143 



The stone circle exists not only in these northern countries, but 

 has been traced throughout the East, where it appears to have inva- 

 riably united a civil with a religious character. Chardin* mentions 

 large circles of upright stones in Persia, which tradition calls the 

 chairs of those who sat in councils — ponderous chairs, each stone 

 being so large that eight men could hardly move it. Sir William 

 Ouseley also describes circles of stones in parts of Persia, and one 

 in particular, near the ruined city of Dardb, perfectly resembling a 

 British druidical ring, and composed of stones, many of which 

 were twenty feet high, and some twenty-five feet. A rude pillar- 

 stone occupies the centre ; and outside of the ring, at some distance 

 from the encircling stones, there stands a very lofty pillar-stone 

 twenty feet high : the whole is at some distance enclosed by a bank 

 ^f earth and a deep ditch.-f The circle, the centre stone, the outer 

 pillar, and the encompassing bank, are all situated relatively to each 

 other, precisely as at Temple Brian, in the county of Cork, the 

 Irish and the Persian monument having an astonishing agreement 

 with each other. It is remarkable that all the remains of this kind 

 are by the Persians attributed to the Guebres, or fire worshippers, 

 and always called " Fire Altars" — " Stones of the Fire Temple," 

 or by some name of of the same signification. :|: 



Circles formed of large masses of rough stone abound in Malabar. 

 A few years since, several in the neighbourhood of Calicut were 

 examined, and in the middle of each, at the depth of five feet 

 underground, was discovered an earthen urn, resembling those 

 found in the barrows of Wiltshire. One of these circles had 

 a cave in the centre, to which was a descent of seven steps ; this cell 



* Chardin's Travels in Persia, p. 371. And in Ireland we have the stone chair of the Brehons. 



f Ouseley's Travels in the East, II. pp. 122—124. 



:|: See throughout Ouseley's Travels, and Captain Keppel's Personal Narrative. 



