Chapter 3

"By far the most singular of all these structures, and probably unique in the Long Island, is at Gearraidh na h-AirdeMoire, on the shore of Loch Resort. I cannot describe it better than by bidding you suppose twelve individual bee-hive huts all built touching each other, with doors and passages from one to the other. The diameter of this gigantic booth is 46 feet, and [it] is nearly circular in plan. The height of the doors and passages about 2½ feet; and under the smokehole (farlos), in two of the chambers, the height was 6½ feet.... I am informed that, so late as 1823, thisbothwas inhabited by four families." (Captain Thomas,Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. iii., p. 139.)

PLATE IX.PLATE IX.PLAN AND ELEVATION OF A BOTHat Gearraidh Aird Mhor, Uig, Lewis.

a. dwellings.b. fosgarlan or porch.c. cuiltean or milk cupboards.d. doors.e. farlos or smokehole.

"One of a group of three at the garry of Aird Mhor, close to the shore and near the mouth of Loch Resort, Uig, Lewis. This compoundbothhas evidently been intended for two related families ... but there is no interior communication between the dwellings." (Op. cit. p. 144.)

PLATE X.PLATE X.GROUND PLAN AND SECTIONAL VIEW OF SEMI-SUBTERRANEANBOTHAND UNDERGROUND GALLERY, MEAL NA H-UAMH, MOL A DEAS, HUISHNISH, ISLAND OF SOUTH UIST.

"I have next to notice," says Captain Thomas (op. cit., p. 164), "that form of bo'h, Pict's house, or clochan, whichever name may be adopted by archæologists, to which a hypogeum or subterranean gallery is attached.... [The present example] is in South Uist, about half a mile inland from Moll a Deas (South Beach); and the Moll is about one mile and a half to the south of Husinish (Husness,i.e., Houseness). The site of the bo'h is called Meall na [h-] Uamh, or Cave Lump [more correctly, the Mound of the Cave, or 'Weem.'] It consists of a partly excavated oval dwelling chamber (a), 7 feet by 14 feet on the floor; the dome roof has fallen in; there are twocuiltean, or niches in the wall. A low curved subterranean passage (b), about 2½ feet square and20 feet in length, leads into an elongated bee-hive chamber (c), 13 feet by 5 feet, and 6¾ feet high; from thence an entrance (d), 2 feet by 2 feet, admits to a small circular chamber or cell (e), 5 feet in diameter and 5 feet high. The main passage inclines downwards, so that the floor of the second chamber (c) is nearly 3 feet lower than that of the first (a); and that of the inner one (e) a foot below the second (c)."

PLATE XI.PLATE XI.GROUND PLAN OFBOTHAND UNDERGROUND GALLERY, ORTIGH LAIR, NEAR MOL A DEAS, HUISHNISH, ISLAND OF SOUTH UIST.

PLATE XII.PLATE XII.RESTORED ELEVATION OF ANCIENT BOTH AND SECTION OF HYPOGEUM OR TIGH LAIR, ON THE LINE a, k, NEAR MOL A DEAS, HUISHNISH, SOUTH UIST.

"These piers were about 4 feet high, 4 feet to 6 feet long, and 1½ foot to 2 feet broad; and there was a passage of from 1 foot to 2 feet in width between the wall and them."

"On a small, flattish terrace, where the hill sloped steeply, an area had been cleared by digging away the bank, so that the wall of the house, for nearly half its circumference, was the side of the hill, faced with stone.... The hypogeum or subterranean gallery is on a level with the floor, pierced towards the hill, and is entered by a very small doorway [markeddon Ground Plan, Plate XI.].... It is but 18 inches high and 2 feet broad, so that a very stout or large man could not get in." (Op. cit., pp. 166, 167.)

"An ancient dwelling, semi-subterranean, exists at Nisibost, Harris [and is described in vol. iii. of theProceedings, p. 140].... A still finer example exists near to Meall na h-Uamh, in South Uist.... The bo'h, or Pict's house, as it would be called in the Orkneys—but the name is unknown in the Long Island—that I am about to describe lies less than half a mile above the shepherd's house; but so little curiosity had that individual that he was entirely unacquainted with it; and I believe it would never have been found by us but for a little terrier (in its etymological sense, of course) of a daughter. The child was only acquainted with the two here drawn [of which the other—viz.,Uamh Sgalabhad, is here reproduced as Plate I., frontispiece]; but there may be many more waiting the researches of the zealous antiquary." (Captain Thomas,op. cit., p. 165.)

PLATE XIII.PLATE XIII.GROUND PLAN AND ENTRANCE OF UNDERGROUND GALLERY AT PAIBLE, TARANSAY, HARRIS.

"The drawing is from a photograph of the entrance, which is 2 feet 10 inches high and 1½ foot broad. The sea flows up to it at high tides."

Describing this earth-house, Captain Thomas says:—"Thedrawing is from a photograph of the entrance, which is 2 feet 10 inches high and 1½ foot broad. The sea flows up to it at high tides. On crawling in, there is seen the usual guard-cell (b), close beside the entrance, but so small that we may be sure the sentinel, if there was one, must have been a light weight; in fact, we are almost driven to the conclusion that there were no Bantings in those days. This guard-cell is but 2 feet 5 inches high, and 3 feet in width. The gallery then turns at a right angle to the left hand. We excavated it for 22 feet.... When digging, we came upon two broken stone dishes (corn-crushers?) now in the Museum [Society of Antiquaries of Scotland]; and above the gallery were most of the bones of a small ox, placed orderly together.... Bones of the seal were common, and a few of the eagle." (Op. cit., p. 169.)

PLATE XIV.PLATE XIV.MAES-HOW, ORKNEY.

PLATE XV.PLATE XV.INTERIOR OF MAES-HOW, ORKNEY(Facing inner doorway of gallery).

Cell or Bed in Wall.

PLATE XVI.PLATE XVI.SECTIONAL VIEW AND GROUND PLAN OF MAES-HOW.

These plates represent the "Pict's house" referred to by Captain Thomas (pp.50-51,ante), with regard to which he says:—"Maes howe was for three families—grandees, no doubt; but the numbers it was intended to hold in thebedsmay be learned by comparing them with the Amazon's House, St. Kilda."

The structure last named is described by Captain Thomas and Mr. T.S. Muir in vol. iii. of theProceedings(pp. 225-228), where it is stated:—"The Amazon's House is of the same class with our earliest stone buildings—belonging to the era of cromlechs, stone-circles, Picts' castles, &c.; but while in other parts of Britain the style and type have vanished for a thousand years, in the Outer Hebrides we find them (in the Bothan [i.e., 'boths' or 'bee-hive houses'] of Uig) continuedto the present day." The following additional remarks by Captain Thomas are also of interest in this connection:—"It appears that besides the Tigh na Bhanna ghaisgach (Ty-na-Van-a-ghas-gec), or Amazon's House—and of whom all tradition, except her name, has gone—there are the remains of other submerged dwellings and hypogea. Miss Euphemia MacCrimmon, the oldest inhabitant of that far-off island, tells that a certain Donald Macdonald and John Macqueen, on passing a hillock, heard churning going on within. And about thirty years ago, when digging into the hillock to make the foundations of a new house, they discovered what seemed to be the fairies' residence, built of stones inside, and holes in the wall, or croops, as they call them, as in Airidh na Bhannaghaisgach."[74]

It will be noticed that the "beds" in Maes-How are on a higher level than the floor of the main chamber. "In the winter houses," observes Captain Thomas,[75]"the floor of the bed-place was raised 3 or 4 feet above the ground."

The original use of Maes-How is a matter of opinion, and some have assumed it to belong to the class of sepulchral mounds, although there is no evidence in support of this belief. For many reasons, the opinions of Captain Thomas are endorsed by the present writer. It may be added that, prior to 1861, when the mound was opened, local tradition had declared that it was the residence of a "hog-boy," or mound-dweller.

[74]Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot.(First Series), vol. vii. p. 172.

[75]Op. cit., p. 164.

PLATE XVII.PLATE XVII.THE BRUGH OF THE BOYNE, NEW GRANGE, COUNTY MEATH

PLATE XVIII.PLATE XVIII.DOORWAY OF THE BRUGH OF THE BOYNE.

PLATE XIX.PLATE XIX.GROUND PLAN OF THE BRUGH OF THE BOYNE (as at present explored).

The diagrams here shown are from drawings by Mr. W.F. Wakeman, the veteran Irish archæologist.[76]With reference to the spiral carvings at the doorway of the Brugh, it may be mentioned that "the same kind of ornament appears on a stone found amidst a heap which had once been a 'Pict's-house' in the island of Eday, Orkney;"[77]and that in Orkney, also, there has been found, in an underground house, a large stone "saucer," or "tray," resembling the two shown in the ground plan of the Brugh. (There appears to be no settled opinion as to the uses of those "saucers.")

In connection with the identification of this mound with the "Brugh of the Boyne" of ancient Irish history, the following remarks may be quoted. The Rev. Father O'Laverty, in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (December, 1892, p. 430) thus observes:—

"In his very valuable work,The Boyne and Blackwater, Sir William Wilde appears to me to have used convincing arguments to prove thatBrugh-na-Boinne... was ... on the left bank of the Boyne, convenient to the ford ofRos-na-righ(Rossnaree) at Knowth, Dowth, and Newgrange. To Sir William's arguments one point only was wanting: the old name had disappeared.... It is now more than thirty years since I went to Newgrange for the special purpose of investigating that matter. I explained to Mr. Maguire, then of Newgrange, and to his son, thatBrugh-na-Boinnesignified 'the town, or dwelling-place, on the Boyne,' that the wordBrughwould assume the modern formBro, as in Brughshane (pronounced Broshane), and many other townland names, and thatna-Boinne, 'of the Boyne,' would probably cease to be used as unnecessary at the site. I need not say that I was greatly pleased when they informed me that the field in which is the mound of Newgrange is called theBro-Park, while in the immediate vicinity are theBro-Farm, theBro-Mill, and theBro-Cottage." [And also, they might have added, the mansion ofBroe House.]

Any one, therefore, who duly considers the matter, in relation to the statements of both of these writers, will see that the mound at New Grange is theBrugh-na-Boinneof Irish history and tradition. And this name, says Father O'Laverty, "signified 'the town, or dwelling-place, on the Boyne.'" What, then, are the earliest associations with this "town or dwelling-place?"

It is said[78]to have been built by a celebrated "king and oracle" of the people known as the Tuatha Dé, Dea, or De Danann, and to have been the residence of himself and others of his race. This chief (EochaidOllathair) is usually referred to as "the Dagda," or "the Daghda Mòr"; and of his nation it is asserted that, after having invaded Ireland and conqueredits native "Fir-Bolgs," they were themselves conquered in turn by a later race of immigrants, the Gaels. This "Brugh," therefore, is said to have been the residence of the Dagda, and, after him, of Angus, one of his sons. Consequently, it is very frequently styled "the Brugh of Angus, son of the Dagda," an appellation which assumes various forms.[79]Latterly, it seems to have been most generally known as "the Brugh" (par excellence), or, more simply still, as "Brugh." In the Book of Leinster it is specified as one of "Ireland's three undeniable eminences [dindgna]"[80]; while "an ancient poem by Mac Nia, son of Oenna (in the Book of Ballymote, fol. 190 b.)," styles it "a king's mansion" and a "sídh." The same MS. (32a b) gives the variantSídh an Bhrogha, rendered by Dr. Standish O'Grady "the fairy fort of theBrughupon the Boyne."[81]This word "sídh," which was applied—probably in the first place—to hollow mounds such as this, but which was also applied to the dwellers in them, gave the Tuatha De Danann their most popular name. Because it was on account of their residence in "the green mounds, known by the name ofSídh," that they were called "theFir Sídhe[i.e., men of thesídhs], or Fairies, of Ireland."[82]The one word, indeed (sídh), became indifferently applied to the dwellings and the dwellers. Whichever was the earliest meaning of that word, there is little dubiety as to the etymology ofSiabhra. In one copy of theLeabhar na h-Uidhre,[83]it is stated that the Tuatha De Danann"were calledSiabhras." O'Reilly definessiabhraas "a fairy," andsiabhrachas "fairy-like"; while "a fairy mansion" issiabhrugh. With Connellan, again,siabhrogis "a fairy." It seems quite evident that these are all corruptions ofsídh-bhrugh(otherwiseSídh an Bhrogha, as above), and thatSiabhra, as applied to thedwellers, was simply a transference from the name denoting theirdwellings.

Numerous as are the references to this mound as a "dwelling-place," its name figures prominently in the list of the ancient cemeteries of Ireland.Relec in Broga, "the Cemetery of the Brugh," is referred to as one of "the three cemeteries of Idolaters," in an Irish manuscript of the twelfth century (or earlier), theLeabhar na h-Uidhrecited above. Of the two others, one is "the Cemetery of Cruachan"; and, by glancing at it, in the first place, we shall obtain a good idea of the Cemetery of the Brugh. "We find that the monuments within the cemetery at Rathcroghan,"[84]says Mr. Petrie, "are small circular mounds, which, when examined, are found to cover rude, sepulchral chambers formed of stone, without cement of any kind, and containing unburned bones."[85]And the twelfth-century scribe whom Mr. Petrie largely quotes, says that there were fifty such mounds (cnoc) in the cemetery at Cruachan. This mediæval scholar has copied a poem on the subject, "ascribed to Dorban, a poet of West Connaught," wherein it is said that it is not in the power of poets or of sages to reckon the number of heroes under the Cruachan mounds, and that there is not a hillock (cnoc) in that cemetery "which is not the grave of a king or royal prince, or of a woman, or warlike poet."In another verse, he says thateachof the fifty mounds had a warrior under it; and, altogether, it appears that, although their number could doubtless be "reckoned," yet the burial mounds of Cruachan, in or about the twelfth century, much exceeded fifty in number. "Fifty" is simply used by the poet and his commentator to show that, like the two other cemeteries of the triad (each of which is also said to have had fifty) the Cemetery of Cruachan contained about a third of the pagan notables of Ireland.

From this we see that, about the twelfth century, the Cemetery of the Brugh contained at least fifty sepulchral mounds such as those described by Mr. Petrie at Cruachan. Mr. Petrie further quotes two passages from theDinnsenchus, which specify in the following terms some of the most famous of those "monuments" at the Brugh:—

"The Grave [or Stone Cairn,Leacht] of the Dagda; the Grave of Aedh Luirgnech, son of the Dagda; the Graves of Cirr and Cuirrell, wives of the Dagda—'these are two hillocks [da cnoc]'; the Grave of Esclam, the Dagda's Brehon, 'which is calledFert-Patricat this day'; the Cashel [or Stone Enclosure] of Angus, son of Crunmael; the Cave [Derc] of Buailcc Bec; the Stone Cairn [Leacht] of Cellach, son of Maelcobha; the Stone Cairn [Leacht] of the steed of Cinaedh, son of Irgalach; the Prison [Carcar] of Liath-Macha; the 'Glen' of the Mata; the Pillar Stone of Buidi, the son of Muiredh, where his head is interred; the Stone of Benn; the Grave of Boinn, the wife of Nechtan; the 'Bed' of the daughter of Forann; theBarcof Crimthann Nianar, in which he was interred; the Grave of Fedelmidh, the Lawgiver; theCumotof Cairbre Lifeachair; theFulachtof Fiachna Sraiphtine."

These, of course, are only some of the most famous of the sepulchral monuments which existed in the Cemetery of theBrugh eight or nine centuries ago. Since that time, most of them have disappeared, their stones having been presumably built into castles, mansions, cottages and walls, while the bones of the queens and heroes have fertilised the soil of the neighbouring farms. But there still remain a few "standing-stones" and "moats" in the vicinity of the Brugh, all of which may be included in the above list.

I have cited that list for the reason that modern antiquaries, or many of them, have assumed thatSíd in BrogaandRelec in Brogaare synonymous terms, and that when a king or hero is recorded to have been buried "at Brugh," that means that he was buriedinthe Brugh itself. In other words, that a place which was known as Fert-Patrick in or about the twelfth century, as also the "cashel" and the many hillocks, graves, and cairns mentioned in the list—not to speak of innumerable others—were all situated in the chamber which is shown in Plate XIX. It does not require a moment's reflection to convince one that this is an erroneous assumption. Nor is it warranted by the "History of the Cemeteries" itself, which always speaks of the burials having been "atBrugh."[86]

One other statement, however, must be referred to. In another verse of Dorban's poem, mentioned above, it is said that "the host of Meath" are buried "ar lár in Broga tuathaig." This is rendered by Petrie, "in the middle of the lordly Brugh." The translation is no doubt good; and it is open to any one todeduce therefrom that the chamber shown in the plan contained at one time the skeletons of the host of Meath. In that case, the "host" must have been very limited in number; and anyone who has crawled along the sixty-foot passage into the Brugh, and who adopts this view, must wonder a little as to how the corpses were conveyed along that passage, and as to the reasons which must have induced some people (prior to 1699, when the chamber was almost, if not altogether, void of such relics)[87]to drag all those bones out again, at much personal inconvenience. But "ar lár in Broga" may also mean "in the [burying-] ground of the Brugh"; and the descriptions quoted above from theDinnsenchusshow quite clearly that the ground in which "the host of Meath" were buried embraced a considerable tract of land, dotted over with mounds and monuments, differing only in degree from those of a modern cemetery.[88]

The twelfth-century commentator of Dorban's poem states:

"The nobles of the Tuatha De Danann (with the exception of seven of them who were interred at Talten [which was the third 'Cemetery of the Idolaters']) were buried at Brugh,i.e., Lugh, and Oe, son of Ollamh, and Ogma, and Carpre, son of Etan, and Etan (the poetess) herself, and the Dagda and his three sons (i.e., Aedh, and Oengus, and Cermait), and a greatmany others besides of the Tuatha De Dananns, and Firbolgs and others."[89]

But, afterwards, "the race of Heremon,i.e., the kings of Tara," who used to bury at Cruachan (because that was the chief seat in their special principality of Connaught) came to bury at Brugh. "The first king of them that was interred at Brugh" was a certain Crimthann, surnamedNianar, the son of Lughaidh Riabh-n-derg;[90]and the reason why Crimthann decided to abandon the burying-place of his forefathers was "because his wife Nar was of the Tuatha Dea, and it was she solicited him that he should adopt Brugh as a burial-place for himself and his descendants, and this was the cause that they did not bury at Cruachan."[91]It would appear that the ruling dynasty of the Tuatha Dea had ended in a female, both on account of Nar's action in this matter, and because her husband became known by her name—as Nianar (Niadk-Náir) or "Nar's Champion."

This Nar is a very interesting personage in the present connection. Because, being one of the Tuatha Dea, she was asiabhra, or woman of thesídhs; otherwise, abean-síde(modernised into "banshee"). This is plainly stated in two other Irish manuscripts, with an additional explanation which is very apposite. It is said that Crimthann was called Nar's Champion "because his wife Narthuathchaechout of thesídhes, or of the Pict-folk [a sídaib no do Chruithentuaith], she it was that took him off on an adventure." A companion statement is that made in another manuscript to the effectthat "Narthuathchaech, the daughter of Lotan of the Pict-folk [Nár thuathchaech ingen Lotain do Chruithentuaith], was the mother of Feradachfinnfhechtnach," or "the brightly prosperous"—a king of Ireland.[92]

Incidentally, therefore, in considering the Brugh of the Boyne and the people most associated with it, we find very distinct confirmation of the main part of the contention in the foregoing treatise. From these extracts it is evident that those early writers regardedsiabhra, fear-sídh, bean-sídh, anddaoine-sídh(words which may also be interpreted "mound-dweller") as ordinary folk-names for the Picts; just in the same way as any historian of the frontier wars in North America would understand by "Red-skin" and "Greaser" the more classic "Indian" and "Mexican."

[76]Earlier illustrations, from drawings made in 1724 by Mr. Samuel Molyneux, a Dublin student, may be seen in Part II. of "A Natural History of Ireland," Dublin, 1726. Other eighteenth-century representations of the same place occur in a volume of old plates, belonging to the Society of Antiquaries (London). This volume is endorsed "Celtic Remains; I," and its contents form part of (says the fly-leaf) "a collection of plates from the Archæologia collected by Mr. Akerman when the Society's Stock was sold off and arranged more or less in Classes." The views of the Brugh will be found at pp. 239, 253, and 254 (Plates XIX.-XXII.). Colonel Forbes Leslie has two excellent plates, from drawings of his own, in hisEarly Races of Scotland(Edin. 1866), vol. ii.; where he also refers to Wilde'sBoyne and Blackwaterand Wakeman'sIrish Antiquities. A recent work, illustrating the same subject, but which I have not yet had an opportunity of seeing, is Mr. George Coffey's "Tumuli and Inscribed Stones at New Grange, Dowth, and Knowth," Dublin, 1893.

[77]Forbes Leslie'sEarly Races of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 335,note.

[78]O'Curry'sLectures, Dublin, 1861, p. 505.

[79]For most of which see Dr. Standish O'Grady'sSilva Gadelica, pp. 102-3, 146, 233, 474, and 484.

[80]Silva Gadelica(English translation), pp. 474 and 520.

[81]Op. cit.(English translation), p. 522.

[82]Skene'sCeltic Scotland, vol. iii. pp. 106-7.

[83]Class H. 3, 17, Trinity College, Dublin. [I quote from Mr. Petrie's "Round Towers," Trans, of Roy. Irish Acad., vol. xx. (Dublin, 1845), p. 98.]

[84]Rath Chruachain, Co. Roscommon: the cemetery was styledRelig na Riogh, or the Cemetery of Kings.

[85]Op. cit., p. 106.

[86]"Is in Brug, or Bruig." Mr. Petrie invariably translates this as "at" Brugh. But I observe that Dr. Standish O'Grady (Silva Gadelica, p. 256; and p. 289 of English translation) renders the Gaelic particle by English "in." To decide between two Gaelic scholars is not within my province. But if Dr. O'Grady understands "the Brugh" to be synonymous withSídh an Bhrogha(as perhaps he does not), the adoption of his reading would lead to an inference which is opposed to common sense.

[87]Molyneux, writing in 1725, says that "when first the cave was opened, the bones of two dead bodies entire, not burnt, were found upon the floor." Colonel Forbes Leslie remarks: "Llhuyd, the antiquary, writing in 1699, makes no mention of any human remains being found in it."

[88]Since the above was written, the quarterly number, June 1893, of theJournal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Irelandhas been issued, and a note therein confirms the suspicion, indicated in Mr. Wakeman's drawing, that the whole mound is not yet explored. But the above remarks are applicable in any case.

[89]Petrie:op. cit., p. 106.

[90]That is, Lughaidh of the Red Stripes; "meaning that on his person he had two such: one as girdle round his middle, another as necklace round his neck." (Silva Gadelica, English translation, p. 544.)

[91]Petrie (op. cit., p. 101), quoting from the "History of the Cemeteries" in theLeabhar na h-Uidhre.

[92]These two extracts are fromSilva Gadelica, Eng. transl., pp. 495 and 544; where the references are, respectively, "Book of Ballymote, 250a b," and "Kilbride No. 3, Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, 5."

PLATES XX. AND XXI.PLATES XX. AND XXI.SECTIONAL VIEW AND GROUND PLAN OF THE DENGHOOG, ISLAND OF SYLT.

PLATE XXII.PLATE XXII.INTERIOR OF THE DENGHOOG, ISLAND OF SYLT.

In addition to my original collection, I am now able to show three views of the Denghoog, in Sylt, which is the mound referred to on p.34(ante). Mr. W.G. Black speaks of it thus:—

"There is some confusion as to King Finn's dwelling. As doctors differ, we may be allowed to claim that it was the Denghoog, close to Wenningstedt, if only because we descended into that remarkable dwelling. Externally merely a swelling green mound, like so many others in Sylt, entrance is gained by a trap-door in the roof, and decending a steep ladder, one finds himself in a subterranean chamber, some seventeen by ten feet in size, the walls of which are twelve huge blocks of Swedish granite;the height of the roof varies from five feet to six feet. The original entrance appears to have been a long narrow passage, seventeen feet long and about two feet wide and high. This mound was examined by a Hamburg professor in 1868, who found remains of a fireplace, bones of a small man, some clay urns, and stone weapons. Later, a Kiel professor is said to have carried off all he found therein to Kiel Museum, and so far we have not been able to trace the published accounts of his investigations."[93]

Mr. Christian Jensen, Oevenum, Föhr, to whom I am indebted for these three views, has favoured me with the following information:—

"The sketches of the Denhoog which I enclose [viz., the Ground Plan and Sectional View] are from the drawings of Professor Wibel, who conducted the excavation of it in 1868. From his and C.P. Hansen's observations I contribute the following statements: Originally, the mound was higher, but in 1868 it had the form of a truncated cone, 4½mètres[say 14 feet 9 inches] in height. As may be seen from the picture, it slopes away to the south above the original passage into the mound, which the dweller made use of as his entrance; so that the extent is very considerable. The present entrance, as may be seen from the view of the interior, was made from above, at the north side, directly opposite the original entrance.... Dr. Wibel says: 'At the south side of the chamber is the doorway for ingress and egress, with the passage itself leading from it. This passage, which was 6mètres[19 feet 8 inches] in length, was lined with upright blocks of granite and gneiss, with a roofing and floor made of flagstones of the same kinds of stone. It was opened up all the way to the mouth of the passage. This [the outer orifice] lay close to the extremity of the earth and near the floor of the mound, was closed with earth only, not with a stone, and measured about 1mètre[3 feet 3.4 inches] in height, and 1⅓mètrein breadth. On account of these dimensions ... onecan only creep through with difficulty, and for that reason the plan does not show with accuracy the position of the wall-slabs, and their number is merely conjectured to be nine.'"Immediately after this excavation of 17-19 September, 1868, C.P. Hansen writes as follows:—"'There are in the island of Sylt hillocks of ancient origin, for the most part pagan burying-places, but some of which may have served as the dwelling-places of a primitive people. One such hillock has just been opened at Wenningstedt. The interior was found to be a chamber, 17 feet long, 10 feet in breadth, and from 5 to 6 feet in height, with a covered passage about 22 feet long, trending southward. The walls of this underground room were composed of twelve large granite blocks, regularly arranged; the roof consisted of three still larger slabs of the same kind of rock; the stones which formed the passage were smaller. At one corner of the floor of the cellar there was a well-defined fireplace, and near it were urns and flint implements; in the opposite corner there were many bones lying, apparently unburned, probably those of the last dweller in the cavern.'"

"Immediately after this excavation of 17-19 September, 1868, C.P. Hansen writes as follows:—

"'There are in the island of Sylt hillocks of ancient origin, for the most part pagan burying-places, but some of which may have served as the dwelling-places of a primitive people. One such hillock has just been opened at Wenningstedt. The interior was found to be a chamber, 17 feet long, 10 feet in breadth, and from 5 to 6 feet in height, with a covered passage about 22 feet long, trending southward. The walls of this underground room were composed of twelve large granite blocks, regularly arranged; the roof consisted of three still larger slabs of the same kind of rock; the stones which formed the passage were smaller. At one corner of the floor of the cellar there was a well-defined fireplace, and near it were urns and flint implements; in the opposite corner there were many bones lying, apparently unburned, probably those of the last dweller in the cavern.'"

Mr. Christian Jensen gives an account of "Der Denghoog bei Wenningstedt" in the "Beilage zu Nr. 146 der Flensburger Nachrichten" of 25th June 1893, in which he says:

"... On the floor of the chamber, three separate divisions were distinctly visible, of which one, situated on the east side, showed traces of having been a fireplace. Professor Wibel found several fragments of human bones, which evidently belonged only tooneindividual, as no portion was duplicated; also a few animals' bones. There was an extraordinary number of fragments of pottery, belonging to about 24 different urns, of which 11 could be put together. Their form and ornamentation were both fine and varied, an interesting witness to the ceramics of the grey past.... Among the stone implements found were a great many flint-knives; two stone hatchets, two chisels, and a gouge, all offlint, and a disc of porphyry were also obtained. Several mineral substances, quartzite, rubble-stones, gravel, ochre, a sinter-heap—these are less interesting than the seven amber beads which, with some charcoal, completes the list of objects found. Referring to former investigations of galleried mounds [gangbauten], which seem to have been used in some cases as burying-places, in others as dwellings, Dr. Wibel observes, in answer to the question resulting from his discovery, as to whether the Denghoog ought to be regarded as a sepulchre or as a dwelling, that, as Nilsson has already said, all gallery-mounds were originally dwellings, and occasionally became utilised as tombs. In the case of the Denghoog, this fact is demonstrated by the fireplace, the scattered potsherds, the amber beads, &c."

[93]Heligoland, Edin. and Lond., 1888, pp. 84-85.

Of the little woodcut which forms theTailpieceof this volume, it is hardly necessary to say that it represents some popular ideas regarding "the little people." The woodcut of which this is a facsimile is one of those contained in the eighteenth-century chap-book, "Round about our Coal Fire; or, Christmas Entertainments," and it heads the chapter "Of Fairies, their Use and Dignity." "They generally came out of a Mole-hill," it is said; "they had fine Musick always among themselves, and Danced in a Moonshiny Night around, or in a Ring as one may see at this Day upon every Common inEngland, where Mushroones [sic] grow," The size of the mushroom, so elegantly depicted in the foreground, is quite on a scale suitable to the stature ultimately accorded to the little people in many districts; so also is the mole-hill. But the tree, and the Satanic head in the foliage, are curiously out of proportion.

An examination of these various diagrams will show that the more primitive of those structures were obviously built by a small-sized race; some of the passages being quite impassable to large men of the present day. This peculiarity was noticed by Scott when visiting the "brochs" of Shetland, a kindred class of structures (none of which are here shown). "These Duns or Picts' Castles are so small," he says, writing in his Diary in August 1814, "it is impossible to conceive what effectual purpose they could serve excepting a temporary refuge for the chief." This reflection was suggested to him by the Broch of Cleik-him-in (now usually written Clickemin), near Lerwick; and in describing it he says: "The interior gallery, with its apertures, is so extremely low and narrow, being only about three feet square, that it is difficult to conceive how it could serve the purpose of communication. At any rate, the size fully justifies the tradition prevalent here, as well as in the south of Scotland, that the Picts were a diminutive race." Of the Broch of Mousa he says: "The uppermost gallery is so narrow and low that it was with great difficulty I crept through it,"—a feat which baffled the present writer.[94]In all those cases, of course, it is understood one has to crawl. As with the Lapps and the Eskimos, creeping was much more a matter of course with the builders of those places than it is with us. After getting through such passages it happens that, in several instances, the roof is higher than is required for the tallest living man.An admirable example of such a place is the underground "Picts' House" at Pitcur, in Forfarshire, which would be quite a palace to people of a small race, and very likely figures as such in some popular tale; its dimensions and appearance considerably magnified with every century.[95]But even this "fairy palace" was entered by narrow, downward-sloping passages, similar to that seen in the Frontispiece, down and up which the dwellers had to crawl. An underground gallery such as that of Ardtole (near Ardglass, County Down), is somewhat puzzling, because, while one chamber off it rises to a height of 5 feet 3 inches, another is only 3½ feet high; and the main gallery, for 70 feet of its length, is 4½ feet high, with a width of 3 feet 4 inches. The inference from this seems to be that the occupants were under 4½ feet in height. If they had intended to crawl along the 70 feet, they did not require so high a roof; whereas, if they walked, and if they were more than 4½ feet in height, they would need to walk the 70 feet in a stooping posture, a constraint which they could easily have avoided by raising the roof a foot or two. The highest roof in all this souterrain being 5 feet 3, it does not seem likely that the builders were taller than that; and there seems more reason to believe that they were much smaller. Another such gallery in Sutherlandshire is "nowhere more than 4½ feet in height, and for the greater part of its length only 2 feet wide, expanding to 3½, for about 3 feet only from the inner end." Still more restricted is the "rath-cave" of Ballyknock, in the parish of Ballynoe, barony of Kinnatalloon, County Cork. "The cave is a mere cutting in the clayey subsoil, and isroofed with flags resting on the clayey banks of the cutting, of which the length is about 100 feet, and the height and width from 3 to 3½ feet, except that the width to a height of 2 feet is hardly a foot at the N.W. turn, 23 feet from the N.E. end, and at a point 27 feet from the S.E. end.... Right below the aperture ... was a short pillar-stone, deeply scored with Oghams ... [and] many of the roofing slabs were seen ... to be inscribed with Oghams, some large and others minute."[96]

"This class of structures deserves a careful study," observes Captain Thomas, referring to the souterrains of the north-west of Scotland;[97]"for the room or accommodation afforded by this mode of building is exceedingly small when compared with the labour expended in procuring it; besides, the doorway or entry is often so contracted that no bulky object, not even a very stout man, could get in ... But what are we to think when the single passage is so small that only a child could crawl through it?"

Back to Index Next