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those who thus doubted had never set foot on the island, and had merely con- 

 tented themselves with a view of it from the mainland. Mr. Lee said that he 

 considered this island to be similar to the Crannoges, or fortified islands, 

 found in Scotland and Ireland, which, while they date doubtless from a con- 

 siderable antiquity, yet evidently were used and inhabited till about two cen- 

 turies ago, and this can be proved historically. These Crannoges agreed in 

 almost every respect with the pecularities of this Llangorse island — the flat 

 slab piles of oak, the interlaced fascine work within them, the large quantity 

 of bones and charcoal found both within and without the piles, all pointed to 

 the same mode of living, and to the same grade of society ; and as the remains 

 of bones had been examined by competent authority and had been shown to be 

 of great antiquity, Mr. Lee said he could not see what room there was to doubt 

 the fact of this having been a Crannoge almost precisely similar to those of 

 Ireland and Scotland. The only thing which he must own he doubted was as 

 to the round piles having actually supported wooden buildings on platforms 

 over the water — like those of the Swiss dwellings. This he could not see 

 sufficient evidence to believe ; and in conclusion he strongly urged on the 

 members that the place had yet to be thoroughly examined. The only safe 

 data to go upon in judging of the antiquity were the implements found in it ; 

 and, so far, very few had been discovered. The piece of bronze now exhibited, 

 though probably very old, yet showed that it had been cast in a kind of mould 

 turned by the lathe, thus disposing of any very high antiquity. When imple- 

 ments are found jointly with the remains of animals which lived in olden times, 

 then, and not till then, could we come to a perfectly definite conclusion as to 

 its antiquity (applause). 



J. E. Thomas, Esq., F.G.S., of Hay, then introduced a discussion with 

 reference to the original name of the lake. He thought it could not bear the 

 interpretation put upon it in the excellent paper they had just heard read as 

 the Lake "of the Sunken Land." Jones, in his History of Monmouthshire, 

 translated it the Lake "of the Standing Water ;" and the compiler of the Ord- 

 nance Map, in whose profound knowledge of Gaelic he had great faith, called 

 it " Llyn Safaddu," and not Saf addon or Safathon, which seemed to point to a 

 different meaning altogether — "Safu," a primitive word meaning a mouth, and 

 it might thus be the Lake "of the black gorge or chasm." Then again the 

 island itself is called on the Ordnance Map "Ynys Bwlc," which might be 

 derived from " Buwch," or in its ancient form " Buch," a cow — the Cow's Island, 

 or "Bwch," a he-goat — the Goat's Island. It may also be from "Bwlch," a 

 gap or pass, or if considered an adjective, when it means broken, cut, jagged, 

 it would be "the notched or jagged island" — a name appropriate enough to its 

 stockade origin. 



Mr. Thomas has since obtained the opinion of one of the first Welsh 

 scholars, Gweirydd ap Rhys, on the subject. We have the pleasure of giving 



