Mooney. ] 258 (Oct. 19, 
which he found a bed of mould, and under this, some feet below the out- 
side foundation, was discovered lying prostrate, from E. to W., a human 
skeleton.’’* 
In this instance it seems there can be no question that the interment 
ras made at the same time that the building of the tower was begun. In 
some cases, however, the interment seems to hav been of secondary 
importance and rather accidental, and as before stated, the weight ot 
evidence is against the sepulchral theory. Might not the Ardmore 
remains be those of a victim sacrificed to the earth spirit to insure the 
stability of the structure? Such sacrifice in connection with the erection 
ot a new temple, bridge or fortress was one of the most widespread cus- 
toms of antiquity, the victim being generally walld up alive within the 
masonry. The practice—now changed into animal sacrifice—stil exists 
among the peasantry of Servia and other countries in Southeastern Europe, 
and some popular house-building ceremonies point to the former existence 
of a similar custom in Ireland. Human sacrifice was one of the most im- 
portant Druidic rites, and where would it seem more appropriate than in 
connection with the building of a Druidic temple ?+ 
In the ancient Irish Annals we find a number of interesting statements 
in connection with royal burial in the early part of the Christian era. 
Thus the corpse of King Dathi, before being consignd to the tomb, was 
placed upon a bier by his clansmen and carried to the front of the battle 
to inspire courage in themselves and terror in their enemies. A similar 
incident took place within more recent times in an encounter between the 
rival forces of O’ Neill and O’Donnell, subsequent to the Norman inva- 
sion. King Cormac Mac Art, who embraced Christianity long before the 
coming of Saint Patrick, is said to hav lost his life in consequence of the 
magic spels of the Druids, whose religion he had renounced. In his last 
moments he orderd that he should be buried at Ros-na-righ (now Rosna- 
ree in Meath) instead of with his royal predecessors at Brugh-na-Boinne, 
because the latter was a pagan cemetery. After his death his attendants, 
in despite of his injunctions, made three several attempts to convey his 
body to Brugh-na-Boinne, but were prevented each time by a sudden 
rising of the waters of the Boyne, until, regarding the occurrence as an 
omen, they finally dug his grave at Ros-na-Righ in accordance with his 
wishes. Laoghaire (Lairy or Leary), who ruled at Tara on the arrival of 
Saint Patrick in 432, was buried in a standing position in the outer ram- 
part of his fortress, with his weapons and war dres upon him, and with 
his face turnd southward toward his enemies, the Leinstermen. This 
brings forcibly to mind Catlin’s account of the burial of Blackbird, the 
great chief of the Omahas.} 
* Mr. and Mrs. 8. C. Hall, Ireland : Its Scenery, Character, etc., ii, 57 note, new ed. R. 
Worthington, importer, n. d. (written about 1850). On page 203, Volume iii, of the same 
work, it is stated that two skeletons were thus found in the tower. 
+See M. J. Walhouse, Some Vestiges of Girl Sacrifice, ete., in India and the East, Jour. 
Anth. Inst., xi, 415, London, 1882; F. 8. Krauss, Das Bauopfer bei den Stidslaven, Mit- 
theil. Anthrop. Gesell., xvii, 16, Wien, 1887. 
t George Catlin, North Am, Inds,, 3d ed., ii, 5, New York, 1°44. 
SN eee 
