Here friends and foes
Lie close, unmindful of their former feuds.
The name of _barrows_ is given to the artificial hills which were in
ancient times very generally constructed to commemorate the mighty dead.
Such hills are usually formed of earth, but sometimes of heaped stones.
In the latter form, they are almost exclusively confined to Scotland, and
are there called _cairns_. Barrows are found in almost every country,
from America to the steppes of Tartary, and probably exhibit the
earliest, and assuredly the grandest species of honorary burial; a humble
relic of which we still retain in the mounds of earth over the graves of
our churchyards. Assuming that the barrow indicates, in the matter of
sepulture, the first step of man from the merely savage state, it does
not seem to have been forsaken for monuments of greater art and delicacy
until such further advances in civilization had been made as might be
indicated to a careful inquirer by the alteration in the form or
structure of the _tumulus_ itself, and still more by the contents which
might be disinterred; for it was in all, except perhaps the very earliest
instances, customary to bury with the dead their weapons, their
ornaments, and other articles of value. In the barrows of the earliest
period we might expect to find no more than the bones of the uncoffined
and unurned barbarian with his arrow heads of flint; while those of a
later period would furnish stone and earthen coffins, urns of metal and
earthenware, spears, swords, shields, bracelets, beads, mirrors, combs,
and even coins and cloths,—articles which are actually found in some
_tumuli_, and most of them in those of this country.
The cairns, or carnedd, heaps of stones, are frequently mentioned in
Scripture, and in every instance, when not accompanied with a pillar, we
find them raised with the same object, namely, to cover the remains of
those who died in crime, and whose memories it was intended to dishonour.
Such were the heaps of stones raised over the remains of Achan, Absalom,
and the King of Ai. Joshua vii. 25, 26—viii. 25. 2 Sam. xviii. 17 In
Syria and Palestine it is still usual for one who passes such a heap to
throw a stone on it, in order to express his detestation of the infamy
commemorated, as well as to contribute to the maintenance or increase the
size of the monument. In Scotland, too, in some parts, it was formerly,
and perhaps still is common for a person to say to the offender, “Never
mind, I shall throw a stone over your cairn yet.”
There are numerous cairns in Wales, many of which still bear distinctive
names, such as _Carn Vadryn_ and _Carn Hendwll_. Allusion to these is
made in the works of the earliest bards; for instance, Taliesin
observes:—
Carawg will purchase
Wales abounding with _canerddau_.
It is said that in Druidic times the cairn was a species of monument
awarded only to persons of distinction. The following passage on the
subject occurs in the life of Gruffydd ab Cynan:—“Now the mountain on
which the battle was fought, is called by the people of the country the
_carn_ mountain, that is to say, the mountain of the _carnedd_; for in
that place there is an immense _carnedd_ of stones, under which was
buried a _champion_ in primitive ages of antiquity.” The cairn was of
gradual growth, inasmuch as it was the custom for every passer by to
fling an additional stone upon the common heap, out of reverence to the
memory of the person who was interred underneath.
We are told however that when the practice of burying in churchyards
became general, the cairn was condemned as fit only for great criminals.
Hence the expression, “_carn or dy wyneb_” (may a cairn be upon thy
face), when one wishes ill to another man. In this case travellers cast
their stones out of detestation. Owing, therefore, to such a change of
popular feeling in regard to the cairn, it would now be impossible, from
its mere outward appearance, to conjecture the character of the person
whom it covers. Moreover, the size would vary, not only according to the
honour or disgrace with which the deceased was in his lifetime regarded,
but also according to the situation of the grave itself, whether it was
near a public road or not. It may be, however, that the position of the
body, or form of the _cistvaen_ (stone chest), or some other interior
arrangement, would prove a clue to the solution of this question.
Many of the cairns in this country have been opened, and generally found
to contain undoubted evidence of human interment; and where this was not
the case, their absence may be very reasonably accounted for by the
supposition that the body was burned (as in the case of Achan), and the
stones heaped over the ashes.
Upwards of one hundred years ago, Sir Nicholas Bailey opened a _carnedd_
at Plas Newydd, Anglesey. Supposing the mound a mere heap of rubbish, he
began to level it; but when the workmen had opened the entrance into the
large ruin, he ordered them to discontinue their operations, as it seemed
to contain nothing but bones.
The mound or tumulus on which the remains of _Capel y Towyn_ (see page 6)
stand, is evidently the cemetery of a vast number of persons. Some years
ago, a coffin was discovered containing a skull, and the other principal
bones of the human frame, quite perfect. Four or five other coffins were
also found, all of which contained bones, in a good state of
preservation. The coffins were constructed of rough stones, having
sides, ends, lids, but no bottoms. The dates of these burials are not
correctly determined, but they are of considerable antiquity.
A very interesting paper relative to this place, written by the Hon. W.
O. Stanley, M.P. for the city of Chester, was read at the Archæological
Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, in August, 1846, from which we
make the following extract:—
“This ancient chapel is on the old London road, about two and a half
miles from Holyhead, situated close to the sea. Here is a great
mound, about 30 feet in height, being 750 in circumference at the
base. On the summit of this mound are seen the foundation walls of a
small chapel, which has given the name _Towyn y Capel_ (the Bay of
the Chapel) to the beautiful inlet upon the shore. This mound is
composed of sea sand, and contains a great number of graves, arranged
in four or five tiers, one above another, at intervals of about three
or four feet. The bodies were laid invariably with the feet
converging towards the centre of the mound, the head being towards
the outer side. It appears that no similar instance of interment in
graves formed indiscriminately, as it regards the point of the
compass towards which the feet of the corpse were laid, has yet been
noticed.”