I9IO. Agnkw. — Rosapcnna Co7ifere7ice. — Archa:ology. 195 



ARCHEOLOGY. 



BY JEAN AGNKW. 

 KiTCHKN-MIDDENS. 



The sand-dunes at Rosapenna (Plate 14), and Tranarossan 

 visited during the Conference 3'ielded the usual evidences of 

 having been the sites of the dwellings of primitive man. The 

 finds made at Rosapenna included a deer's antler made into a 

 pick, showing clearly the marks of the primitive saw, and a 

 stone disc, characteristic of the Donegal sand-dunes. Among 

 the great heaps of edible shells the hinges oi Lntraria ellipiica, 

 used as scrapers, were found, as well as large numbers of 

 bones of deer, ox, pig, rabbit. Great Grey Seal, &c., the larger 

 bones in many instances having been split to extract the 

 marrow ; also bones of the Great Auk, as recorded in Mr. 

 Ussher's report on the Birds (p. 17 1)- 



All efforts to discover an)- of the bronze ornaments and 

 pottery, which have been found frequently on these sites, 

 were unsuccessful. 



Rock Scribings. 



The rocks bearing inscribed concentric circles lying above 

 the shores of Mulroy Ba}^ to the south of Mevagh church, 

 were visited. It was noted that only these rocks which 

 faced the east were inscribed. This, however, ma}' have 

 been due to the fact that just at this point the broadest and 

 smoothest rock-surfaces slope 10 the east. Time did not 

 permit of a visit to those in Barnesbeg, &c. 



Forts. 



Immediatel}' to the right of Port Doon (the port of the fort 

 or castle), where the members of the Conference landed on 

 Tory Island, is a height known as Dun Balor, after the famous 

 Fomorian, Balor of the Mighty Blows. A native of Tor>^ 

 eagerl}^ pointed out to us fragments of mortar adhering to 

 small stones which, he said, had been used in building 

 Balor's Fort ! It is just possible that the stones displayed 

 were the last fragments of the castle of the O'Roarties built 

 above Port Doon about 300 years ago, and now completel}' 

 dispersed. 



A little further east, on the isthmus which connects the 

 peninsula known to Getty as Balor's Prison with the island, is 

 a fine promontorj- fort — four distinct ramparts running across 

 the isthmus (Plate 13). On this eastern peninsula itself is to be 



