1872]. The Dolmen-Mounds of Brittany. 7 
and were also apparently purposely* so fractured when 
deposited, are well worthy of our closest attention. 
Now it is found that in all interior or sepulchral finds the 
celts made of fibrolite are at least 75 per cent of the 
whole number found, whilst the surface and miscellaneous 
finds produce but few of this material, being generally of 
diorite and porphyry ; thus, wherever found, the fibrolite celt 
is indicative of sepulchral associations, and was evidently 
not made for daily use. A superstitious reverence probably 
attached to the rare stone, as in China at the present day 
the possession of a certain amount of jadet entitles the owner 
to a certain rank, and as the jade celt also confers certain 
rights of chieftainship in New Zealand. ‘This celt may also 
have been used as an amulet or talisman, like the siger stone 
(victory-token) and life-stone (against wounds and death) 
used by the Norse and Swensk adventurers of Scandinavia, 
which were worn on their weapons or armour, or on the 
person in a small bag, and accompanied them to the 
tomb.? 
Although there is a slight difference in the exterior 
contour of the great Dolmen-mounds of Tumiac, St. Michel, 
and Manné-er-H’roék, the first being most conical, and the 
second much the longest of the three, still they may be 
placed in the same class as to their structure, being all 
composed of alternate layers of sand and stones, the imple- 
ments found inside of them being also similar. Therefore 
we may with tolerable certainty assign them to a contempo- 
rary period and the same race of builders. 
At the same time Mr. Barnwell has rightly pointed out 
the different methods of interment practised in each mound; 
thus, in the chamber of Tumiac, the body had been placed 
in its natural state, whilst in that of St. Michel complete 
incineration had first taken place. In Manné-er-H’roék, on 
the other hand, no human bones or least trace of them 
could be found by the explorers. Could this last have been 
a coenotaph ? 
Whilst on the subject of cremation and inhumation, and as 
an additional proof that both were practised at the same 
* The spoon, mat, pillow, and spears of a dead Kaffir are laid beside their 
owner in the grave; the shafts of the latter are always broken and the iron 
heads bent, perhaps from some vague idea that the spirit of the deceased will 
come out of the earth and do mischief with them.—Rev. J. G. Woop, Africa. 
t “To Heaven alone is offered a piece of blue jade, cylindrical in shape 
and a foot long, formerly used as a symbol of sovereignty.”—‘' Sacrifice by the 
Emperor of China.” Vide WiLLtIamson’s Journeys in North China; ch. xvi., 
“ Peking,” by the Rev. JosepH Epkrns, B.A. 
t Professor STEPHENS. 
