Dunminning, Glarryford, Co. Antrim,
August 18, 1871.
My dear Sir,—I was unable to get to Glen Columbkille till this week, and I am afraid that I shall be too late to be of use to you. As, however, I did not forget to examine the monuments, I send the notes I made on them. All were written down at the stones themselves. Glen Columbkille is about 4 miles long and 3 broad. Its eastern boundary is a steep rocky mountain, from which the floor of the glen slopes down to the sea, and ends westward in Glen Bay. Glen Bay is of considerable width from its southern point, Rossan, to its northern, Glen Head, but it has only a short beach. There is also a dangerous bar, so that it is an almost impossible landing-place except for curraghs, and in smooth weather for boats. The north side of Glen Columbkille is rocky and steep, and is chiefly formed by the mountain Ballard. The south side, though in parts precipitous, and nowhere a very gradual slope, is not so steep as its opposite. The coast south and north of Glen Bay for miles is a range of cliffs, of from 1900 to 100 feet, with here and there a small beach, but no safe landing-places. South of Glen Columbkille is a smaller and shallower valley, Glen Malin. The sides of Glen Malin are all gradual; its coast is precipitous; on the south it is bounded by a mountain of large base, Leathan. Both Glen Columbkille and Glen Malin are in the parish of Glen Columbkille and barony of Banagh. Most of the great stone structures are in Glen Malin.
The monuments are of three kinds: (1) cromlechs;[600] (2) stone chambers; (3) solitary stones. They are in groups of various size and compactness. There are five distinct groups, a considerable distance apart, and with no apparent connexion of arrangement. Three groups are on the north and two on the south side of the glen. The stones in each have been more or less disturbed, and have been made to serve in lime-kilns and byres and as malt stores. While examining one set, I felt my foot sink, and, lifting the edge of a piece of heather, found an excavation filled with barley, soaking. On getting into another cavity, I found two black lambs inside, and in another some pigs, in another calves. The most remarkable general feature of the architecture that I noticed was that the stones in each group were much of a size, but that in some groups they were a good deal larger than in others. I shall speak of the groups as they are marked by letters in a plan I made for my own use on the spot.
228. Plan of the Uprights of Cromlech D I.
D. This group, which is that nearest the sea on the south side of the river, consists of six cromlechs, arranged in line, with considerable intervals. A few yards west of this group are several mounds of stones with some large blocks amongst them, but no blocks more than 4 feet long. These extend for some 50 yards in line from west to east. A few yards above them is a large pile of stones, in the midst of which is a stone 6 feet high and 3 feet wide. These heaps have been augmented by stones collected from the fields, but I think there are indications that they were originally of the nature of the cromlechs.
There are six cromlechs, and from the first the other five are in sight. The line in which they are placed along the glen side is not quite straight. The westernmost cromlech is some yards south of the others, and the west to east line is not exact with regard to the others, but is nowhere so much departed from as with the first pile. The first is about half a mile from the sea. I shall describe them from west to east.
I. This was a cromlech of five huge stones and a top. The top stone has fallen to westward, and the uprights are all somewhat displaced. Three of the upright stones are still erect; two are fallen, but not quite to the ground. At the west end are some smaller blocks and another slab. These are hidden by small stones and earth; I think there were two support stones and a slab. After examining all the monuments of the two glens, I came to the conclusion that this (D I.) was a cromlech with a stone chamber beside it. There is a space 2 feet 6 inches wide between the two tallest uprights. The annexed plan shows the arrangement of the uprights. The top slab has fallen over e; d and e are fallen; a, b, and c are upright, but slant more or less. The dimensions are:—
| | Ft. | In. | |
| (a) | Height | 12 | 9 | (a) slants somewhat to westward; the |
| Breadth | 9 | 4 | height from its tip to the ground is 10 feet |
| Thickness(about) | 3 | 0 | 2 inches. |
| Widest girth | 23 | 0 | |
|
| (b) | Height | 7 | 5 | (b) from tip perpendicular the height |
| Breadth | 4 | 3 | is 6 feet 6 inches. |
| Thickness | 2 | 0 | |
|
| (c) | Height | 7 | 0 | |
| Breadth | 2 | 10 | |
| Thickness | 1 | 0 | |
|
| (d) | Length | 10 | 0 | |
| Breadth | 5 | 0 | |
| Thickness | 2 | 0 | |
|
| (e) | Length | 7 | 0 | (e) is hard to measure, as it lies under |
| | | | earth, stones, and the top slab. |
All these are of a gritty stone, veined with quartz, a rock plentiful in Sliabh Liag, Sliabh Leathan, and the cliffs of the coast. Their shape is rugged.
The top slab is of pure quartz. It is about a foot thick, and is smooth on both sides. This sort of stone splits with a smooth surface, as may be seen on Sliabh Liag and in some of the cliffs. The slab is a tolerably regular oblong, 9 feet 8 inches by 6 feet 6 inches. The smaller slab alluded to above, and which was, I think, the top of the chamber, is about 6 feet by 3 feet.
D II. lies about 40 feet east of D I. It, too, is a cromlech, but the stones of which it is built are of smaller size than those of D I. There are no traces of a chamber, but otherwise it is constructed as D I. The highest standing stone is 4 feet high. There seem to have been five uprights. The top slab has fallen to the west side. It measures 6 feet 3 inches by 5 feet.
229. Plan showing the actual position of the Stones of D III.
D III. is situate 55 feet east of D II. It is a cromlech of five uprights and one slab. One upright only is erect now. Its height is 5 feet, its width 3 feet. The slab which was atop is 8 feet by 7 feet, and averages 2 feet in thickness.
D IV. is 31 feet east of D III. It is a small-sized cromlech. The uprights are all fallen. The slab measures 6 feet 8 inches by 6 feet. A series of low mounds with large stones sticking out here and there forms a sort of connexion with the next cromlech, which stands 48 feet farther east.
D V. Its slab has fallen to eastward, and the uprights in several directions. The tallest upright is 6 feet high. The slab is of quartz, and measures 10 feet by 7 feet, and is about 13 inches thick. Around this cromlech are numbers of loose stones. They are from 1 foot to 2 feet long, and are of mica-schist and quartz. They are not such as would be picked off the meadow, and seem to have been in some way connected with the cromlech.
230. Plan (excl. Top Slab.)
D VI. stands 96 feet farther east. It is a very large cromlech. It is a good deal fallen; all the stones of which it is built have more or less the character of slabs. It is used as one side of a respectable byre. One great smooth piece of quartz seems to have been the roof. It measures 18 feet 7 inches by 11 feet. The biggest of the stones seems to have formed the east wall of the chamber. Its dimensions are 12 feet by 14 feet, and it is 4 feet thick. I took the dimensions of three others:—1. Length 5 feet 6 inches, width 4 feet; 2. Length 11 feet, width 8 feet; 3. Length 9 feet, width 3 feet, thickness 3 feet.
From the flat nature of the component stones, the chamber inside would have had few gaps in its walls. Near this cromlech is a low stony mound.
From a few yards east of D VI. a ridge runs slantwise up the side of Leathan. Many stones stick up out of it, but I could make out no arrangement. The highest projecting stone is not 4 feet high. This ridge is about a quarter of a mile long. It might be natural, but it has very much the look of a human work. Some 150 yards up the ridge I noticed a slab projecting from the heather. It might possibly be the top of a chamber, of which the walls are beneath the earth. This seeming road does not lead to another group of stones, but disappears a short way up the mountain side. Near the mountain top there is a small bare cliff, the only bare bit of rock on the otherwise smooth slopes of Leathan. The rock exposed is quartz, and the position of the little cliff leads one at a glance to imagine that it may have been the quarry whence the slabs were brought. In this case the ridge may have been the road down the mountain. When one goes up to the crag, it looks less like a quarry than from below, but at the same time I could perceive no geological reason for the exposure of so small a surface of rock.
Some distance up Glen Malin, and on the same side of the river as D, but not in sight from it, is another group, E, of stone monuments.
The large stones of this group are surrounded by numbers of rough, weather-worn stone blocks, averaging 2 feet in length. The monuments seem to be all cromlechs or chambers, and, as far as I could tell, are about a dozen in number. One cromlech stands a good deal higher than the rest. West of it are two stony mounds; these seem to have been chambers. They are built of long flat slabs, with similar slabs at the ends and top.
231. Plan of the Arrangement of the Cromlechs of Group E.
a. Eastmost one.
b. Highest.
c, d. Mounds.
The ground beyond the cromlechs is moorland, and without loose stones. The stony area is oval, and measures east to west 130 feet, north to south 50 to 60 feet.
All the cromlechs are about the same size. In the construction of all, the aim seems to have been a well shut-in chamber. The easternmost one is a chamber 9 feet 10 inches long. At each end it has a flat stone 3 feet high. The side stones are 7½ feet long and 3 feet high The width of the chamber is 4 feet 6 inches. At each side, and at each end, are heaps of loose small stones. The top slab is about 1 foot thick, and is almost a square of 9 feet.
On the north side of Glen Malin, there are three groups:—
A. This, which is the group furthest from the sea, is of five or six cromlechs, but only one is in good preservation. It consists of a slab resting on four flat blocks, and encloses a chamber. The side stones are each 5 feet 8 inches long. This group stands on a small flat piece of ground below a crag and above a stream. Leading from the chamber there seems to have been a passage, the sides of which were formed of slabs of stone, of which a few remain.
Some distance lower down the glen, on the north side, is a solitary pointed stone. It is 6 feet 1 inch high, and its girth is 5 feet 5 inches. Higher on the slope by 110 feet, and 18 feet farther west, group B begins.
B. The first of this group is a chamber cromlech. It is much buried in the heather. Some loose stones lie around the cromlech. What seems to have been the top slab is 10 feet across and nearly square, and 2 feet thick. One of the side slabs of the chamber is 10 feet 8 inches by 4 feet. The tallest stone is at the east end, and is in height 6 feet 8 inches. Lower down the slope, below this cromlech, are several low mounds, from which there are no projecting stones; 200 yards west in a straight line is a huge cromlech. It seems to have consisted of a gigantic slab, supported on three upright stones, not forming a closed chamber. The top slab is still on its supports; it is 3 feet thick, and measures 13 feet by 10 feet 9 inches. The tallest of the uprights is 9 feet high, and is rather pointed at top. The third upright seems to have been broken into several pieces. Some 10 yards from this is another cromlech of equal dimensions, and a little south of these several large loose stones are lying on the ground. Forty yards west is a chamber cromlech of small dimensions, and near it are many mounds with stones projecting, possibly artificial.
C. This group is some distance farther down on the same side of the glen; it consists of two cromlechs, separated by a short ridge, so that I think they are really parts of one structure. The eastern part is fallen; it consists of three uprights and a top slab. The western part consists of two stones leaning gablewise against one another. Between the two there is a short ridge, from which several stones stick out. Each of the western pair of stones is about 7 feet high by 6 feet broad. The dimensions of the eastern part of the monument are:—Top slab, 11 feet by 7 feet; thickness, 1½ foot. Uprights: (a) 8 feet (and I think 2 feet below ground) by 7 feet 7 inches broad; 2 feet 3 inches thick. (b) 9 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 8 inches; thickness 2 feet 5 inches, (c) 9 feet 6 inches by 3 feet 5 inches; thickness, 1 foot 9 inches.
The other groups do not command remarkable prospects, but from this last group there is a fine view of the sea, with the island of Rathlin O'Beirne close below, and beyond the mountainous coast line of Mayo as far as Belmullet.
So far the stone monuments of Glen Malin.
In Glen Columbkille is but one group. It stands in the townland of Farn MacBride, on the north side of the glen, and at the foot of the mountain Ballard. Its monuments are all of the chamber kind. The
chambers are made of huge slabs, one at each side, one atop, one at each end. I measured one, and found the sides each 12 feet long and 4 feet broad. Most of the monuments project but little above the ground. One is used to keep calves in, one for pigs, and one for lambs. A native of the townland told me that his brother had dug up a skull and a piece of earthenware near one of the cromlechs. The skull was buried in the churchyard, and its grave is forgotten. The same man also told me that, digging to clear a cromlech for a malt-store, they found that the side slabs rested on a basement slab. The ground is very rugged about these monuments, and some are quite beneath ground, but I think there are altogether six.
I hope that, if these notes are too late to be of use for your book, they may yet be of some interest to you, and
I remain, my dear Sir, yours sincerely,
Norman Moore.
James Fergusson, Esq.
