STONE MONUMENTS--_Continued_.
THE DEERPARK MONUMENT--CAIRNS--MISCAN MAEVE--CAIRN’S HILL--HEAPSTOWN--
THE ‘BARR’ OF FINTONA--BIGHY--STAR-SHAPED CAIRN AT DOOHAT--
MOUNDS--STONE CIRCLES--NEWGRANGE--NEWTOWNBUTLER--BALLYNOE
(LEGAMADDY)--SLIEVE-NA-GREIDLE--LOUGH GUR--ALIGNMENTS--TOPPID
MOUNTAIN--CALLERNISH--DARTMOOR.
The _Deerpark Monument._--The interesting megalithic monument in the
Deerpark, Hazlewood demesne, four miles east of Sligo, differs from
any other known monument in the British Isles. It is known as Leacht
Con Mie Ruis, the ‘Stone of Con the son of Rush,’ and more than one
visionary archæologist has styled it the ‘Irish Stonehenge.’ The
structure consists primarily of an oblong, or blunted oval, figure,
formed of rude, undressed stones, generally of considerable length and
thickness, and averaging but 2 or 3 feet in height. This central area
extends, as nearly as possible, east and west. Its extreme length is
50 feet 6 inches; its greatest diameter 28 feet. From the western end
extends an oblong compartment, constructed of stones similar to those
forming the oval, measuring 27 feet in length by 12 feet 6 inches in
breadth. The entrance to this extension is by a kind of portal, the
sides of which consist of two rude, unhewn stones, about 3 feet in
height. These are surmounted by a horizontal lintel, about 8 feet long,
and 2 feet 6 inches in thickness, forming a low but perfect trilithon.
Fergusson, in his _Rude Stone Monuments_, very incorrectly states that
these stones, like those forming two other similar entrances, have
been ‘squared and partially dressed.’ The western apartment is divided
by two projecting stones, which may have been capped with a lintel.
The space between them is barely sufficient to allow the passage of
a moderately-sized man. This end of the monument is composed of two
stones of great size, the outermost leaning against its neighbour. They
are about 7 feet in length, 2 feet in thickness, and over 6 feet in
height. Immediately adjoining, and touching them, to the westward, are
the remains of a stone circle, about 20 feet in diameter, the area of
which was probably occupied by a low cairn or mound. The spot, however,
has been so tossed about that little of its original character
remains. The same remark applies to the state of a similar circle found
at the eastern termination of the monument. At the eastern extremity
of the central enclosure are two projections, precisely similar in
style to that at the opposite end. They are entered by trilithon
openings, the height from ground to lintel measuring about 3 feet, and
the height to the upper surface 5 feet. These prolongations, which
have been absurdly styled ‘aisles,’ run parallel to each other, one
measuring 27 feet in length, while its companion, that to the south,
is 3 feet shorter. Both are divided into two compartments, of unequal
size, by projecting stones. There is a space between them, 5 feet 6
inches broad, but separated from the main oval by an immense block of
stone.[50]
[Illustration: Plan of the Deerpark Monument, Co. Sligo.]
This monument was long a puzzle to archæologists. ‘At present it is
unique,’ wrote Fergusson; ‘if some similar example could be discovered,
perhaps we might guess its riddle.’ It remained for Colonel Wood-Martin
to explain the character of this ‘Irish Stonehenge.’ ‘Excavations,’
he writes, ‘made in the four smaller divisions, at the eastern and
western extremities of the monument, clearly demonstrate the fact that
they _had been formerly covered like ordinary kistvaens with roofing
slabs_, as these were found lying in the ground in a fragmentary
state, when the sod was turned up. In these four excavations human and
animal bones were discovered, all uncalcined. With them was a flint
flake. Explorations in the central enclosure were not attended with
equally decisive results; for although in two instances some traces of
osseous remains were found, yet in other spots the soil appeared to
be undisturbed. The conclusion, therefore, may be safely drawn that
the eastern and western “aisles” are simply uncovered kistvaens; that
they were erected when inhumation burial was practised, and when flint
instruments were in use; but whether the central enclosure had been
used for burial, or merely for ceremonial observances before committing
the bodies to the tomb, could not be determined with any degree of
certainty.’[51]
The osseous remains found in various parts of the monument were
submitted to the judgment of several experts, who pronounced them to
be mostly human, and to have belonged to persons of various ages. Some
were evidently those of young children. The bones of the lower animals
noticed comprised those of deer, of the horse (apparently), and some
of swine. There were also bones of rabbits and hares, as likewise some
of birds. All seemed to be strangely mixed together; but the remains
in no instance exhibited the action of fire. It is probable that the
interments were neolithic, and the animal bones the relics of the
funeral feast. The flint flake ‘shows traces of careful chipping for a
short distance round the segment of a circle which forms its cutting
edge, the remainder of the tool being left in a rough unfinished state,
with thick blunt sides.’ It belongs to the class of articles described
by Sir W. Wilde as approaching in form, but not altogether taking the
shape of, a stone celt.[52]
[Illustration: Cairn, on Cairn’s Hill, Co. Sligo.]
* * * * *
_Miscan Maeve._--On the summit of Knocknarea, which commands a fine
view over the coast of Sligo and surrounding country, is a great cairn
composed of small stones, and locally known as ‘Miscan Maeve,’ or
‘Misgaun Meaw.’ The cairn is oval-shaped, and measures 590 feet in
circumference and 34 feet in height; the sides slope to 79 feet on one
side and 67 feet on the other. The top has a major axis of 100 feet and
a minor of 85 feet. According to tradition this is the burial-place of
Maeve (the Mab of English folk-tales), a celebrated Queen of Connaught,
who reigned in the first century. Evidence, however, goes to show that
she was buried at Rathcroghan, and the cairn at Knocknarea may have
been raised to her memory. There are two cairns on the summit of two
hills overlooking Lough Gill, a couple of miles east of Carrowmore.
That on _Cairn’s Hill_ is about 180 paces in circumference, with a
summit diameter of 36 paces; it seems originally to have been terraced.
The other, on Belvoir Hill, was about the same dimensions, but it is
in a more ruinous condition. From their construction, and the remains
found, they were no doubt sepulchral.
* * * * *
_Monument at Heapstown._--At Heapstown, not far from Ballindoon, Co.
Sligo, is a gigantic pile of stones, said to have been raised in the
fourth century of our era over Oliolla, son of Eochy Moyvane, Ard-righ,
_i.e._ ‘Chief king’ of Erin. The extreme circumference of this great
work, which the peasantry assert was erected in one night, is stated to
be 62 statute perches. Nothing certain is known of its history; and the
story of its having had any connection with Oliolla is probably as true
as that embodied in the popular legend.
* * * * *
_Cairn and Cists at the ‘Barr’ of Fintona._--It is necessary here to
notice a few minor typical yet interesting sepulchres, some of which
it would appear had been left undisturbed and unnoticed until recent
years. One of the most instructive of these occurs at the ‘Barr’ of
Fintona, about three miles north of Trillick, Co. Tyrone. The cairn
was found to consist of a mound of stones, rising to a height of about
8 feet above the then level of the surrounding bog. It was quite
circular in plan. Resting upon the ground, and just within the outer
edge of the pile, were eight cists, each of which had the appearance
of a small cromlech. Four of these chambers enclosed portions of the
human skeleton; and in two of them, in addition to the remains of man,
was found an urn of baked clay. All within the principal urn-bearing
cavity was perfectly dry and undisturbed. The floor was flagged, and
here and there lay human bones in various stages of decomposition. With
them were found three vertebræ of a small mammal, probably those of
a dog. A fine, richly-decorated urn, evidently a food-vessel, lay on
its side in the middle of the enclosure, resting upon a large, clean
slab of sandstone. One of the cists lay on the north-east side of the
mound. It was oblong in form, 2 feet 4 inches in breadth by 3 feet 6
in length. The sides and bottom were neatly flagged. This grave was
reached with difficulty, as it proved to be secured by two ponderous
covering stones, one laid immediately over the other. Upon the floor,
cushioned in damp dust, lay the remains, or portions of the skeletons,
of two human beings, white and clean, as contrasted with the dark-brown
colour of their kindred mould. There were but a few other fragments
of bones beside the crania, and these were removed to the Museum of
the Royal Irish Academy. There were no traces of the lower jaws, nor
even of teeth. From the narrow proportions of the cist, it was quite
manifest that no two perfect human bodies, even those of very young
people, could have been deposited there. The space was far too limited
to have contained even one unmutilated corpse. The bones exhibited
no trace of the action of fire, and were unaccompanied by traces of
charcoal or ashes of any kind. On the mould which lay on the floor
being carefully sifted, no bead, flint-flake, or manufactured article
of any description was discovered; and as the bottom and sides of the
cist were composed of cleanly-split sandstone, it was evident that
nothing but human remains had been entombed there--unless, indeed, we
may suppose that an earthen vessel, or similarly perishable object, had
crumbled into dust amongst the animal matter.
At a point in the circumference of the cairn which may be described as
lying south-east from the centre, was a simple cist of quadrangular
form, measuring 17 by 18 inches; its depth was 18 inches. The little
chamber was found to contain some traces of grayish earth, somewhat
like lime-mortar; this occurred here and there in the generally darker
mould, and had the appearance of being a decomposition of human or
other bones. A cavity precisely similar in formation, but somewhat
smaller, lay in the circle, at a distance of about 9 feet from the
cist last noticed. This also yielded nothing of interest. Upon the
north-west side of the cairn were two cists, which in the temporary
absence of the explorer were dug up by treasure-seekers and others.
The havoc here perpetrated by ignorance is greatly to be lamented, as
in one of the cists an ornamental vase had been found, one fragment
of which Mr. Wakeman was fortunate enough to recover. In connection
with this vessel was discovered a beautifully formed flint knife. When
perfect, as originally found, it measured 3-3/10 inches in length,
by 1½ inches at its broadest part. The blade was extremely thin, and
exhibited on one side a central ridge, the other surface being flat
or slightly convex. Like most implements of its class, it presented
admirably chipped edges. The colour was dark-gray, and the instrument
showed no evidence of its having been submitted to the action of
fire. Another grave lay nearly midway between the first described
and the more northern of the two which had been shattered by the
treasure-seekers. It also was in all but utter ruin, owing partly
to the dampness of its position, and perhaps in some degree to the
comparatively inferior material of its component parts. The contents
presented human bones--those of adults--so soft and decomposed as not
to bear the slightest touch. They suggested the idea of softish mortar,
or of putty. No artificial object was here found, though everything
was done to bring to light any deposit which might have accompanied
the bones. A trench was excavated from the northern side through more
than half the diameter of the cairn; but no central cist or chamber was
discovered.[53]
The importance of the discoveries made at the ‘Barr’ in their bearings
upon more than one archæological question will doubtless, by a careful
reader, be acknowledged. Whether the human remains there found,
apparently huddled together in cists not sufficiently large to have
contained an entire adult body, were those of victims immolated during
the celebration of sepulchral rites, or whether they were relics of
persons slain in battle, buried, and subsequently disinterred for final
sepulture in the territory of their people or ancestors, are questions
which it would be very difficult to decide.
* * * * *
_Cairn and Cists at Bighy._--In some respects this is a very remarkable
burial site. It stands on the lands of Bighy (a modification of the
Irish word _Beithigh_, which signifies ‘Birch-land’), on a shoulder
of Bennaghlin, a mountain almost overhanging Florencecourt. It is
a cairn composed of sandstone, perfectly circular in plan, with a
central chamber, and a number of cists, placed almost equally distant
from each other, and ranged just within the outer edge of the mound,
which measures 50 feet in diameter, and is at present about 10 feet
high. The central chamber is of an oval form, 6 feet by 4 feet, and
4 feet in height. It is covered by two large flagstones and a number
of smaller ones. Its greater axis extends exactly east and west. Of
the surrounding cists--probably eighteen in number--but three remain
in a tolerably fair state of preservation. The largest of these is of
a bee-hive form; it is quite circular, and measures 3 feet 6 inches
in diameter. Its height was probably 4 feet, but, from the disturbed
state of the floor, there was difficulty in taking a very accurate
measurement. Of the other cists, which are slightly smaller, two
presented a rudely quadrangular plan, and were covered by stones laid
horizontally. With considerable difficulty, owing to the shaky state of
the walls, Mr. Wakeman carefully searched these cists, finding in all
of them small portions of calcined bones, accompanied by wood charcoal.
In the larger and more perfect chamber, situated to the south-west
of the mound, was found, imbedded amongst a quantity of charcoal and
burned bones, the base of a cinerary urn, 2¾ inches in diameter. It
appears to have been quite plain. No other portion of this vessel was
discoverable, and it was quite manifest that this cist, as well as the
others in the mound, had been very roughly handled by seekers for the
proverbial ‘crocks of gold,’ perhaps on many occasions. Elsewhere in
the country, cairns exhibiting a somewhat similar arrangement of cists
may be found; but the description here given of two representative
examples must suffice.
* * * * *
_The star-shaped Cairn of Doohat._--Doohat, the land upon which this
monument is situated, will be found marked on the Ordnance Map just
three and a half miles due south of Florencecourt. It is two miles
from Bighy, on the opposite side of Bennaghlin mountain. The name of
the site upon which it stands, Doohat--Irish, _Dumha Ait_, ‘Place
of the sepulchral tumulus’--sufficiently explains that at one time
its character had not passed out of local recollection. The plan of
the work is, as far as we know, unique in Ireland, representing the
star-fish, with five rays projecting from a central body or chamber
of the usual ‘giant’s grave’ class. To the south of the chamber,
and apparently forming a portion of the original design, occurs a
semicircular ridge of stones. This feature is constructed in the same
manner as the rays, and differs from them only in form and want of
connection with any other portion of the cairn. To a fanciful mind
the plan, on the whole, would most readily suggest the idea of a star
and crescent. The rays are well-defined stony ridges, averaging 16
or 17 feet in breadth at their junction with the central cist, or
dolmen, from which point they taper off to distances of 60, 46, 42,
and 40 feet, respectively. They terminate very sharply with one,
two, or three stones. The largest terminal stone--that which finishes
the north-western ray--measures 3 feet 6 inches by 2 feet. The main
chamber, which extends north and south, is divided by stone partitions
into three compartments, of which the central one, measuring 8 feet by
4 feet internally, is the largest. From its north-west angle a rudely
quadrangular offset, about 3 feet on the sides, projects westwards.
This tomb differs in no respect from a number of ‘giants’ graves which
are found in various parts of the country. No trace of covering slabs,
if any such were ever used to overlap the chamber, can be discovered
within or without the quadrangles; and it is not in the least likely
that any considerable portion of the work has been removed. There
is an over-abundance of stones, large and small, in the immediate
neighbourhood ready at hand; and there are no buildings near which
could have been furnished with materials from this source. This chamber
was carefully excavated down to the ‘till,’ or undisturbed yellow
clay, without finding any relics of the past beyond small pieces of
wood charcoal, stones showing the action of fire, very dark-coloured,
unctuous earth, and here and there some grayish matter, which may have
been bone in the last stage of decomposition. Having carefully refilled
all the pits necessarily made during the search, even replacing the
rubbish which had fallen or been thrown into the chambers, the work was
left in the same condition as that in which it had been found.
A number of small cists were then examined, some fifteen in all, which
lie in the various rays. Most of these diminutive receptacles had
evidently been previously searched. Of the six into which the spade
was introduced, four yielded small pieces of calcined bone, burned
earth and stones, black, greasy clay, and considerable quantities
of charcoal. There was much osseous sediment, resembling gray turf
ashes well moistened with water. The cists had, doubtlessly, all been
originally covered by flags, and would have presented the appearance of
miniature cromlechs. In design they were irregularly circular, composed
of five or more small stones, which in a manner lined the mouth of a
little pit sunk about a foot or so into the ‘till.’ The dimensions of
the largest, and we may say perfect, cist were as follows: 2 feet 2
inches by 2 feet 3 inches; depth, as well as could be ascertained, 2
feet. That they had ever contained urns is highly improbable, as not a
fragment of pottery appeared to reward the search.
‘Horned cairns,’ bearing a general likeness to the Doohat monument,
are also found in the north of Scotland, and were first properly
investigated by Dr. Joseph Anderson, as described in _Scotland in Pagan
Times_ (p. 230). In Scandinavia graves are found of various forms,
triangular, square, oval, and ship-shaped, a description of which
will be found in Fergusson’s _Rude Stone Monuments_ (p. 281), and M.
Du Chaillu’s _Viking Age_ (vol. I., chap. xviii.). Triangular-shaped
graves were generally supposed to be confined to Scandinavia, but
at least one example, as noticed by Colonel Wood-Martin, in _Rude
Stone Monuments of Sligo_ (p. 176), occurs in Ireland, in Northern
Moytura (Moytirra), the scene of the battle between the Fomorians and
the Tuatha De Danaan, seven years after the latter had defeated the
Firbolgs at Southern Moytura, Cong. Sir William Wilde describes some of
the cairns which mark the latter battle-field in his _Guide to Lough
Corrib_ (chap. viii.).
* * * * *
_Mounds._--Mounds of earth, occasionally mixed with stones, were
sometimes erected as places of interment. In England these earthen
mounds are called ‘Barrows’; they partake very much of the character
of cairns, from which class of sepulchre they may be said to differ
only in material, the cairns being entirely of stone. Some interesting
examples may be seen in the immediate vicinity of Dublin, in the
neighbourhood of Clontarf. These have been usually, but we believe
without warrant, associated with the great battle fought on Good
Friday, 1014, in which Brian, the son of Kennedy, commonly called
Brian Boroimhe, or ‘of the Tributes,’ fell in defeating the Danes.
The discovery of a Celtic sepulchral urn in one of these mounds, and
a bronze sword, and other relics of the same material in the tumulus
near ‘Conquer Hill,’ are evidence of an existence long anterior to the
eleventh century.
Small cairns marking the place of a death, or a halting-place in a
funeral procession, are still raised in some parts of Ireland--a
practice also common among primitive people in other lands. Examples
of cairns raised by devotees at some sacred spot are occasionally to
be met with. The most remarkable instance we know of is that raised by
pilgrims, who add stones to the heap after performing their stations,
at Glencolumbkille, Co. Donegal. It stands high upon the side of the
hill, close to the ruins of the old church, and measures about 30 paces
long, 4 wide, and 5 feet high.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Stones of the Circle at Newgrange.]
_Stone Circles._--Stone circles of great magnitude are to be seen in
many parts of Ireland. Of the lesser kind numerous examples occur in
various counties, and particularly in the north and north-west. They
are invariably composed of rough unhewn blocks, varying in height from
2 to 11 feet, or more, above the level of the adjoining land; and in
some instances they are encompassed with a low earthen mound or ditch.
Their area, though often apparently unoccupied, is generally found to
contain one or other of the remains already described--a cromlech,
a tumulus or cairn, a smaller circle, a pillar-stone, cists. Human
bones, cinerary urns, ashes, weapons, implements or ornaments of bone
or flint, or other objects, are invariably discovered within these
enclosures upon the earth being disturbed. The remains of a cremated
body were sometimes deposited in a cist, with or without an urn to
contain them, and the site marked with a circle of standing stones or a
single pillar. It is difficult now to determine the exact significance
of the stone circle round the mound or burial-place. Aristotle makes
an interesting allusion to the erection of stone circles round
burial sites: ‘Among the Iberians, who are a military people, it is
the custom to set round the tomb of a deceased warrior a number of
obelisks corresponding to the number of enemies he has killed.’[54]
The last resting-place of the dead has, however, at all times been
looked upon as more or less sacred; and Christian burial-places are
especially consecrated for the purpose, and protected from intrusion.
The custom of raising a stone circle round a dolmen or cist containing
burial remains has been a general one; and examples are found as far
off as Syria and Arabia similar to the megalithic structures of the
British Isles. The desire to protect and honour the remains of the
illustrious dead has existed in all lands, and has shown itself in the
production of the most remarkable monuments that the world has known.
The megalithic structures of western Europe, the elaborately decorated
tombs of the Mycenæan Age, the rock-tombs of Etruria, the Egyptian
pyramids, and the magnificent monuments of India abundantly testify to
the respect for the dead in the mind of man everywhere throughout past
ages.
* * * * *
_Circle at Newgrange._--It is impossible within the limits of this
Handbook to do more than briefly indicate a few typical examples of
the many stone circles scattered throughout the country. The stones
which encompass the monuments of Newgrange and Dowth are generally very
large, some of them measuring 8 or 9 feet in height. The engraving (p.
123) represents a portion of the circle at the former place, of which a
description has already been given. There are several minor examples in
the same neighbourhood, but they are in a state of great dilapidation,
and, with one exception, would hardly repay a student for the time
occupied in visiting them, particularly as the grander remains at
Newgrange are so accessible.
[Illustration: Remains of Stone Circle near Dowth.]
Portions of a fine circle, or rather oval, lie a little to the east of
Dowth Hall, to the left of the road from Drogheda. Many of the stones
have been removed, but several of gigantic proportions remain in their
original position.
* * * * *
_Circle near Newtownbutler._--One of the most notable circles now
remaining in Ireland is that called the ‘Druid’s Temple,’ situated
on the summit of a hill near Wattle Bridge, a small hamlet in the
vicinity of Newtownbutler, Co. Fermanagh. The stones vary in length
from 3 to upwards of 10 feet. The largest remaining measures slightly
over 10 feet; it is 6 feet 5 inches in breadth, and 3 feet 9 inches in
thickness. Another is 7 feet high, 8 feet 5 inches broad, and 5 feet in
thickness. The circle on the interior measures in diameter 126 feet.
The diameter of the outer ring at Stonehenge is 100 feet, a figure
common to several of these remains.
Whether the Fermanagh circle was ever enclosed by an outer work, as
was common with kindred structures in Britain and elsewhere, can
probably never be ascertained. For more than two hundred years the
land immediately adjoining has been subject to the plough. That there
were outside works, however, can scarcely admit of a doubt. On the
south-east side, a distance of five paces from the circle, are five
large stones, the ruins of a cromlech which had been wrecked many years
ago for the sake of its material.
* * * * *
_Ballynoe (Legamaddy) and Slieve na Greidle Circles._--Interesting
examples of stone circles are to be found in County Down. The largest
is Legamaddy, close to Ballynoe station, about three miles south
of Downpatrick. It consists of inner and outer circles; the former
measures 90 feet by 40 feet, with 22 stones, and the latter 100 feet
in diameter, with 45 stones. Another occurs on Slieve na Greidle, or
Griddle Mountain, to the south-east of the town.
[Illustration: Stone Circle, Ballynoe, near Downpatrick.]
Some of the finest of this class of prehistoric remains which we have
seen in Ireland occur near the shore of Lough Gur, a spot noted for
the number and variety of its antiquities, one hundred of which are
known to have existed within the memory of man. Lough Gur lies about
ten miles south of Limerick on the road to Bruff; and the first account
of its antiquities was given by Crofton Croker in 1830, after three
days’ investigation, extending over a tract of country fifteen miles
in length. ‘The finest circle is 56 yards in diameter, and consists of
a very large number of upright blocks closely arranged and flanked by
a great bank of earth. It is approached by a passage 12 feet long, the
entrance being guarded by two blocks, close to which is one 8 feet by 7
feet, and over 3 feet thick. In a field to the north-west are traces
of two more circles, one with a centre stone; and in the next field to
the north, the remains of another, 65 yards in diameter, of smaller
stones than the first.’ On the verge of the lake further east is a
small circle of seven fallen stones; to the north of Knockadun Hill are
three complete circles, two being concentric.[55]
[Illustration: Stone Circle at Slieve na Greidle, Co. Down.]
For our purpose, however, a sufficient number of typical examples have
already been given.
* * * * *
_Alignments._--At Carnac in Brittany, at Ashdown, Berkshire, in
Caithness, and in Sutherland may be seen lines of stone placed upon
end, and generally some few feet apart. The row is occasionally of a
length not exceeding a few yards; but sometimes it appears to cover
a great extent of ground. The stones vary in size, some of the blocks
being of large proportions, and others measuring barely 3 or 4 feet in
height. All are invariably unhewn, presenting the appearance of rough
surface stones, or of such as are usually found in glacial-scooped
ravines or river-beds. These lines are usually in parallel rows,
varying in number to ten or more. For want of a better name they have
been variously styled avenues, alignments, rows, parallelitha. From the
days of Stukeley they have been the subject of much speculation, and
we have little beyond conjecture in regard to their uses. They seem
like ‘galleries which lead to nothing’; yet their construction affords
unmistakable evidence of organized labour and deliberate design.
The antiquities of Cavancarragh, a district situated on a shoulder
of Toppid Mountain, about four miles from Enniskillen, consist of
two chambered cairns, a stone circle, and what appears to be a small
but well-defined alignment. The latter, and the circle within living
memory, lay buried to a depth of from 8 to 12 feet beneath the surface
of a mountain bog. The alignment consists of a row of stones, four in
number, extending, as far as it can be traced, 480 feet in a direction
very slightly to the north-west and south-east. The blocks average
about 3 feet in height by 2 feet in width, and 6 inches in thickness,
and present the appearance of the ordinary red sandstone flags of the
district. The extreme south-eastern portion of the work has probably
been destroyed; but in that direction the lines could never have
extended much further than they do at present, as the ground suddenly
descends, forming one side of a deep ravine, through which in winter
time a mountain torrent rushes. How far to the north-west the lines
extend is at present uncertain, and cannot be known until the peat in
that direction is further lowered. Probably, however, beyond the circle
no considerable extension would be discovered. The cairns here are in
a very ruinous condition, having for the greater part of a century
served as a quarry for building purposes. The plan of one of them is
very similar to that of the monument at the ‘Barr’ of Fintona already
described. There was no central chamber; and only two of its circle of
cists remain in a good state of preservation. The stone circle standing
near the north-west side of the avenue is 20 feet in diameter, and is
formed of twelve sandstone blocks which at present rise but 2 or 3 feet
above the level of the bog.
There are, however, in Ireland lines of stones, sometimes single,
but never more than double, which should not be confounded with
those strictly of the alignment class. Some of these are the remains
of passages which led to sepulchral chambers, and have been either
stripped of their covering slabs, or were never finished. Such rows may
indeed sometimes be looked upon as portions of ruined cromlechs, or
skeleton traces of monuments like those of the Boyne or Maeshowe.
We find stones of various sizes, differing, as at Finner, near
Ballyshannon, from 1½ feet, or 2 feet 6 inches above ground; or, as
at Breagho and Killee, near Enniskillen, with an elevation of 6 or 7
feet, upon which no definite opinion can be formed as to the class of
monument to which they should be assigned. In all probability they
represent but wrecks of works of a sepulchral kind, which, at a time
now forgotten, but doubtless in modern days, were exhumed during the
process of turf-cutting. Of these, as well as of several other broken
or never completed relics of a megalithic class, found in several parts
of Ireland, it is only certain that they rest on the ‘till’ upon which
peat, to a depth of from 8 to 12 feet or more, once lay.
[Illustration: Bird’s-eye view of Callernish Circle and Lines.]
One of the most remarkable examples of a stone circle and lines known
in the British Isles is Callernish, on the west coast of the Island of
Lewis. The stones were partially embedded in peat. This was cleared in
1858, and found to exist to a depth of 5 feet. The stones were here
securely sunk in a ‘rough causewayed basement.’ The circle, about 40
feet in diameter, is formed by twelve stones round a central one 17
feet high. Between this stone and the east side of the circle was
found a ruined chambered cairn, 20 feet in diameter, which contained
fragments of burnt human bones. The stones are set in the form of a
cross, the east, south, and west lines single, and extending from the
circle. To the north is a double row or avenue 270 feet long.
There are examples of these lines in the Dartmoor district, with
rows in one case of seven parallel lines. On the Stalldon Moor is a
single line of stones, starting from a stone circle, which can be
clearly traced for one and a half miles, and imperfectly continued for
three-fourths of a mile further, terminating at a kistvaen. Another
perfect line is the Down Tor Stone Row, about 600 yards long, extending
from a circle enclosing a small barrow towards a large cairn.[56]