which originally surrounded the base of the whole mound, and of which ten remain. "Provided with light," says he, "I entered the external aperture, and after making my way along a narrow gallery, more than sixty feet in length, and from four to six feet in height, the sides of which were formed of rough blocks of stone, set upright, and supporting a roof of large flat slabs, I penetrated to the central chamber. "I shall never forget the strange feeling of awe which I experienced as soon as I had thoroughly lighted up this singular monument of unknown antiquity. Wordsworth says on the sight of a somewhat similar monument: 'A weight of awe not easy to be borne Fell suddenly upon my spirit-cast From the dread bosom of the unknown past.' And no person not totally insensible to the influence of the idea of vast shadowy antiquity, which such remains are calculated to excite, could stand under the Cyclopean dome of the cairn at New Grange, without some feelings akin to those of the poet. Indeed, next to the Pyramids, to which it bears some resemblance, and only exceeded by them in grandeur and interest. There is probably, in Europe at least, no monument of the kind more imposing in size than this enormous mound. As soon as I was enabled with some distinctness to make out the plan of the gloomy crypt in which I stood, I found myself under a rude dome more than twenty feet in height, formed by huge flat stones overlapping each other, and the apex capped by a single immense block, being laid above the sloping masses, which gradually receded, giving its dome-like appearance to the roof, and formed a sort of key-stone to the vault. "This dome is itself supported by gigantic blocks of unhewn stone, forming an irregular octagon apartment, divided further by the same means into three recesses, giving to the whole area of the subterraneous temple a cruciform shape. The shaft of the cross would be replaced by the long corridor or entrance passage, and the three cells or recesses would form the head and arms of the cross. In each of these cells formerly stood a shallow oval basin of granite, of which two still remain. "The sides of these recesses are walled with immense blocks of stone, many of which are covered with strange carvings, or rather scratchings, of the most uncouth form and character, evidently done before the stones were inserted into their present position, as they exist on portions now out of the reach of the hand of the carver. "Some enthusiastic antiquaries have carried their zeal so far as to trace letters, which they call 'Phoenician,' on these stones, and others have styled them 'Ogham characters ;' but the more modern and judicious race of antiquaries consider them as mere marks, similar to those so frequently found by Sir R. C. Hoare on the ancient British urns discovered under the tumuli of the Wiltshire Downs. "And now it may be asked: What is the age of this singular work of elder days? and what the purpose for which it was constructed? "The best modern Irish antiquaries are agreed to refer it to the most remote period of Celtic occupation, and far beyond the time of the invasion of the Danes, to which people, like so many other Irish antiquities, it has been sometimes attributed. There exists in the Irish Annals a record of its having been opened and rifled by those invaders, when, even at that early date, it appears to have been considered an ancient monument.” As to the assertion, from its cruciform shape, that it may be attributed to a period subsequent to the Christian æra, there seems to be no proof of any similar constructed barrow having been formed since the diffusion of Christianity, although we have seen that barrows were formed in foreign countries, and probably in this also, to a very late period. As to the purpose for which New Grange Tumulus was constructed, "We believe," says a high recent authority, "with most modern investigators, that it was a tomb, or great sepulchral pyramid, similar in every respect to those now standing on the banks of the Nile, from Dashour to Gaza, each consisting of a great central chamber, containing one or more sarcophagi, and entered by a long stone covered passage. The external aperture was concealed, and the whole covered with a great mound of stones or earth, in a conical form. The type and purpose in both is the same." That the oval basins originally contained human remains there can be little doubt; but for the assertion that any human skeletons were found in the discovery of the cavern in 1699, there is no foundation. It was much in the same state as at present. That the tumulus, together with the two nearly similar monuments which exist in the same locality, was rifled by the plundering Northmen A.D. 862, is recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters. How far anterior to the Christian æra the date of New Grange Tumulus may be placed, it is in vain to enquire; by most of the learned and intelligent modern archæologists it is supposed to be coeval, by some to be "anterior to its brethren on the Nile." The same writer observes: "The tumulus at Wellow, near Bath, although on a much smaller scale, bears much resemblance to the tumulus at New Grange, and may probably be of the same æra. The same kind of rude arch is used in the construction of the roof, which is formed of stones overlapping one another, and having a cap-stone instead of a key-stone." Here, then, we must bring to a close these remarks on Chambered Tumuli. There can be no doubt as to their very early date, and that they extend far beyond the limit of any written history, and lie enveloped in the same gloom of antiquity which enshrouds those wonders of our land-Avebury and Stonehenge. From the existence of similar remains in different regions, they seem to point to a people who had widely spread themselves over the face of the globe, and who were endued with great respect for the dead, and, it may be, amongst whom some knowledge of primeval traditions lingered. We may not venture to assign any probable date, except that they were antecedent to the coming of the Romans, very probably by some centuries. Let us hope that what still exist in this country, few though the remains be, they may be preserved with care and respect; and if our Society, while it endeavours to unravel their hidden origin, calls attention to their preservation, it confers upon the history of our race, and upon succeeding generations, a lasting benefit. REFERENCE TO PLATE V. A.-Leg and thigh bones, with smaller fragments, were found. C.-Four jaw-bones, with teeth perfect; also, upper part of two crania; |