STONE MONUMENTS--_continued_.
SEPULCHRAL REMAINS--CISTS--THE CROMLECH--KERNANSTOWN--LABBACALLEE--
MONASTERBOICE--GREENMOUNT--CROMLECH OF THE FOUR MAOLS--BLACK
LION--LEGANANNY--BALLYMASCANLAN--PHŒNIX PARK CISTS--HOWTH--
KILTERNAN--MOUNT VENUS--SHANGANAGH--BRENNANSTOWN (GLEN DRUID)--
GLENSOUTHWELL--GLENCULLEN BALLYEDMOND--SHANKILL--KNOCKMANY--
CLOGHTOGH--SLIEVEMORE--LENNAN--CASTLEDERG.
It is now admitted by all competent authorities that the works
scattered throughout Ireland, varying from the rude structures known as
cromlechs and the gigantic chambered cairns, like those of Newgrange
and Dowth, down to the simplest cist, alike varieties of the cromlech
idea, are graves of a primitive people. But we may go a step further
than this. It is perfectly evident that the people who erected the
cromlechs and tumuli were far more solicitous about the abodes of the
dead than they were regarding their own dwellings, built as these were
of wood and wattles, covered with turf and earth, and subject to ready
decay. ‘On the other hand,’ as Dr. Munro well says, ‘the tomb was
constructed of the most durable materials, and placed on an eminence,
so as to be seen from afar, and to be a lasting memorial among
succeeding generations.’[25]
Towards the close of the Stone Age the custom of burning the bodies of
the dead was practised by the inhabitants of the British Isles. The
dead were also disposed of by ordinary burial, by placing the body in
either a horizontal, sitting, or perpendicular position. Both methods
were practised throughout the whole succeeding archæological period, or
Bronze Age, as numerous remains testify. When cremated, the calcined
remains were placed in an urn, and then deposited, often with a small
food-vessel, within an artificial chamber. This is called a _Cist_,
or _Kistvaen_, and is usually a small rectangular chamber made of
flags or rude stones. Over these chambers it was often customary to
raise a cairn of stones or earthen mound. The cist has, however, been
frequently found in open fields and other unexpected places. Cinerary
urns, too, have been found within an area of stone circles, in tumuli
not many feet from the surface, and in mounds that in their centre
contained other, and probably more ancient, burial deposits.
In case of interment the grave was sometimes formed of flags, often
of considerable size, placed edgeways, and enclosing a space, covered
with stones, barely sufficient to contain the body, and over which a
cairn or mound was raised. The body was also deposited in a chamber
formed of large rude stones, often found standing free; but sometimes
the chamber was covered by a mound or cairn, and was accessible by
a passage from without. To the uncovered remains of these burial
structures the name _Cromlech_ is generally applied. The cairn or mound
was often surrounded by a circle of stones, and traces of this still
exist in some of the sepulchral monuments. Sometimes the space in which
the remains of several bodies have been found is barely sufficient for
one body, and it is supposed that they were broken before interment.
Cremated remains are often found with the remains of an interred body;
and this may have been the result of human sacrifices offered to the
manes of the dead.
An interesting account of burial in an upright position is referred to
in the _Book of Armagh_, where King Laoghaire is represented as telling
St. Patrick that his father Niall used to exhort him never to believe
in Christianity, but to retain the ancient religion of his ancestors,
and to be interred in the Hill of Tara, like a man standing up in
battle, with his face turned to the south, as if bidding defiance to
the men of Leinster.
‘Cremations and bodily interments,’ says Colonel Wood-Martin, ‘have
been found intermixed in a manner to lead to the belief that both forms
of burial prevailed contemporaneously. Urns to contain the ashes of the
dead were, possibly, used as a special mark of honour; also, perhaps,
to facilitate the conveyance of the human remains from a distance to
the chosen place of interment. In a country wherein were thick woods
and long stretches of bog to be traversed, the passage of funeral
processions must have been attended with delays and difficulties.’
The ordinary _Cromlech_, when perfect, or nearly so, consists of three
or more stones, unhewn, and generally so arranged as to form a small
enclosure. Over these a large and usually thick stone is placed, the
whole forming a kind of vault or rude chamber. It is generally rude in
appearance, the stones often consisting of mere amorphous blocks. In
Clare, where the limestone is found more or less in a laminated form,
the cromlech becomes more symmetrical, and is often very perfect in
shape.
The cromlech is usually styled ‘Dolmen’ by English and Continental
writers. Our peasantry, however, as a rule, call them ‘Giants’ Graves,’
or not unfrequently, when retailing a tradition and speaking in Irish,
‘Leaba Diarmida agus Graine,’ or the Beds of Dermot and Graine, from
two historical personages who, according to an old legend, eloped
together, and flying through the country for a year and a day, erected
these ‘beds’ wherever they rested for a night. Graine, or Grace, was
the betrothed wife of Fin Mac Coul, and daughter of King Cormac Mac
Art, who lived about the middle of the third century A.D.; her lover
was Diarmid O’Duibhne, of whom several stories are still current.
According to this legend there should be just 366 cromlechs, or ‘beds,’
in Ireland. But mythical as the story is, it is nevertheless of some
interest, as it connects the monuments with pre-Christian events. In
parts of the north and west of the country they are sometimes styled
‘griddles.’
The true _Chamber Monument_ is an extended form of the cromlech,
and differs from it in that the roof is formed by a succession of
overlapping slabs resting on the stones forming the walls, and
gradually rising from the lower end. The top cap-stone, while resting
on the uprights, not only closes the chamber, but by its weight keeps
in position the overlapping stones which help to support it.
In some cases the covering stone of the cromlech seems to have slipped
from its original position, and will be found with one end or side
resting upon the ground. Du Noyer was of opinion, shared by the late
Mr. Borlase, that this was originally the case in some examples, the
builders having failed in their efforts to raise the ponderous table or
covering stone, or to procure suitable supports. The position of the
upper stone, or roof, is usually sloping; but its degree of inclination
does not seem to have been regulated by any intention or design. This
general disposition of the ‘table’ has been largely seized upon by
advocates of the ‘Druids’ Altar’ theory, as a proof of the soundness
of their opinion that these monuments were erected by the Druids for
the purpose of human sacrifice. Some, indeed, have gone so far as to
discover in the hollows worn by the rains and storms of centuries on
the upper surface of these stones, channels artificially excavated, for
the purpose of facilitating the passage of a victim’s blood earthwards!
The question whether the cromlech was originally covered by a cairn
or mound has been the subject of much discussion, but its full
consideration is outside the limits of this work. The great majority of
existing cromlechs in Ireland are, now at least, of the free-standing
order. Of these some, from the nature of their position and structure,
could never have been the centres of tumuli. Others, no doubt, were
covered; but, in the case of most, time has so altered their condition
that it is now difficult to determine how they really stood in their
original and finished state.[26] A little consideration will show that,
as the cromlech and covered chamber belong to the same general class
of sepulchral monuments, it was intended by the original builders that
access should be had to them from without. Mr. Borlase, agreeing with
Fergusson, is ‘inclined to regard the dolmens as no mere tombs intended
to be closed for ever, but as sacred shrines in which the spirits of
the dead were worshipped, and which were constructed with a view of
being accessible to devotees.’[27] The remains deposited within had
to be protected from the severity of the weather and the intrusion of
wild animals. In the case of the uncovered cromlech all intervening
spaces would be closed up with smaller stones and earth, and the walls
banked up to the edge of the cap-stone. Mr. Borlase advances the
theory that the cromlech, hitherto technically so-called, is the more
megalithic portion of the giant’s grave, and ‘that both types, despite
the difference in their appearance in the condition in which we now
find them, belong to one and the same class of dolmen, originally of
elongated form.’[28] He supports this by pointing out that the ‘giant’s
grave’ is a long, wedge-shaped structure, rising gradually from a
lower to a higher end, the latter having the heavier supports and
larger covering stone. These would be the more difficult to destroy,
for, in the long lapse of time, as stones were required for building or
other purposes, the smaller and lighter would be carried away. How far
this may be the case we cannot here consider; but some cromlechs, such
as those raised of great boulder rocks, could never have been of the
extended order of structure.
The number of these sepulchral remains scattered throughout the country
is very great. Mr. Borlase enumerates them as follows: dolmens,
certain, 780; chambered tumuli, 50; uncertain, 68--total, 898. Of these
dolmens, Connaught has 248; Munster, 234; Ulster, 227; and Leinster,
71. The counties richest in these are--Sligo, 163; Clare, 94; Donegal,
82; and Cork, 71. The area of geographical distribution of these
megalithic monuments is very wide. It extends from western Asia--Syria,
Palestine, and Turkey--over north Africa, through south-east Europe,
France, Spain, Portugal, over north Germany, and northern Europe. In
France they reached a high degree of perfection. England and Wales
furnish many examples similar to the Irish cromlechs; but they are
rarely, if ever, found in Scotland.
The question naturally suggests itself, How were a primitive people,
with such rude mechanical means as they possessed, able to raise those
huge stones into the positions in which they are now found? Several
theories have been advanced, which may be briefly stated. It has been
suggested that the great covering stones of the cromlech having been
found _in situ_, they were undermined, and a chamber formed beneath
by the removal of the earth. As the work progressed uprights were
by degrees placed in position, of sufficient weight and strength to
support the great covering stone. Instances are found in Ireland to
which this theory might, perhaps, apply; but the method could not have
been adopted in such cases as that of the Ballymascanlan cromlech,
where the cap-stone rests on clear supports 8 or 9 feet high. The plan
suggested by the King of Denmark has been accepted by many, and it may
have been adopted in some cases. In this, the supporting stones having
been placed in position, an inclined plane or bank of earth would be
raised, sloping from the level of the uprights to the ground. Up this
the roofing stone would be worked, over blocks of timber placed side
by side, by means of levers, wedges, and haulage. The absence of all
traces of such banks in existing cromlechs, and other considerations,
have been urged against this method of raising these structures. On the
ground that all cromlechs were originally of the ‘giant’s grave’ order,
Mr. Borlase urges the theory that the cap-stones were raised one by
one, the largest first, until it fell into its place upon the highest
uprights. He considers that the disarrangement in the lines of the
side stones, and the presence occasionally of buttresses, support this
view. By using beams of timber and rollers it was possible, with great
and united human strength, to lever very heavy rocks, bit by bit, into
position.
Given sufficient men, great masses of stone may be moved over long
distances and raised into position, even with the rudest means. There
is no evidence whatever to show that the ancient Egyptians possessed
any machinery to economise human labour in moving great monoliths.
They were, it must be remembered, especially favoured in the Nile as a
waterway, and the quarries, as a rule, were near its banks. In their
pictorial records, so graphic in illustrating every art and craft,
there is no reproduction of any machine or engineering expedient,
except those of the very simplest kind; but the records do show that
they employed large bodies of men in this kind of work, who were
specially trained to haul with military precision. The earliest record
of such work is that of an official of the 6th Dynasty (3350 B.C.),
who brought a monolith to Memphis, which required the services of 3000
men. A record on the tomb of Tehuti-hetap, an official of the 12th
Dynasty (2622–2578 B.C.), shows a statue on a sledge, drawn by 176 men,
divided into four parties of 22 pairs, each party to a single hawser.
A superintendent stands on the knees of the statue, giving, as the
inscription states, ‘the time-beat to the soldiers,’ by clapping his
hands. The two obelisks, each 97½ feet high, and 300 tons in weight,
erected by Queen Hatshepsut (1503–1481 B.C.), were cut in the quarries
of Assuan, and transported to Karnak in seven months. A still more
remarkable instance of transporting great masses of stone was that of
the fallen statue of Rameses II., which must originally have been 60
feet high, and weighed 800 tons. But this work was eclipsed by the same
monarch in the statue erected at Tanis in the north-east Delta, which
must have stood 92 feet in height, and weighed 900 tons, at least. It
was brought from the quarries of Assuan, 600 miles distant. With such
examples as these, accomplished with simple means, there is nothing
surprising in the erection of the rude megalithic monuments by the
primitive inhabitants of these islands.
We shall now refer more specifically to some interesting examples of
the numerous remains of the rude covered and uncovered chambers found
in Ireland, as distinguished from the great tumuli presently to be
described.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Kernanstown Cromlech, Carlow.]
_Kernanstown Cromlech_ is about two miles north-east of Carlow, and
is the largest in Ireland. This magnificent granite block is securely
supported on three uprights at the east side, standing at a height of
6 feet. At the west end this cap is raised 2 feet. The block is 23½
feet long, 18¾ feet broad, 4½ feet thick, and measures 65 feet round.
This is estimated to weigh 100 tons. It makes an angle of 35° with the
horizon.
* * * * *
_Labbacallee Cromlech._--This, according to Mr. Borlase, ‘the most
noted dolmen of extended form in Ireland’ lies about one and a half
miles south-east of Glanworth on the old road to Fermoy. It consists
of a double range of stones, the internal lines forming the supports
of the covering stones. The largest of the cap-stones measures 15½
feet by 9 feet, the second being partially buried in earth. The entire
measurement is estimated by Mr. Borlase to have been not less than 42
feet. The line of direction is east and west; the width of the inner
chamber is 6 feet, and it is now 5 feet high, and sinks towards the
lower end.[29]
* * * * *
_Monasterboice Cromlech._--This fine monument lies about three-quarters
of a mile to the north-east of the old graveyard of Monasterboice, and
is known as ‘Calliagh Dirra’s House.’ It is called by the peasantry the
‘House or Tomb of Calliagh Vera, or Birra,’ a mythic witch, whose name
is associated with several wild legends referring to the mysterious
cairns and other antiquities remaining upon the hills of Loughcrew,
near Oldcastle. The work has been considered by some to be of the
free-standing order; but Du Noyer says it must have been covered by
a tumulus: it is roughly oblong in form, extending exactly east and
west, showing the wedge-shaped plan, and measuring, internally, 12
feet 6 inches in length, by 4 feet at one end, and 3 feet at the
other, in breadth. The north and south walls consist each of five large
flagstones; four flagstones form the covering, and each end is closed
by a slab. The stones forming the walls stand on edge, and some of
these have supplemental stones and buttresses.
* * * * *
_The Greenmount Chamber_ is about five miles further to the north,
near Castlebellingham. Here, in 1870, General Lefroy opened an earthen
mound, which was found to contain a chamber, the measurements of which
were 21½ feet by 3 feet 4 inches, the height being 5 feet. The roof was
formed of eight large flagstones. From the foundation to the top of the
mound was 23 feet. Ashes, burnt bones, charcoal, and teeth of hogs and
cattle were found. A bronze celt and plate, with runic character on one
side, and elaborate interlaced pattern on the other, were found in the
tumulus.
* * * * *
_Cromlech of the Four Maols._--This monument is on a hill close to the
town of Ballina; the covering stone measures 9 feet by 7 feet, and is
supported by three uprights. It is considered of much interest from
an incident in early Irish history, mentioned in more than one Irish
MS. It relates to the murder of Bishop Celleach, of Kilmore-Moy, son
of Eoghan Bel, King of Connaught, and great-grandson of Dathi. Eoghan
Bel was killed in battle at Sligo in 537, and in dying commanded
the Hy Fiachrach to elect Celleach in his stead. Through the hatred
of King Guaire, Celleach was murdered by the four Maols,[30] his
foster-brothers or pupils. The brother of the bishop captured the
assassins, and carried them to the banks of the Moy, where they
were executed upon a hill hence known as Ardnaree, or the ‘Hill of
Executions.’ The bodies were carried across the river, and buried on a
hill on the right bank.
But we cannot say for certain that the cromlech now standing there was
erected to their memory. It is probable they were excommunicated and
pronounced unworthy of Christian association, here and hereafter. As
the bodies had to be disposed of, it is possible that as a further mark
of ignominy in this case, they were thrust into a pagan sepulchre which
had stood on the Hill of Executions for ages past; though, as Colonel
Wood-Martin points out in dealing with the story, ‘it would also appear
as if the native Irish, long after the introduction of Christianity,
sometimes continued to bury in ancient cemeteries.’[31]
* * * * *
_Black Lion Chambers._--About two miles and a-half from the village
of Black Lion, in County Cavan, but on the borders of Fermanagh, may
be seen two fine ‘giants’ graves,’ the larger of which, measuring 47
feet in length by about 10 in breadth, remains in a complete state
of preservation. Five flagstones, some of considerable thickness,
closely cover this enormous work. It was, and partially still is,
enclosed by an oval line of standing stones, some of which have
fallen, while others, in number and position sufficient to convey an
idea of the original plan, remain _in situ_. At one end occurs a
small but apparently undisturbed stone circle. At a little distance
stand a cromlech, the covering stone of which measures fifteen feet
five inches in length by fifteen in breadth; also another cromlech,
besides a considerable number of dallans or pillar-stones. In the
immediate vicinity occurs a fine chambered cairn, which, but for the
work of rabbit-hunting boys many years ago, might now stand complete.
The chamber, or cist, was found to contain a fine cinerary urn. The
question suggests itself, Why should this cist-bearing cairn remain
almost perfect, while the neighbouring megaliths, if they were ever
mound-enclosed, are found cleanly and completely bare? Again, at
the Barr of Fintona, we find two important cairns remaining almost
completely preserved; while close at hand is a ‘giant’s grave,’ which,
if ever covered, is now practically denuded.
* * * * *
_Legananny Cromlech._--This cromlech is in the townland of Legananny,
on the southern slope of Cratlieve mountain, in Co. Down, about six
miles north-west of Castlewellan. The cap is a coffin-shaped granite
block, 11 feet 4 inches long, 4 feet 9 inches wide at the south-east
end, and 3 feet at the foot or north-west end. It rests upon three
upright pillars, the two at the south-west measuring 7 feet and 6 feet
2 inches respectively, the third block at the foot being 4 feet 5
inches high. An urn was found in the chamber beneath. It has no sign
of ever having been covered; and Fergusson has instanced it as an
example of the free-standing cromlech in combating the theory that all
cromlechs were originally covered by cairns or mounds.
[Illustration: Legananny Cromlech, Co. Down.]
* * * * *
_Ballymascanlan Cromlech._--This fine cromlech is about 4 miles
north-east of Dundalk, and is known as the ‘Proleek Stone,’ and
the ‘Giant’s Load.’ There is nothing to indicate that it was ever
a chambered tumulus. The cap-stone is an erratic block of basalt,
measuring 15 feet by 13 feet, and about 6 feet thick, and is variously
estimated at 30 to 60 tons in weight.[32] It is supported by three
upright stones of slender shape, and the total height is about 12
feet. Adjoining is another cromlech of the extended form, and generally
known as ‘Giants’ Graves.’
[Illustration: Ballymascanlan Cromlech.]
* * * * *
[Illustration: Sepulchral Chamber, Phœnix Park.]
_Phœnix Park Cists._--The neighbourhood of Dublin furnishes many
examples of these rude stone monuments of a prehistoric age. The
ancient sepulchre situated in the Phœnix Park, Dublin, a little to the
west of the Hibernian Military School, was discovered in the year 1838
by some workmen employed, under the Commissioners of Woods and Forests,
in the removal of a tumulus which measured in circumference 120 feet,
and in height 15 feet. During the progress of the work, four stone
cists, or kistvaens, were exposed, each enclosing an urn of baked clay,
within which were calcined bones and ashes, &c. One of these urns,
which is now, with the skulls, shells, and other remains, in the Royal
Irish Academy collection, arranged in a case in the National Museum,
was fortunately saved in a nearly perfect state. The tomb at present
consists of seven stones set in the ground, in the form of an irregular
oval, three of which support a covering stone, which measures in length
6 feet 6 inches; in breadth, at the broadest part, 3 feet 6 inches;
and in thickness between 14 and 16 inches. The spaces between the
stones which formed the enclosure were filled with others of smaller
size, which, since the discovery, have fallen out or been removed.
The following is an extract from the report of the Academy:--‘In the
recess they enclosed, two perfect male human skeletons were found, and
also the tops of the femora of another, and a single bone of an animal
supposed to be that of a dog. The heads of the skeletons rested to
the north; and as the enclosure is not of sufficient extent to have
permitted the bodies to lie at full length, they must have been bent
at the vertebræ, or at the lower joints. In both skulls the teeth
are nearly perfect, but the molars were more worn in one than in the
other. Immediately under each skull was found collected together a
considerable quantity of small shells common on our coasts, and known
to conchologists by the name of _Nerita littoralis_. On examination
these shells were found to have been rubbed down on the valve with a
stone to make a second hole, for the purpose, as it appeared evident,
of their being strung to form necklaces; and a vegetable fibre, serving
this purpose, was also discovered, a portion of which was through the
shells. A small fibula of bone, and a knife, or arrow-head, of flint,
were also found.’
Visitors to the Phœnix Park will find in the grounds of the Royal
Zoological Gardens a cist, or diminutive cromlech, in many respects
similar to that just noticed, which was discovered some years ago in a
sandpit immediately adjoining the neighbouring village of Chapelizod.
This monument, though not occupying its ancient position, and, notably,
a restoration, should be seen by students of Irish antiquities, the
stones of which it is composed having been carefully replaced in their
original order. It is on record that within this tomb a human skeleton
was found, but no mention of anything else it may have contained has
been preserved.
A much more important example of a removed _Cist_ is now to be seen
in the National Museum, Dublin, which should prove of great interest
to the student of archæology. In August, 1898, in a sandpit at
Greenhills, Tallaght, County Dublin, workmen engaged in removing sand
from the face of the pit discovered a cist; it measures 24 inches by
19 inches, and the height in the centre is 19 inches. It is formed of
single stones two to four inches thick; the bottom stone is broken.
It contained three vessels--a large urn inverted and covering a much
smaller one, and a food-vessel of flower-pot shape. Under the urn was
a quantity of burnt bones. Other urns and broken fragments of pottery,
a skeleton, and portions of burnt bones were found in the same pit,
which shows that both forms of disposing of the dead existed at the
same period of time. The cist, encased in its matrix of sand and earth,
was carefully and most successfully removed by Colonel Plunkett,
director of the Museum, and his assistants. Expert opinion on the shape
and decoration of the vessels places them at the close of the Bronze
Period.[33]
* * * * *
[Illustration: Cromlech in Howth Demesne.]
_Howth Cromlech._--This fine monument is situated near the base of an
inland cliff, within the grounds of Howth Castle, and at a distance
of about three-quarters of a mile from the sea-shore. It consists, at
present, of ten blocks of quartzite rock; the table or covering stone
is 20 feet long and 17 feet broad; it is 56 feet in circumference;
and the extreme thickness is 8 feet. The weight of this mass has been
computed at 70 tons. It seems as if the enormous pressure caused the
supporters more or less to give way; they all incline westward, and
the table appears as if it had slipped in that direction, in its course
breaking one of the pillars in two. This probably occurred before the
block could be placed in its intended position, and it was arrested
in its descent by the undisturbed stump of the fractured stone upon
which, in an inclined position, it now reposes at its lowest edge.
Three of the supporters are about 8 feet high, so that, as Beranger,
who visited and described the remains about a hundred years ago,
states:--‘This, one of the grandest mausoleums, must have made a noble
figure standing, as the tallest man might stand and walk under it with
ease.’ The structure on the interior would seem to have constituted an
irregular chamber, tending east and west; but much disturbance of the
stones has occurred, and it would be now impossible by drawings and
plans to give a very reliable idea of the original appearance of this
still impressive pile, which, we may add, appears never to have been
surmounted by cairn or tumulus of any kind. These stones were formerly
called ‘Fin Mac Coul’s Quoits.’
* * * * *
[Illustration: Kilternan Cromlech.]
_Kilternan Cromlech_ is near Kilternan House, 7 miles from Dublin, and
half a mile west of Golden Ball. It is another fine example of its
class, when we consider the weight of its table, estimated at 40 tons,
and the difficulty, as we must suppose, of raising, in a rude age,
such a mass upon supporters. The covering stone, like all others, of
this monument is of the granite of the district. Its measurements are:
extreme length, 22 feet; width, 13½ feet; greatest thickness, 6 feet
6 inches. The supporters vary in height from 2 to 4 feet, but it is
impossible to know how far they may be sunk below the present ground
level. Some considerable disturbance in their arrangement appears to
have occurred. Several would seem to have subsided, but the roofing
block is still held above ground by the others; the height of the
enclosure may be stated as about five feet from floor to roof. The plan
of the chamber is very irregular, but it may be described as extending
east and west. This cromlech is known as ‘the giant’s grave’; but there
is no local tradition connected with it, folklore in this district
having generations ago ceased to exist.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Mount Venus Cromlech.]
_Mount Venus Cromlech._--This monument, situated at Woodtown, about two
and a half miles from Rathfarnham, a suburb of Dublin, is no longer
perfect. Its table, which may have slipped from its original position,
is at present supported by a single stone about 7½ feet in height, and
of considerable massiveness. The greatest measurement of the covering
stone is 23 feet; it is 12 feet in breadth, and 5 feet in thickness.
It is supported at the north-west corner by an upright stone, forming
with it an angle of 45°. Several of the former supporting stones would
seem to have been removed, and others have evidently been broken. The
rock is granite, of a very hard, close, and durable description. It
seems to have weathered but little, as all the remaining stones present
angles of considerable sharpness. Du Noyer was of opinion that this
cromlech was of what he styled the ‘earth-fast’ class, and that the
roof had always in part rested upon the ground. In this supposition
O’Neill, no mean authority on such matters, did not by any means
coincide. The weight of the covering stone is estimated at 42 tons.
So great a pressure might well cause some of the weaker supporters to
give way, in which case the pile would very probably assume its present
appearance. It is not in the least likely that this tomb had at any
time been covered by a tumulus or cairn. Mr. Borlase considers it ‘one
of the most magnificent megalithic monuments in the world.’
[Illustration: Shanganagh Cromlech.]
* * * * *
_Shanganagh Cromlech._--At Shanganagh, half a mile to the east of
the hamlet of Loughlinstown, may be seen a fine specimen of what may
be styled, as regards size, a cromlech of the second class. It is
supported upon four stones, and presents no appearance of having been
enveloped in a mound of any description. Like nearly every one of its
kindred remains in the County Dublin, it is formed of granite blocks.
The covering stone measures 9 feet in length by 7 feet at its greatest
breadth; it is 3½ feet in its extreme thickness; and its highest
portion is at present slightly over 9 feet above the ground; the weight
is about 12 tons. The chamber would seem to extend east and west. The
cromlech may be easily visited from Killiney railway station.
* * * * *
_Brennanstown (Glen Druid) Cromlech._--In a picturesque valley,
close to Cabinteely, County Dublin, stands a very perfect cromlech.
This monument may be reached in a short walk from the Carrickmines
railway station. The site is a little over one mile and a-half from
the sea-coast. The covering stone is of an irregular form, but the
under portion, which forms the top of the chamber, is quite flat and
horizontal. The following are its dimensions:--length and breadth, 15½
feet; thickness, 3 to 5 feet. It is not easy to calculate the weight
of this mass, on account of the irregularity of form which the block
presents; but it is estimated at 36 tons. It rests, as Mr. Borlase
points out, on two _antæ_, as well as on the larger stones, and so
forms an ante-chamber 5 feet wide at the entrance. A number of detached
stones lying about this very perfect example would indicate that it
was originally accompanied by a circle of standing stones.
[Illustration: Brennanstown Cromlech.]
* * * * *
_Glensouthwell Cromlech._--Of this ‘Druid’s or Brehon’s Chair,’ already
referred to (page 42), Beranger wrote as follows:--‘This piece of
antiquity, the only one yet discovered, is situated at the foot of the
Three-Rock Mountain. It is supposed to be the seat of judgment of the
Arch-Druid, from whence he delivered his oracles. It has the form of
an easy-chair wanting the seat, and is composed of three rough, unhewn
stones, about 7 feet high, all clear above ground. How deep they are
in the earth remains unknown. Close to it is a sepulchral monument or
cromlech, supposed to be the tomb of the Arch-Druid. It is 15 feet
in girth, and stands on three supporters, about 2 feet high, and is
planted round with trees. The top stone is 8½ feet long.’ The so-called
‘chair’ still remains, and the above account fairly describes it. The
three stones, standing north, west, and east, are, however, 9¼ feet,
8¾ feet, and 8 feet high, respectively. It never was a ‘chair.’ It is
evidently a rather small but high cromlech that has lost its covering
stone. The ‘cromlech’ noticed by Beranger was probably the block
destroyed by blasting in 1876.
* * * * *
_Glencullen Cromlech._--This monument is situated on the eastern
side of Glencullen, half a mile north-west of Glencullen House, near
Kilternan, in a very wild district, extending to the west of the
Three-Rock Mountain, and at a distance of some three miles, in a direct
line, from the sea. It is described by O’Neill as having ‘a roof rock
10 feet long, 8 feet broad, and 4 feet thick, extreme measures.... The
longest direction of the roof rock is W.S.W., or nearly east and west.
The chamber is greatly damaged.’[34]
* * * * *
_Ballyedmond Chamber_ is ¾ of a mile north-west of Glencullen House,
in the parish of Kilgobbin. O’Curry, writing of it, says: ‘It is a
very fine giant’s grave, resembling the Bed of Callan More on Slieve
Gullion, only that it is more perfect. I doubt if we have met so
perfect a pagan grave in any other counties hitherto examined. This
had been a tumulus, and the earth being cleared away, the grave was to
be seen. The tumulus was oval in shape, and its axis, like that of the
grave, was east and west.’ The side stones of the chamber were ten in
number, one of the covering stones, measuring 7 feet by 5, remained in
its place.
* * * * *
_Shankill Cromlech._--In Cromwell’s _Excursions through Ireland_,
vol. III., p. 159, there is an engraving, after a drawing by Petrie,
of a dolmen at this place, which is situated about four miles to the
north or north-west of Bray, at a distance of a couple of miles from
the nearest point of the sea-shore. O’Neill, writing in 1852, says
that he could not find it, and heard that it had been removed a few
years previously. Nevertheless the monument still exists, and was
sketched by Mr. Wakeman some years ago. It stands by the side of a road
leading across the eastern slope of Carrigollagher, in the direction
of Rathmichael, and is a fair specimen of its class. It retains its
covering stone _in situ_, but without the end stones.
It is interesting to note that the cromlechs in the east of Ireland
are generally of the free-standing and uncovered class. If we want
to find similar monuments to those mentioned, we must seek for them
much further north, or in districts of the west or south-west of
Ireland. It was known that in County Sligo scores of these subaerial
sepulchral monuments were to be found surrounded by one or more lines
of stones, which are not unfrequently associated with free-standing
pillar-stones, and, as would sometimes seem, with elementary
alignments. But, until the appearance of Colonel Wood-Martin’s _Rude
Stone Monuments of Sligo and Achill_, it was not known that in the
west existed T-shaped sepulchres, and others in plan like a dumb-bell,
the handle representing the grave, while the bulbous ends might be
expressed in the form of regularly-constructed stone circles. He
was also enabled to point to triangular graves, a form of burial
structure in Ireland previously described by no other writer. ‘It
is remarkable,’ says Colonel Wood-Martin, ‘that, in the county of
Sligo, the characteristic features of the megaliths varied according
to districts: for example, in Carrowmore the circular form was almost
universal, whereas in Northern Carbury an oblong arrangement appears to
predominate. Again, in the Deerpark Monument, the general architectural
principles displayed at Stonehenge can be traced.’ In the townland
of Carrowmore, to the south-west of Sligo, here referred to, are, or
were, the remains, says Mr. Borlase, of sixty-five ‘dolmen circles,’
forty-four of which are designated in the Ordnance Survey Map. For
particulars of these we must refer the reader to Colonel Wood-Martin’s
survey and Mr. Borlase’s work. Before finally leaving the subject of
the ordinary cromlech it is necessary to notice some examples which
bear markings, seemingly carved with some intention.
* * * * *
_Knockmany Chamber._--This interesting sepulchral monument, which is
illustrated in the frontispiece to this work, is on the summit of a
wooded hill, about two and a half miles north of Clogher, County
Tyrone. The chamber is of the type known as the ‘giant’s grave’; it
lies nearly due north and south, and consists of thirteen stones, most
of which are mill-stone grit. None of the covering stones now remain,
having probably been removed for building purposes. The tomb seems
to have been originally covered by a mound. The internal measurement
is 10 feet 3 inches by 6 feet 6 inches; two of the blocks of the
east side have fallen inwards. Four of the stones have markings,
consisting of cup-hollows, zigzag lines, concentric circles, and other
curved patterns. Expert opinion, from an examination of their forms,
is inclined to associate the markings with the later Bronze Age of
Scandinavia, and to give a probable date of this sepulchral chamber
as 500 B.C. The tomb is known locally as ‘Aynia’s Cove,’ popular
superstition associating it with a witch or hag named Aynia or Ainé.
It is also called Knoc Baine, as being the supposed burial-place of
Baine, mother of Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar, who was king of Ireland early
in the second century. This would bring the monument to the Late Celtic
period, which is difficult to reconcile with the archæological evidence
already mentioned, associating it with the Bronze Age.[35]
* * * * *
_Cloghtogh Cromlech._--Cloghtogh, the ‘Lifted stone,’ is situated close
to the village of Lisbellaw, Co. Fermanagh. It consists of four great
stones, two of which form the sides, and one the end, of a quadrangular
chamber. On the front of the fourth stone, which constitutes the
cap or covering, were four well-marked cups, averaging 1¾ inches in
diameter. These, which unfortunately have been chipped off, were placed
in a horizontal line, extending over a space of 18 inches, and slightly
diminishing in size from left to right. The block is 7½ feet in length,
by 6 feet in breadth, the thickness being 1½ feet.
* * * * *
_Slievemore Cromlech._--Similar markings may be observed on one of
the upright stones of a ruined cromlech standing on the slope of
Slievemore, island of Achill, amongst other remains, styled on the
Ordnance sheet tumulus, cromlech, Danish ditch, respectively. It
is difficult to imagine that the likeness between these two sets
of cup-markings is accidental. A similar array of four cups, but
placed vertically, may be seen on one of the enormous stones forming
the right-hand side of the gallery leading into the great cairn of
Newgrange.
* * * * *
_Lennan Cromlech._--The inscribed cromlech of Lennan or Tullycorbet,
Co. Monaghan, stands upon a knoll called by the people of the district
Cruck-na-clia, which may be translated ‘Battle hill.’ This monument,
a fine one of its class, presents every appearance of having always
been free-standing. It bears some extremely curious markings, into
the character of which the late Sir Samuel Ferguson made careful
examination.[36]
* * * * *
_Castlederg Cromlech._--This monument lies about three-quarters of a
mile to the north of the town of Castlederg, 140 yards to the east
of the old Strabane road, leading through Churchtown townland. The
principal cap-stone was dislodged many years ago by the owner of the
farm. ‘It appears,’ says Sir Samuel Ferguson, ‘that the structure had
previously been rendered insecure by a stone-mason, who had abstracted
one of the supporters for building purposes; and it was suggested that
the motive for casting down the cap-stone was an apprehension lest the
owner’s cattle, in rubbing or sheltering under it, might do themselves
a mischief. That the inscription was there at the time of the first
disclosure of the upper face of the support on which it is sculptured,
is the common and constant statement of the people of the country; but
the case rests more satisfactorily on the fact, wholly independent of
testimony, that a collateral covering stone remains _in situ_, and that
the line of scorings is prolonged underneath it into a position too
contracted for the use of a graving tool.’[37]
The work here consists of a continuous series of straight scorings,
accompanied by a number of dots or depressions more or less circular in
form. There can be no doubt that a generic resemblance may be noticed
between them and many of the markings of the Lennan inscription. This,
if there were nothing more, would raise a serious doubt of their being
merely accidental or capricious indentations. The great majority of
such irregular scorings should, nevertheless, be looked upon with
suspicion. Those which occur on the pillar-stone at Kilnasaggart,
Co. Armagh, though long considered to be Ogam characters, are now
universally pronounced to be nothing more than markings made by
persons who utilized the monument as a block for the sharpening and
pointing of tools or weapons. The same remark applies in full force
to certain scorings and scratches which disfigure a fine pillar-stone
standing close to the railway station of Kesh, County Fermanagh, on
the right-hand side of the line as you face towards Bundoran. They are
found abundantly on the coping stones of the walls of Londonderry, and
indeed in other localities too numerous to mention. At Killowen, County
Cork, they occur on a stone most significantly called Cloch na n’Arm,
or the ‘(Sharpening) Stone of the weapons.’