Moss — On the Exploration of Ballyhetagh Bog. 547 



XLYII. — Report oif the Exploeatton op Balltbetagh Bog. By 

 BiCHAUD J. Moss, Keeper of the Minerals, Boyal Dublin Society. 



[Eead April 10, 1876.] 



About thirty years ago the late Mr. Sigismiind Moss, of Kilternan, 

 discovered an extensive deposit of the remains of the Cervus Mega- 

 ceros, in a cutting which was made through the boggy land on the 

 south side of Ballybetagh House, in the parish of Kilternan, county 

 Dublin. In addition to the great horned deer, only one other animal, 

 the reindeer (Cervus tarandus), was represented amongst the remains 

 found. The fine specimen of the horns of this animal discovered on 

 this occasion is now in the Museum of the Boyal Dublin Society. The 

 cutting in which these remains were discovered was made for the pur- 

 pose of turning the water of the spring known as the White Well, 

 into the stream that flows through Kilternan, and not with any scien- 

 tific object; and thus it happened that no accurate account of the dis- 

 covery has been published, and therefore it has had but little scientific 

 value. Professor A. Leith Adams and I visited the locality early last 

 summer, and at his suggestion I undertook to re-investigate the matter 

 in conjunction with Dr. Carte, of the Boyal Dublin Society. The 

 ground being in the possession of the Rev. Mr. 0' Sullivan, of Leopards- 

 town, we applied to him for permission to conduct the investigation. 

 This he most liberally granted, and I take tlris opportunity of express- 

 ing our thanks to him. 



Ballybetagh Bog lies at the bottom of a glen, between two hills, 

 running almost due south from Ballybetagh House. The lower of the 

 two hills is on the east side of the glen ; it is 700 feet above the sea 

 level, and about 100 feet above the bottom of the glen. The hill on 

 the other side of the glen is one of the range of the Dublin mountains. 

 The rock of this district is granite, being part of that band of granite, 

 about five miles broad, which extends from the south coast of Dublin 

 bay, in a south-westerly direction, into the county Waterford. 



The first difficulty encountered was rather formidable, '^o trust- 

 worthy information could be obtained as to the precise spot in which the 

 remains had been found ; it might have been any place along a cut- 

 ting half a mile in length. The opinions of old residents in the 

 neighbourhood were obtained, but were very contradictory. K^ot 

 wishing to trust entirely to tradition or chance, I decided upon making 

 an attempt to probe the ground at different places along the sides of 

 the old drain. For this purpose I obtained an iron tube, twelve feet 

 in length by two inches in diameter ; it was longitudinally bisected, 

 the two halves being held together by end-pieces screwed on, while a 

 movable iron collar clasped the middle of the tube. The end-piece 

 was sharpened to enable it to be driven into the soft earth, this being 



