250 



[Proc. B.N.F.C., 



Sufficient time having been allowed for investigation and 

 collection, the party next proceeded to Newgrange Tumulus, the 

 largest of the sepulchral barrows, of which no fewer than seven- 

 teen are to be found at Brugh-na-Boinne, the great burying-ground 

 of the Kings of Tara. Before entering the tumulus Mr. Fennell 

 gave a rapid survey of its main features. He said the tumulus of 

 Newgrange, for extraordinary size and elaborate ornamentation, 

 was perhaps unsurpassed in Europe. An enormous cairn of 

 stones, now covered with grass and trees, formed the mound, 

 which was originally surrounded by a circle of huge standing 

 stones, of which twelve remained. Special attention was drawn 

 to the wonderful carvings on the stones at the entrance to the 

 tumulus, probably amongst the very earliest examples of that 

 ornament, from which eventually evolved the elaborate interlaced 

 and trumpet patterns so characteristic of Celtic decorative art. 



The interior of the tumulus was next inspected. Candles 

 were lit, and science once more claimed its martyrs as a somewhat 

 undignified procession struggled up the low narrow passage for 

 about seventy feet, until the inner chamber was reached. Here 

 brilliant coloured lights enabled all to inspect the details of the 

 central chamber, with its domed roof of huge overlapping stone 

 slabs, its three recesses, and its marvellous carvings. These 

 consist of coils, spirals, lozenges, and, in the western recess, one 

 peculiar design evidently intended for a fern. 



The party next drove to Mellifont Abbey, where time was 

 allowed for lunch, and Mr. Fennell then conducted the party over 

 the ruins, giving a description of the structure. Mellifont, he 

 said, was the first Cistercian monastery founded in Ireland. 

 Its architecture belonged to the transition period between 

 Norman and Early English Gothic, and showed a blending of the 

 characteristics of both styles, the rounded Norman arch being 

 seen in conjunction with such Early English details as bold 

 mouldings with equally bold hollows, giving strong light and 

 shade, filleted mouldings, " tooth " ornament, &c. Perhaps the 



