I88z-i8g3.] l8l 



ornamentation so conspicuous at New Grange and other 

 places. 



The Caltragh, or " Pagan burial-ground," is a large earthen 

 enclosure, said to be full of human bones, though no burial has 

 taken place there within the memory of tradition, which 

 nevertheless has given it this name. The people of the neigh- 

 bourhood will permit none of their cattle of any sort to touch 

 a morsel of grass within this enclosure. It was suggested that 

 in all probability this marks the site where the common people 

 who fell in this great battle were promiscuously interred. The 

 circles, cromlech, and great cairn in like manner represent the 

 monumental burial places of the chiefs and mighty warriors 

 who fell in that eventful contest. The Irish, or Celtic, name of 

 these monuments — " Leaba-na-Ffian '' — confirms the narrative 

 of the early MSS., its meaning being the grave, or bed, of the 

 warriors. The opinions of Mr. Fergusson, in his work on the 

 rude stone monuments of all ages, were quoted by the lecturer, 

 and his conclusions were endorsed — viz., that the battle of 

 Northern Moytura was fought about the year 30 B.C. The 

 lecture was profusely illustrated by drawings of the cromlechs, 

 circles, &c., made recently on the spot by the lecturer. 



In the discussion which followed, Canon Grainger and others 

 took exception to Mr. Fergusson's and the lecturer's theory 

 that Moytura and other events recorded in the Irish MSS. 

 were of so late a date as near the Christian era, whilst other 

 gentlemen maintained that a cautious scepticism was the right 

 spirit in which to deal with Irish traditions. Whatever opinion 

 on this head may ultimately prevail, it is much to be regretted 

 that these wonderful relics, to be matched perhaps in no other 

 place than Carnac in Brittany, cannot be at once placed under 

 the protection of Sir John Lubbock's Ancient Monuments 

 Act. If this is not done their ultimate fate is only a question 

 of a few short years. 



The fifth ordinary meeting of the society was held in 

 the Museum, College Square, on Tuesday, 20th February — 



