Fig. 145, found in the crannog of Lisnacroghera is a small bronze object, considered by W. F. Wakeman to have been an amulet: “the figures which it bears are curvilinear examples of a symbol known to antiquarians as the swastica. There can be little or no question as to the eastern origin of this form of cross.”[137]

From the tenacity with which craftsmen adhered to ancient designs or patterns, it is difficult to assign even an approximate date to many remains of articles suitable for personal decoration; however, any brooch, pin, or other object, upon which interlacing tracery is displayed, should not be referred to a period antecedent to the introduction of Christianity into Ireland.

Of bronze articles connected with personal adornment, few can equal in design and workmanship the hinge brooch from Ardakillen, here represented; it is considered to be of great antiquity. The decoration on the enlarged ends partakes of the “Celtic trumpet pattern,” while the central connecting curved strap, with a raised intertwinement, like that seen on some sculptured crosses, and in the illumination of ancient MSS., would appear to have been cast. The thin ornamented plate in front is fastened by eight rivets to a stout flat plate behind, which also overlaps the edges of the strap; its flat pin is hinged at the back.[138] The very remarkable brooch, represented full size, plate XXVI., was obtained by Petrie[139] soon after the first opening of the Lagore crannog. The original discoverer stated that it was enclosed in an ancient case or box of yew—this has unfortunately been lost. The material of which the brooch is composed, is fine golden-coloured bronze, so lustrous that, in places which have been rubbed or exposed to friction, it is difficult to decide whether the article had not been originally gilt. The pin is 6⅝ inches in length: the diameter of the ring 3⅝ inches. The deeply set compartments, or panels, some thirteen in number, into which the ring is divided, contain ornamentation in what is generally designated the Celtic style: these designs, various in character and admirably executed, remain as sharp as when originally made. It is decorated on the front only. The ring, as is usual, expands on one of its sides, so as to fill up nearly one-half of the circle. The head of the acus is secured to the ring by a boldly projecting loop. The thickness of the plate forming the ring is about a quarter of an inch; the edges are plain. Another bronze brooch,[140] in use amongst the crannog dwellers of Lagore, is smaller than that shown on plate XXVI. The ring measures but 2 inches in diameter; the head of the acus contains a series of circular concentric mouldings, the intermediate spaces being deeply sunk; in the centre is a cavity which formerly contained a setting. The ring is continuous, and one of its sides expands, exhibiting circles (similar to those ornamenting the head of the pin), in one of which a fine setting of amber still remains; the other is now empty. There is no trace of enamel having been used on this brooch. A beautiful bronze fibula, or brooch, found on the site of the crannog of Lough Ravel, is here reproduced (full size), from the engraving in the late Ulster Journal of Archæology. This brooch, and one of silver from the same locality, are distinguished by their peculiar bird-head ornamentation on the superior extremity. From the same crannog came the penannular ring or brooch (fig. 148); and, from Ardakillen, a small penannular ring (fig. 149), of most curious torque pattern; indeed, penannular rings of bronze, of various sizes, sometimes highly decorated in very primitive style, are of not unfrequent occurrence in Ireland: they are supposed by some writers to have been used as a kind of money; others have pronounced them to be finger-rings, or bracelets, according to their size; similar objects are met with in gold, and, like their bronze prototypes, have greatly puzzled the learned in antiquarian matters. At the crannog of Lisnacroghera were found two penannular rings, formed of very thin, golden-coloured bronze. They are hollow, and consequently extremely light, so that they could scarcely have served as money: and the smallness of their diameter, which is only 1⅜ inches, shows that they could not have been bracelets. The following articles are also from Lisnacroghera. Fig. 151, a bronze stud—use problematical. Fig. 152, a plain bronze rivet. The circlets of bronze, figs. 153, 154, 155, may have been either the rings of brooches or pins, or perhaps buckles which had lost their tongues. Fig. 155 still retains traces of red enamel in its chevron, or wavy ornamentation.[141]

Touchstones would appear, from their make, to have been worn about the person, several being pierced with a hole, seemingly for attachment of a string. Sir W. Wilde remarks that they have been found both flat and four-sided, and with and without perforation. They are formed generally of black Lydian stone or of jasper, either material being suitable for gold-testing. Lydian stone, or black chert, is “an impure flint, found in the central portions of the carboniferous limestone of Ireland, and at the base of the Kilkenny coal formation. It is of a dull dark colour, approaching to black; is more opaque, brittle, and stone-like, than flint; never possesses the same translucency, and does not so readily chip into conchoidal fragments: but, next to flint, it is one of the hardest of the siliceous rocks, and hence was used occasionally for forming tools and weapons by the inhabitants of those districts where flint was rare. Lydian stone, ‘Lapis Lydius,’ or, ‘Lapis Hibernicus,’ as it was denominated by the old Dutch writer De Boot, so long ago as 1647, is the true touchstone of the ancients.”

Few ornaments of silver, and still fewer of gold, have been brought to light in crannogs, the antiquities of which consist mainly of the more homely class of bone, bronze, and iron articles for personal adornment; yet numerous gold ornaments have doubtless been discovered, but remained unrecorded, from fear of detection on the part of the finder, before the Treasury Minute respecting “Treasure Trove” came into operation. Antique articles of gold have been turned up in the bogs of Ireland, and in various parts of the country. Is it likely that the inhabitants of “island fortresses” should alone be devoid of the precious metal, especially as in them have been found both small earthen crucibles—so diminutive as to have been useful only for gold or silver smelting,—and also small pipe-clay cupels for refining purposes, like those used in the present day for the assay of gold and silver? Fig. 156 represents a pipe-clay crucible from the crannog of Lagore, 2 inches broad, and 1 inch high. A well authenticated instance of the discovery of the precious metal in a crannog, was that of “several gold pins,” at Loughtamand, county Antrim;[142] and, in the autumn of 1870, a beautiful, almost unique, specimen of early Irish art came to light on the site of the former lake dwelling of Lough Ravel, county Antrim. The accompanying woodcut is the size of the original. This silver brooch, or fibula, represents two bird-headed serpents joined together: both sides of the ornament are alike; the silver is slightly thinner than a shilling piece; the pin is missing. In the design there seems to be a resemblance to some of the initial letters in the “Book of Kells,” and other early Irish MSS., so that its probable age is not later than the tenth century.[143]

Figs. 158 and 159 are good examples of stone rings, the former 2½ inches in the clear; the latter, 2¾ inches. Fig. 160, drawn one-fourth the real size, is a bracelet of jet, from Lough Eyes, restored from the fragments; and fig. 161, restored from existing remains in the Museum, R.I.A., is of blue-coloured glass, decorated with spots and a cable pattern.

Beads of stone, bone, jet, earthenware, and wood, occur in crannogs; also beads of amber, of which many are in modern use amongst the peasantry as prayer-beads. O’Flaherty, in his Iar Connaught, states that amber was procured in more or less quantities on the coast of Galway. Ornaments of glass, from the most simple and unpretending plain blue bead to that studded with settings of enamel or vitreous paste, so varied in colour and of so much beauty in outline that they might be worn at the present day, are still met with in crannogs, as well as in pagan sepulchres. Blue appears to have been the favourite colour, but some are pale green, white, yellow and red, with spirals and decorations of varied colours; whilst others have a dark groundwork, and are studded with fragments of red, green, yellow, blue and white enamel. All the beads figured in plate XXVII. are drawn full size. No. 1, formed of stone, presents an average specimen of its class. No. 2 is from Lagore, where a considerable number, but of smaller size, occurred. No. 3, composed of bone, is probably the largest bead of that material found in any crannog: usually, they are scarcely the size of an ordinary pea. No. 4 is a pendant of black opaque glass; it probably formed the centre of a necklace. One resembling it, but composed of stone, may be seen in the Petrie Collection, R.I.A. No. 5 is a small bead of blue glass; its form is one of rare occurrence. No. 6, of plain cylindrical outline, was accompanied by several others of the same class: in colour it is a dull green. No. 7, a small globular bead of glass: colour deep blue; and No. 8, of similar shape, is composed of opaque white glass, or porcelain. No. 9 is a beautiful bead of green glass, presenting in dark-blue the dot-and-circle pattern; the spaces between the dots and their surrounding circles are pure white, so that a very pleasing effect is produced. No. 10 is an unusually long bead, of material similar to No. 6. No. 11 is a curious bead, through which passed a piece of bronze wire, which probably formed the loop of a pin. No. 12 is formed of dark-green glass, relieved by yellow ornamentation, as shown in the representation; and No. 13 is of dark-blue opaque glass, or paste, with chevrons of white glass, or enamel, passing round it. No. 14 is formed of white glass, or porcelain, ornamented with a pattern in black, and the opening for the string unusually large. No. 15 is composed of very light-coloured blue glass; and No. 16 of pure crystal. No. 17, formed of jet, was accompanied by fragments of bracelets of the same material. No. 18, apparently formed of fine clay, its colour what artists call Venetian red, is in the Petrie Collection. No. 19 is, undoubtedly, most curious, not on account of its form or design, which is common, but in regard to its being made of lead—perhaps the only example of a bead of that material discovered in Irish crannogs. No. 20 is a fine specimen of the amber bead, so often discovered in connexion with very early remains. No. 22 is also an amber bead, of rather unusual form, being almost flat, like a wheel. Nos. 23 and 24 were picked up by W. F. Wakeman, from the shores of one of the crannogs of Lough Eyes, but at a time subsequent to the publication of his Paper on that locality.[144] The collection of glass and enamel beads in the Museum, R.I.A., contains one of long cylindrical form, composed of blue, white, and yellow enamel; it is ¾ of an inch long, is decorated with a blue and white band round each extremity, and has yellow spots on the centre: it is of the same character as No. 41, represented by fig. 162. No. 21, one of the most beautiful beads in the collection, fig. 163, measures half an inch in the longest diameter, and is composed of clear glass, with bright yellow spirals of opaque enamel covering its sides. No. 27, represented by fig. 164, is an opaque bead of glass, light-green in colour: the aperture is rather large, so that it may have been used as a necklace, or pin-bead; it is grooved in melon-form. Two beads, composed of green glazed-ware, and also of melon-shape, may be seen figured at page 178, in Munro’s Scottish Lake Dwellings. Nos. 20, 21, and 27, Museum, R. I. A., are from the crannog of Lagore.

The three following beads here described are from the crannog of Lisnacroghera. Fig. 165, of opaque blue glass, very dark in colour, but relieved with white streaks of the same material, crossing each other obliquely. Fig. 166, of ordinary blue glass, quite plain; and, fig. 167, an elongated cylindrical bead of amber.[145] In Wilson’s Prehistoric Annals of Scotland, and in Keller’s Ancient Lake Dwellings of Switzerland, may be seen representations of beads, greatly resembling one from the crannog of Lough Ravel, county Antrim, as shown in fig. 168. Fig. 169, from the same locality, is somewhat similar, but the yellow, raised and rope-like decoration which encircles it does not form an integral part of the glass; it has been produced by laying the colour on the surface, instead of its being fused into the glass. The bead, fig. 170, although from the lands of Ballintlea, near Timahoe, Queen’s County, is of the same class as many discovered in crannogs. At top and bottom it exhibited indications of friction, showing it had been strung with others as a necklace, or some article of personal adornment. It is formed of sea-green glass, moulded to represent interlaced cords, the strands composed of threads of white glass; round the upper and lower rims there are small knobs of opaque yellow glass. That these beads are of native Irish manufacture is extremely probable, as, in two instances at least, lumps of blue glass in an unfashioned state have been discovered in connexion with crannogs, which also yielded beads of exactly the same colour and material. The majority of the beads present internal evidence of the manner in which they were made: “the glass has at first been in the form of a rod, then a portion, when in a soft state, was bent into the form of a bead, and sufficiently heated to cause the ends to unite.… When the ornamentation is composed of a spiral rod, it has been laid on in the same way, and the line of junction can be made out in every case.”[146]

Music.—It has been remarked that, in order to form a just estimate of the character of any particular people, it is necessary to investigate the pastimes and amusements most prevalent amongst them; war, and other contingent circumstances may place men at different times in different points of view, but when we follow them into the retirement of their homes, we are most likely to see them in their true state. In crannogs few musical instruments have come to light, owing probably to the perishable materials of which they were usually composed, yet enough remain to prove that, in time of peace, the sweet sound of the harp, and in war, the hoarse bray of the trumpet, resounded over the waters of the lakes. Portions of ancient harps have not unfrequently occurred in crannogs, but no fairly perfect example has as yet come to light. Some harp pins are formed of bronze, and several of bone were found at Ardakillen. In the Museum, R.I.A., there are upwards of twenty harp pins, the majority obtained from crannogs: they vary in length from 2⅛ to 4⅛ inches, are square in the head, and perforated in the smaller extremity, for holding the wire string. In the accompanying plate XXVIII., is figured (1) an Irish harp as restored: it stands at present 37 inches in height, all the metal portions were discovered in the crannog of Ballinderry, county Westmeath, and the proportions and form of the modern woodwork were regulated by the size and form of the original metal work; the thirty-five pins show the number of strings that were formerly attached. Although the style of decoration is of a very early character, yet as the letters I.H.S., surmounted by a cross, appear engraved on a brass plate in front of the instrument, the work cannot be older than the sixteenth century. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, convey a clear idea of the kind of ornamentation on the metal fittings, and No. 7 (from Drumdarragh crannog) represents a harp pin of the usual kind.

In 1809, at Ardbin, parish of Annaghclone, county Down, both joints of a very large and perfect curved bronze trumpet, or bugle-horn, were disinterred from a peat bog that had been a sheet of water about the middle of the last century. As conclusive proof of there having been a crannog in this former lake-bed, a stratum of burnt oak, a canoe scooped out of a single tree, together with four short paddles, were dug up from the peat. Of the trumpet, the remains—minutely described in the Newry Magazine for 1815—are now in the Museum, R. I. A., and in the accompanying engraving (fig. 172) the outside trumpet is a representation of this instrument. As may be observed, from comparison with the various other horns in the Museum, it is by far the largest of that collection, and is probably (as asserted by Wilde) the finest of its kind discovered in Europe. The trumpet is given on a larger scale in plate XXIX.: “it measures 8 feet 5 inches along the convex margin, and consists of two portions, each formed of very strong sheet bronze of a yellowish red colour, and joined along the seam.” It is 3½ inches wide at the open of the large end, and ⅝ at the upper; the small tube has parallel sides, and is about the size of the small extremity of the larger. By what means the two were joined together, or whether a mouth-piece was attached to the small extremity, is unknown, yet a variety of loud martial tones can be produced by the lower fragment. “The riveting of the edges in this instrument is the most perfect thing of its kind yet discovered, and is well exhibited in the accompanying cut, drawn the natural size from portions of its external and internal surfaces. The bronze strap which covers the joining on the inside is studded with small circular-headed studs, riveted on the outside, as shown in the lower section of the cut. There is no strap externally; and the perfection of the riveting has long been a subject of admiration to the curious, there being as many as 638 rivets in the lower portion.[147] By what means they were introduced throughout, or what description of mandril was employed for riveting them upon, is still subject of speculation.”[148] To judge from its size, this kind of war trumpet should give no uncertain sound. It is stated by Polybius, that on the continent “the parade and tumult of the Celts terrified the Romans, for there was amongst them an infinite number of horns and trumpets,” &c. And in describing the Celtic Gauls, Diodorus Siculus says, “they have amongst them trumpets peculiar as well to themselves as to other nations; these by inflation emit an hoarse sound well suited to the din of battle.”

Chess, &c.—In early Irish MSS. frequent mention is made of chess as a favourite amusement of the Celtic people; and in “The Dialogue of the Ancient Men”—a valuable tract contained in the Book of Lismore—there is a curious passage relating to a game of chess, the players being Finn Ban Mac Breasel, son of the king of Leinster, and Guaire Goll, one of Fionn Mac Cumhail’s chess-bearers; the wager was three ounces of gold, and the players quarrelled as usual. The passage is here given as a record of the prevalence of this game at a remote period: “And these two played for three days, and Guaire did not win one game during that time. And he threw down his wager, and insulted and abused the other man, and he said ‘he was not a servant in service, nor a vassal in vassalage, nor a hero in heroism;’ and Finn Ban raised his fist, and gave Goll a blow that brought three front teeth out of his upper jaw, and they fell together on the back of the chess board.” Another anecdote in proof of the prevalence of the game may be found in O’Curry’s Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish; in it the scene is also laid in the pagan age, but anterior to the time of the famous Finn Mac Cumhail—[149] “It was a century before the Incarnation, that Eochaidh Airemh was monarch of Erinn, and his queen was the celebrated Edain, a lady remarkable not only for her beauty, but for her learning and accomplishments. One day that Eochaidh was in his palace at Teamair (according to this ancient story), a stranger of remarkable appearance presented himself before him: ‘Who is this man who is not known to us, and what is his business?’ said the king. ‘He is not a man of any distinction, but he has come to play a game at chess with you,’ said the stranger. ‘Are you a good chess-player?’ said the king. ‘A trial will tell,’ said the stranger. ‘Our chess-board is in the queen’s apartment, and we cannot disturb her at present,’ said the king. ‘It matters not, for I have a chess-board of no inferior kind here with me,’ said the stranger. ‘What do we play for?’ said the king. ‘Whatever the winner demands,’ said the stranger. They played then a game, which was won by the stranger. ‘What is your demand now?’ said the king. ‘Edain, your queen,’ said the stranger, ‘but I will not demand her till the end of a year.’ The king was astonished and confounded; and the stranger, without more words, speedily disappeared.” It is clear that chess is a game of great antiquity,

From the crannog of Lagore was obtained a thin stone or slab of squarish form, measuring about 14 inches on either side. It presented upon its upper surface a number of squares as on a chess-board.[150] The material for this purpose, however, varied considerably, for in the “Annals of Clonmacnoise” it is stated that when Muirchertach of the leathern cloaks (who lived in the middle of the tenth century) carried off the body of Cerbhall, king of Leinster, he caused a chess-board to be formed out of his bones. Instances of utilizing the osseous remains of a dead adversary were, in ancient times, not uncommon. The old Vikings, in imitation of their gods, quaffed their ale out of goblets composed of the crania of their enemies.

In Irish lacustrine sites a number of discs, formed apparently of deer’s horn, or bone, have been frequently met with; these articles, as a rule, are ornamented on one side only with the dot and circle pattern, such as appears upon combs and other objects of bone; many were found at Lagore, Cloonfinlough, Ballinderry, &c., and they resemble one from the Loch of Forfar, figured in Munro’s Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings. The term “whorl” has been very generally applied to these discs, the supposition being, that their use was to aid in the rotation of the distaff or spindle. Some Irish archæologists, however, have suggested the idea of their being rather draughtsmen, or counters for a game; and English antiquarians have pronounced a similar opinion with regard to ivory discs discovered in that country. The latter suggestion certainly carries with it a great degree of probability; and although the game of draughts as now played cannot claim great antiquity, yet there were other pastimes in which little stones, shells, or nuts were employed by the ancients; but, as the arts of man progressed, “stones and shells were laid aside, and ivory counters became their substitute.” Croften Croker in his tour through Ireland early in the present century observed two peculiar games then almost universal amongst the peasantry; one of them was played on lines usually marked on a board with chalk, as shown in fig. 174. “Each player is provided with three counters (small black and white pebbles or shells) which are simply deposited on the board in turn; the game is won by getting these three counters in a straight line. The centre point is considered the most advantageous, and is always taken by the first player: when all the counters are deposited, moves are made from one point to the next should it be unoccupied, and so on until a careless move on either side decides the game, by allowing the adversary to form his three counters in a row.” The unperforated discs ornamented on one side only it may be fairly surmised had served either in draughts or in games of that nature. Fig. 175 represents a specimen of this class found in a “souterraine” at Drumcliff, county Sligo, in company with calcined bones and traces of iron remains; it seems to be identical in style, size, and material with those found in crannogs, as for example fig. 176, from the crannog of Cloonfinlough, ornamented with a border of circles with dots in the centre surrounding four groups of similar circles: each group consists of four circles. Fig. 177, from the same locality, is plainly decorated with five circles arranged in a cruciform pattern. Both these articles are stained a dark-brown colour.[151]

With regard to the perforated discs, it should be borne in mind that they were of the same size as the unperforated, were decorated with similar designs on one side only, and that it is almost incredible so much trouble should have been bestowed on the ornamentation of an object intended to serve merely as a spindle whorl, as for example on the accompanying examples from Lagore. The more natural inference seems to be, that these discs were employed in some game—say chess—the perforations being intended for reception of the upper parts, marking the distinctive character of the various pieces used in the game. Nos. 10 and 11, plate XXV., may possibly have been these distinctive upper portions. An object similar to fig. 180 is described in the Catalogue of the Museum, R.I.A., as a “whorl,” in which a portion of the lower end of the bone spindle still projects; but might it not equally be supposed to represent a chessman—possibly a pawn—judging from the simple outlines of its projecting portion?

Plate XXX., Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, from Lagore, and now in the Petrie Collection, R.I.A., are all perforated. Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are discs formed of bone or horn, varying in thickness from ¼ to ⅛ of an inch; No. 6, however, is scarcely ¹⁄₁₆ of an inch. All these are unperforated, therefore could not have been used as “spindle-whorls.” No. 11 is quite plain, the other specimens are ornamented, but only on one side; all the above are of bone; Nos. 12 and 13—both of them composed of stone and perforated—also came from some of the crannogs in the neighbourhood of Strokestown, and the latter is a good specimen of the so-called “whorl” commonly found in the northern counties, where hundreds of them have been discovered in a great variety of places, in carns, crannogs, plough lands, &c.

Fig. 181, from Cloonfinlough, is, it is believed, a unique specimen of a stone chessman, rounded in the body, diminishing towards the top, and flattened at both extremities. It is 1³⁄₁₆ inch in height, ¾ inch in diameter, and is polished; the material beautifully veined, yellow, pale brown, and white.

Ogham.—It is a disputed point, with regard to Ogham inscriptions, whether the signs represent a very ancient alphabet, or are merely a mediæval invention, or cipher. Some allusions to be found in old Irish MSS. refer them to ante-Christian times; but it may also be observed, that in similar writings frequent mention is made of a man’s Ogham name as being scribed on a stone raised in commemoration of him; such name must therefore be inferred to differ from that by which he was ordinarily known. Now, if Ogham be viewed as a cipher, dating only from the early monkish period of Christianity, the Ogham name may mean simply what in the present day would be termed the name in Religion. It is, however, immaterial for the present purpose to which category Ogham characters be assigned, for in either case they belong to the metallic age, as probably no race in the stone age had attained the art of communicating ideas by means of an alphabet. Even in the present day, when seeking to civilize barbarous tribes, it is found essential, for the purpose of imparting information, to adapt their languages to an alphabet. Ogham may be briefly described as an arrangement of strokes, or indented lines or notches cut on the arris, though sometimes found on the flat of the stone or other material, when a straight line is substituted for the arris. The letter is denoted by the length of the stroke or notch, its position, whether above or below the arris or line, or appearing both above and below, and likewise the number of strokes or notches grouped together. Oghamic scribings have been found on a stone in the crannog of Ballydoolough, and on bone pins and other ornaments in the crannogs of Ballinderry and the Strokestown group. Ogham appears to have been employed not only for mortuary inscriptions carved on pillar-stones erected over celebrated warriors, but also, in the same manner as we now use the Roman alphabet, for communication by messengers, &c. On one occasion a celebrated mythical Irish hero, named Cuchullain, when traversing a forest saw an inscribed pillar-stone, and hung round it a verse in Ogham character, carved by him upon a withe.[152] The MS. from which this anecdote is quoted was compiled about the year 1106. The same hero is elsewhere represented as sending information to Meave, queen of Connaught, by means of cutting or scribing on wands; the son of a Scottish chief is described as cutting Ogham characters on a spear. The date of the latter incident is assigned to the commencement of the Christian era. Another instance is mentioned, partaking however more of the nature of a regular letter. In A.D. 408, Corc, son of the king of Munster, was driven by his father into exile; he fled to the court of Scotland; but, before appearing in the king’s presence, an Ogham inscription on his shield was discovered and deciphered by a friend, who thus saved the prince’s life, the inscription being to the effect that, should he arrive at the Scottish Court by day, his head was to be cut off before evening, and if by night it was to be cut off before morning.[153]

It is almost needless to add, that all Ogham mortuary scribings are in very antique language, thereby adding considerably to the difficulties attending any attempt at translation of these archaic inscriptions. The Gaelic of to-day, where it yet lingers, is to the ancient dialect much what modern English is to the Anglo-Saxon of olden times. The oldest lettered characters of the Irish lake dwellers are Ogham or runic-like markings on stones, amulets, pins, and brooches. An important “find” at Ballydoolough consists of a block of hard reddish sandstone, measuring 2 feet 1 inch in length, by 4½ inches in breadth, and 6 inches in depth. On it are well-marked Ogham characters, and these, when read by the light of the Ogham alphabet, would seem to spell the word BALHU.