ARRAN. ANTIQUITIES. 319 



frequent through the Highlands of Scotland, are the 

 rude rx/Aoji of our Celtic ancestors ; the origin, it is 

 probable, of those which the arts of Greece adorned in 

 after times with sculptures and inscriptions. Unfortu- 

 nately, the ignorance of letters which prevailed among 

 the ancient Caledonians, leaves us in the dark both as 

 to the periods of their erection, and the objects to 

 which they were dedicated ; since, with the exception 

 of those sculptured stones which seem to have been 

 erected after the retreat of the Danes in later times, 

 neither emblem nor inscription is found to record the 

 fact which they were meant to perpetuate, or the name 

 of him who lies below. 



Not far from Lamlash bay, an irregular collection of 

 apparently ruined cromlechs still exists. The barrows 

 in Glen Cloy bespeak a sepulchral origin, and it is 

 equally probable that two very large cairns at the 

 south side of the island cover the ashes of chiefs of 

 higher fame and greater power. In ancient and classical 

 times, we are informed that the ashes of kings were 

 protected by a mound of superior magnitude ; " extructo 

 inonte." 



In almost all cases, similar erections, which are 

 found abundantly in Britain, as well as in numerous 

 parts of the northern division of Europe and Asia, have 

 been found to conceal urns, stone chests, or other 

 receptacles of the dead body ; leaving little doubt as 

 to their original destination, and pointing out, as far 

 as such proofs can, the common origin of the nations 

 from which the prevailing population of Europe has 

 been derived. One of the cairns in the southern 

 quarter of Arran is remarkable for a circumstance of 

 rare occurrence, namely, the remains of an enclosure 

 of stone with which it appears to have been sur- 

 rounded. In this respect it reminds the spectator 

 of the tomb of Patroclus, which seems also to have 

 been a cairn or mound of earth surrounded by an en- 



