VOL. XLII.} PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 715 



Eclipse of the Moon, Oct. 12, 1743, in the Morning, observed at Mr. Graham's 

 House in Fleet-street. N°471, p. 580. 



The sky was mostly overcast with clouds, so that the following observations 

 are the only ones that could be made with any degree of certainty. 



Beginning of the eclipse about l** 21'" O' 



The shade touched Copernicus about 1 39 O 



touched Plato about 1 45 O 



touched Tycho about j 51 O 



Total immersion about 2 17 O 



Concerning the Remains of an ancient Temple in Ireland, of the same sort as 

 the famous Stonehenge ; and of a Stone-Hatchet of the ancient Irish. By 

 Robert Lord Bishop of Corke, F. R. S. N° 47 I , p. 58 1 . 



These ancient remains were found in the county of Cork, in the parish of 

 KilgarrifFe, about 10 miles from Bandon to the south-west. They consist of 9 

 large upright stones, in a circle, with a conical one in the centre, besides one 

 at some distance quite out of the circle. It has been a very ancient heathen 

 temple, and the burial-place of some person of great note, before the erecting of 

 covered temples was used, in this, or perhaps in any other part of the world, 

 except Judea. Which sort of places of devotion seem to be the most ancient 

 of any that we have accounts of in history. For temples were originally all 

 open, and thence received their name, according to Varro (lib. 6, de ling, lat.) 

 a templando, which was an ancient word that signified to see or look out. The 

 middle stone, which was the place where the priest stood, is lower than the rest, 

 not being above 3 feet high, and was always dedicated to some deity or other ; 

 and was consecrated to that use by the pouring on of olive-oil : which custom 

 was of very ancient date, and seems to have been borrowed from the practice of 

 the ancient patriarchs, who called these stones Bethel, which word literally 

 signifies in English, God's house : and, by a corrupt pronunciation of the word, 

 they were in Greek called BaiTuXia (vide Sanchoniatho). Which is the reason 

 why that stone, which Rhea is supposed to have given Saturn to swallow in- 

 stead of a child, is called BaiTu'xoj ; and not because it was covered with a 

 woollen garment, which is called Bairt) in Greek, as Hesychius pretends. 

 Hesych. Etym.^ 



It is remarkable, that some of these stones manifestly appear to iiave been 

 reduced to their present form by art. There is no appearance of any mark 

 of a tool ; so that it is probable, that this was done with great labour, by 

 the assistance only of sharp stones ; which, before the invention of iron, or 



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