160 Silhury. 



particulars I could glean, and especially the exact position, with 

 reference to the points of the compass, of the chambers and gallery, 

 because I am not without hopes that they may hereafter be useful 

 to some future investigators of Silbury which perhaps may be 

 found to contain similar treasures. 



The next great mound to which I wish to direct attention, and 

 this too externally bearing an exact resemblance to Silbury, is the 

 largest of all the tumuli in Britany, the " Tumiac," situated at 

 the South of that Province, near the end of the promontory in 

 which Sazzeau is situated, and on the road to Arxon. It is about 

 280 feet in diameter, and 68 feet in height ; or, to speak more 

 accurately, it measured, according to the French style, 260 metres 

 in circumference, and 20 metres in height, the metre being, (as it 

 is almost needless to state) within a fraction of 40 inches English. 

 Up to 1853 it had baffled the curiosity of antiquaries no less than 

 Silbury has done to the present day, and then accident alone led 

 to the discovery of a large sepulchral chamber on one side, for there 

 was nothing to indicate the spot. This discovery took place in 

 July of that year, under the auspices of the Societe Polymatique, 

 who opened a gallery at the base of the mound due South, or rather 

 one point East of South. The entire mound proved to be composed 

 of small stones or large pebbles thrown together, and through 

 these the tunnel penetrated in a straight line running N.N.E. to 

 the distance of about 140 feet, and then reached a square chamber, 

 at a considerable distance from its centre, though far into the interior 

 of the mound. This chamber was formed of three large granite 

 pillars, placed sideways on a bed of stones supporting a large flat 

 slab of quartz which formed the roof of the cromlech. On the 

 sides of some of these stones, characters were to be traced, some- 

 what of a Syriac or Arabic form, though their meaning still re- 

 mains an enigma not to be deciphered : within the chamber, which 

 was exceedingly damp, the water continually dropping from the 

 upper stone, was found a layer of dark dust, evidentlj' the remains 

 of decomposed wood ; buried in which were 120 round beads, which 

 probably formed a necklace : and in another part about half that 

 number of larger round beads of jasper, which were supposed to 



