ScHAEFF — On the Irish Horse and its Early History. 83 



as described by Mr. Coffey, all point to the remains having belonged to 

 domesticated horses. 



The feature in which the Crannog skulls resemble those of the modern 

 Arab horse are that the eye-sockets are directed forward, not sideways as in 

 the large occidental races, that the basilar length is considerably under 

 500 mm., and that they belong to what Professor Nehring called the "broad- 

 fronted type."^ 



One of the most striking characters by means of which the oriental and 

 occidental horses can be distinguished from one another is, according to 

 Professor Nehring, the proportion between the width of the forehead and the 

 base of the skull. The eastern races, in which this proportion is low, he called 

 " broad-fronted." The western, in which this same proportion or index is 

 high, are styled "narrow-fronted." 



All the Crannog skulls except one, as will be noticed from the subjoined 

 table of measurements, are broad-fronted. One of the skulls has a high 

 index (2'48), owing to the fact that the horse to which it belonged had an 

 exceptionally long snout. This feature increases the length of the base of 

 the skull, and raises the proportion beyond the normal standard. Otherwise 

 this skull has all the distinguishing characters of the Crannog horses, and 

 differs from those of the occidental type. In the slenderness of their bones, 

 as well as in height, these Irish horses resembled the Arab race of horses 

 more than they do the large heavy varieties which we meet with in western 

 Europe at the present day. According to my calculations, the Irish Crannog 

 horses measured from 52-56 inches at the shoulder; that is to say, they were 

 from 13 to 14 hands high. They were therefore somewhat smaller than the 

 modern Arab, which grows to a height of from 56 to 62 inches. 



It is of interest to note that the Irish Crannog skulls nearly approximate 

 to the one which was obtained from the celebrated lake-dwellings of La T^ne 

 in Switzerland. The latter are generally considered to be of pre-Christian 

 age. The Swiss skull has nearly the same length and breadth as one of the 

 Irish Crannog skulls. The proportions in the two are almost identical, and 

 Professor Marek has already dwelt upon the resemblance of the La Tene 

 skull to those of the modern Arab horses.'^ Hence we have had horses of the 

 same type in Switzerland in pre-Christian and in Ireland in early Christian 

 times. All these were no doubt domesticated forms. 



Of the existence in Ireland of the domestic horse in pre-Christian times 



1 Nehring, A.: " Fossile Pferde aus den deutschen Diluvialablagerungen." Landwirth- 

 schaftl. Jahibiicher, 1884. 



* Marek, Joseph : " Das helvetisch-gallische Pferd." Abhandl. schweiz. palaontol. Gesellsch.^ 

 vol. XXV., 1898. 



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