Macalistek — Temait Breg : Remains and Traditions of Tarn. :j80 



had not prejudiced us) to put its date back to the neighbourhood of the 

 dolmen-building period; that is, to about the time of the overlap between tin- 

 stone and the Bronze Ages. The axes depicted on its walls are of the flal 

 variety, which would accord with this early dating. The axes sculptured in 

 certain analogous buildings in Brittany are likewise of early type. These 

 indications incline me to put the date of New Grange back to the beginning 

 of the Bronze Age — say about 2000 — 1S00 B.C. And if the origin of Teinair 

 be as closely bound up with New Grange as I have endeavoured to prove, 

 that will also be the approximate date of the beginning of the sanctuary on 

 the Bidge. 



Certain gold ornaments alleged to have been found at the entrance to 

 New Grange, and at one time in the Londesborough collection, would seem 

 to be contradictory of this conclusion. 1 It is natural at first sight to regard 

 these as part of the loot, accidentally dropped by the Scandinavian plunderers 

 of New Grange in the year 862 a.d. But the nature of the collection makes 

 any such interpretation impossible. The objects could not have been associated 

 together; they consist of two late Bronze-Age torques, a gold chain that 

 might possibly be Middle La Tene (probably much later), and a couple of 

 mediaeval finger-rings. At the time when these objects were bought by 

 Lord Londesborough, the country was still excited over the Clare gold-find, 

 and everyone was suspicious of his fellow— so much so, that statements then 

 made about the provenance of gold objects are presumptive evidence that 

 they came from some totally different place. The Londesborough " hoard " is 

 clearly a dealer's "job lot," said to have come from New Grange in order to 

 invest them with additional interest, and to cover the tracks of the finder or 

 finders; and they have no bearing on the problems of the tumulus itself. 



The relation between New Grange and the neighbouring tumuli of Dowth 

 and Knowth is a question on which there is as yet very little to say, When- 

 ever it becomes possible to penetrate into the arcana of the last-named hill it 

 may be that light will be found. The exposure of the great stones mi the 

 outer kerb of New Grange is also desirable, as these are probably sculptured. 

 The fact that the chambers at Dowth are throughout megalithie in con- 

 struction prevents us from asserting with over-excessive dogmatism what at 

 first sight would appear the most probable theory, that Dowth was a later 

 imitation of New Grange. The strongest argument for this view lies in the 

 fact that the spirals of New Grange have in Dowth met with the usual fate 

 of the spiral motive, and have broken down into concentric circles. But here 



1 They are figured in Arehaeolngui, xxx, plate xii, .-mil also in l.nnt [jondesborough's 



I\n>irll<in?tt Graphica, 



