50 Mr. PETRIE'S Inquiry into the Origin and 



non posse accurate in linea Meridiana, cum propter Penumbram, turn quia, Sole ad certain altitu- 

 dinem evecto, acuti verticis umbra cum umbra trunci confunditur, neque respondet cum Soils 

 centre, sed, in latitudine septentrional!, cum Solis Margine Septentrionale. Attamen cum Ludi 

 Taltinenses et Temorenses spatio dierum 15, ante et post sequinoctia et solstitia Estiva celebra- 

 rentur, fieri vix poterat quin, eo intervallo, Druidse, Solis et Stellarum cultores, Gnomonis ope 

 jEquinoctia, et Solstitia definirent, ac vertentis anni Cardines quatuor, intercalatione quadam juxta 

 Solis altitudinem facta, Popular! Decreto proclamarent. Procul dubio Turres in antiquissimis Hi- 

 bernorum Carminibus memorantur, ut in Carmine Martha Magk Turreadh, et in Prcelii Lenensis 

 Historia Metrica scripta a Senchano Eigceas Sseculo vii. Inclusoria Anachoretica quod attinet, 

 lon^e diversa erant a turribus istis. Inclusorium in quo Marianus Scotus Fuldae inclusus est, 

 Cella erat, muro externo circumvallata, neque ullibi terrarum extitere unquam Inclusoria Ana- 

 choretica Turribus Hibernicis similia. Quatuor aperture prope Apicem, quatuor orbis Cardines 

 respiciunt, neque ullatenus credibile est, hominem potuisse, non dico 20 annis, sed vel una hyeme 

 in ulla ex istis turribus inclusum supervexisse. Vide Carmina Vetera Hibernica supra ' Maria 



Magh tuirreadh,'' ' Torinis Inis an Tuir,' et Cath Moighe-Tura, supra in Indice, item Temoriam 



Turrium in Coemano, supra voce Temoria, et alia plura, quae plane indicant, Turres in antiquis- 

 simis Hibernorum Scriptis Traditionibus, tamquam ab immemorabili conditas, memorari." Index, 

 vol. i. p. ccvii. 



The preceding extracts are in one respect at least of much importance in 

 this inquiry, they are the observations of a man who, in comparison with the 

 others, was preeminently skilled in the ancient literature of Ireland, and whose 

 whole life, it may be said, was devoted to its study ; and they may therefore be 

 considered as furnishing the entire of whatever evidences he could discover, in 

 support of this hypothesis, in the whole body of our Irish historical documents. 

 Let us now see to what regard these evidences are entitled. 



Dr. 0' Conor's conjectures relative to the astronomical uses of the Towers 

 might perhaps be sufficiently met by the fact already stated, and of which re- 

 peated proofs shall be afforded in the third part of this inquiry, namely, that 

 the apertures at top do not invariably face the cardinal points, and by the consi- 

 deration that they are not always four in number, as he supposed, but sometimes 

 more, and sometimes even less. However, for the sake of argument, I shall 

 waive this fact for the present, and proceed to examine separately the several 

 passages in our Annals to which he has referred. The first is found in the 

 Annals of the Four Masters at the year 898 ; and here it will be observed, 

 that if we allow Dr. O'Conor's translation of this passage to be correct, it will 

 furnish a contradiction to his own statement, that the Towers are called, in 



