TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION D. — DEPT. ANTHROPOLOGY. 629 



a service on Sunday. If there had been no other satisfaction to me in this, the 

 evidence that this mound was artificially constructed, and not a natural formation, 

 as shown hy the cutting made into it, would have been great. The place where 

 these cries are mostly practised has most remarkable sculptures of serpents, which 

 I had photographed, and now produce. 



' After the burning of the pine a rush is made by the more powerful and the 

 burning embers carried oif in their hands, regardless of pain. Pieces are then dis- 

 tributed to eA-ery household, and kept religiously during the year, as was the custom 

 with the Ancient Britons.' 



The author then illustrated, by diagrams, the course of the introduction of 

 dragon worship into Europe. 



6. On Anthropological Colour Phenomena in Belgium and elsetvhere. 

 By J. Beddoe, M.D., F.U.S. 



In Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium, through governmental assistance, the 

 colours of the eyes and hair of all the children in the primary schools have been 

 observed and tabulated. The writer is very desirous that our own officials should 

 lend similar assistance to the Anthropometric Committee of this Associatif)n. The 

 results hitherto obtained have been of considerable importance, and those for 

 Belgium are well shown in the monograph and maps of Professor Vauderkindere. 

 These bring out a remarkable contrast between the Flemish and the Walloon pro- 

 vinces of Belgium, and tend strongly to prove the persistently hereditary character 

 of even such physical characters as the colour of the hair and of the iris. 



7. On the Pre-Gymrio Epoch in Wales. By Hyde Claeke, V.P.A.I. 



As existing materials for this epoch, the author eniunerated river names, place 

 names, record of the Silures, present ethnology, monuments, mythology, and folk- 

 lore. He observed, as to river names, that a fundamental error was to regard all river 

 names as Celtic, while as concerns the great rivers the names must belong to the 

 preceding epoch. Such names as Thames and Shannon are to be found in the old 

 and new world, and must consequently have been given by the pioneers of civilisa- 

 tion. Sabrina (the Severn) was illustrated by Siberis of Asia Minor, Sybaris and 

 Tiberis of Italy, Iberus, Abarus, Hebrus, KhalDoras. For the Tuerobis or Tivy of 

 Wales, and the Ravius of Sligo Bay, parallels were also given. The root of Britannia 

 and Sardinia, RDN, coincided with an extensive river series, Rhodanus, &c. He 

 recommended the collection of all Welsh and Irish place-names, and their classified 

 analysis. The Silures he regarded as belonging to the Iberians rather than to the 

 Basques. To the earlj' cultured population he assigned the Silures, the Veneti of 

 Britanuy, and possibly the Belgi, Verulanium, Camnlodunum, Cunobulinus, &c., 

 appeared to be Turanium names. He looked for survivals of ancient populations in 

 Wales and Ireland, and recalled attention to the observations of Dr. Beddoe, F.R.S., 

 as to obliquity of eyelid in South Wales. The discovery of Professor Rhys as to the 

 god Nodent, Sec. being Turanian and not Celtic, he supported. Mr. Clarke stated 

 that the word Druid came from the same linguistic elements, and stated that their 

 priesthood assimilated rather to the Egyptian, Brahmin, and Etruscan than to the 

 Roman priesthood. The incidents of the mythology of Britain he considered to be 

 of this class, and not Phoenician, which was itself of the common stock. The de- 

 sirability of studying the folk-lore of Wales and the other Celtic countries, under 

 this aspect, he pointed out, for many of the Welsh legends had been identified as 

 members of the general folklore of antiquity. 



