402 



Dr. Graves observed, that these stones formed a valuable 

 donation to their Museum. Mr. Hitchcock had before pre- 

 sented monuments of the same kind, but in the present case 

 he was a discoverer as well as a donor. Both these stones 

 had been found in the county of Kerry, and were well pre- 

 served. 



The inscription on the first of the monuments appeared 

 to contain two proper names. It commenced with the word 

 Curci, which Dr. Graves took to be the genitive case of the 

 proper name Core. It also bore a name beginning with 

 Mucoi (which appeared on a great number of these monu- 

 ments, — he should say, speaking from recollection, on as many 

 as six or eight of them), and which he took to be the name of a 

 tribe. The inscription was not altogether perfect, the very end 

 being broken off; but all the characters are exceedingly dis- 

 tinct. Core was a very well-known Irish name ; and although 

 the other name had not as yet been identified, he hoped to 

 ascertain what it was, by examining the pedigrees of the an- 

 cient tribes occupying the district in which the stone was 

 found. This stone, from its rudeness, might be supposed to 

 be a pagan monument ; but the other had two crosses upon 

 it, one at either side, thus supporting the opinion of those 

 who referred these inscriptions to the Christian period ; and in 

 particular he would notice in this monument the fact, that 

 so far from there being any ground for saying that the cross 

 could be more recent than the inscription, an unprejudiced 

 person, carefully examining the stone, might be disposed to 

 arrive at an exactly opposite conclusion. The inscription is, 

 on the whole, sharper than the cross; but Dr. Graves ex- 

 plained this by supposing, that while they were cut on the stone 

 at the same time, the cross has been worse preserved than the 

 Ogham strokes, because it was upon that face of the stone which 

 was in the direction of the cleavage — the effect of the action 

 of the weather being to cause the surface of the stone to scale 

 off; while the strokes which were cut across the grain were 



