Burial Customs of Ancient Ireland. 51 



Ireland. The other celebrated cemeteries were referred to — 

 ^Enach Ailbhe, yEnach Culi, ^Enach Colmain, and Teamhair 

 Erann. Killeen Cormac was referred to, and a photograph 

 shown of it. Here the first Ogham stone with a bilingual in- 

 scription was found. 



There were three principal modes of burying the dead in 

 Pagan times. First, cremation. After the body had been 

 burned on a funeral pile, the calcined bones and ashes were 

 collected, and placed in an urn of either stone or baked clay. 

 This urn was deposited in a small stone cist or chamber, formed 

 in the ground by flagstones set on end, and covered across the 

 top with another flag, and earth piled over all. Second, simple 

 burial or interment in the earth. A grave large enough 

 to hold the body was dug. The sides of the grave were 

 protected by stones placed on edge or a wall built of dry 

 masonry, and covered across the top by one or more stones. 

 The third mode was rather exceptional ; the body, armed as in 

 life, was placed in a standing or sitting position on the ground, 

 or in a chamber or cist, over which a cairn of stones or earth was 

 heaped. Cremation was referred to, and cemeteries exclusively 

 devoted to bodies which had been cremated were mentioned, as 

 at Ballonhill, in County Carlow, and Drumnakilly, near Omagh. 

 A photo was shown of an urn found in the latter place, once 

 in Mr. Milligan's possession, but which had unfortunately got 

 broken. It is said to be one of the finest ever found in Ireland. 



With one exception, there is no mention of cremation in 

 any of our ancient manuscripts, though urns containing cal- 

 cined human bones have been found in great numbers in every 

 part of Ireland. A report of the recent find of an urn near the 

 Belfast Waterworks, at Woodburn, was given. It was from a 

 description supplied by Mr. George Reilly. The urn was 

 found in a stone cist, covered by a large flagstone. It was 

 placed mouth upwards, and contained ashes and calcined 

 bones, which were shown. The customs connected with cre- 

 mation in ancient Greece were referred to, and from the fact 

 that many of the other social customs were so similar to the 



