247 



Boyne below the bridge, towards the sea, which left that 

 part of the river above the bridge, towards Oldbridge, quite 

 dry. At this part (in the Summer of 1837), the boat, the 

 subject of the present notice, was found by some workmen 

 who were engaged taking gravel from the river, close by the 

 obelisk erected to commemorate the battle fought between 

 James the Second and William the Third, about two miles 

 from the town of Drogheda. 



Its extreme length is eighteen feet nine inches, and 

 breadth two feet eight inches, tapering to a breadth of four- 

 teen inches at the back, and to nine inches in the front, being 

 flattened at either end ; no oars seem to have been used in 

 propelling it, there being no marks on the sides, or places for 

 dowells used in modern boats to secure the oars, but at either 

 end a groove is perceptible where oars were placed to steer 

 or scull with. Paddles may have been used in the same 

 manner as the Indians manage their canoes. Some of the 

 paddles have been found, but they are of a very rough kind, 

 having the appearance of the branch of a tree, feathei'ed at 

 one end, without any attempt at shape. 



Along with this cott was found what I shall call an 

 anchor ; it is four feet in length, and three feet across, having 

 two arms, to one of which a rope was attached to secure the 

 boat. 



The Royal Dublin Society have one of those ancient cotts 

 in their possession, which differs from that now described in 

 shape and size ; the cott found at Drogheda being flattened 

 at both ends, whilst that belonging to the Dublin Society has 

 one end flat and the other pointed, being of the shape of a 

 modern boat. Its length is twenty-one feet two inches, breadth 

 one foot, and depth ten inches ; being scarcely sufficient 

 for a person to sit in. There is no keel to either of the 

 boats. 



Another was found lately in a bog, on the estate of Sir 

 Charles Kennedy, in the county of Waterford ; it is only 



