Fig. 549. — Urn from Ballywillan.
Height of the upper urn, forming
the cover, 3I ins. ; height of lower
urn, 4 ins. ; together, 7| ins.f
Frotn a photograph by Mr. U.
Coffey.
yA
Fig. 550. — Urn from North-Italy (J size), apparently the model of a temple possibly raised on piles,
the outer walls richly decorated with spirals such as those found at Mycenre, and elsewhere in
Greece and Asia Minor.
It can be shown that much of the Irish pottery, both in form
and ornament, was copied from vessels in gold and bronze, found
t For urns with similar decoration to that on the cover of this one, see Worsaae, " Nordiske
Oldsager," p. 19, fig. 95 ; also Mcstorf, " Vorgeschicht. Alterthiim. .Schleswig-Holstein," pi. xvii.
fig, 145. For covers see Mestorf, " Urncnfricdhofe," pi. ii. fig. 6 ; pi. iii. figs, i and 2 ; also
Lissauer, for West Prussian examples.
1
France.
62 1
Fig. 551.— Golden bowl from Schles\vig-Holstein,t Mestorf.
Y\o. 552. — Urn from Bishop's Cairn, Glenwherry, Co. Antrim ; height, 4 ins. From a
photograph hy Mr. G. Coffey.
Fig. 553. — From a subterranean chamber at La Tourelle, Finisterre.
t Found with bronze knife, with horse's head for hilt, and many other objects, in a grave with
broken pottery and burnt remains, at GonnebeU ; now in the Kiel Museum.
622
The Dolmens of Ireland.
in Sweden and Denmark. Fig. 552 is a common type of Irish
bowl-shaped vessels. The decoration is to be compared with the
gold bowl from Gonnebek (Fig. 551).
As an illustration of the treatment of spirals for comparison
with those at New Grange, I cannot do better than adduce the
very remarkable little urn from North Italy (Fig. 550). I add also
sixteen designs from vases from Greece, upon which are found
almost every type represented in the sculptures of Brittany and
Ireland (pp. 624, 625).
The class of dolmen, so common in Ireland, which had but a
slight covering, is also represented in Brittany. A fine example
of it is that of Krukenno. The side pillar-stones are four in
number on the W. side, and five on the E., but in the latter case
the passage expands into a squarish vault having two side-stones.
Fig. 554. — Dolmen of Krukenno at Plouharnel. Etched ajter MortilU..^
and three end-stones. The passage is open to the S.S.E.,and the
length of the interior 25 feet. It is covered over by two roofing-
stones, of which that at the N.N.W.
end is by far the largest. This descrip-
tion, as will be seen, tallies precisely
with many typical Irish examples, and is
represented at Drcnthe. The entrance,
however, as in the Irish dolmens, is from
the end, and not the side.
Fig. 555.— Plan of the Dolmen de Cambry, in his " Voyagc daus la
Krukenno: the opening: faces S.S.E. -r^- • »» • i • .1 ._
rmisterre, mentions several m that
district, of this unmounded type. On the extreme point of the
t "Musee Prehistorique," plates Ivi. and Iviii.
France.
62
promontory near Plouneour Trez are two dolmens, the one 14
feet long and 7 feet high ; the other 20 feet long and 5 feet
high. Near Kerroch is one 34 feet long and 15 feet broad, called
the " Dancing Maidens."
In the Channel Islands are some interesting dolmens. They
have been well illustrated by Captain Oliver in the " Quarterly
Journal of Science," especially those at Ancresse. The examples
bearing the names "Autel des Vardes," "Autel du Grand Sarrazin,"f
and " Creux des Fees " are excellent specimens of the type known
Fig. 556. — The " Trepied " on Catioroc.
in Ireland as Giants' Graves, each covered by five or six roofing-
stones. Among those of the Channel Isles is that of Catioroc,
in Guernsey,J which is of the type of which we have last spoken,
two cap-stones being in place, and covering a long area flanked
with stones on edge. With respect to the spot where this dolmen
Fig. 557. — Dolmen at Epunes. From Cassan.
stands, a superstition prevails that it is haunted by night, at which
time the natives will not approach it. Strabo mentions a similar
superstition attaching to Cape Saint Vincent, where stones piled
t Mine refuse in Cornwall is called popularly atal Sarazin, a term which has been misinter-
preted "Jews(?.^. Saracens') refuse." The term, however, is found also in Belgium, where the
name for scoriae of iron found at the village of St. Denis is Crayats de Sarrasins, Sarrasins being
mine fairies. " Bull, de I'Acad. de Bruxelles," xv. pt. 2, p. 195 ; see also Grimm, "Teut. Myth."
% See Lukis, "Prim. Ant. of Channel Islands," Arch. Journ., vol. i. p. 222.
624
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Fig. 558. — Patterns on Archaic Greek vases. Irom FitrtivaengUr and Locsclieke.
The three at top arc from Attika (Spata), as are also the middle one on the left, the one below
the central one, and the lower one on the right. The central figure is from Mycenx, and the one to
the right of it from Athens. The one in the lower left corner is from Cyprus. These and those
on the opposite page are given for comparison with the rock-sculpturings at Newgrange, Dowth,
Loughcrew, Gavr-Inis in Brittany, and (as in the case of the central one on this page) with some
of the engravings on gold ornaments.
Some are referable to the lotus conventionalized [e.^. the middle one on the left).
France.
625
Fig qCQ— Patterns on Archaic Greek vases. Frovi Furlwaeugkr and Loesclieke. ^
The four on the left are from Attika (Spata) ; the three on the right from Breotia (that at the
top), and the two others from Mycenx.
626
The Dolmens of Ireland.
on others were turned by devotees. Circles in the Pyrenees were,
as we have seen, haunted by night, and Mount Gabriel, in Cork,
was similarly dreaded, as the abode after dark of a lower order
of angels who had become demons, so that none would cross that
mountain by night.
Another dolmen, which, as will be seen by the accompanying
Fig. 560. — Dolmen de la Justice, at Presles
(Oise). From Mortillct.
Fu;. 561. — Dolmen at Constans-Sainte-Honorinc
(Seine et Oise). From Mortillct.
copy of a rough engraving, closely resembles some of the Cork
examples, is that of Epones near Mantes. Six supports, each
about o'6o m. high, support two roofing-stones, measuring together
4*5 m. long, and i2"43 m. in circumference. Near it is a second
dolmen. t
In a little work entitled " Nouveaux documents Archcologiques,"
Fig. 562. — Rodmarton (Gloucestershire).
From Lyons and Mortillet.
Fig. 563.— Dolmen de Gramont (Hcrault). From
a photograph by M. Cartaillac; Mortillct.
by M. L. De Maule-Pl. (Paris, 1872), there is a curious account,
accompanied by two elevations, of a dolmen discovered in 1868 at
Des Maudits near Mantes. It is described as measuring 16=^
" coudees " in length, or 1 7 if the overlapping stone which formed
the roof of the portico be taken into account. At the end
remote from this portico the structure extended under the soil,
terminating in a natural cave. Two pillars, which the writer calls
the ''antes," supported a great freestone, 7 " coudees" long, and ii
thick, at a height of 3 " coudees" above the ground. The end of
t M. Armand Cassan, "Stat, de I'arrondissement de Mantes" (1S33), p. 209.
France.
627
the structure within and between these pillars presents a remark-
able appearance. There appears to be a hole, or creep, Into the
cell within, on a level with the ground, at the base of the closing
and terminal stone, above which is one of those slits, or foramina,
which we have noticed at Kerlescant in Brittan}'-, and at Aveling
Fig. 564. — " La Pierre Tuiquaise."
and Rodmarton in Gloucestershire (Fig. 562), and to which we may
here add examples from the dolmens of Constans-Sainte-Honorine
Fig. 565. — Entrance portico or " anta; " of the dolmen of Des Maudits near Mantes.
From I^Iaicic-Pl.
(Seine et Oise) (Fig. 561), the dolmen de la Justice at Presles
628
The Dolmens of Ireland.
COise) (Fig. 560), and the dolmen de Gramont (Herault) (Fig. 563). f
In the latter the cavity is at the base of the supporting-stone.
The dolmen of Des Maudits was formed of slabs of chalk, and
paved within. Skulls found in it were dolichocephalic, and with
them were polished stone axes, the antlers of a deer perforated,
and a bronze arrow-point of a form found in Spain. |
Unmounded dolmens are met with in many parts of France.
M. H. d'Arbois de Jubainville has furnished descriptions and
illustrations of types in the Valleys of the Seine and the Orvin,
the former of which (Fig. 570A) recalls the common type in Cork
Fig. 566. — The dolmen of Des Maudits, terminating in a natural cave, near Mantes.
From Maulc-Pl.
and Kerry, while the latter (Fig. 570B) reminds us of examples in
Clare.§ ]\I. Gailhabaud || has figured several which in point of
size and symmetry may be said to vie with that of Antequera in
Spain. That at Mettray near Tours (Fig. 569) is a fine example,
composed of twelve slabs, three on either side, two at one end,
and one at the other. Three blocks form the roof, the centre one
t See f^round-plan of this compared to that of an Irish Christian Icaba, injra, p. 637.
X Spectanti mihi foramina hujusniodi tani in Britannia quam in Gallia, Hispania, Scania,
Caucasia, Palestina, India, reperta, vcnit non rare in menteni an simulacra essent vaginre Matris
TerrcE quam coram vel potius intus, id est, cjuasi in utero Dea.- Matris, supplices, prostrati inter
disjecta procerum membra, facere aut vota reddere aut responsa petere soliti essent. — G.C.B.
The German tribes worshipped the Terra Mater under the name of Ilertha. The rites of Saturn
in Italy took place "sub effossa humo." Those of the female death-goddess may well have been
practised also in caves and tombs. To this cause may be due the presence of the image of a female
in the cave-tombs of the Marne and elsewhere. Above all, this would explain the singular tradition
about a dolmen at Drenthe mentioned in a note at p. 555.
§ "Rev. Archeol." 1859, p. 427, and pi. 368.
II "Architecture Anc. et Mod." vol. ii. pis. 7 and S.
France.
629
of which is about double the thickness of either of the others, and
of immense size and weight. Another specimen, much larger than
Fig. 567. — The "Grolte aux Fees" near Saumur. Fjv;/i Gailhahaud.
'^3^ wow^v^w^weaw^
m7 ^ ^r^
Fig. 568. — The Grotte d'Esse. From Gailhabatid.
630
The Dolmens of Ireland.
this (Fig. 567), is at Saiimur near Bagneux. It is composed of
four stones on one side, and three on the other, which cover a
I
I
Fig, 569. — The " Grotte aux Fees," at Mettray, near Tours (see p. 628). From Gailhabaud.
Fig. 570. — Dolmens of the Champagne (" Rev. Archeol.," 1859). A, in the valley of the Sehic ;
B, in the valley of the Orvin (see p. 628).
length of 57 feet 6 ins., the breadth being 14 feet 4 ins. Another,
at Esse (Fig. 568), is of still larger proportions, although the
Spain and Portugal.
631
stones forming it are not individually so great in size. It measures
61 feet long, by 12 feet broad at the narrower end, where the
entrance is, increasing in breadth (as do the wedge-shaped
examples of Ireland, Sweden, Drenthe, Germany, and, as we shall
see, the Jordan) to 14 feet at the inner end.
Perhaps the most interesting of all the French dolmens is that
in the Department of Seine et Oise, called " La Pierre Turquaise " f
(Figs. 564 and 573). It is roofed in by five stones, and two over
the portico set pediment-wise, as if in imitation of the pediment
The aisle of the Chapel
W
'i^^^ms^Mm^^B,
Length of the Crypt S'rjS'.
......4.SS
1.68
,0.63
t&>X ,
WW^^^^IS^tEBii^^^^^
Fig. 571. — The dolmen of the Chapel of the Seven Saints near Plouaret, Cutes-dii-Nord.
From Cattailhac.
over the entrance of a classic temple. In ground-plan, too, it
resembles ancient Greek shrines, as will presently be shown. The
cap-stones measure from 3*50 m. to 4 m. across, and from 4 m.
to I m. long, the total length of the covered structure beino-
about I4"50 m.;j;
As then, if my view be right, France was the cradle-land of
the dolmen builders, so, also, it was the country in which they
brought these works to their greatest development, and in which,
perhaps, also the veneration attaching to them lasted as long
as anywhere, since Christian edifices were built on the tumuli in
which they were concealed, as at Carnac, and, as in the case of
the Chapel des Sept-Saints, near Plouaret, in the Department of
C6tes-du-Nord, where the dolmen was actually used as a crypt to
the Christian church (Fig. 571).
Spain and Portugal.
From France we pass into the Iberian Peninsula,§ and
proceed to extend our comparative analysis to the .southern
t See ground-plan of this compared to that of a Greek temple, infra, p. 639.
i "Mat. pour I'Hist. de THomme" (1868), p. 162.
§ The works to which I am principally indebted for the summary here given of the prehistoric
monuments of the Peninsula are the following : " Antigiiedades Prehistoricas de Andalucia," Madrid,
1868, by Signor Manuel de Gongora y Martinez j "Descripgao de alguns dolmins ou antas de
632 The Dolmens of Ireland.
valleys of the Pyrenees, and to Spain and Portugal in general.
A few years ago, the materials for our purpose, as far as Spain was
concerned, would have been far to seek. Some little has,
however, been done of late years to remedy this, but what is still
required is a searching archaeological survey, undertaken on a
uniform system, by resident antiquaries, many of whom, in the
papers they have contributed to local journals, have already shown
themselves well qualified for such a task. There are districts in
eastern Spain now supposed to be utterly destitute of megalithic
remains, with regard to which such a sweeping negative assertion as
that they do not exist, carries little weight, unless we know that
they have been thoroughly explored by those possessing the
necessary qualifications. As a proof of what might result from
such an investigation, it was held, until a short while since, that
not a single dolmen existed on the east coast of Spain, including
the south-eastern valleys of the Pyrenees, whereas the information
collected in the " Revista de Ciencias Historicas," published at
Barcelona, under the able editorship of Signor Sanpere y Miguel,
has added the provinces both of Barcelona and Gerona to the
dolmen-bearing districts of Europe.
The distribution of the dolmens in the Peninsula follows the
same rule observed elsewhere. They belong, that is to say, to
the sea-coast, thinning out as they reach the interior. This holds
true of three sides of the Peninsula, the N.W. and W., and the S.
The eastern side affords an exception, since, from the Province of
Barcelona southward, not a single dolmen has been noticed until
the borders of Andalucia are reached. It is true, as we have
Portugal," Lisbon, 1868, by Signor F. A.Pereira de Costa ; " Intioduccao a Archeologia da Peninsula
Iberica, Parte primeira, — Autigiiedades Prehistoricas, -Lisbon, 1878," by Signor A. F. Simoes ;
" Revisia de Ciencias Historicas, Contribution al estudio de los monumentos megaliticos ibericos,'
vol. ii. 1881, p. 434. el scqq., edit. Signor Sanpere y Miguel; the works of Signor F. Martins
Sarmento (styled, and rightly, the Schliemann of his country, on account of his memorable
exploration of the citanias of the Minho), including an account of an arch;^ological expedition to
the Serra da Estrella in 1881, and also his "Os Argonautos," Oporto, 1SS7, and his " Os Lusitanos; "
" Les Ages Prehistoriques de I'Espagne et du Portugal," by M. Emil Cartailhac, with preface by
Quatrefages, Paris, 1886; also various brochures contained in the journals lof the Scientific
Societies, among which are the " Memoires de I'Acadcmic Royale d'Histoire Portugueze ; "
" Boletim de Real Associa9ao dos Archeologos Portuguezes ;" " Museu espaiiol de Antigiiedades ;"
" Congres International d'Anthropologie et d'Archeologie Prehistoriques," Lisbon, 1880 ; also
articles in periodicals, among which are the " Seminario Pintoresco Espanol;" the " Ilustracion
Espaniola y Americana ; " tlie " Arcliivo Pittoresco ;" the " Ilustracion Gallega y Asturiana," and
others ; lastly, the works of local antiquaries and historians, among which, for the interesting
))rovince of Galicia, may be mentioned, the " Historia de Gaiicia," by Siijnor Martinez de Padin
<vol. i. all published); the "Historia de Galicia, Lugo," 1865, by Signor Manuel Morguia ;
" Antigiiedades de Galicia," by Signor Ramon Barros Sivelo ; and "Antigiiedades Prehistoricas
y Celticas de Galicia, Lugo," 1873, by Signor Jose Villa-Amil y Castro. In regard to other
jirovinces and towns, I might greatly amplify this list. It will be sufficient to mention Signor
Gabriel Pereira's " Antas dos arrcdores de Evora," and the account of the monument at Antiquera,
in a little work specially devoted to the subject by Signor Raphael Mitjana y Ardison.
I
Spain and Portugal. 633,
said, that perhaps sufficiently careful observations have never
been made here ; but, even so, they must be of exceedingly rare
occurrence, or they could not have failed to attract some notice.
We now turn to the classification of the monuments, the names
they bear, and the folk-lore, if any, attaching to them. Signor
Martinez de Padin, author of the first volume of a " History
of Galicia," which he did not live to complete, divides the pre-
historic monuments of that province into two classes — namely,,
castros,^ and mamoas. He describes the former as artificial
mounds, upwards of . six varas (yards) high, their ground plan
being circular or elliptical, and their diameter proportioned to
their height. Two examples which he cites near Brandomil,
in the Parish of Castrelo and Province of Coruna, are round
tumuli, possessing a central vault or dolmen, which is exposed.
The walls of this structure are formed of flat stones placed on
their edges, in the form of a circle (a characteristic of Peninsula
dolmens), and it Is covered in by a large round stone, giving to
the whole the appearance of a garita (sentry-box), the name by
which they are popularly known.
The inamdas are smaller tumuli, lower in elevation, and found!
in groups, in valleys or on vi\OMX\\.'dXw plateaux. The precise mean-
ing of this word mainoa may be worth working out. In ancient
charters the word frequently occurs, owing to the fact that in Spain,
as elsewhere, tumuli and megaliths were found convenient land-
marks for the boundaries of property. Signor Simoes gives us,
from these sources, the forms mamola, inamonela, viamtila,% and
they were also called inamilas, and viaimmhas, the latter term
especially belonging to Portugal. In Galicia, besides mamoas
they were called modorras. Lexicographers, Including Viterbo,
and antiquaries, including Signor Simoes, consider that this word
is derived from the Latin mamma, a teat, from their appearance.
One, near the mines of Bragal in Beira, bears a longer name,
mamaller. Signor Sarmento defines the " mamoa, mamdinha, or
mamtmha'' as " the popular term for the mounds of earth which
cover the sepulchres of the dead." Signor Pereira da Costa
states that the name mamunhas was sometimes applied to the
dolmen which the mound had covered, as in the case of
t These were also called croas, a word which was thought to be connected with corona^ front
their circular form.
X Another name was colks inamcfacti.
VOL. IL Y
634 The Dolmens of Ireland.
examples at Mamalter, and at Carrazedo in Tras-os-Montes,
where the vault had been denuded of its envelope. In the case
of the latter of these, which stood on a level spot on the summit of
an oblong elevation, he speaks of the structure as being formed
of nine slabs of granite of various length, but of uniform height,
which formed the facing of a circular excavation, the earth from
which had been thrown up in a bank around it.
Sienor Simoes tells us that some mamunhas are cenotaphs
o
containing no dolmen nor sepulchral interment at all. They
are regarded, however, popularly as sepulchral, and in many
instances they have been found to contain cinerary urns. He
remarks also that, while in Galicia free-standing dolmens are
scarce, majmirihas are common ; in Andaluci'a, on the contrary,
where dolmens are numerous, he finds no mention of ina7imnhas ;
in Portugal, similarly, dolmens are very numerous, especially in
Alemteyo, where no 7naimtnhas appear ; in the northern parts of
that kingdom, however, where it borders on Galicia, they are met
with again. Here we recognize the same parallel phenomena
which meet us in Ireland, Sweden, and Germany — namely, the
square cist formed of great flat slabs, buried in its tumulus —
the hallkista or hUgelgrdber of the north, and the ruder and
loftier dolmen, with its passage, as we shall presently see,
answering to such examples as that of Yr Ogof f in Wales.
Signer Simoes does not consider that all the dolmens in the
Peninsula were covered over, and in proof of his contention he
instances those at Tisnada and Pinheiro, which are built, like
some of the Swedish examples, on mounds, not in them. J
To return to the name mamoa, there appears some reason
for thinking that, granted that it signifies a breast, there may
have been a significance in the term beyond and beside that
of the appearance of the rounded hillocks — a meaning which,
in the cultus of the dead, would have connected it with the
great Earth-Mother, within whose breast all mortals after life
will lie.
Marmi^ is the name by which modern Basques designate a
t p. 450, supra.
X In the case of some of the dolmens in the African province of Constanline, the interment was
placed in the bottom of the vault, which was then filled up with earth to half its height, and a
mound, raised around the structure to the same level outside, the effect being that the upper portion
of the monument appeared like a perfect and uncovered dolmen standing on a tumulus, and
not half buried in it, as was really the case. See the Magasin Pittoresque, 1864, pp. 79, 80 ;
also " Rcc. des notices et memoires de la Societc Archcologique de la Prov. de Constantine, 1863."
§ See Van Eys, "Diet. Basquc-fran9ais," in voc.
Spain and Portugal. 635
horrible mask which frightens children. It is not improbable,
therefore, that under this name we have as a secondary meaning
that of a discredited female pagan divinity. In a charter of the
thirteenth century, a tumulus is called Mcmda-Negra, " Black
Memoa," or Mamua.f
This leads us to consider the meaning of the second name for
these mounds, namely, modorra, which is a synonym for ma^jioa.
As we shall presently see, the dolmens of the Peninsula were,
just as in Ireland and at Drenthe, connected with the idea of
a terrible female, an enchantress or witch. Now, as we learn
from Cobarruvias,J it was an attribute of the Holgina, or
Jorgina, the name (originally Vascon) for a witch, in the
practice of her art to induce drowsiness or an enchanted sleep.
This is exactly what modorra means. § It is one of the few
Iberian || words which Spanish has retained, and its occurrence
as an equivalent of mamdci is therefore interesting, the two
terms seeming to present to us the idea of the dark mother-
goddess of earth and of death presiding over the mound in
which her priestess, the witch, held the dead in their en-
chanted sleep. Other meanings of modorra strengthen this
view. They are given by Pineda \ as " lethargy," " the dead
of night," " the time we are asleep," " the period which
immediately precedes the dawn."
In some ancient documents, according to Viterbo.ff the
mamdas are called areas. This word area enters into a very
large number of names of places in the Peninsula. It became,
indeed, almost the general term for boundary, as we find from
Lachmann's " Gromatici Veteres." Q It had, however, as Ducange
points out, its special meaning. It was a little building " square
t Signor Jose Caldas, " Archeol. prehist. dans la Prov. de Minho (Congres int. d'Anth. et
d'Arch,"), Lisbon, 1880, p. 344.
X "Tesoro de la lengua Castellana," by Don. Sebastian de Cobarruvias Orozeo, Madrid, i6ii,
/;; voc. " Holgin," fol. 475 : "holgina, parece ser lo mesmo que Jorgin, y Jorgina = Hechizero y
Hechizera ; " also in voc. Jorgina: "Jorgina, dizen ser nombre Vascongado y que vale tanto como
la que haze adormecar, o quitar el sentido, cosa que puede acontecer, y que con intervencion del
demonio ecken sueilo profundo en los que ellas quieren para hazer mejor sus mal dades."
§ Pineda, " Diet." in voc.
II See Luchaire, op. cit. supr.
\ " Diet." in voc.
tt " Diet." in voc. mamoa.
XX Berlin, 1848 : See also " Rei Agraria: auctores legesque varire, Wilhelmi Goesii, cum notis
Rigaltii," Amsterdam, 1674 — " GIossk Agrimensorise," by Nich. Rigaltius, ifi voc. area., p. 292.
Also "De Agrorum conditionibus Hygeni Gromatici," Paris, 1554 (with illustration of an area),
p. 155. An area, when it was not an ancient monument ready made on the spot, was constructed
in the form of an uncovered cist or pound, a four-sided enclosure, built, however, of masonry, not of
single slabs. In some cases the walls were built round a more ancient tomb. See Lachmann,
ut supr., p. 364. Ducange (jn voc.) says: Aream representat {Hygemis) forma quadrata, atqne
intus cava, qiiemadmodum sunt area, sive cisia:, jcnde et nomen indittim.
636
The Dolmens of Ireland.
in shape, and hollow within, as cists are, and from this resem-
blance it derived its name." The picture of one, among the
illustrations which accompany the Cascc Littcrarum, looks like
a small square-walled pound. In other places " aggeres terrae "
are spoken of as areas, and the word is derived " ab arcendo,"
in the sense of bounding the estate.
In Galicia, and the north-eastern provinces bordering on
the Pyrenees, the word area
applied to dolmens, and
tumuli containing the cist
)sed. Signor Villa-Amil
^s| y Castro gives plans and
-^
, ^> \-.\v,\m;\ jr.; .•.■.■.•■, .:: ■r.'-.i,:/ >;,,..,.
that the original monuments
consisted of large cists
formed of slabs about 4 feet
6 ins. in height, covered in
Fig. 572. — Area de Padorno, Galicia. Plan and section by a sin<^le roofiuo'-slab and
by Villa Amil y Castro. ^ ^. ^ , ',
enclosed m a mound. These
were the true ajras in the original acceptation of the word —
the ancient megalithic four-square flag tombs which served for
the boundary points of property, and from the form of which
the square-walled enclosures
were copied, in obedience to
"--. /^.'/. _ custom, in the Middle Ages.
^i^%i^^ How numerous the proto-
types must have been, when
the lands were being parcel-
led out by monks and
lawyers, is shown by the fact
that their name became the
term in general use for
structural boundary-marks,
as distinijuished from natural
ones, such as watercourses,
mountains, and the littoral.
In the whole of the varied nomenclature of the dolmens of
Europe there is no more interesting name than that which is
applied to them in the Peninsula, and almost exclusively in
Fir,. 573. — Area de Sinas, Galicia. Plan and
section by Villa Aviil y Castro.
Spain and Portugal. 637
Portugal, namely, antas. The anta is the dolmen in its
uncovered state. Much has been written on the meaning
of the term. Signor Martinho Mendouga-de-Pina, the first
writer w^hose treatise on dolmens in Portugal was published,!
thought the word belonged to " the language of ancient
Portugal." Servius, in his " Commentary on Virgil," connects
it, or, perhaps, rather confuses it with the term antes, signifying
the buttress-stones in the walls of vineyards, at the end of
each vine-row mentioned by the poet, and other classic authors.
Viterbo, who gives the plural form antas, as well as the
singular anta, finds in it, with more reason, the Latin
architectural term, used also in Portugal, for the high square
columns which adorn the entrances to temples and palaces, or
the great stones set up to mark the entrances to certain well-
known estates, whence, he says, the word came metaphorically
to signify the atria, or entrance-porticoes to such lands. In a
separate paragraph this lexicographer gives for antas the
synonym aras, altars, in which definition Moraes follows him,
speaking of them as " ancient altars distributed along the
roads to serve as landmarks."
M. Roulin J wrote a treatise on the definition of the word
antas, in which he expresses his opinion that its occurrence in
Portugal in connection with the dolmens is a proof of the great
antiquity of those monuments in the Iberian Peninsula. He
considers that the Romans, reco^nizinQf in these structures a
likeness to their own miniature temples, applied to them the
name antcB (which in the Romance idiom of Portugal would
take the accusative form antas), and that, from having simply
designated the pillars at the ends of the walls, or at the
entrance, the term came in time to indicate the whole structure.
Thus anta, he holds, when used in the singular, refers not to
the supports of the dolmen only, but to the entire erection.
Basilius Faber,§ correcting Servius as above quoted, says that
afitce are square columns, guarding either side of an entrance or
mouth, a definition which he derived from Festus, who says : —
*' Antse, i.e. pilae sive columnee lapidese in lateribus ostiorum."
All these authorities aofree in findingr for the term a Latin
origin, and, if they are right in this, the definition which ascribes
t "Memoires de I'Acad. Roy.," Lisbon, vol. xiv. (1733).
X " Memoires de I'Acad. des Sciences," Paris, 1869, § " Thesaius Latinus," in voc.
638
The Dolmens of Ireland.
it to the likeness which the monuments bear to vestibules or
porches is most plausible, since wherever dolmens occur the
resemblance strikes us at once. I cannot too strongly express
my acquiescence in the view of M. Roulin, which connects it with
the ant(c of the Roman temples. A dolmen, wherever found, is
no mere tomb made to be closed for ever on the remains within,
or buried in a tumulus without an approach being left to the
central vault, or cell ; it was a temple as surely and as truly as the
(
n )
Fig. 574. — Ground-plan of the Dolmen FiG. 575. — Ground-plan of the Leaba Mologa,
de Gramont f (Herault). Co. Cork, for comparison with dolmens with
antic. From ground- plan by J. W'indelc.
temple of Artemis at Eleusis, or as those of Teos, or Priene, or as
any of the cellcB memories of pagans first and Christians afterwards.
It either did contain the body, or was believed at all events to
contain the spirit, of some person or persons who were dead,
whether they had been merely famous as chieftains or priests, or
whether (as in the case of the higher and more abstract cultus
attained by classic civilization) they had attained divine honours.
More than this, the plan of the dolmen in several districts was as
nearly identical as possible with that of the classic shrines, plans
of which we have in abundance, and which Vitruvius has left us
instructions how to build in the approved conventional style,
which had been handed down from ages out of mind. In Ireland
it was identical also in form with the primitive leabas or Saints'
Beds of the Christians, such as the Leaba Mologa. The latter
were, in fact, pagan leabas built with masonry in place of vast slabs.
t The three blotches represent cavities sunk in the covering-slab. For an elevation of this
dolmen, see p. 626. The plan is from "Mat. pour I'llist. de THomme."
Spain and Portugal.
639
The classic shrine was to consist of two parts, an outer and
an inner. The outer part was called the antcB (in Greek
Trapaa-TaSe^) ; the inner was called the cel/a (in Greek i/ao?). The
an^t^ had a double signification ; (a) portions of the side walls of
the building brought out beyond the terminal wall of the inner
000000
000000
Fig. 576. — Temple at Teos, showing the va6s (cella) ;
iTfptffTdSes (antae), and peristyle. From IV. M.
Leakeys ''Asia Minor."
Fig. 577. — "La Pierre Turquaise " in the
Depart, of Seine et Oise, for comparison
with temples with antce. Afat. pour P Hist,
de r Homme ; see pp. 627, 631, supra.
part, in the centre of which was the doorway ; (<5) the area or
space between these projections, that is to say, the pronaos, or
portico. The cella was the actual shrine itself approached by the
doorway in the inner terminal wall of the antce.
640 The Dolmens of Ireland.
The simplest form, and the most ancient, of temples constructed
in this manner, is probably that at Teos, a ground-plan of which
is given by Mr. W. JNI. Leake, in his "Journal of a Tour in Asia
Minor" (i824).t Here we have simply the four walls of the cella
with a narrow doorway at the western end, and the two side walls
extended in the same direction to form the antcc, the entire struc-
ture surrounded by an oblong peristyle. In some cases, as in
that of the temple at Priene, the side walls were extended at
both ends, and there were two entrances. In this latter example,
two free-standing pillars are inserted to support the roof of
the portico between the projecting antcu, and in the same line
W4th them. The rules for the respective proportions of cella
and antce given by Vitruvius in the case of one of these more
elaborate shrines, held good, no doubt, in the simpler ones. For a
temple " in antis " of the Doric order, the breadth should be half
the length ; five-eighths of the length should be occupied by the
cella, including its front walls ; the remaining three-eighths by the
pronaos or portico ; the anlcs should be of the same thickness as
the columns ; in the intercolumniations there should be a marble
balustrade, or some other kind of railing with gates in it ; if the
breadth of this portico exceeded 40 feet, there should be another
pair of columns behind those between the a7il^, etc.
The Greek temples generally faced west, but sometimes fronted
a river, in which case the western aspect was not necessarily
observed. The peristyle or range of pillars parallel with the walls,
at the sides and ends, and supporting the overlapping portions of
the roof, was a characteristic feature. In the paos of a Greek
temple was a statue of the divinity ; but that some shrines were
regarded in their true light as tombs at which sacrifices were to
be offered, vows made, and the dead supplicated and consulted by
the pilgrims and devotees, is made plain by Pausanias, who speaks
of the sacrifices made by the Thebans at the tombs of several
heroes, as well as at those of the children of ^dipus, and at that
of Pionis, one of the descendants of Hercules.J
In the later days of the Roman Empire, the practice of
constructing cellcs Diemoricr, the direct successors of the cellcu
of the earlier temples, became a recognized institution in
connection with the cultus of the dead. Sometimes it was a
t p. 351. X "Bfjcotica," lib. ix, cap. i8, 3, 4.
Spain and Portugal. 641
building large enough to contain those who came to celebrate
an annual feast in honour of the deceased, who was buried
either under or near it. Sometimes it was a little memorial
chapel erected in the cemetery, in some cases large enough to
hold those who came to pay their devotions to their dead rela-
tives. In others it was a mere model in miniature of the more
pretentious edifice, of which kind we find examples in the curious
little structures carved out of single blocks of stone in the Musee
de Lorraine at Nancy, and which measure only 2 feet to 2 feet 6 ins.
long, by I foot to i foot 6 ins. broad, and i foot to 2 feet 6 ins.
high.f l:)\^ fabric(B which, as late as the third and fourth century.
Pope Fabricius was causing to be erected in cemeteries, though
large enough perhaps to hold the body of a devotee, were doubtless
genuine cellcs, and so too were those curious little buildings which
are still to be seen in several of the graveyards around the sites
of the earlier Irish churches, as at Clonmacnoise, for example.
All were of sepulchral origin, and none were absolutely closed,
but possessed at one end an aperture of some kind, through
which it may be supposed the offerings to the dead were inserted.
It is, however, not of the cellcs, but of the antes, that, in connection
with the Portuguese term, I have here to speak. To the former
of these terms we will return when we come to consider the
meaning of the word cille in Ireland.
In the districts in which they are found, there is a popular
belief in the sacredness of the antce. The Christians appear
to have endeavoured to divert the veneration they attracted to
their own behest, for upon several a cross has been carved, some-
times in simplest form, sometimes in that known as the Signum
Vincentii. There appears to me to be every reason, then, to
believe that this traditionary sacredness has been handed down
from times when they were actually used as little temples of the
dead, at the antce of which the sacrificia DiortiLorttm were per-
formed, and that the name they bear may be taken as proof of the
resemblance which those who first spoke the Romance language
in Portugal saw in them to the well-known temple type of pagan
and afterwards of Christian churches.
The word anta, besides designating individual dolmens, enters
into several place-names, as, for example, Anta-de-Rioconejos in
Gamora, Antas-de-Penalva, Antas-de-Penadono, and Santiago-
t '* Ulster Journal of Archaeology," vol. xvii. Sir Sam. Ferguson on Cills.
642
The Dolmens of Ireland.
d'Antas in Portugal, where it is also a surname. In France, in
the department of Calvados, a stream is called A 71k, and a village
in that of Deux Sevres was formerly called An^o'.j
I now proceed to notice in order the megalithic remains in
the Peninsula according to their distribution, commencing with
those in the provinces on the north-east, where until recently
their presence was unrecognized by archaeologists. To Signor
Sanpere y Miqueljwe are indebted for the knowledge of the
existence of dolmens in no inconsiderable numbers, not only on
the southern side of the eastern extremity of the Pyrenean range,
but also at some distance from the mountains in the provinces
of Lerida, Gerona, and Barcelona. One, near Pedro a INIoya
in Lerida, he describes as formed by three rough supporting
stones surmounted by a tabular rock, the surface of which has
a depression in the centre.
Another, in the same
province, is constructed of
three large slabs forming
the sides and end of a
chamber, covered by a
single slab. This latter is
called the jRoca Encantada,
i.e. " Enchanted Stone."
In the Pla de Gibrella
near Olot in Gerona many
Vi^, megalithic monuments
^ occur. One dolmen, of
~ which I gave an illustra-
tion, appears to be a fine
specimen of the type of
those supported by "free-standing" columns. It is situated at
the head of a gorge or glen called the Vail Gorguina, i.e. Vale
of the Enchantress, Witch, or Hag — another instance of her
association here, as in Ireland, and at Drenthe, with these monu-
ments. It is formed of seven unhewn blocks bearins: on their
summits a slab 3-05 m. long by 2'46 m. broad.
Not far from this is the dolmen of Puig sas Llosas, so called
from the little hill on which it stands in close proximity to a
t See " Descrip9ao de alguns dolmins," by F. A Pereira da Costa, p. 43, ct seqq. ; also Viterbo,
Moraes, and Ducange.
\ " Revista de Ciencias," vol. ii. 1881, p. 459, ct scqq.
Fig. 578. — Dolmen in the VaU Gorguina.
Spain and Portugal. 643
chapel dedicated to Saint Jorge, a circumstance to which Signor
Sanpere points as worthy of notice because, he says, it is not
the only instance in which the conjunction of Christian with
megalithic monuments has been observed in Spain. The saint
selected seems to have been the one of all others in the calendar
whose name Joj^ge most nearly approached that of the Jorgm or
Hag, who was probably the ^Aq.x genius loci. From the drawing
and description of this dolmen, it appears that it had retained its
elongated form. The stones of which it was composed were of
considerable size — one measuring 4*20 m. long by 170 m. high,
and serving as one of the side slabs to an enclosed area 7 m. long.
Of the roofing-stones which once covered it not one remained.
During a scientific excursion made in 1880 by the members of
the Asociacion Catalanista in the Provinces of Gerona and Barce-
lona, Signor Conde de Belloch obtained descriptive notes of dol-
mens and other megalithic remains in those districts. Not far from
Fig. 579. — Dolmen at Villalba Saserra.
the town of Cardeden, at the extremity of the plain called Pla Mar-
sell, and near the Roman road leading through Gerona from Tar-
ragona into France, he found a ruined dolmen in the centre of a
circle 29'86 m. in circumference, consisting of seven stones, some
of which appeared to have been roughly worked. Another example
in which the circle consisted of eleven stones, and measured 31 m.
in circumference, occurred in the territory of Villalba Saserra, in
the district of Aremys, parish of Colsabadell, and province of
Barcelona. The dolmen consists of three stones on edge sup-
porting a slab 2*30 m. long, by 1*47 m. broad, and 0*45 m.
thick. As it stands, it is apparently of the long grave-shape type,
like that of Pawton, in Cornwall, f and (in survival in a Christian
burial-ground) that of Tumna in Roscommon. It is called the
Pedra Area, and is remarkable for the circumstance that it bears
t Borlase, "Ncenia Cornubice," pp. 32, 2Z-
644
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Fio. 580. — Dolmen near Espolla.
an inscription, the letters of which look like v^AK- The practice
of erectine stone-circles around dolmens is found to have existed
also in Andaluci'a, and it recalls the passage in Aristotle's j Politica,
where the Iberes are represented as setting up circles around
tombs, the number of stones being proportionate to the number
of enemies slain by the deceased hero there interred.
Near Espolla, on the outskirts of the Pyrenees, are several
dolmens. One called Cabana Arqueta is described as having
a covering-stone measuring 2*10 m. long, r6o m. broad, and
0*40 m. thick. At Gutina,
in the same neighbour-
hood, is another having a
coverinof-stone measurino^
3 m. in diameter.
Not far
from these is the dolmen
of thei5^rr^;^r<?, 2,^."Glen."
The vault measures 3 m.
long by 2*io m. broad,
and is covered at the
inner end by a roofing-stone 2*30 m. broad. It is open at the
other end, and seems to have been carried further in that direc-
tion. In this respect it may be compared in its present incomplete
and ruined form to a very large number of dolmens in various
parts of the world, as, for example, to the " Sepultura Grande "J
in Andalucia,§ to the dolmen at Alemtejo in Portugal, || to those
of Loughry (Tyrone) and Brenanstown (Dublin), in Ireland,^ to
a Syrian example given by M. Chantre,ff and very many others.
The upper surface of the roofing-stone is covered with scorings,
among which is the name of a modern Iberian Stubbs, " ROCA,
1750," but among which also are some which may be genuinely
ancient, since they are of the Greek <\> type, a form of rock-marking
almost as universally distributed in the Bronze and Iron Ages, as
is that of the Svastika. Examples of the form occur on the one
hand on a natural rock, at a place called the Cividade in Galicia,JJ
and on the other on the so-called Horseman's Stone, also a
natural rock, near Clonmacnoise in Ireland.§§
t Edit. Firmin-Didol, Paris, 1874, vol. i. p. 603, 1. 20,
\ See Gongoray, Martinez, and Fergusson, R.S.M., pp. 385, 386.
§ Vide ifi/ra. \\ " A-^es prehist. de I'Espagnc," p. 173.
1 See pp. 210, 390, supra. ft " Kecherches dans le Caucase," vol. i. p. 61,
Jt " Hist, de Galicia," by Signer Murguia, vol. ii., pi. at end.
§§ "Trans. Kilk. Arch. Soc," vol, v., New Ser, (1S64-66), p. 354, ct seqq. See pp. 695, 6<)6,supra.
Spain and Portugal.
645
Near this dolmen is a fine menhir called Murtra, measuring
3*25 m. high, 1-30 m. broad, and 0*43 thick. Near Espolla, too,
is the dolmen of P^dg de la devcsa de Torrent. In the case of
this monument, as in that of the last, the side-stones of the vault
are continued beyond the portion covered by the roofing-stone,
which latter measures 3 m. long, by 2 m. broad. Doubtless here,
also, the vault declined in height, and, perhaps, also became
narrower towards the end at present uncovered.
There is a dolmen also in the beautiful valley of Arranyagats
in the upper ridges of the mountains, and another in the same
district, but at a lower level, the vault or cell of which measures
I '50 m. long. The latter bears the name of La Font de Ronre, an
instance by no means uncommon of the association of the idea
of a spring-well with a dolmen, as we shall see in the case of
Portuguese examples, and, to take an Irish instance, in that of
the dolmen of Maul-na-holtora, in Kerry. f
A famous rocking-stone, as I must not omit to mention,
measuring from 8 to 10 m. in length, and a purely natural
phenomenon, is perched on the summit of one of the granite tors
of Gerona. Rocks possessed of this characteristic were held
in high veneration in the Peninsula, as they were in all dis-
Fig. 581. — Section of the dolmen of Equilaz. After a drazviiig in the Scviijtario Pintcrcsco.
tricts where the veneratio lapidtun formed a part of the cultus-
of the ancient pagan races. They happen to occur continually
in the same districts in which dolmens are found.
Passing westward along the southern foot-hills of the Pyrenees,,
we will now extend our search for megalithic monuments to the
Provincias Vascongades, or the Basque Provinces of Spain.
t Vide jupra, p. 3.
646 The Dolmens of Ireland.
In 1833, Sio^nor P. A. Zabala laid before the Academy of San
Fernando an account of a remarkable sepulchral vault which had
been discovered the year before at Eguilaz near Salvatierra, in the
Province of Alava. An account of it, accompanied by a sectional
illustration, is contained in the Soninario Pintoresco Espa7iol.\ To
the remarkable likeness it bears to examples in France, at Drenthe
in Holland and elsewhere, I have already alluded. In the descrip-
tion, the vault and the passage leading to it — that is, the lower
or eastern end of the structure — are treated separately. The
former, called the "tomb," measured 13 feet (Spanish) long by
15 feet broad. The slab which covered it was 19 feet long by
15 feet broad. The passage leading into it was 20 feet long,
4 feet broad, and 4 feet high. From these measurements we
may take it that the whole structure measured 33 feet long,
and expanded internally from 4 feet at the east end, to 15 feet
at the western and higher extremity. When opened, the interior
was found to contain human bones, and lance-heads of stone and
bronze.
In the same communication Signor Zabala states that, at a
place called Arreche, that is, in Basque, " Stone-House" {Casa de
Piedra) was another monument of the same description. The
popular name for this latter was So7'guineche, which, translated
from Basque into Spanish, is equivalent to Casa de Brtcj'as,
that is to say, the Hag's or Witch's House, Sorguin here being
the same as Jorguin, in the Eastern Pyrenees, and the exact
equivalent of the Irish Cailteac, as in Leaba-na-Callighe (Lab-
bacalle), near Fermoy, and " Calliagh Dirra's House," near
Monasterboice, both of which monuments resemble structurally
these Vascon examples as closely as can be.
In the dolmen at Arreche the construction was as follows :
six stones were set up perpendicularly in a mound, in much the
same rude fashion as at Esfuilaz. Three of these measured
9 feet (Spanish) from the level of the ground, by 5 feet broad,
and 2 feet thick. They supported a covering-stone of rudely
circular form, 10 feet in diameter. The remaining three upright
stones, though they helped to form the walls of the vault, did not
support the roofing-stone. The vault itself was of circular form,
and measured 6 feet in diameter.
This must certainly be the dolmen of which Signor Simoes
t For 1S46-47, pp. 404-6.
Spain and Portugal. 647
gives a ground-plan and two sections, and which he places at
Eguilaz-na-Chapada.f The structure is shown to be sym-
metrically formed, and the nine stones of the vault, which is
rather oval than circular, are disposed in threes along the two
longer sides, with one at the inner end, and two in the position
of jambs, one on either side the entrance. The plan is singularly
like that of the vault at Cloverhill (Sligo), some of the enclosing
slabs of which were sculptured. At short distances to the S. and
N. of this tumulus traces of others which had been destroyed
were visible.
This is, perhaps, the same monument as that described as the
dolmen of Arrizala, figured in " Espana los Monumentos y Artes," J
to which is also given the name Sorgui-
neche. In the same work, Signor Becerro §
mentions two mounds in this same district,
each containing a dolmen. One of these
was popularly known by the name of
Eskalmendi, that is to say, the " Mound
of the Basques." It was situated, so
Siornor Simoes states, above the river
, .. - . TT- • 1 F^<^- 5°2. — Plan of the chamber
Zadorra,|| one league irom Victoria, also atEquiiaz. FromSimoes.
in the Province of Alava, and was dis-
covered when the mill of Eskalmendi was repaired. It contained
skeletons, arranged in three lines between rows of small flag-
stones, which reminds us of one of the modes of interment in the
Marne caves.
The association of the name Eskal with one of these dolmen-
mounds shows that in the popular estimation they had been
set up by the ancestors of the Basques. Signor Simoes notices
the existence of another dolmen at Ocariz, near Salvatierra.^
In this same Province of Alava is a monument the accounts
of which are so various that it is difficult to speak with certainty.
Some writers, Signor Jose Amador de los Rios, for instance,
regard it as raised by human hands, while others (who I think
must be in the right) look upon it as purely natural. Be this
as it may, the extraordinary situation in which it is found leaves
no room for doubt that it was an object of great veneration to the
stone-worshippers of ancient times. Signor Miguel Rodriguez
t "Introduc^ao," p. 92.
X " Provuicias Vascongadas," Barcelona, 18S5, edit, by Signor Antonio Pirala, p. 51.
§ Id., p. 52. II "Introduccao," p. 91. 1 Id., p. 92.
648
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Ferrer, in his work, " Los Vascongados,"f speaks of it from per-
sonal observation. About twenty-five miles from Bilboa is the
church of the hermitage of St. Miguel de Arrechiuaga. Within
the nave of this, and covered by the fabric, stand three stupendous
monoliths, grouped together in close proximity. The space they
occupy is no less than no feet (Spanish) in circumference. The
tallest measures 29 feet in height, the next 18 feet, and the
shortest 14 feet. They rise pyramidally, and, in one account,
are said to support each other. In one of the recesses formed
by the gaps between their bases is placed the modern altar of
Fig. 583. — Interior of the Erniita de San Miguel de Arrechiuaga. Etched by the Author from
an engraving.
St. Miguel, over which is a figure of the Archangel, in the
costume (if we can trust the illustration) J of a Roman soldier — •
his right arm raised and the hand holding a spear, and on
his left arm a round shield.
t Madrid, 1873, P> *3 "•
X "La Ilustracion Espaniolay Americana," 1877, No. IL, pp. 27 and 37. The illustration given
is exceedingly rough, and the upper portion of the plate is truncated, so that the tops of the rocks
arc not seen. Fergusson (K. S. Monuments, p. 388) gives a copy of it, with some variations, taken
from Frank Leslie's Illuslratcd Navspaper.
Spain and Portugal. 649
This singular monument is in a country purely Basque, and
that it was held sacred by the ancient Iberes there can be
little doubt, since the Christians, not being able to destroy
it, evidently appropriated it and the proceeds of the cultus
attaching to it, — placing it, as was customary with all the rock and
mountain deities of the pagans, under the protection of their own
god of rocks and high places, St. Michael, and bidding the votaries
transfer their adoration to him.
Having already spoken of the megalithic monuments of the
French Basque Departments, we proceed to the Province of
Navarre. Signor Manuel de Assas mentions the existence of
menhirs here.f Near the town of Los Arcos are three. One
is called the Piedra Hita, and measures 12 feet high. The other
two, also of large size, are in the form of irregular cones, and
face one another in a field. They are called by the people Las
Piedras Mormas. The same writer, in his article entitled
" Monumentos Celticos," quotes Signor Angel de los Rios for
the statement, which I do not find confirmed elsewhere, that
near Reinosa, in the province of Santander, are two menhirs,
called respectively P^/l^';^^ dc Izara and La Pena-larga, in Fresno,
the first of which is 60 feet (Spanish) high by 46 feet in circum-
ference ; the second 50 feet high, by 36 feet in circumference. In
the accounts of these writers it is extremely difficult to dis-
criminate between what is natural and what is artificial. It is
certain, however, that many purely natural rocks commanded the
veneration of the inhabitants, and that notices of them, therefore,
are in place in any archaeological conspectus, which, like the
present, aims at comparing the folk-lore prevalent in the various
countries of Western Europe, as well as the actual structural
remains.
Signor de Assas describes, and figures an example of a class
of pillar-stone which occurs notably in Ireland, namely, the
" Holed-Stone." The example in question is called La Piedra
Horadada^ and is described as a rough pillar, pierced with one or
more slits or holes, half a foot in diameter. The popular belief
about such monuments is that the ancient people used them for
healing wounds or long-standing complaints in their arms and legs.
The drawing of one of them, which Signor de Assas appends,
shows that the stone is not pierced through the centre, but through
t Seminario Pintoresco Espanol, 1857.
VOL. n. Z
650 The Dolmens of Ireland.
an angle or corner of it. f In this respect it resembles exactly two
holed stones which stand near the two " Churches of the Men and
the Women" {Team pidl-na-bhf car 2iXiA Tea7}2p2ill-na-vibaii), on the
Island of Inishmurray, off the Sligo coast, figured by Col. Wood-
Martin.:}: They are sometimes called " Praying Stones," and that
near the "Church of the Women" is still resorted to by women desir-
ing a favourable confinement. The suppliants kneel at the stone,
which is pierced through each of the angles of the front which
faces them. They then " pass the thumbs into the front and their
fingers into the side openings, thus gaining a firm grasp of the
angles of the stone." Upon one of the stones, as shown by
Col. Wood-Martin, a cross (of the form which in Portugal would
be called the signum Vinccntii) has been cut.
There is a remarkable monument, mentioned
by Signor Manuel de Assas,§ which he styles a
dolmen complicado, or one of those popularly
known by the name of Grtita dc Las Hadas
(Cave of the Fairies, Grotte des Fdes), which was
discovered in a cairn on which stood the little
church of Santa Cruz de Cangas de Onis, by the
riverside near the splendid bridge for which that
place is famous. || It consists of unhewn flags
set on their edges, and covered in by others laid
across them. The circular vault to which a
passage leads is formed by seven upright stones
slightly inclining inwards so as to give the
^'SambtrSef \^he structure a conical shape. It may be compared
church of Santa Cruz \^ \^^ arouud-plan with that at Eoruilaz la Cha-
de Cansjas de Onis. .
From the Serninario pada, and with the dolmen of Mont d'Algeda,
to be noticed presently. The circular or horse-
shoe shape for these dolmen vaults is a distinguishing charac-
teristic of the Peninsula examples, as also is the inward inclination
of the side-stones, giving the section 7\.^ The passage ox galeria
has three flags on either side placed obliquely, and the entrance
t See the holed stone at Lackadarra, in the Co. of Cork, in the MSS. of J. Windele, R.L
Acad.
% " Rude Stone Monuments of Ireland," p. 102.
§ " Sem-Pint. Esp.," 1857, p. 163.
II See picture in " Recuerdos y bellezas de Espana " {Aslttrias y Leoit), plate facing p. 30.
•jf Signor Simous remarks this feature as one common to the dolmens of Alemtejo and Galicia.
Signor Sarmento of GuimaraCs, in a letter which he kindly wrote me on the subject of the dolmens
and other antiquities of his district, informed me that the characteristic of inclined jambs was every-
where noticeable in the earliest architectural remains in the Peninsula, and that all the dolmens he
had seen possessed it.
1
Spain and Portugal. 651
is provided with two stones for jambs. Tradition associates the
church with Favila, and Ambrosio de Morales states that in a
crypt beneath it that king was buried.
The fact, however, is that here, as in so many other instances in
other countries as in this, a Paean tumulus has been surmounted
by a Christian edifice, and with the transference of veneration a
new legend was substituted for the old.
Signor Joaquim Costa f has some remarks on this transference
of cultus, which are worthy of attention. Among the pagans, he
says, the tombs were the temples of the dead. In the mamdas or
tombs, which, he adds, the Gallegos, called also Lovios,% dwelt
the Manes in intimate and continual communication with their
descendants and relatives who were still alive. To them the latter
offered bread, wine, and fruit, consecrated in the fire of the hearth,
which is the meaning of a passage in St. Martin of Braga
(6th centur}'), "fundere in foco super truncum frugem." On the
antas, or dolmens, offerings were, according to Signor Costa, also
made, as well as at the terminos [? areas] at the boundaries of the
estates. When Martin of Braga wrote De corredione RiisticortLm,^
offerings of bread and wine were made at the Wells {vimmi et
panem in fontem mittere). This nature cultus of the Iberes,||
which must have preceded the private family rites {sacra) of the
Celtici,^ and the subsequent god-system of the Romans, was made
the object of attack by several Spanish Councils, ff and was well-
nigh suppressed by the process of excommunication. Priests were
forbidden to tolerate it, and were further enjoined to engrave
crosses on the rocks which served as altars, or as centres for assembly,
to the rustic population. Examples of the practice Signor Costa
instances in the case of the dolmen-tumulus of Fornella ; and
in that of the natural altar of Gondomil. Some sacred places,
he adds, they transformed into Catholic churches, as that at
Cangas de Onis, and at Arrechiuaga, both of which we have just
described. He cites also the rocking-stone in Galicia called
La Barca de Ntiestra Seiiora, " The Ship of Our Lady," to which
a Christian legend is attached, to be noticed presently.
In the Province of Santander are several rocking-stones. Two
f " Organization poli'tica, civil y religiosa de los Celtiberos," Madrid, 1879, pp. 12, 22, etc.
X It has been suggested tliat this word is tlie same as Ltigovcs, who seem to have been divinities-
connected with tombs, e.g. " Lugovibus Sacrum" (HUbn. C.I.L., vol. ii. (Hisp.)), 2849.
§ Cap, 9, in " Espafia Sacrada," tom. xv.
II See Marrast, Pref. to Humboldt's " Prim. Ilab. de Espaua," 1866.
i[ "Plin. Nat. Hist." iii., 3.
tt Concil. Tolet, xii., cap. xi. ; xvi., cap. ii. ; Concil. Bracar. ii., cap. xxii.
652 The Dolmens of Ireland.
are in the Sierra de Sejos, one of which is called the Piedra de
Concha, " Rock of the Shell." Another curiously placed rock is
the so-called dolmen " de/ Abra!' Upon the flat surface of a large
natural rock are three comparatively small stones, on which, in
table fashion, rests a square, flattish block, givino^ to the whole
much the appearance of an altar, such as one figured by Mr. Du
Chaillu in his "Viking Age," which he regards as sacrificial, and
which is certainly artificial. Near the " dolmen del Abra," on
the same elevated ridge, is a hermitage called by the name of
the Virgin del Abra, a proof probably of the pre-Christian sanctity
of the spot. In Santander, also, is a very curious natural rocking-
stone, called the Pedra Baloncante de Boariza, of which Signor
Simoes gives an illustration.
In the Christian legend-lore of Galicia and the Asturias, the
Apostle Saint James occupies a position analogous to that of
Saint Patrick in Ireland. At Padron is a monument consisting of
a rude flight of steps leading up to a pillar-stone on the top of
great rocks dedicated to the saint. At the same place a large
natural rock is pointed out, held in great veneration, and called
the " Altar of the Apostle." f On the top, a plain Latin cross has
been fixed. \ Saint Patrick's " stones," as well as those of other
saints, in addition to those of Finn Mac Cumhail and other giants,
are to be found all over Ireland.
Another class of stone monument, according to Signor Manuel
de Assas, is represented by the Piedra con Pila — the stone with a
trough or basin. It is a rough and perfectly natural block of
granite about 6 feet high, having on its upper surface a cavity from
which a fissure or channel proceeds to the outer edge of the stone.
It is said to be an ancient altar. A cross standing by its side marks
the usual attempt to transfer the veneration paid it. Stones with
similar hollows and trenches were frequently selected as the roofing-
stones of dolmens ; for example, at Haroldstown (co. Carlow,
Ireland), in the Vallee de Couria (Corsica),§ etc., etc. With such
natural cavities on the surface of rocks, about which traditions of
sacrifice existed, we may fairly compare the very curious and
evidently artificial cavities and trenches on the surfaces of natural
t " Le Ilustration Gallega y Asturiana," for June 20th, 1879.
X See " Recueidos de un viaje a Santiago de Galicia per el. P. Fidel Fita, y D. Aureliano
Fernandez-Guerra," Madrid, 1880, p. 28. See the same work for the legend of " Sant-Iago," and
the " Dragon " given in a note, infra.
§ " Notes d'un Voyage en Corse," by M. Prosper Merimce ; plate facing p. 26.
Spain and Portugal. 655
rocks, used as altars of sacrifice in Roman times at Pannoyas, on
the hill called the Assento, near S. Pedro de Valdenogueiras, in
the district of Val Real,f in Portugal, where it would appear that
sacrifices were offered by Romans on the great natural rocks,
which the native Lusitanians had previously consecrated to their
bloody rites. A better proof than is afforded by these inscribed
altar-rocks, that in many cases the venerated natural blocks were
indeed and in reality the pagan altars, which a vague tradition
holds them to have been, could not be found.
Signor Villa Amil y Castro gives an illustration of a huge
boulder with " rock-basins " and a trench, in Galicia, called the
Peiia Avaladoira. Signor Manuel de Morguia mentions also, in
his "History of Galicia," a "natural altar "at Corme, which has
a cross carved on the top, and an irregular rock-basin with
channels leading into it. On one side it bears the figure of a
dragon \ well sculptured. At Logrosa (Negreira) are two stones,
the one placed on the top of the other. On the lower stone are
three circular holes of unequal depth. The same writer gives an
illustration of a rough rock called the Pena da Croa at Recadieira,
which he calls a natural altar.
There are, at least, seven celebrated " rocking-stones " in
Galicia, two of which are in the islands of Cies and Bayona. Of
these, that at Mugia is the more noteworthy. It is the one to
which Signor Joaquim Costa alluded above. " It is commonly
called," says Signor M. de Morguia, "the Rock of the Virgin de la
Barca ; " but Signor M. de Assas gives it a more special name — the
Vela de la Barca de la Virgcn — that is, the " Sail of the Virgin's
Ship." Signor Martinez de Padin speaks of the "immense
religious homage paid by the common people to this stone, the
oscillations of which they attributed to the miracles and marvels of
the neighbouring sanctuary and hermitage of Our Lady of the
Barca." It is situated on a rocky promontory at gun-shot distance
from the Mugia Point. It measures 103 feet in circumference,
t " Memorias para Hist. Eccl. de Arcebispado de Braga," by D. Jeronymo Contador el
Argote, torn, i., \\V>. ii., tit. i., c. vii., p. 325. See also an account written in 1721 by And.
Gonsalvez, padre of Valdenogueiras, sent to the " Academia Real" by order of H.M. the King of
Portugal ; also Hiibner, C.I.L., vol. ii. (Hisp.) 2395, and "Lusitanian Sketches," vol. ii., p. 349, et
seqq., by W. H. G. Kingston. See engraving, p. 663, infi-a.
X I think we can identify this dragon. In the legend of " Sant-Iago," an immense dragon had
acquired for himself the greater part of the 7nons vocatiis Illicimis, ntaic vero Sacer, breathing out
pestilential breath, and killing all animal life. He rushed hissing at the saint and his companions.
The saint made the sign of the cross, however, and the dragon vanished as smoke. The Mons
Illicinus and its legend answers exactly to that of Croagh Patrick, in Mayo. Patrick is Saint-lago
and Crom is the serpent or dragon.
654 The Dolmens of Ireland.
and rests on another rock similar to itself. At its base are
several cavities, the force of the wind in which causes the
oscillatory movement to be more or less marked. So strong was
the local belief in the Christian origin of the supposed miracle, that
the Spanish writer (himself a native of Galicia) is constrained to
apologize in a note for venturing to attribute to it a pagan one.
" We doubt not," he says, " that some will take it amiss that we
have cited the Stone of Mugia as a Gentile monument, the common
people believing it to be the Bark which broiigJit the image of the
Virgin to these shores. The position of this rock is very similar to
that of the Logan Rock on Treryn Point, near the Land's End
in Cornwall. As to the legend, we have only to turn to the
accounts of St. Declan's Stone f on the seashore at Ardmore
(co. Cork), which was believed to have been wafted thither over
the sea from Rome, bearing the bell and the vestments of the
saint, and the marvellous veneration in which it was held by the
common people ; or to the story of the rock called St. Bodan's
Boat, J in Inishowen, in Donegal ; or to that of the " moor-stone
trough," on the banks of the Fal, in Cornwall, in which St. Kea
made a voyage to the Cornish shore ; or to that of St. Piran's mill-
stone ; or of St. Patrick's altar, § which similarly conveyed those
several sacred personages to the same coast, to comprehend that an
identical myth, to which all these legends remotely trace, was the
common property of the prehistoric populations of the coasts of
Western Europe.
In Galicia, according to Signor Siveto, are many menhirs.
There is one in the district of Lobios, in the Serra de Gerez,
measuring 6 m. hieh. In that of Eso^os Sii^nor Simoes mentions
a remarkable one, 1 1 m. high, but formed of four stones placed one
over the other, and resembling in this respect a monument in
Portugal. Signor M. de Murguia speaks of menhirs near La
Puebla, placed in alignments, and near a dolmen-mound. A
genuine menhir is in this country called Piedra Fita, that is, Petra
Fixa, but some of the stones which are so called may be accounted
for by having been set up for boundaries. ||
Of the dolmens in Galicia, the two of the large-cist type, of
which we have spoken when referring to the term area, and of
t See "The Holy W^ells of Ireland," by Philip Dixon Hardy, 1836.
X •• Innis-Owen and Tirconnel," by W. J. Doherty, p. 55.
§ See all these folk-lore stories collected in my "Age of the Saints," 2nd edit., 1S93, p. 87,
£t seqq.
II " Pctrcc fixoe, qucc ab antique pro terminis fuerunt constitutoe."
Spain and Portugal.
655
which Signer Jose Villa-Amil y Castro has given plans, are called
respectively the Area de Sinas, and the Ajxa de Padorno. That
writer also mentions several others, as, for example, the Area dc
la Piosa, and one In the Valle de Oro. We may suppose that the
Area qucc dichir dc Sobereira and the Area de Montonto are of the
same class.
On the hill of Recadleira, near Mondonedo, there is the Pefia
de Croa, a dolmen figured by Signor M. Murgula,f consisting of
one large covering-stone, resting diagonally on a supporter,
precisely In the position of the Rathkenny dolmen (co. Meath).
On the back of the covering-stone Is the remnant of the mound
which doubtless once enclosed it.
In the case of some Galician dolmens only two stones support
the roofing-slab, so that, were the other side and end stones
Fig. 5S5. — Near Mondonedo, Galicia. From Murguia.
removed, they would form trilithons. Signor SImoes thinks that
dolmens constructed in this manner resemble certain dolmens in
the province of Constantine in Argelia (Africa) in which objects
of bronze and iron have been found. Signor M. de Murguia
speaks of a dolmen-mound at La Puebla, and also others called
Pledra de Aviso, Area de Ogas, Area de la Vimlanzo, the names
of which are worth preserving. There was also one at Erbellido.
Probably, if sought for, dolmens would be found along the entire
northern coast of Galicia. At Fecha in the Castro Grande is a
rock called the Pledra del Paraguas, or Umbrella Stone. It Is
surrounded by a ditch and counter ditch on an ancient fortified
height, within the circumvallation of which are numerous partition
t " Hist, de Galicia," vol. li. plate at end.
6q6
The Dolmens of Ireland.
walls. The rock is in the form of a mushroom, flat and smooth
on its under face, but rough on the top. It rests on a small stone,
which, again, rests on the natural rock. It seems to be comparable
to such natural formations as the Cheese-Wring, in Cornwall
(which is also surrounded by an entrenchment), the "Cloch Morhit,"
in the county of Sligo, and the Carrig-a-Choppeen, in that of Cork.
All these were venerated sites. f
Between Fecha and Bachado, near Santiago, is a monument
consisting of two stones set upright, with a third crossing them,
like a table. The side-stones measure 2*90 m. high by 6*35 m.
broad. The flagstone crossing them measures 3'30 m. (N. to S.)
by 3 m. (E. to W.). It is probably the remains of a dolmen.
The popular name it bears is Pena Cabalada.\ A legendary
connection between horses and horsemen, and venerated rocks
is common in Ireland. §
A stone-circle in Galicia, at Monte das Fachas, consisting of five
stones, is mentioned by Signor Villa Amil y Castro. It resembles
several in the county of Cork. The hill of Faxildre, between Noya
and Santiago, is described by Signor Murguia as being covered with
"^•^
^^fefc.
Fig. 586. — Circle of Monte das Fachas.
Stones arranged in lines or in segments of circles, " like a miniature
Carnac scattered over with tiny menhirs," or, perhaps, still more
like the alignments and circles of Achill or Dartmoor. On
the mountain of Corzan, in the district of Jallas de Porqueira,
when the furze is burnt, it is seen that the surface is
covered with circles or portions of circles, some larger than
others, several of considerable size, some entire, others broken
down in places, but all alike formed by small contiguous stones,
fixed in the ground so as to form rude enclosures, the circuits of
t A sketch of the first of these was taken by Gabriel Beranger, who calls it " The Riding Stone."
One of the second is among the MSS. of J. Windele, in the K.I. A.
X In the Estrada is a dolmen called Pena Caballcirada.
§ e.g.f Reen-a-goppul, Garran-ban, the Horseman's Stone, etc., etc.
Spain and Portugal.
657
which are here and there interspersed by stones set on end, larger
than the others, although only about 18 inches high. Near them
is a viainoa, described as one of the largest and most curious
known. Hundreds of similar circles — the huts and pens of a
primitive pastoral population — exist on Cornish, Welsh, and Irish
moors.
Among the ancient names for boundaries in Galicia is that of
Petrcc Nofce, used to denote graves hewn out of a single solid
stone. Such sepulchres were in use amongst the ancient inhabi-
tants of the Serra da Estrella in Portuo-al. Sisfnor Sarmento ogives
two examples from that country, and one from Galicia is figured
by Signor Jose Villa-Amil, who calls it a Piedra Noffa. Noffus,
or Nauftis, according to Ducange, was a term usually applied to a
wooden sarcophagus. In any case it took its name from its
resemblance to a ship.f It was the hollow keel in which the
voyage to the islands of the dead in the West was to be made.
In the Balearic Isles, as we shall presently see, this term navita, or
7iaUy was applied both to sepulchral caves hollowed out in the form
Fig. 587. — Portuguese dolmen. After Cariailhac.
of vessels, and for buildings erected for tombs, having their
interiors shaped like ships, and their exteriors, in conformity with
the same idea, presenting the appearance of inverted keels. The
stone troughs in which legend asserted that the saints made their
voyages were in reality nofce, or stone coffins.
The prehistoric antiquities of Portugal have received a closer
t " Naufo ; nostiis (i.e. Francis), Nan, None (dicta)," Fr. Pithou, Gloss. Leg. Sal. in voc.
658
The Dolmens of Ireland.
attention than those of Spain. In the beginning of the eigh-
teenth century, when the subject had scarcely been entered upon
seriously by the antiquaries of France and England, the Padre
Affonso-da-Madre-de-Deos Guerreiro presented to the Academy
at Lisbon a brief report, noticed by the President in the year
1734, on the subject of the Antas, the number of which then
existing in the kingdom the author computed at no fewer than
three hundred and fifteen. Unfortunately, this valuable communi-
cation was never published, and appears to have been lost. In i 773,
however, Don ]\Iartino Mendouca-de-Pina presented to the same
learned society a paper upon the same subject, which was printed
in the 14th volume of its " Memoires." In this it was stated that
in the neicrhbourhood of Evora alone there were then no less than
sixty-seven examples of dolmens. In 1868 appeared a work on
the Antas by Don F. A. Pereira-da-Costa, which is the principal
authority on the subject written by a native author. In this forty-
FlG. 588. — Lapa dos Mouros, Portugal. After Cartailhac.
four stone monuments, nearly all of them dolmens, are described,
and nearly one half of them illustrated by plans and drawings.
Other elevations of dolmens will be found in Signor Sarmento's
communication to the Geographical Society of Lisbon, giving the
results of an expedition to the Serra da Estrella. Pictures and
descriptions of Antas will be found also in the work of Signor
Manuel Simoes, to which reference has been frequently made.
More recently (in 18S6) M. Cartailhac has summed up the
Spain and Portugal.
659
researches of earlier writers, and added new material collected by
himself in his " Ages prehistoriques de I'Espagne," a work in
which the illustrations of dolmens are of peculiar excellence.
From all these sources it may be gathered that in type the
Antas do not differ greatly from each other. The roofing-stone is
usually supported on the upper edges of two, three, or more side-
stones of the vault, set on edge, and, as we have said, slightly
inclining inwards as they rise. Many of these structures owe
their preservation to the use they have so easily been made to
serve as houses for cattle and goats, the interstices between the
stones having been filled in with masonry or plaster. In some
Fig. 5S9. — The Anta de Serranheira, Alemtejo. After Cartailliac.
instances, such as in that of the Anta de Melri^o, the side-stones
which did not support the roof have been removed, leaving the
monument in the condition of the " Broadstone," in Antrim, like a
three-legged milking-stool.
As in the case of the Irish dolmens, so in that of the Portuguese,
I fail to be able to draw any line of distinction between those
monuments which, in their present state, appear to be simply
vaults open on one side, without any prolongation in that direction,
and those in which the passage-way or galeria is still in existence.
To make my meaning clear, I take in evidence three examples
from M. Cartailhac's work,f the Antas, namely, of Paredes, near
Evora, that called Lapa dos Moui'os, near Ancora in the Minho, and
one in Alemtejo. In each of these cases, although broken down,
distinct traces of the continuation remain. Beine lower and
t {a) Frontispiece; {b) fig. 206; {c) p. 173.
66o
The Dolmens of Ireland.
narrower than the portion which formed the vault, these galerias
have been more easily demolished, and, where the process of this
demolition has proceeded a stage further, nothing is left but the
vault or cell itself, shorn of the approach which once abutted on
and filled up its open end, for, in these Antas one side is invariably
open.
The dolmen of Paredes bears a striking and unmistakable resem-
blance to three Irish dolmens, that on Bear Island,f in the county
of Cork, and the two terminal ones in the row of six at MacKee's
farm in Glenmalin, in the county of Donegal.^ With that near
Ancora (p. 658, Fig. 588), I would specially compare in point of
Fig. 590. — Anta of Paredes, near Evora. Etched J roin a photograph in Cartailhac s
" Ages preliist. de I'Espngne."
ground-plan that at Brenanstown, in the county of Dublin,
although the roofing-stone is of insignificant size compared to
that of the Irish example. The Alemtejo monument finds its
counterpart in any dolmen in Cork, Clare, or Sligo, from
which all the cap-stones, save the largest terminal one, have been
removed. The smaller of two dolmens at Paco da Vinha, near
Evora,§ is marvellously like that at Shanganagh (co. Dublin), |[
while the larger one at the same place ^ resembles those in the
county of Clare, where broader side-slabs are employed. In the
case of those Portuguese monuments where the side-stones of
t At Ardaragh, pp. 40-43, supra.
II P- 393' sitpfc.
X pp. 244-248, supra. § Id., fig. 201.
t Id., fig. 253.
Spain and Portugal.
66 1
the lower end, that is to say the galeria, still remain, the same
resemblance to Irish structures is noticeable, but with this
difference, that, instead of the vault gradually expanding so as
to show a wedge-shaped ground-plan, as in the Drenthe and
some Swedish examples, the passage terminates in a more or less
circular or oval cell, corresponding more closely with the Vester-
gotlande type at Ottagarden, given by M. Oscar Montelius,f and
very closely, indeed, to the " passage-dolmen " of Yr Ogof, in
Wales.J
Another point in common between the dolmens of Portugal
Fig. 591. — Small Anta of Paco de Vinha, front view. From Cartailhac.
and those of Ireland, Sweden, Cornwall, and elsewhere, is to be
found in the little artificial cup-markings which (quite distinguish-
able from the natural holes resulting from rain or from the borings
of a marine creature) the table-stones of some of them bear on
their upper surface. M. Cartailhac figures two covering-stones
thus marked, those, namely, of the Antas of Pa90 da Vinha and
of Paredes, with which may be compared those of the dolmens of
Fasmarup, in Scania,§ of Clynnog Fawr, in Carnarvonshire, ||
of that called the Three Brothers of Grugith (a demi-dolmen), in
t "Congres int. d'Anth. et d'Arch.," Stockholm, 1874, vol. i. p. 164.
X " Archoeol. Cambr.," 1869, p. 140. See p. 450, supra, and for ground-plan of the Pafo de
Vinha dolmen, see p. 449, supra.
, § " Congres Int.," Stockholm, 1874, vol. i. p. 157 (Fig. 448, supra).
II "Archaic Sculpturings," Sir J. Y. Simpson, plate ix. (Fig. 449, supra).
662
The Dolmens of Ireland.
the Meneage district in Cornwall.t and of several in the county of
Cork, and elsewhere in Ireland. The covering-stone of a cist
at Bakerhill in Ross-shire J bears similar cup-markings, some
evidently artificial.
A circular dolmen from which the roofing-stone has been
removed, on Mont d'Algeda, situated at a distance of 1200 m. to
h
fMii^iu^^^S^ss^^
Fig. 592. — The Anta de Pa50 de Vinha, near Evora. J^rom Cartailhac.
the S.W. of the Pyramide de Barros, and a plan of which is given
by Signor Pereira da Costa, § deserves special mention from the
fact that in the surface of a large stone to the right of the entrance
a bowl-shaped cavity has been sunk. The circular chamber
Fig. 593.— Dolmen of Mont d'Algeda. From Pereira da Costa. A, basin in stone.
measures 3*97 m. in diameter, and is formed by eight stones, with
a ninth lying outside, and two jamb-stones at the entrance,
apparently the commencement of a passage like that at Cangas de
t See Figs. 446, 447, supra.
§ •' Antas," plate ii., 7rt and "jb.
X Fig. 438, supra.
Spain and Portugal.
663
Onis. The stone containing the basin measures 2 m. broad at
the base, and 3*66 long. It is in the inner face of the stone, and
is o*i8 m. in diameter.
Stones having similar artificial basins are common in Ireland,
where the basin is called the bnlldn. In some districts the water
in them is considered holy, and in some cases possessed of cura-
tive properties. They are often found in proximity to Christian
edifices of early date, but they are not unknown in connection with
circles and dolmens. Two such cavities exist In the upper face
of a stone In the circle at Kippagh, in the county of Cork ; another
Fig, 594. — Sacrificial rock, with basins, at Pannoyas. F7-0))i an old steel eiigraving.
in one of the eight stones forming a circle in the county of
Fermanagh, at Castle Archdale ; f and at the entrance to the
dolmen at Newgrove, near Tulla, in the county of Clare.J is a fine
example.
In the natural rock which forms one of the two supports of the
table-stone of the demi-dolmen called the " Three Brothers of
Gruglth," in Cornwall,§ a basin of this kind has been scooped out.
It is placed just at the entrance of the creep or passage under the
roof-stone, and my opinion is that it was In some way connected
with the superstitious practice of creeping under rocks set up in
this manner, perhaps intended to contain water for purification,
or sacrificial blood.
In the sacrificial altar-stones at Pannoyas, to which I have
referred, circular basins have been cut,|| which may be taken as
t MSS. of J. Windele, R.I. Acad., Dublin ; Kilk. Archseol. Soc. Journ., 1874-75, vol. iii.
p. 467.
X Fig. 103, supra. § pp. 482, 483, supra.
11 " Argote, Lisbon," 1732, book iv. cap. vii. sec. 576, p. 347.
664
The Dolmens of Ireland.
evidence that in Portugal, at all events, they were used in the
ceremonies there performed (Fig. 590).
In some few of the antas — the Anta da Tapada, for example,
a high stone stood at either end, the plot between being marked
out by side-stones. In such cases there were probably no roofing-
stones, but the monument resembled the ship-graves of Denmark.
Examples of circular dolmen-vaults are furnished by Signor
Pereira da Costa in the cases of the Anta de Murteia-de-Baixo, in
Alemtejo, and of that of Campo das Antas in Beira. The Anta
Fig. 595. — Dolmen at Fontc Coberta on the Douro. rhotographed by Lieut -Col.
J. G. Sandeman.
of Monte Branco affords an instance of the circular form with the
entrance-stones of the galeria in place.
In 1886 I accompanied Lieut.-Col. J. G. Sandeman in an excur-
sion up the river Douro, in search of what proved to be a remarkably
fine anta, much further inland than it is usual to find them. It
lies about twelve miles from Pinhao, in the hilly country of Alijo,
in the Province of Trasos-Montes. From the hieh eround close
above the plateau on which it stands, the ancient fortification,
called the Castello, or Castro, de S. Romao, can be seen far to the
southward, and beyond it, again, the mountains of the Estrella.
Closer at hand are the rugged peaks called the Fragas, while
to the north lies the Serra de Morao.
Spain and Portugal.
665
The enclosed land in which the dolmen stands is called the
Fonte Coberta. Although none of the stones are hewn, the
dolmen presents a neat and square appearance, like a house built
with cards. It is known by the name of the Casa dos Moiros
(" The Moors' House "), but another ancient name is, perhaps,
preserved in the name of the field (Fonte Coberta), the associa-
tion of springs of water with dolmens, stone-circles, and primitive
burying-places being found in many other districts. In Portugal
there are two other examples of its occurrence in the case of
dolmens called respectively Fonte-de-Mouratau and Anta do
Fontdo, and in the Pyrenees we have noticed one called La Fonte
de RotLre.
In Ireland some sepulchral tumuli are popularly believed to
contain wells. A dolmen-like structure covering a well in which
a Magics was buried is mentioned in the " Life of St. Patrick,"'
~^^^f^^Jni^> -^V>4.>"^ 'V^^.
.f^**""ff
JjM^Sil
Fig. 596. — Anta de Candiera, Portugal. Fro/n Cartailhac.
and one such is known to exist at Ballycroum in the county Clare,
while at the dolmen of JMaul-na-holtora, in Kerry, a spring is said
to have existed within the vault, so that the customary rites proper
to a holy well were paid to it. To this superstition I shall again
refer.
The dolmen of which I am speaking, near Alijo, is formed of
eight stones, seven of which make the enclosing wall of the vault,
which, from floor to roof, measures 8 feet high within. The
VOL. II. 2 A
666 The DoL^rENs of Ireland.
covering-stone is 12 feet in diameter, but was at one time larger,
a piece having been broken off from its eastern end. It is about
2 feet thick. The structure stands in a low mound or cairn, the
present diameter of which is about 50 feet. On the outer face
of one of the southern side-stones a small plain cross X has been
carefully incised, most likely to Christianize it according to the
injunctions of the ecclesiastics,! or to mark it as a boundary
of lands. On the upper surface of the covering-stone there are
several distinctly marked artificial cups. On the N.E. side three
are traceable, measuring respectively 2]:, 2^, and 3 inches in
diameter at the orifice, and \, |, and i inch deep. Two are
placed 5 inches apart, and the third is 2 feet 9 ins. from them.
The first writer who noticed the existence of a holed dolmen
in Portugal was Signor Gabriel Pereira, and since then it has
been described both by Don Pereira da Costa and M. Cartailhac.J
It is at Candieira, near Rodondo. The hole is squarish, like that
in the roofing-stone of the dolmen of Trethevy in Cornwall, a
monument which closely resembles Portuguese examples. The
aji^a, in the end or inner stone of which it is placed rather high up,
was provided at the other end, now open, with a passage, and
from the sketch of the structure it appears to me that the side-
stones of the inner end, protruding beyond the vault, formed just
such an open antechamber, or portico, as occurs in so many Irish
dolmens. §
Siirnor Gabriel Pereira has also recorded the fact that near
Vidigueiras was a group of three dolmens with a monolith occupy-
ing a central position among them. On the estate of Vidigueiras
itself was another dolmen having a galeria.
On the beautiful and far-famed Serra de Cintra, near Lisbon,
is a well-known monument, now commonly called the Dolmen
of Andrenunes (Andre Nunes). Signor Simoes found difficulty
t Vide supra, p. 650. On one of the side-stones of llie galcria of the Anta de Freixo a cross
is also cut.
X "Ages Prchist.," figs. 248, 249.
§ Besides the names of aulas which I have specially mentioned, I find the following : Anta de
I'ombaes, Antas de Milhar-do-Cabe90, Anta do Porto des Pinheiros, Anta da Torre-da-Contada
<rAlcogulo, Anta de Corleiros, Anta da Casa-dos-Galhardos, Anta da Tajjada de Pedro Alvaro,
Anta da Tapada dos Olheiros, Anta da Varzea-dos- Monroes, Anta do Fundo de Nave-do-Grou (at
Sobral), Anta do Crato, Anta de Panasqueira, Anta d'Arrayolos (a fine specimen, of wliich an
illustration is given by Mr. Kinsey in his "Portugal Illustrated"), Anta de Barrocal, Anta de
Monte-do-Onteiro, Anta de Tisnada, Anta de Mont d'Ksguerra, Anta de Guilhalfonso, Anta de
Matan^a, Anta de Carapichana, Anta de Consinera, Anta de Serranheira, Anta de Monte Abrahao,
Anta de Lairinha, Anta de Valle dc Moura, Anta do Aljan, Anta do Carvalhal de Gouveias (these
last two, togetlier with Anta do Fontau, figured by Signor Sarmento, in his account of the Expe-
dition to the Serra da Estrella), and, lastly, ihe ^a/er/a of Portimao.
Spain and Portugal. 667
in classifying it. A picture of it will be found in the " Archivo
Pittoresco." Signor Fuschini, the departmental engineer of
Lisbon, considered it as a galeria. He describes it as having
parallel lateral walls, formed of great flagstones placed vertically,
and covered with horizontal ones.
Popular superstition in Portugal attributes everything pre-
historic and unexplained to the Moors, just as the Irish do to
the Danes. A " Rocking Stone " in the Minho has a legend
attached to it connecting it with Moorish enchantresses. Two
great footprints sunk in the surface of one of the rock altars
at Pannoyas are said to have been made respectively by a male
and female Moor, supposed to have been magicians.
A monument attributed to a Jorgin, or Witch, in the Pyrenees
would be attributed to a Moor, and especially to a Moorish
woman in the west and south of the Peninsula, the idea, however,
of enchantment being preserved. This name, in the form of Moro^
does occur, as we have seen, on the French side of the mountains,
as in the case of a dolmen in the department of the " Pyrenees
Orientales," called the Balma (flagstone) del Moj^o. This gives
rise to the doubt whether popular etymology has not gone astray,
and interpreted, naturally enough, some name sounding like Moro,
or Mora, by Moors.
I am the more inclined to think that this may be so by finding
that in Corsica, where there are also dolmens, there is a curious
female figure carved in stone, a monolith, in fact, which among the
natives is called Idolo del Mori.\ Like the rude statues of
females which are scattered over an area of 600,000 square miles
of the Steppe country from the Crimea north-eastward beyond
the Caspian, and which are set up on the sepulchral tumuli of the
ancient inhabitants, and called Babas, meaning "old women," or
"mothers," these Moris or Moras may have been the old death-
deities who were believed to haunt the tombs of the Iberes, or
Ligures (for the latter inhabited Corsica), ages before a Moor ever
entered the country. The mythology of the ancient Teutonic
peoples, — and that of the Irish people, too, if a recent definition
of the name of the Morrigan, who was the weird goddess of
carnage, be right — offer us tempting comparisons of this name
with that of the Mai^, or evil female genius, whom folk-lore
connects with the dark hours of night and with death.
t "Notes d'un Voyage en Corse," by M. Prosper Merimee.
668
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Near the Rockinof Stone on the Minho were, accordinQ: to M.
Schiappe.f two galcrfas formed of vertical stones which the natives
called Furnas. They stood on a hilltop covered with oak near the
mountain of Polvoreira, on the road from Guimaraes to Vizella.
In the district of Braga were two alignments or avenues (alas) of
stones, with a menhir between them, on the road from Cepaes to
Tafe. In Castello de Paiva was another curious monument
described as consisting of six pillars, each one composed of three
stones set one above the other vertically. There were originally
seven, but one had fallen. We have mentioned a monument,
similarly described, at Esgos, in Galicia. I know not whether we
may regard them as artificial, although they remind us of the
stones which devotees turned on the Promontory of St. Vincent,
which, according to Strabo, were placed in threes and fours, one
set above the other.J and upon which pilgrims offered libations.
Near Villa- Velha-de-Rodao, M. Schiappe also noticed the
Fig. 597. — La Sepultura de Marcella, Algarve. From a sketch hy Sigiwr E. Da Veiga, in Cartailhac.
remains of a trilithon (dolmen ?), and heard of like monuments at
Fantel and Monte Fidalw.
One of the most typical and interesting of the Portuguese
series is that called the Sepultura de Marcella in Algarve, a plan
^"S^T^^
: .C2SS2: iv/.S 23:^1)
'"^^iCsjj^Ej-.
"i^SESBCl'.
Fig. 59S. — rian of La Sepultura de Marcella, Algarve.
and elevation of which M. Cartailhac has reproduced. § A circle
is formed by thirteen contiguous slabs set on edge, a space being
t Quoted by Signer Pereira da Costa.
X In the Latin translation, "Ternos vel quaternos lapidcs impositos," " Geogr.,"edit. C. Miillerr
Paris, 1853, p. 114, 1. 12.
§ " Ages prehist.," fig. 218 ; the originals are by Signor E. da Veiga.
Spain and Portugal.
669
left open for the entrance which is between two slabs. The floor
of the circle is paved, and a portion of the area is divided off into
two (or three) compartments or cists. From the outer ends of
the slabs forming the entrance a long wedge-shaped galeria is
extended. This is divided into two sections by the jambs of a
doorway which protrude transversely into the passage, while the
stone that probably formed the lintel lies in the passage. A
similarly formed doorway opened into the circular chamber, the
!l;.„ i!'!ii! ,iii(!i .iliiluyiLlliiiiiJiiuiUii:
l,ini.ull(i,,iii,,[iTrnTnTffiT7TiriTifi77T^ ^ m^
' ^'H^TnTTTtT'TrMTrriTrrTnTTnTr'i^^
Fig. 599. — Plan of the chamber of Monte Abrahao, Portugal. From "Mai. pour
riiist. dc r Homme. "
whole arrangement recallinQ^ that of the chambered cairns of
Scotland, and that at Annacloghmullin in Armagh (p. 303, supra)
At Monte Abrahao was a dolmen formed of two rows of slabs
sloping inwards exactly in
the fashion of that figured
by Mr. Kinahan, near
Louisburgh, in the County
of Mayo (p. 124, supra.)
The inner vault is of ir-
regular form, and was
perhaps provided with
supplementary cells. A
number of deposits (esti-
mated at eighty) of human
bones were found in this
dolmen. Nine are shown
in the ground-plan, f from the representations of which it appears
that, as in one of the modes of burial in the Marne caves, the
Fig. 600. — Plan of a megalithic tomb in a tumulus, Serro
(le Castello, Algarve. From Cartailhac.
t "Mat. pour rHistoire de I'Homme," l88l, p. 462. The elevation given of this monument,
which I have not added, is strikingly like that at Louisburgh, for which latter see p. 124.
670 The Dolmens of Ireland.
skull surmounted in each case the other portions of the skeleton,
but whether this was so here I am not certain. In addition to
the human bones, numerous objects of stone and bone were
discovered in this dolmen. The diameter of the vault was 3 m.,
and the passage or elongated narrow portion 8 m. long by 2 m.
broad.
In the Province of Algarve and Serro de Castello, not far
from Almada, is a dolmen of a type well known in Germany, the
South of France, and Ireland. The ground-plan is that of a long
isosceles triangle having its base at the \V. end, and its apex at
the E. The inner vault is formed of two side-slabs and the
end one, and the remaining portion, which answers to the passage
in other dolmens, of three smaller slabs on either side, culminating
almost in a point. The interior measures 2*50 m. long by i m.
broad and high. In one corner was a vessel of rough, ill-baked
potter}', of a globular form narrowing at the mouth.
In Alemtejo, S. of Cape de Sines, are a number of these
wedge-shaped tombs. They are, says M. Cartailhac, in the form
of stone boxes made in this fashion, | \ and measuring
2 m. in length. One end is always broader than the other. The
human bones found in them are in a condition which shows they
have been broken up (brises), with the exception of the jawsf and
teeth. Small portions of charcoal are found with them. This
eminent French archaeologist J attributes them, in common with
many of the dolmens of the Cevennes, to a transition period
between those of Stone and Bronze. It is noteworthy that copper
objects are found not uncommonly in the dolmens and caves of
the Peninsula, as they are also in those of the Cevennes. The
Museum of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin contains also a
large number of copper celts found in Ireland. It will be
observed that in form the wedge-shaped vaults of Alemtejo
are, as it were, representations (on a less scale) of the dolmens
of Clare.
The discoveries in the a7i^as of Portugal are referable mainly
to the Neolithic Period, but for the most part to that portion of it
when copper implements and weapons begin to appear. Some of
the flint arrow-heads, such as those from the dolmens of Portimao
in the South of Portugal, explored by Signor Estacio de Veiga,
t See p. 471, sup7-a. % "Ages prehist. de I'Espagne," p. 212.
Spain and Portugal.
671
and of Freixo, display a beauty of workmanship not surpassed by
those of Denmark, as figured in Madsen's work, and to which
they have been compared. Other types closely resemble those of
the Cevennes, and are comparable to Irish examples.f The
dolmen at Mont Abrahao contained stone axes of trap and diorite,
knives, scrapers, large and beautiful lance-heads, and arrow-heads
of flint, bone objects sharpened to a point, bone buttons {precisely
similar to ones previously referred to found in Cornwall with
cinerary urns, vitrified beads, etc., and to others found in
Ireland and elsewhere), J rouleaux of chalk, plaques of slate,
beads of a green-stone [ealla'i's),^ and various other pendants, some
bowl-shaped vessels entire, and a quantity of broken pottery.
The human remains were covered with pebbles brought from
a distance.
In the Anta d'Estria, which, like that of Abrahao, lay E. and
W., and was open at the E. end, Signor Ribeiro found, besides
flint implements and urns, an object of slate of peculiar form
covered with diagonal scorings arranged in lines, like the orna-
mentation on sepulchral pottery, and having a hole pierced in one
end which was rounded ; ||
an adze-shaped implement
of white marble, and a
plaque of chalk perforated
and shaped like a wrist-
"•uard which M. Cartailhac
compares with objects found
in Skye and Ross-shire.
In the Anta de Bellas
were found a cylindrical p
fragment of bone with carv-
ings, part of a bone cup, and
some plaques of slate scored
over with a chevron pattern
Pavia.
Portugal, like France, possesses sepulchral caverns both
natural and artificial, to which I will very briefly refer. Of
the former class those at Cesareda, called the Casa da Mozcra,
t For examples, see "Wilde's Catalogue of the R.I. A. Museum, Stone Mat.," p. 20;
Cartailhac, "Ages Prehist.," p. 215, and fig. 85 ; and see figs. 634, 636, and 637, infra.
X See p. 164, supra.
§ Landais gives this as " pierre gemme fragile ; turquoise verte."
II p. 677, infra ; fig. 617.
Fig. 601. — Plan and section of a cave at Palmella
in Portugal.
Similar ones occurred in that of
672
The Dolmens of Ireland.
and the Lapa-Furada, are specially noteworthy. Among the
human remains in the first of these evidences of the practice of
trepanning were found, to which allusion has been made.j The
objects discovered were many of them identical with those found
in the antas. The lance heads of flint were of exceedingly
fine workmanship. Plaques of slate, scored over Avith chevron
patterns like those on gold lunulae and other ornaments, and
on sepulchral pottery and of forms similar to those taken from
antas, were found here also, a fact which connects the periods at
which the respective interments were made.
Of the caves artificially hollowed out of the rock the ones that
have afforded the most interesting results to the explorer are those
at Palmella (Fig. 601). They are, as nearly as can be, identical
in plan with those found in Sicily and the He Pianosa. The
vault or chamber is circular, and it possesses an anti-gi'otte like
those of the Marne. In one case, this vestibule is itself reached
by a passage which narrows before
expanding into it, just as the vestibule
itself narrows at the entrance of the cir-
cular chamber, the ground-plan therefore
Fig. 602.— Section of a little urn Corresponding with that of the Sepultura
rom ame . ^^ Marcclla, and the dolmens which
retain their passage in general. Sometimes the anti-grotte has a
bell-shaped mouth, and its floor is on a slope descending to the
level of the floor of the inner vault.
Of the boat-shaped caves of Minorca I shall speak later on.
Fig. 603. — Little urn for suspension, from
Leland, in Mus. K.I. A.
Fig. 604. — Little urn for suspension, from
a sepulchral cave at Palmella, Portugal.
From CarUiii/iac.
Among the sepulchral pottery found in the caves of Palmella,
some specimens of which, both in symmetry and decoration, equal,
if they do not surpass, any in Europe, was a little vessel pierced with
t p. 469, supra.
Spain and Portugal.
673
holes for suspension which is absolutely identical with examples
found in Ireland, several of which are in the collections of the
Royal Irish Academy, and the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin.
This being so, it is remarkable that the correspondence between
the objects found in these caves and in Ireland ceases. M. Car-
tailhac, who had noticed what he regarded as an affinity between
the archaeological remains of the Neolithic Period in Portugal,
the Morbihan, and Ireland respectively, remarks on the fact that
in the latter country not one single bead has been found, formed of
a peculiar green-stone (callais), which material served for hundreds
of beads found in the dolmens of Vannes, Ossun, Aries, and
Lisbon (Palmella). The fact that these little articles of commerce
are not found even in the islands off the coast of France points,
perhaps, to trade having been carried on only overland.
That during the best portion of the Bronze Age.f Ireland
and the west coasts of Britain were in communication with the
Fio. 605. — Bronze celt from
West Buckland, Devon.
Fig. 606. — Bronze celt from
Penvores, Cornwall.
Fig. 607. — Bronze celt from
Ireland. From Wilde's Cata-
logue.
west coast of the Peninsula there is good reason for knowing,
since types of bronze implements not found elsewhere are common
to these countries.
As examples, to render my meaning clear, I take the two-
looped paalstabs of Portugal — those, for instance, found at Gran-
dolo (Alemtejo), and at Crasto de Medeiro (Montalegre) (Figs. 608,
609), measuring respectively 9I and 8 inches long,l and compare
t See pp. 523, 524, supra.
X Those found at Ferreira d'Aves, in the Beira Atta, are sliU larger.^ Tw
are figured by J. P. da Silva in the Lisbon volume of the " Congres Int. d'Anth
Two, out of the find,
ct d'Arch."
674
The Dolmens of Ireland.
them with those from West Buckland in Devon, from Penvores
1
iiii!
m
Fig. 608. — Bronze celt fiom Montalegre,
Portugal. Frovi Cartailliac.
Fig. 609. — Bronze celt from Alemtejo.
Cartailliac.
near Helston, Cornwall, and from Ireland (Fio^s. 605, 606, 607),
Fig, 610. — Bronze celt (i)
from S.E. Spain. From
Siret.
Fig. 611.— Bronze celt (2) from Fig. 612.— Bronze celt (3)
S.E. Spain. From Sirct. from S.E. Spain. From
Siret,
measuring respectively t\ 61, and 7!;] inches long, and, excepting
Spain and Portugal.
675
that the latter ones are slightly smaller, it will be seen that the
specimens are identical.f In the Peninsula and the South of
France, the type extends Itself with variations and developments
into Andalucia on the one hand, and Tarbes in the Hautes
Pyrenees, and Langoiran in Gironde on the other.
Another type which finds its representatives both in Spain
and in Ireland, is that of the paalslab, figured by Sir John
EvansJ from Ireland, and by M. Cartailhac,§ from Granada.
The MM. Siret discovered in the tombs of El Algar, in South-
FlG. 613. — Bronze celt found in Yorkshire. In
the Brit. Mus. From Evans's '''■Bronze A s;e."
"**Hii|^(|E|i^
Fig. 614. — Bronze celt from
Connor, Co. Antrim.
East Spain, many examples of the plain flat celt expanding towards
the cutting edge, which is curved back at the extremities. This
would be assignable, according to Montelius, to the first period of
the Bronze Age in the North. For the sake of illustration, we
take three examples from the work of the explorers just men-
tioned (Figs. 610-612), and compare them with one from Connor,
t Another Cornish example and another Irish one have been recorded.
X "Bronze Implements," fig. 108. § "Ages prehist.," fig. 329.
676
The Dolmens of Ireland.
in Antrim (Fig. 614), and with an English example from York-
shire (Fig. 613). This original type of bronze celt received great
developments both in shape and decoration, the sides being raised
and the stop-ridge inserted so as to form the paalslab, while the
Fig. 615. — Bronze celt from the Museum of the Ecole de Soreze, Dep. of Tarn, supposed by
M. Cartailhac to be of Irish origin.
crescent-shaped blade retained its form. M. Cartailhac has figured
a very elaborate one from the museum of the Ecole de Soreze, in
the department of Tarn, in the Pyrenees,f which he considers of
Irish origin (Fig. 615). An intermediate example is in the Royal
Irish Academy's collection, and is figured in Wilde's Catalogue,
Fig. 616. — Bronze celt in the RJ.A, Museum.
the ornamentation on which has been very justly compared
by Mr. Coffey with some of the carvings on the stones of New
Grange.J I insert a photograph of another example, the orna-
mentation on which is singularly like that in the Ecole de Soreze
(Fig. 616). It is also in the Royal Irish Academy's museum.
t It measures SJ, inches long.
X For other English, Scotch, and Irish examples see Evans, "Bronze Implements," figs. 9, 13,
14, 21, 24, pp. 65 and 66, ligs. 35, 37, 44, 46, 51.
Spain and Portugal.
677
Fig. 617. — Ornamented plaque from the
Anta d'Estria. After Cartailhac.
Fig. 618. — Mould for bronze celt from Ballymena.
From Evans.
Fig. 619. — Bronze
celt from the Serra
de Estrella, Sar-
mento.
Fig. 620. — Bronze celt from
Oldbury Hill, Hertford-
shire. From Evans's
'■'■ Bronze Implements^'''
Fig. 621.— Bronze celt, Danish.
From Engelhardt, JMusee des
Ant. dti Nord a Copenhaguc,
p. 14.
The Dolmens of Ireland.
M. Cartailhac says : " L 'ornementation de ces objets est compos^e
de chevrons ou dents de loup, de bandes minces brisees en zigzag,
Fig. 622. — Uin from a stone cist in the Alps.
From Cartailliac.
Fig. 623. — Bronze plaque from Swit-
zerland. From Knise's ^^ DeiUscIu
Altcrthiimer."
Fit;. 624. — Lunula 111 the Aiuscuni 1\,LA.
et appartiendrait plutot a 1 age du bronze qu'a lage de la pierre."
Spain and Portugal.
679
Fig, 625. — Gold armlet, West Cornwall. In Brit. Museum.
uim:i-tm
Fig. 626. — Detail of armlet from Cornwall.
TIT
Fig. 627. — Details of lunula from West Cornwall.
Tr'^:^^^
Fig. 628. — Details of gold arm-
let found in Cornwall.
Fig. 629. — Gold ring from I'enella, Estremadura.
From Cai-tailltac,
6So
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Decoration of precisely similar character occurs on the plaques
found in the Casa da JNIoura and the Anta d'Estria (Fig. 617),
on the gold lunula,- of the British Isles — Cornwall and Ireland
especially (Figs. 624, 627) — on bronze plaques in Switzerland
t
m
Fig. 630. — Irish halbeit-blades in the Museum R.LA.
(Fig. 623), on gold ornaments of more elaborate workmanship
found alike in Spain f (Fig. 629), Brittany, Cornwall J (Figs. 625,
626, 628), and Ireland ; on rude sepulchral pottery from the Alps
(Fig. 622) ; on a celt from Denmark (Fig. 621), etc., etc.
The common types of paalslab and flat celt, the latter
Fig. 631. — Ilalbert-bladc from Sheve Kielta, Co. Wexford, in the Brit. Museum.
belonging to the first, the former to second periods of Montelius,
are represented both in Spain and Ireland. A single-looped
paalslab from Azevo (Fig. 619), in the Serra da Estrella, is as
nearly similar as can be to one from Oldbury Hill (Fig. 620), in
Herefordshire, figured by Evans (p. 90). Again, there is in the
t Cartailhac, "Ages prehist.," fig. 421.
X Gold armlets in the British Museum, found in the Land's End district. There were also
among this find some plain ijold specimens, which resemble those found in the Serra da Estrella,
and figured by Signor Sarmento.
Spain and Portugal.
68i
British Museum a mould for a flat celt from Spain which is
identical with one from Ballymenaf (Fig. 6i8, supra), and either
of which would have produced an example of the same shape
as that from Kilcrea Castle in the County of Cork, J or of a copper
one from Portugal, slightly curved, figured by M. Cartailhac.§
Fig. 632. — Halbert-blade from S.E. Spain. From Siret.
A pure copper one of this shape, 6 inches long, found in the
county of Waterford, is figured by Wilde.
Bronze celts of the looped socketed type are found both in
Portugal and Ireland, but with this difference, that in the examples
from the former country they are provided with two loops,
whereas in the latter and in Britain they are only provided with
one. That the two-looped type was not only known in these
islands, but actually manufactured there, is proved, however, by
the discovery of a stone mould for them near Salisbury. |[ Another
v^_
.(CKN,
.^>f^r
Fig. 633. — Riveted dagger-blade from S.E. Spain. From Siret.
has been found in Ireland. The two-looped type is also found in
the Haute Garonne, in Alsace, in Sweden, and much further east.
A specimen from Kertch is wonderfully like a Portuguese example.
One of peculiarly large size, measuring 9?, inches long, found in
Estremadura,^ is, with the exception of its second loop, more like
the British, and some few of the Irish examples. One found at
Alfriston, in Sussex, and another found near Belfast, resemble it
in form, though they fall far short of it in size. The squarish
socket-hole which these three specimens possess is, however, less
t See Evans, " Bronze Age," Fig. 515. J Wilde's "Catalogue," p. 364.
§ " Ages prehist.," Fig. 323. |1 Evans, " Bronze Age," p. 143.
^ "Congrcs Int. d'Anth, ct d'Arch.," 1869 (Copenhagen), p. 352.
VOL. II.
2 B
682
The Dolmens of Ireland.
common in Ireland, the general shape being oval or roundish, in
which respect they agree more closely with an example from
North Brabant, figured by Prosper Cuypers.f The type with the
square socket is very common in North-Western France. A
hoard of them was found at Moussaye, in the Cotes du Nord,
which fact induces Sir John Evans to regard the type as Gaulish.
A specimen found in Sardinia is figured by De la Marmora.
Another type of bronze weapon which is common to the
Peninsula and to Ireland is what is termed the " halbert-blade."
Of Irish examples I annex four illustrations (Figs. 630, 631).
The MM. Siret discovered specimens of this type during their
explorations in South-Eastern Spain (Fig. 632). Sir John Evans
had also seen one found near Ciudad Real. He describes it as
\'-;'
Fig, 634. — Flint arrow-heads
from Ireland. From Wildc^s
Catalogue.
Fig. 635. — Irish halbert-blade in the Museum of
the R.I.A.
"about 84 inches long, and more y-shaped at the base than any
British specimen, the blade suddenly expanding from 2 inches in
width to 5 inches. In this expanded part are the usual rivets,
each about 6 inches in length." He does not figure this Spanish
halbert-blade, but from the description it would seem to resemble
perfectly one which he does figure from the county of Cavan, and
also one in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, an illustra-
tion of which I annex (Fig. 635).
t '• Nijhoff-Bijdragen," vol. i. pi. iii. p. 75.
Spain and Portugal.
683
The best examples of these weapons are said to occur in
Ireland and Scotland, but they are also found in Scandinavia and
North Germany. The author of the "Bronze Implements of
Great Britain " makes the following interesting remark with regard
to their presence in Spain : — " The discovery," he says, " of a
weapon of this type in Spain seems to lend support to those who
maintain that there was some connection between the Iberians
and the early inhabitants of Ireland. The curious similarity," he
adds, " of some of the Portuguese forms of flint arrow-heads and
javelin-heads to those of Ireland is also worthy of notice." A
similar likeness exists between these and those of the dolmens of
Fig. 636. — Flint arrow-head
from the Casa de Moura.
Fig. 637. — Flint arrow-heads from the dolmens
in the Cevennes.
the Cevennes (Figs. 634, 636, 637). The jagged pattern is, how-
ever, rare in Ireland, but common in Scandinavia. Of the simple
dagger-blades with rivets, and of the elongated type of halbert-
head, the MM. Siret found examples in South-East Spain which,,
though of plainer type, are comparable to Irish and West-British
examples (Fig. 633).
One distinguishing characteristic of the bronze celts of the
Peninsula is their great size, a feature occasionally reproduced
in Irish examples, as in the case of a flat celt of a type already
referred to, which is in the British Museum, and measured when
perfect 7J inches across the blade.
With respect to an elongated type of leaf-shaped spear-head,
it appears that while in Ireland and Denmark it occurs in bronze,
in the Peninsula it is reproduced in ironf (Figs. 638-640). Types
of bronze daggers found in France and Ireland especially are
also repeated in the Peninsula, and were also in some instances {
t See "Bronze Impl.," fig. 384; Madsen, "Atlas d' Arched.," 1857, plates i, 2, fig. 17; and
"Ages prehist. de I'Espagne," figs. 361, 362.
X " Ages prehist.," fig. 357.
684
The Dolmens of Ireland.
found in iron. Of the distribution of bronze swords in Europe
this is not the place to speak at length. It will be sufficient to
say that in respect both of hilts and blades, examples are found
Fig. 638, — Bronze lance-heads.
From Madsen^s Atlas d^Archi-
ologie de jVordy Copenhagen,
1837.
i\ 1
Fig. 639. — Bronze Fig. 640. — Iron spear-
spear-head, N. of head, in form like the
Ireland. From bronze ones, from
Evanses " Bronze Almedinilla. From
Ace." Cartailhac.
in Portugal and Spain corresponding as closely as do the Irish
ones to those found in France, Denmark, Germany, and Britain.
With the exception of an occasional dagger-blade of the plain
riveted type, it has been rarely in Britain or Ireland that a
bronze weapon or implement has been found in association with
the dead ; and where this has been the case, it has been with
Spain and Portugal.
685
cinerary urns in cisted tumuli, and not in dolmens that they
have been found. Still in some districts most certainly the
practice of dolmen building survived in and through the Bronze
Age, so that the absence of these objects must be attributed
Fig. 641. — Irish urn in the British Museum.
to the fact that it was not customary to throw into the vault, and
thus lose for ever, articles of such practical use and value.
The pottery from the caves and dolmens of the Peninsula,
"'^^'
Fig. 642. — Spanish urn in the British Museum, from a drawing by Mrs. Furnivall.
so far as I am acquainted with it, does not bear so close a
resemblance to that found in Ireland as might have been
expected. The decoration on that from the Palmella caves
affords points for comparison ; but the form of the vessels, not
bulging, but depressed in the centre, resembles more closely
specimens from the Hautes Pyrenees, Sicily, Aries, and Brittany,
6S6 The Dolmens of Ireland.
and through them seems to be related to the type so common in
England, but so very rare in Ireland, known as the " Drinking
Cup." One little Spanish urn in the British Museum forms,
perhaps, an exception to this rule, although a difference in
workmanship may be detected (Fig. 642). In the case of Irish
pottery, the finest examples are also the earliest, such as that
found in a cist near the dolmen of Loughry in Tyrone f (Fig. 199),
and the covered urns found in the chambers in Cairn Thierna and
at Danesfort (Figs. 9 and 545). The pottery in cists with unburnt
bodies is of better quality than that in those where cremation had
been employed, in which latter it is often extremely coarse. The
majority of the examples are, as can be shown by the patterns upon
them, contemporaneous with the decorated bronze paalslabsX
Enouo-h will have been said to show that Ireland and the
Peninsula were brought into relation in the Bronze Age, as they
had been in the Neolithic ; the evidence of the former fact resting
on the similarity of implements and weapons, and that of the
latter on the similarity of detail in the construction of the
dolmens. How far such intercourse was in either case direct,
or how far it may have been opened up, in the case of the bronze
implements especially, through the media of the populations of
other districts, or of independent traffic, are questions which must
remain unsolved.
Between the dolmens of Andalucia and those of Portugal and
the north-west of the Peninsula, Signor Simoes remarks a
distinction. The Andalucian structures are, he says, formed of
stones not so rough nor so irregular as those in the Portuguese
examples. Indeed, some of them seem to have been formed in
part of cut stones (see Fig. 644, p. 688, infra), if we may judge
from a drawing of one in the Canada del Herradero given by
Signor Manuel de Gongora y Martinez, but which (in common
with his other examples) is represented in a very rude style.
The Portuguese ones, again, have, generally speaking, circular or
oval chambers unpaved, while those of Andalucia are quadrangular
and paved throughout with large stones. In common with the
dolmens of Portugal, however, those of Andalucia have covered
passages, ot galerias, as an essential part of the structure.
t I have been recently informed that this urn was not found in the dolmen itself as before stated.
X Of this fact I have given some few indications in this worl<, but I hope more fully to demon-
strate its truth on a future occasion in another work on the Bronze Age in Leland, for which
ample materials exist which cannot be included here.
Spain and Portugal.
687
The principal authority for the megalithic remains of this
Province is the writer I have just quoted. f They were attri-
buted, he tells us, by the common people to the agency of giants
and to enchantment. At Dilar, near Granada, there was formerly
a dolmen of large proportions (Fig. 643). It was enclosed in
a tumulus measuring 23 m. in diameter, surrounded by a circle
of stones set up on end, each stone measuring about 80 cm. high.
The vault itself was 9 m. long. From a drawing made of the
structure, when the mound had been only partially removed from
Fig. 643. — Dolmen at Di'lar. /'rom an engraving tn '''Antigiiedades Prehistoricas dc Andaliicta,'"
by Sr. Gbiigora y Martinez.
it, it appears that either at the entrance or at some point further
inside the passage, was a kind of door-case, formed of two stones
set upright on their edges side by side, from each of which a
portion having been cut away, an aperture was formed circular at
the top, and expanding at the bottom, something in the manner of
a rude Moorish archway, and similar in construction to the
apertures we have noticed in the dolmen-chambers of Rodmarton,
Kerlescant, Des Alanduits, Saker Planina in Bulgaria, and else-
where.
t Author of " Antigiiedades Prehistoricas de Andalucia."
688
The Dolmens of Ireland.
At a distance of 50 m. to the S.E. was another similar
tumulus measuring 15*60 m. in diameter; and again, 60 m. beyond
this, was a third, both surrounded by stone-circles like the first.
Near Illora, on the road to Alcala la Real, is a group of
megalithic remains occupying an area of more than three
kilometres. In the Canada del Hoyon is the dolmen of that
Fig. 644. — Dolmen de la Canada del Herradero. From Sr. Gongoray Martinez.
name, a squarely built vault. A second, very similarly constructed,
stands at no great distance in the Majadas (sheep-folds) del
Herradero (Fig. 644). A third is at the end of the Canada.
There is also a megalithic enclosure, the diameter of which is
from 1770 to 12 m.
In this part of the Peninsula, natural rocks of peculiar form
are regarded with reverence. One such is the Mortcro CortadOy
a curious mass supported on a narrow base. There is also the
Rocking- Stone of Liiqiie, on the top of a rocky eminence, and
the Roca del Enjambre, signifying the " Stone of the Multitude,"
or " Assembly."
On the farm of Las Virgencs, between Baena and Bujalance,
is a famous menhir of that name. It is 12 feet high, and is the
object of much superstitious veneration. f
t A stanza is repeated with regard to it : —
"Jilica jilando,
puso aqui este tango,
y Menga Mengal
lo volvio a quitar."
" Jiiica Jilando
Put this stone here.
And sent Menga Mecgal
To take it away."
Spain and Portugal.
689
In the Province of Jaen is a fine monolith to which numerous
traditions attach. It is called the Piedra dc los Enamorados,
a name which connects it with erotic superstitions, such as in
Brittany attach to certain menhirs, and in some parts of Ireland
to dolmens.
Near Fonelas, in the same Province, is a dolmen consisting
of eleven stones, three on either side, two at the E. end, one at
the W. end, and two covering-stones. At Toyo de las Viiias is
another and very similar one. It is also covered in by two large
flag-s, one of which has a crroove in it, in which the stone which
Fig. 645. — Dolmen de la Cruz del tio Cogollero. From Sr. Gongora y Martinez.
closes the entrance rests. At 30 m. distant is another buried in a
mound. In the same vicinity is a dolmen of oblong form, its
longer axis being E. and W. It is situated in a plot of ground
called Ci'iLZ del tio Cogollero. The sides are formed of eleven
stones arranged in two rows, one above the other, in order to
bring the height up to the level of the tops of two high pillars
(one of which measures 3*40 m.), which support the roof.
Near Tajo de los Castillones is the plain of Los Eriales which
is described as "a vast necropolis of the ancient race." In five
dolmens which were opened by labourers copper arrow-heads
and pottery were found. The stone vaults were oblong, having
two stones at either end, and two or three on either side. The
whole country near Las Majadas del Conejo is stated to be
covered with dolmens. One is called the Dolmen " de las hazas
de la Coscoja."
690
The Dolmens of Ireland.
" Stone graves" containing human remains are found among the
Peiias de los Castillejos to the W. of the Barranco de los Pilones.
About three leagues from Los OHvares is a place called Hoyo de
las Cuevas del Conquil, where there are several dolmens called
Fig. 646. — Dolmen de las Ascencias. From Sr. GSngora y Martinez.
locally Scptiltiiras de los Gciitiles. One called the " Dolmen de
las Ascensias" (Fig. 646) stands on steeply sloping ground. f
A second at the same place is called La Septdttira Grande.
In its present condition it affords an excellent example of those
monuments, such as that at Brenanstown (County of Dublin),
to which I have so often referred as illustratinor the fact that
no distinction can be drawn between the square dolmen vaults
and the passage-dolmens, alleges convertcs, galerias, or gang-gri/ter,
the former being merely the megalithic inner portions shorn of
their approaches. In this example the side walls of the lower
portion still remain, the covering-stones having been removed.
The dolmen is a fine one, one of the side-stones measuring 3*80 m.
long, a second 2*20 m., and a third 170 m. The roofing-stone
measures 3*80 m. long on each of its four sides. Inside the vault
a well-chipped flint arrow head was found of the tanged type
common to Spain, Cornwall, and Ireland.
Another dolmen of this group is called Llano de Gorafe.
t The peasants repeat the following stanza about it : —
" Entre yo y mi hemiano Lucas " Between us I and my hrotlicr Lucas
arrimamos este canto ; Turned this stone aside ;
y no lo arrime yo solo And I did not do it alone
por csta un poco manco." Because I am slightly maimed in the hand."
Spain and Portugal. 691
Signer Simoes has remarked that the dohnens of Andalucia share
with the Portuguese examples the characteristic of being pro-
vided with approaches consisting of narrow passages formed
of large flag-stones. The name applied to dolmens both here and
in Estremadura is simply o-ari^as (sentry-boxes).
Two very important monuments, both in Andalucia, now
deserve notice. They are the CiLcva de Castillcjo de G2LZinan,
also called the Ctieva de la Pastora, on the Guadalquiber, and the
Cueva de Menga,^ near Antequera, in the Province of Malaga.
Of the former Signor Simoes quotes an account by Signor
F. M. Tubino, and it has also been described by Signor Manuel
de Gongora y Martinez, by Lord Talbot de Malahide, and by
M. Cartailhac. The English archaeologist likens it to New Grange,
only in miniature, a comparison which holds good both in regard
to the passage-way by which the chamber is approached, and to
the construction of the roof. The structural portion is buried in
a tumulus, and was only discovered, in planting a vine, in 1868.
A galeria, measuring 27 m. long, i m. broad, and 2 m. high, leads
to the central vault. At a distance of 1 1 m. from the entrance
a trilithon is encountered forming a doorway into the second
compartment of the passage which is continued in a straight line
through another antechamber or vestibule 16 m. long, to a second
trilithon which forms the entrance to the innermost chamber.
This latter is semicircular in form, and the level of its floor is
lower than that of the passage. It measures 2 '60 m. in diameter,
and 3 m. high. On the upper edges of the slabs which form the
sides other stones are placed in such a manner as to overlap and
form a cornice-like projection on which rests the roofing-stone
which consists of one single immense slab. Thirty bronze arrow-
heads were found in the earth which was removed in order to
effect an entrance.
Signor Simoes compares this "galeria" with the so-called
Furnas, of which we have spoken, at the Monte da Polvoreira, in
Portugal. He also expresses his opinion that in the structural
features of this chamber and its approach there are traces of
a fusion of the cyclopean architecture, such as is found in the lower
portions of the walls of Tarragona (Fig. 647), the Castello de Ibros,
the Corralejos (stone enclosures in Andalucia), and the talayots
t Compare Mengue, "the Devil" (as perhaps in the verses in the note, p. 687), " Diet. Acad.
Esp.," in voc.
692
The Dolmens of Ireland.
and mapalias or viagalias of the Balearic Isles, with the rude
style of building employed by the dolmen-builders. Consequently
Fig. 647.— La Portella Rosario, Tarragona. From Bunnell Laids's " Antiquities of Tarragona.''^
he concludes that, in prehistoric times, two distinct races existed
side by side in the Peninsula, whose meeting-ground was that
portion of the country in which remains such as this cueva occur.
Certainly a problem here exists very similar to that presented
Fig. 648. — Section of the dolmen of Antcquera. From Cartailhac.
by the two classes of megalithic structures in Ireland — the slightly
covered dolmen on the one hand, and mound-entombed chamber
of New Grange on the other. The passage-dolmen at Anna-
clochmullin (Co. Armagh) affords an example of fusion in structural
detail similar to that noticed in the Cucva de la Pastora.
The grandest of all the megalithic remains of the Peninsula,
as, indeed, it is also of Europe, is the Ctieva de Mcnga (Cave of
the Devil ?), near Antequera. It has been described by Signor
Raphael Mitjana in a monograph devoted to it, by Signor Manuel
Spain and Portugal.
69;
de Assas in a communication to the Setninario Pintoresco Espafiol,
as well as by Signor Simoes, Lord Talbot de Malahide, and
M. Cartailhac. It is as truly representative of the class of long
dolmens only slightly covered, as the cueva on the Guadalquiber,
just described, is of that of the chambers embedded in the larger
Fig, 649. — Interior of the dolmen of Antequera, Andalucia. From Cartailhac.
mounds — the former corresponding in Ireland to the Labba
Callighe, the latter to New Grange.
It consists of a vast megalithic vault formed of immense slabs
Fig. 650. — Ground-plan of the dohnen of Antequera, Andalucia, After Lord Talbot de Malahide.
enveloped in a thin covering of earth. Internally it measures
865- feet (Spanish) in length, with a maximum width of 22 feet, and
a height of 10 feet iOt ins. Its long axis is E. and W. Five
694 The Dolmens of Ireland.
" colossal " slabs suffice to roof it in. The largest of them measures
23 feet wide, 27 feet long, and 4^- feet thick, representing 2794
cubic feet of stone. The material is undressed limestone. Three
upright blocks in the centre divide the area into chambers or cells
— an arrangement, says Lord Talbot de Malahide, similar to that
found in megalithic structures in Brittany and Touraine. No
mortar has been used in the structure. The walls are formed
by monoliths, ten on either side, and a single one of immense
proportions forms the inner end. Through the centre of this
terminal stone, as shown in a section, a laree hole has been
pierced. The ground-plan shows that the monument consists
of two portions, the vault proper, and a narrow passage, which
forms the entrance, at the end opposite the terminal stone. On
a stone near the entrance three crosses, one of them being of
peculiar form, have been cut. The pillars, which are arranged
in line down the centre of the main chamber, do not appear to
reach the roofing-stones.
The shape of the monument, looked at in ground-plan,
resembles in some points that of a ship, which, considering that
in the Balearic Isles, both artificial caves, and stone buildings
called nans and naviias, were formed on the plan of vessels, it
is not improbable was intentional on the part of the constructors.
Signor Rafael Mitjana regarded the Ctceva dc Menga as a temple,
which, combining an original sepulchral purpose, it may well
have been.
Before we quit the subject of the prehistoric antiquities of
the Iberian Peninsula it will be well to notice some points
of folk-lore and superstition which offer comparisons with those
found in Ireland.
In Portugal Saint John's Eve is the occasion for boisterous
mirth. Young fellows play practical jokes. The spirits of the
dead are supposed to be abroad, and to be wandering about their
ancient haunts. Every year, says Signor Joaquin Costa,f were
celebrated with great solemnity the rites connected with the
summer solstice. The ceremonies which were supposed to point
to purification by fire were still kept up, the fires being lighted on
the tops of the mountains.
The last day of April was also a time set apart for the cultus
of the dead. At a short distance to the eastward of the entrance
t "Organ, prolit. tic los Celliberos, " p. l6.
Spain and Portugal. 695
into the passage at the dolmen of Eguilaz, the ground shows
signs of having been subjected to the action of fires. This fact
is accounted for, says Signor Antonio Pirala,f in the locahty, by
the bonfires which used to be hghted on the last day of April
at the tombs in honour of the dead.
We have noticed the prohibition of the worship of certain
goddesses in the Diocese of Conserans, and the belief in night-
riding by witches in Ireland which is akin to it. There can be
no question that a similar superstition existed in the western
portions of the Peninsula.
A most terrible female supernatural being among the
Portuguese was the Bruxa, or Bruja (pronounced Broocha). " No
one," says Mr. Kingston, " knows who are Bruxas and who are
not. She may be like any other woman. They keep it secret.
They are a Heaven-accursed sisterhood — their souls pledged
to the Prince of Darkness, a compact renewed every night.
Sometimes their daughters become Bruxas. From sunset to
sunrise the demoniacal power possesses them. When darkness
has overspread the world, they rise from their couches and fly
to their demon paramours." They are transformed into " noxious
birds of night — owls and bats of immense size." J
That birds were actually in ancient times regarded as
divinities, whence auguries were taken from their flight, is
shown in a document which Count Berenguer, of Barcelona,
addressed to the Cid : Videmus etiam ct cognoscimiis quia
montes et corvi et corvelce et nisi et aquilcE ct fei'e omne geniis
avium sunt dii tui, quia plus confidis in atiguriis ecruin qziain
in Deo.\
With these we naturally compare the Irish Macha, daughter
of Ernmas, whose name means the scald-crow, and whose
characteristic it was to " rejoice in rending the slain." " The
Bruxas," continues Mr. Kingston, "allure poor wretches away.
They enter cottages and deprive sleeping infants of life.
They are devoutly believed in and dreaded."
There is another class — the Lobishome — a person born under
an ill-star. " By day they are free from the spell, but wear sad
faces. They sit by themselves without speaking. These are
t "Espana, Prov. Vase," 1885, Barcelona, p. 51.
X See note, p. 689.
§ " Gesta Roderici," por Risco, xxxvi. See also "Hist. Compost.," lib. i., cap. 64; —
" Auguriis confidens et divinationibus corvos et cornices posse nocere irrationliter arbitratus,"
696 The Dolmens of Ireland.
transformed into horses, rushing over hill and dale. If wounded
in the chest, while in mad career, they are cured. Like the
Bruxas, they return home in the morning." In these equine
affinities of the Bruxa and the Lobishome, we have reason to
trace a resemblance to the goddesses whose cult was forbidden
by the Bishop of Conserans, to the Irish Macha, who outran
the horses of Cormac, to the Water- Horses in the folk-lore of
the islands of Harris and Lewis, and to the poor wretched
woman, who after having been brutally burnt to death only last
year, was believed to be riding around a rath on a hill in Tipperary,
In Portugal, in addition to the Bruxas, are female sooth-
sayers, called Feiticiras. Like the former, they belong to
sisterhoods, and are believed to have sold their souls to the
Devil — the compact having been signed by a drop of blood
drawn from the little fmger. The male Feiticiro is a different
class of being — a sort of hobgoblin — a little old man with apish,
mischievous propensities, who sits in a tree by the roadside
at night and throws stones at those who pass below.
The Feiticira aids the peasant to recover stolen property ; she
assists lovers ; and effects cures in cattle by her incantations ; or, if
the owners are her enemies, afflicts their beasts with murrain. She
possesses a magical ball of thread, and is, Mr. Kingston f thinks,
" a mixture of the Roman Sibyl and the more fantastical Witch
of the North."
It is interesting to notice that the pre-Christian custom called
the dessil, or circuit, around a venerated spot, which is practised
in Ireland in the case of one dolmen at least,J as well as at wells and
churches innumerable, is found also in Portugal. Cattle, in order
that they may escape the murrain, are taken ro7ind some favourite
shrine. The peasantry, too, in performing their penances, make
a progress rotmci a church, and go barefooted to the shrine.
Farmers offer, by way of penance, their own weight in corn
or wax. Sailors carry their sail with them to the church, and,
having done penance, reclaim it after Mass. Merchants insure
their ships at the shrine of Matozinhos. " Each saint," says Mr.
Kingston, "has a cure for something. The religion of the people
is pure saintism."
In the Asturias there is a current superstition that the
t " Lusitanian Sketches," pp. 348-350.
X Maulnaholtora in Kerry, described at p. 3, supra, and to the superstition practised at whicli
reference will be made in Part IIL, infra.
Spain and Portugal.
697
waters of certain wells are inhabited by white ladies, who are
called Xanas.f Evidences of the worship of wells in the
Fig. 651. — Rock sculptures in Galicia. From Signor Miirguia's '■^ Hist, of Galicia "
{jivith others not given) .
^■^■■^^^SS-
''^T
^■'
f.. '■> ,
^Uh
w; '/
-T"^ J'
^X-
>f:^
fr '*^
'■-feAf*:
?f^
:^^:
■^^V(;
T^^
-"^1
Lv^ru'i!:'
-^
c^^^
'''r,, 1 J
-^T^
^^ ZT-^'-: ,r ''
'>^tf--^
.^
Fig. 652. — "The Horseman's Stone " (Clonmacnoise). From drawing by the Rev.Jas. Graves.
Roman period are found in inscriptions, as, for example, Fons
Amewcniay Fons Sagince, and others. Pliny mentions a well
t "Hist, de Galicia," por Manuel Morguia, vol. i. p. 535.
VOL. II.
2 C
698
The Dolmens of Ireland.
at Gades f which had the miraculous property of rising and falHng
with the tide.
Lastly, it may be mentioned that some of the rock sculptur-
ings which have been found in the Spanish peninsula, resemble
a certain class of markings which occur in Ireland. In Signer
Murguia's *' History of Galicia," a group is given (Fig. 651),
some of the figures in which closely resemble those on the
Horseman's Stone near Clonmacnoise (Fig. 652), while others,
again, appear to be equally like some of the carvings on a stone
from the tumulus of Renougat in Finisterre (Fig. 536).
Islands of the Western Mediterranean.
From the coast of Spain we pass naturally to the Islands of
the Mediterranean, and first to the Balearic group, and here
too we find caves artificially hollowed out of the rock, as in
Sicily, the He Pianosa, and at Palmella, near Lisbon. We are
at once reminded of the passage in " Diodoms Siculus,"J where
Fig. 653.— Plan and section of an artificial cave at Saint Vincent, Island of Minorca.
From Cartailhac.
it is said of the Balearic people that " they live in caves hewn in
the rocks, and spend all their days in these holes dug up and
down in the steepest parts of the stony mountains, by which
means they provide for themselves both shelter and security."
That some of those which have been discovered may have
served this purpose is likely enough. In the case of others,
however, investigation has placed beyond question their sepul-
chral origin. M. Cartailhac notices that similar ones exist in
+ "Nat. Hist.," ii. loo : Gadibus qui delubro Ilerculis proximus, fons inchisus ad putei
modum, alias simul cum Oceano augetur minuiturque, alias vero utrumque contrariis lemporilnis.
See also " Strabo," iii. 5, 7 : There was a well with similar properiies in Perigord, as sec Uelph.
not. on Pliny, loc. cit. 1 have found a like superstition both in Cornwall and Ireland.
X Lib. V. c. I. See also Signor Francisco Martorell y Pena, " Apuntes arqucologicas,"
Barcelona, 1879, P- 221.
Islands of the Western Mediterranean.
699
the vicinity of Alcudia, and he compares them in respect of
their structural details with the partly natural, partly artificial,
" allees couvertes," in the hills at Aries.
Fig. 654. — Plan of one cave and section of another at Saint Vincente.
Near San Vicente, in Minorca, is a group of forty of these
caves. Some are provided with " anti-grottes," or vestibules,
and some open directly on the hillside. A characteristic
feature is that they possess little oval side-chambers, which
gives them, in their ground-plan, a resemblance to the "burghs"
Fig. 655. — The " Nao dels Tudons" (ground-plan and section). From Cartailhac.
of Scotland. Most remarkable among them are those which
are in the form of a ship. One such, having a double vestibule
and two small circular side-chambers, is noticed by M. Cartailhac.
A striking development of this form is found in certain primitive
buildings, constructed on the surface, and called Naos, Naus,\ or
Navetas, that is, " ships." The ground-plans of some of these
■f See note on Nau, p. 657, supra.
■oo
The Dolmens of Ireland.
are identical with those of the ship-caves, but their shape varies
in different districts.
The most striking of these structures is situated in the
northern part of Minorca, not far from Cuitadela, in the
Fig. 656.— The " Nao dels Tudons." After Cartailhac.
district "dels Tudons," whence the building is called the Nao
dels Tiidons. Externally its form is that of a somewhat deep-
keeled vessel, lying bottom-upward, square at the stern, where
the entrance is, and pointed at the bow. The masonry is
Cyclopean, and there is no trace of cement. Nine courses of
stones, with one block resting on the top, form the stern, whence
the structure diminishes in heisfht to six courses at the bow.
As the upper portion, however, is broken down, it is difficult
to say how far this was intentional in the original design.
The interior measures io"5o m. long, and is divided into
a vestibule and a principal chamber, the inner end of which
latter has a sort of dais, or raised portion of the floor, about
4 feet broad. This portion is roofed, according to the section,
by a single slab about 1 1 feet long.f A low, cyclopean door-
way gives ingress to the vestibule from without, and one of
similar height forms the means of communication between it
and the main chamber.
The outer doorway measures 0*57 m. wide, and 075 m. high.
The vestibule is the "castle," puppis, or Trpvixva of the ship,|
and the doorway communicating from it into the other portion
t Compare section of Mane Lud., p. 6l2, supra.
\ It was the highest portion of the vessel, /Kschylus uses the term irplfiva Tr6\(os metaphorically
for the Acropolis at Athens.
Islands of the Western Mediterranean. 701
may be seen in terra-cotta models of ships found in Cyprus*
several of which are in the British Museum. The great
height of this " castle " or stern is also seen in these models. If
we compare this structure to a Greek or Roman temple, the
vestibule would answer to the TreptcrraSe?, or antcB, and the
body of the building to the i^ao's, or cella.
In Minorca, although there are navetas of ruder form with
central supports representing masts, there seems to be no inter-
mediate form between the cave hollowed out like a ship, and
the well-built naveta which shows considerable architectural know-
ledge. In Sardinia, however, where neither ship-cave nor naveta
are found, we have in the " Tombes des Geants " a type of
structure to which we might assign a middle place, as we shall
presently see.f
It is, however, strange to say, in the rude dolmens of Ireland,
that what seems to me to be the closest approach to the design
of the 7tavetas is to be found. I take as examples two of the
best-preserved and most typical structures, namely, the Labbacalle,
near Fermoy (Cork), J and the largest of the monuments at Burren,
near Blacklion {Cavan).§ In the ground-plan of the former the
ship-shape is very noticeable. In the latter, the feature of the
vestibule is distinctly present, with a creep beneath the partitional
stone communicating with the main inner chamber. || In both these
monuments, and in the dolmens of Ireland generally, one end is
higher than the other, and that end is also, in cases where there
is a partition forming the vestibule, the end where the entrance is
found. Not only is that end higher, but it is broader than the
rest of the structure, which is almost invariably wedge-shaped, and
sometimes narrows off to a point at the further end, which, if the
analogy holds good, would represent the bow of the vessel.
But in connection with Irish antiquities, I have a second, and
even still more curious comparison to make. No structure known
to architecture resembles so precisely in external form, in the
laying of the courses of its masonry, and in other details of its
construction, the little boat-shaped stone structures found on the
t See "Ant. Celt, de la Isla de Minorca," por el Dr. Dn. Juan Ramis y Ramis, Mahon, 1818,
p, 136 ; " Voyage en Sardaigne," par M. le Cte G. A. Ferrero della Marmora, 2, edit., Paris, 1839,
p, 542, and pi. xxxix. ; " Apuntes arqueol," Signer Francisco Martorell y Pena, p. 221 ; "Ages
prehist. de I'Espagne," M. li. Cartailhac, pp. 142, 143.
% P- 3» s^ipra.
§ p. 204, supra. To these add that at Gortakeeran in Sligo, p. 180, supra.
11 Compare the dolmen called " La Pierre Turquaise," pp. 627, 639.
702
The Dolmens of Ireland.
south-western coasts of Ireland, and traditionally attributed to
Christian hermits, whose tombs they were in some cases said to
contain, as does this Nao dels Tiidons. I adduce three examples,
the first from I\Ir. Wilkinson's work on Irish architecture (Fig.
658), the second Kilmalkedar, on the coast of Kerry {Fig. 659),
and the third the interior of the structure at Gallerus (Fig. 660) ,f
Fig. 657. — The " Nao dels Tudons." From Carlailhac.
the exterior of which is, by the way, as nearly identical as can be
with the Nao dels Tudons, as shown in the above photograph.
That the Irish structures are cemented, and that their interior
chamber is oblong, are
merely details of de-
velopment. The in-
verted boat-shape is
retained, and in some
cases there are traces
that a vestibule once
existed. To the feature
of the presence of antce
in some of them, such as in the Leaba Mologa, I have already
called attention. J This very word Lcaba, or " Bed " (of the dead),
t The photograph of the structure at Gallerus in Lord Dunraven's "Notes of Irish Eccl.
Architecture," edit. Miss M. Stokes, is even more like the Nao dels Tudons than is either of the
little buildings here represented.
X See plan, p. 638.
"-v,^
Fig. 658. — Boat-shaped buildiiij;, such as are found on the
coasts of Cork, Kerry, and Clare. An example from
G. Wilkinson,
Islands of the Western Mediterranean.
703
they share to this day with the dolmens in Ireland, of which they
are the extant representatives as surely as the present Bedawin
tombs of the Jaulan are, as Dr. Schumacher f has pointed out,
the representatives of the dolmens of that district (see Fig. 661,
Fig. 659. — Kilmalkedar, Co. Kerry. Froiii a sketch by Pelrie.
infra, p. 704). In either case, the structure was formed for the
cultus of the dead, whether the development of that cultus was to
be continued under Pagan auspices, or under Mahommedan or
Fig. 660. — View of the interior, and of the arrangement for door in the structure at Gallerus,
Co. Kerry. After Fetri'e.
Christian, and in either case its type was to be traced back to that
which had been adopted in Pagan times for the ancestral tombs.
I may say that, long before the caves and navetas of Minorca
t "The Jaulan," 1888, p. 129.
704
The Dolmens of Ireland.
were known to me, I had formed the opinion that what I have so
frequently spoken of as the " wedge-shape," observable so univer-
sally in the ground-plans of dolmens, was due to an orio-inal
conception of a ship. From sepulchral tumuli in Scandinavia, as
we know, actual vessels have on several occasions been disinterred.
In cemeteries of the Iron Age, in the same country, as well as
on the more southern Baltic coasts, the ship was a recoo^nized
form of sepulchral cnclosure.f
Of another class of monument found in the Balearic Isles, and
called Talayots, a diminu-
S.W. tive, it is said, from Ata-
laya, meaning the " Giant's
Burrow," J it is not neces-
sary to speak at length,
^T-^Y. since they offer no points of
comparison with existing
monuments in the north.
They probably belong to the
Bronze Age, and a one-
looped bronze celt, with
from square socket, was found in
one of them.§
We take next in order the megalithic remains of Sardinia.
Of the so-called "Giant's Graves" of that island, Mr. Thomas
Forester speaks thus: "The structures to which the popular
traditions ascribe the name of the ScpoUiire de is Gigantcs, the
' Tombs of the Giants,' may be described as series of large stones
placed together, without any cement, inclosing a foss, or hollow,
from 1 5 feet to 36 feet long, and from 3 feet to 6 feet wide, and the
same in depth, with immense flat stones resting on them as a
covering. Though the latter are not always found, it is evident
by a comparison with the more perfect Scpolttu^e, that they have
once existed, and have been destroyed or removed. The foss
invariably runs N.W. and S.E., and at the latter point there is
a large upright headstone, averaging from 10 feet to 15 feet high,
t Dwellings formed like inverted ships in use in Africa, are mentioned by Saliust (c.viii. x.
edit. Nisard, Paris, 1861) : " Ceterum adhuc adificia Numidarum agrestium, qucc Mapalia illi
vocant, oblonga, in curvis lateribus lexta, qua" navium carina- sunt." The tents of the Arabs in
Western Barbary are described in Sir John Drumniond May's work (p. 25) as resembling boats
with their keels upward. Some gipsies form very similar temporary structures. See also Ducangc,
" Gloss. Lat." in voc. navis.
X " Rambles in Corsica and Sardinia," by Thomas Forester, London, 1858, p. 3S4.
§ " Voyage en Sardaigne," Delia Marmora, pi, xxxix.
Fig. 661.
-Bedawin tomb Kfdat el-Husn.
Schumacher.
Islands of the Western Mediterranean.
705
varying in its form from the square elliptical and conical to that
of three-fourths of an egg, and having in many instances an
aperture of about 18 inches at its base.
" On each side of this s^e/e, or headstone, commences a series
of separate stones, irregular in size and shape, but forming an
arc, the chord of which varies from 20 feet to 26 feet, so that
the whole fio;ure somewhat resembles the bow and shank of
a spur."
An excellent and tolerably perfect example of one of these
monuments is that at Abbasante. An oval enclosure, or peristyle,
comprising forty stones on edge, surrounds a long passage-vault,
which does not, however, extend the entire length of its long
diameter. This vault is composed of thirteen stones on edge, on
the one side, and eleven on the other. Each end is closed by a
large stone, and that at the outer end is the centre stone of a
semicircle formed of five stones which form, as it were, a pair of
horns thrown out from the end of the structure. Ten slabs
Fig. 662. — Elevation of one of the "Tombes des Geants " at Abbasante, Sardinia.
compose the roof of the vault, which slightly expands in the usual
wedge-shape towards its inner end. The writer who describes
^jijjg^-3 eH3SB> cua. tarn ssma .^^he»
' EBziOT e2ffi3>eS!»»a£3l»'«2;3» <a2Z2?» 5^3 '^-^
Fig. 663.— Plan of one of the "Tombes des Geants " at Abbasante, Sardinia. From
"Mat, pour VHist. de P Homme."
it expresses his opinion that the outer environment of stones
formed at one time the base of a mound which covered the
whole. 7
t "Mat. pour I'Histoire de I'Homme," 1884, pp. 200, 201.
7o6
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Another typical example is at Pauli-Latino (Fig. 664). In
this case the chamber is covered by five flagstones. The inner
end is semicircular. The vault appears to be incased in a low
wall, or walls of dry masonry laid in three ranges contiguously.
The feature of the semicircle outside the end of the vault is
very marked. These horns are here formed not of single blocks,
but of courses of stones. f
The Count Ferrero Delia Marmora gives J an excellent idea
of one of these semicircles with its central pillar, and aperture
from a Tombe dcs Gdants^ at Borore (Fig. 665), near the nuragh
Fig. 664. — " The Giant's Grave " at Pauli-Lalino, Sardinia. From Dc la Marviora.
hnberti. The monolith, as will be seen, is carved into the shape
described as truncated ovate, and exhibits two sunk panels above
the orifice. It stands at the N.W. end of the vault. Such
examples have been justly compared to a monument in Alsace, the
antiquities of which district have in a more general way been
compared to those of Sardinia.§
It will have been observed how exactly the structure at
Abbasantc corresponds to lL>?i\\\'s\\ Jccttcstiie, and to those of North
Germany, which have oval peristyles. With British Long Barrows
the similarity is no less striking. In Ireland an almost exact
counterpart may be said to exist in the case of the entombed
t General le Compte Delia Marmora, in "Bull, dell' Inst.," 1833, p. 121 ; copied also by
Abeken.
X hi. aitct., "Voyage en Sardaigne," pi. iv., and " Antiqq.," p. 23.
§ Id. p. 32 ; and " Recherches Archeologiques," par M. 15aulicii, ]). 289. For other notices of
the '• Sepolturas of Sardinia," see Antonio Biesciani, " Dei Coslunii dell' isola di Sardegna com-
jiarati cogli antichissimi popoli orientali," Napoli, 1850; also J. W. 'I'yndaie, "The Island of
Sardinia " (London, 1849), vol. i. pp. 109, 140, 141 ; vol. ii. pp. 61, 62.
Islands of the Western Mediterranean.
707
chamber at Annacloghmullen, in Armagh (p. 303, supra). There
is, it is true, in that case, no central pillar-stone with an orifice,
but there is a small low opening into the vault in the middle
of the arc of a semicircle, on each side of which, corresponding
to the so-called aistodes of the German Himenbeddcn, stood a
tall pillar-stone (Figs. 276, 278, S2ipra, and p. 528).
Fig. 665. — X.W. end of "Giant's Grave," near Borore in Sardinia. Aflcr De la Marmora.
With equal distinctness we have the characteristic feature
of the semicircle before the entrance, marked in the plan of the
structure near Newbliss in Monaghan (Fig. 269). The cairn at
Doohat in Fermanagh (Fig. 219) presents a similar feature at
each end, as do also several Scottish examples of chambered tumuli.
That called the Cairn of Get, near Garrywhin, in Caithness (Fig.
429), is an instance in point, as is that also at Yarhouse, in the
same district (Fig. 428). In these two latter, and in that near
Newbliss, the semicircle, as at
Pauli-Latino, is formed of courses
of stone, and not of single blocks.
We have seen that the termi-
nal stone with its orifice, which
is a characteristic of the Sardinian
structures, has been compared
to a type found in Alsace. I
am inclined to think that it may
be compared also to a celebrated
stone in Portugal, which has
hitherto been a puzzle to archaeologists. This is the " Piedra
Fig. 666. — In Alsace. I-ro>n Baiiliai's
" Recherches Arc/Uotogiqucs."
7o8
The Dolmens of Ireland.
Formosa" in the Citania of Briteiros, in the province of the Minho,
It is an elaborately sculptured block, rough at the upper edges, as
if once built into a wall or tumulus, perhaps. At the bottom, in the
centre, is a semicircular orifice f corresponding to those in the
Fio. 667. — The " Piedra Formosa" at Briteiros. I-rom Sarincnio.
Pauli-Latino and Alsatian stones, and (to carry the comparison
further) to those in the dolmens of Dilar in Andalucia (Fig. 639),
of Gramont in Herault (Fig. 557), of the Sakar Planina in
Bulgaria (Fig. 484), of Tzarskaya in the Caucasus (Fig. 668), of
Karlsgarden (Fig. 463) in Vestergotlande, of Burren in Cavan
(p. 205), of Cartronplank in Sligo (Fig. 133), all of which are
Fig. 66S.— Dolmen of Tzarskaya (Caucasus). From " Mat. pour Nlist. dc rilommc.'"
examples of artificially formed semicircular apertures at the bases
of the terminal stones of the respective tombs, not to mention the
t In addition to the orifice at the bottom there is a V-'^i'iI'ed channel cut out in the interior of
the stone. One of the elaborately carved stones in the chamber at Gavr-Inis in IJrittany h.is
channels similarly hollowed out in it. See M. Alex. Bertrand, "Diet. Archeol.," in voc, and
Fig. 544 (centre in lower row), supra.
Islands of the Western Mediterranean.
709
innumerable instances of holed dolmens, or dolmens with some
aperture, however rudely formed, which afford means of access to
the inner vault, in whatsoever countries structures of this class are
found.
Perhaps the little aperture formed in the end of the structure
known as the tomb of the founder of the Church of Boveragh in
Londonderry, and which is late medieval, is referable to the
survival of a custom begun in the dolmen days (Fig. 669).
Fig, 669. — Tomb of the reputed founder of the church of Boveragh, Co. Londonderry.
After Petrie.
It is beyond a doubt that the purpose of the semicircle at the
end of the tomb was to afford means for those devotees who came
to worship the spirit of the dead either to enter the tomb-temple,
if the aperture was large enough, or to insert offerings and await
responses, perhaps, if it were not.
The Irish peasants in the early part of this century, and still
perhaps in some places, crawl on their hands and knees into the
little shrines, such as that of Saint Declan, and after having lain
on the bare ground, carry away some of the " blessed clay " which
is supposed to contain the relics of the dead, f
In the neighbourhood of Canton I have seen very similar
semicircular arrangements, some of them of quite recent date,
thoueh constructed in obedience to ancient custom, made at the
t The Lapp wizards used the clay in cemeteries for necromantic purposes. Herodotus speaks
of an African tribe, the Nasamonians, who for divination, betook themselves to the tombs of
their ancestors, and, after praying, lay down to sleep by their graves (Lib. iv., cap. 73).
/lo The Dolmens of Ireland.
entrances to the caves in the hillsides which served as the tombs
of the Mongols. The semicircle was sometimes constructed of
slabs on edge, and was paved — the little doorway into the vault
occupying the centre of the arc. On this platform devotions were
paid to the dead ancestors within.
Sardinia also possesses monoliths called Pidra or Perda-
Fitta and Perda Lunga. Sometimes these are unhewn, but are
"generally rounded by the hammer, but irregularly, in a conical
form tapering to the top, but with a gradual swell in the middle.
Their height varies from 6 to i8 feet. Often there are three
together, two lesser ones and a long one."f
Father Bresciani | mentions some exceedingly curious customs
in existence in this island, in connection with the summer solstice.
A great fire is lighted on the piazza, around which young men
and maidens dance. Of these one couple have previously agreed
together to act the parts of godfather and godmother of St. John.
They had made, early in April, a little pot out of cork-bark in which
they had grown a plant of corn. This vase with its contents was
called Su Ncnnerc,\ and on St. John's Eve, decorated with
ribbons, it was placed on a balcony, hung round with wreaths and
flags. In old times, a little doll (corresponding apparently to the
sitsa of the Basques), dressed as a female, or sometimes phallic
emblems moulded in clay, were placed on the corn plant, but the
priests denounced this practice, and it was discontinued. Over the
fire above mentioned, the curious compact between godfather and
godmother was completed. The man stood on one side of the
fire, and the woman on the other. They held a stick at opposite
ends, and, stretching it over the embers, passed it rapidly to and
fro ; this was repeated three times, so that the hand of each passed
three times through the fire. In some places the couple went in
procession to a church ; here they dashed the pot of corn against
the door and broke it. The company then sat in a circle on the
greensward, and feasted on eggs, while gay tunes were played on
a pipe ; a cup of wine was passed round, and, forming a circle, they
danced for hours.
t Thomjis Forester, "Rambles in Corsica and Sardinia," p. 389. Compare that at Odry,
fig. 481, supra.
X Op. cit.
§ Father Bresciani says that the name of Ilermcs is also p;iven to this. He compares these vases
to the "gardens of Adonis" in rhrunician mythology. With the fuc, compare the Ncdfri oi the
Germans, sec Lindenbrog, Gloss, in Cart. Reg. Franc, in voc.
Islands of the Western Mediterranean.
711
Of the nuraghes of Sardinia, akin probably to the talayots of
the Balearic Isles, though differing from them in details of con-
struction, there is no occasion here to speak, since they seem to
bear no relation to dolmens. There are, however, some three
thousand examples of them in the island ; — truncated cyclopean
structures of from 30 to 60 feet in height, and from 100 to 300
feet in circumference at the base. One which Mr. Forester has
described seems to have resembled very closely Maiden Castle in
Cumberland, as described by Leland.
We have seen that Sardinia has its Sepolturas de is Gigantes,
and Minorca its Navetas, each allied more or less closely to the
dolmens of other countries. We have now to notice that Corsica
has her dolmens too. M. Merimee describes one of these, situated
in the Vallee de Cauria, or Gavuria.f The vault measures internally
3' 1 5 m. by 2*05 m. The height under the cap- stone is r65 m.
FXG. 670. — Elevation, plan, and top of covering-stone of the dolmen de la Vallee de Cauria
(Corsica). After Merimee.
The cap-stone itself measures 3-50 m. by 2*30 m. On its upper
surface, near the centre, is a shallow cavity from which a trench
runs to the edge of the stone, " evidently," says M. Merimee, " the
work of man." On the S.E. side of the stone is a second trench,
quite straight, leading into an elliptical cavity, and on the opposite
t '• Notes d'un Voyage en Corse," by Isl. Prosper Merimee, Inspector of the Historical
Monuments of France, pi. facing p. 26.
712 The Dolmens of Ireland.
side is a third. With these cavities and trenches in the coverings-
stone of a dolmen may be compared many other examples, whether
natural or artificial. I have noticed those on the dolmen of
Haroldstown in Carlowj and have stated my belief that, where
not wholly or partially artificial, rocks containing such cavities
were purposely chosen by those engaged in rearing the monument.
One remarkable example which I may mention here is that of the
covering-stone of a cist, i"30 m. in diameter, and containing a
cinerary urn, in a tumulus at Treogat in Finisterre,J another is the
covering-stone of a cist at Bakerhill in Ross-shire.§ The vault in
this Corsican dolmen is composed of three slabs on one side, two
on the other, and one at either end. Neither of the terminal slabs
reaches the roof, one of them having space enough between it and
the upper stone to thrust in an arm, and the other being a mere
threshold stone, the structure having probably extended further
in that direction.
M. Merimee speaks of another dolmen at Tavaro,|| in a
ruinous condition. Several menhirs are also mentioned, some-
times placed singly, sometimes in pairs, and there is also the
singular statue of a female (2*12 m. in height) called the Idolo dei
Mori^ and to which I have already alluded.^
t P" 397> supra. % See fig. 548, supra. § See fig. 438, supra.
II Op. ciL, plates facing pp. 16 and 25. 1 See p. 666.
^
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