Coffey — Cairn Excavated on Belmore Mountain. 663 



the lower one. The lower chamber contained a human skull placed 

 on its base, and some other human bones, unburnt, but apparently not 

 a whole skeleton. Along with the human bones were bones of deer, 

 pig, rabbit, and some bird. Also several remarkably large boars' 

 tusks (see fig. 3), and a few sea shells. 



" The upper chamber contained an urn (figure 4), and burnt bones. 

 '^0 burnt bones were, however, found in the urn. No beads, flints, or 

 other objects were found with this interment. The urn has lost the 

 bottom, but it was little deeper than shown, as the beginning of the 

 turn of the bottom can be seen at one place on the inside. 



" Outside the lef tarm in the outer angle, between it and the head 

 chamber, a rude secondary chamber was 

 found, constructed as a lean-to, formed by 

 a slab leaning towards the side stones of the 

 left arm chamber, and closed at the top by a 

 smaller stone (see plan). In this chamber 

 were found a second human skull placed, 

 like the first, on its base, and human bones, 

 also animal bones similar to those with the previous skull, including 

 some large tusks of the boar. 



" The chambers at the head of the passage and at the right-hand 

 side, as already mentioned, contains nothing but burnt bones. Just as 

 the head chamber was uncovered the stones fell down from the face of 

 the cutting, and disclosed a well-formed cist in the face of the cutting 

 near the top of the mound (see section, fig. 1). Its dimensions were 

 2 feet 4 inches long by 1 foot 8 inches at the wider end (the east), 

 and 1 foot at the narrower end. It lay east and west. The cist 

 contained burnt bones, and in the right hand corner at the east end 

 was found a richly decorated bowl-shaped urn (fig. 5 ). No burnt 

 bones were found in the urn, but in the bottom of the vessel was a 

 greasy, black, pasty substance. 



" It is interesting to note that the excavation showed that the peat 

 had grown over the cairn to a depth of five feet at one side, and was 

 of a dark compact appearance. Underneath the peat that covers the 

 mountain, limestone boulders abound, but the peat on the knoll where 

 the cairn is placed is not deeper than on the cairn itself, from which it 

 may be inferred that the peat has been formed since the eairu was 

 erected." 



Unfortunately on the day the skulls were discovered, Mr. Plunkctt 

 took a severe chill and had to leave the mountain. The skulls 

 were left behind, and when some days afterwards he returned only 



