268 The Irish Naturalist. September, 



Borlase, in his book on "The Dolmens of Ireland," vol. i., p. 

 1 6, states that the cromleac was " thrown down" but was 

 " restored" by Dr. Wise. As Borlase evidently got on the 

 track of the memorial from Windele's MSS. notes, this seems 

 anything but accurate. Windele says nothing of being 

 " thrown down." He reproduces Windele's sketch, and gives 

 some of his measurements. 



In the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological 

 Society for August, 1894, P- J 63, Mr. James Coleman writes 

 on " Prehistoric Remains in East Cork " contained in a scarce 

 pamphlet, " Vestiges and Relics of Remarkable Irishmen in 

 the Vicinity of Youghal, of the Primeval or Pagan Period," 

 by Edward Fitzgerald, of Youghal. (Youghal, John I,indsay, 

 1858). Describing the sepulchral remains, Fitzgerald men- 

 tions that " at a place called Carrigmosteen in the slob at 

 Rostellan is a very good specimeu, the top stone or covering 

 flag of which is gone, but the rough chest of stones remain 

 minus one end." He goes on to mention numbers of other 

 prehistoric remains destroyed in the Youghal district. Was 

 it this pamphlet of Fitzgerald's that called the attention of Dr. 

 Wise to the cromleac? It looks like it, and it was published 

 two years before the date on which Windele went with Brash 

 to see the cromleac with its cap stone restored. Would that 

 Ireland in the past century had produced more restorers of 

 the Dr. Wise type ! 



There is also mention in volume ii. of Gibson's " History 

 of Cork " (1861) of the cromleac. 



This, as may be seen by the plates, is a good example of 

 a true cromleac— a free standing ancient memorial composed 

 of one large stone supported by two or more others. The 

 real interest, however, is more of a geological nature than 

 archaeological, owing to its partial submergence at each tide. 

 Such cromleacs are usually found well above tide level, many 

 of them on comparatively high ground; and it is extremely 

 unlikely that the site was at the present level with regard to 

 the sea, when a primitive race selected it for the erection 

 of an important sepulchral monument — as we know these 

 cromleacs were. 



Mrs. W. H. Johnson (who was a member of the party at 

 Rostellan) stated that she had visited the cromleac some years 



