Falkiner — Notes iqoon a Rath Souterrain at Gurteen. 213 



is covered by a mound of earth, but this, as well as the vallum, itself, 

 has in tbe course of ages lost much of its original height, the earth 

 of which both are mainly composed having been washed down and 

 their contour changed by the action of those various agencies ever at 

 work in denuding and obliterating ancient earthworks, especially by 

 the untiring continuous labours of that universal leveller the earth- 

 worm ; but when this rath was in its pristine condition, the vallum and 

 entrance passage leading to it probably presented a sharp and well- 

 defined outline both in plan and section. 



The entrance faces the east ; and the passage, which is 3 feet by 

 3 feet, runs in a straight direction for a distance of 17 feet, during 

 which it dips about one foot : here there is a step down of 10 inches, 

 and at the same time an elevation in the roof giving a clear height of 

 5 feet 10 inches — probably 6 feet originally. At this point the passage 

 takes a direction at right angles for a distance of 8 feet, at the further 

 end of which, and midway between floor and roof, there is a large flat 

 stone, roughly about 9 inches thick, forming a shelf 3 feet long, i.e. 

 from side to side of the passage — and 3 feet wide. 



Plate III. gives a fairly accurate idea of the interior of the souterrain 

 at this point. The opening upon the right represents the outer passage 

 17 feet from the entrance. Underneath the stone shelf is seen 

 the entrance to a passage 2^ feet by 2|- feet. The sides and roof 

 are composed of very large and rough unhewn stones. This passage 

 trends slightly to the right, and dips about 10 inches in its length 

 of 9 feet when it leads to No. 1 chamber of beehive shape built of 

 rough stones and closed at the apex by a large, roughly circular flag, 

 evidently about 3 feet in diameter. This chamber is 7 feet high 

 with a diameter of 9 feet at base. The doorway is formed of very 

 large rough stones, but the chamber itself, except in the lowest course, 

 is microlithic. 



E-eturning to what we shall call the ante-chamber : — The entrance 

 to the second passage is placed above the stone shelf to the left. This 

 entrance is 3 feet wide by 2^ feet high, but unfortunately the upper 

 flag-stone or lintel is broken in two at this point, and the passage is 

 rather blocked ; there is, however, sufficient room for a person of 

 average size to creep through. 



This, I may mention, is the only failure in this ancient building, 

 as from the outer entrance throughout all the ramifications of the 

 souterrain the stones are evidently in their original positions. This 

 passage narrows to 2^ feet wide within a few feet of the entrance, 

 and running in a westerly direction for 12 feet, on the left side we 



Q, 2 



