356 Observations on the 
date to most of the stone-roofed-chapels. of 
Treland, and probably also to the Round 
Tower standing near it; and yet Cormac, the 
founder of the above chapel, was slain in bat- 
tle so early as A. D. 908. 
We should therefore attribute the origin of 
the greater part of the Round Towers to as 
early a period as the 9th century. 
That the Round Towers, if Belfries, should 
not be joined to their respective churches, can- 
not be regarded as very extraordinary, since 
there are many instances, both in England and 
on the continent, of their separation ;, indeed, 
the union of two buildings, intended for such 
different purposes as a Church anda Belfry, 
seems rather a refinement in architecture, and 
some skill is necessary to combine them in an 
easy and elegant connection. 
It is not so easy to account for the shape of 
the Round Towers, and we know not from 
what, model it was copied, or how suggested 
to the architect. In such rude times we 
should rather have looked for square tomers, 
as. simple in structure, and of more easy 
erection ; and we find that this form has ge- 
nerally been adopted throughout Europe. 
The celebrated leaning Tower of Pisa, how- 
ever, is round, and most, if not all, the 
Minarets of the Turkish Mosques are round. 
