18 Mr. H. C. Lmvlor on 



hard till and those that lie only on the surface. The original 

 supporting stones are all set on the hard till. One very large 

 stone stands u])right, leaning against the main structure on the 

 north side, but it is not set on the till. There can therefore be 

 no doubt that it was originally a second top stone of the crom- 

 lech itself, fallen down through original faulty erection, or more 

 probably by the action of modern destructive hands. 



The earliest known description of this cromlecli is that in 

 Harris County Doivn, published in 1744. If his description is 

 correct, the monument has suffered much since then. He says : 

 " It consists of one huge upper stone, almost I'ound, 7ft. lin. by 

 6ft. llins. ; two ranges of rude pillars support it, each consisting 

 of seven, and round it at about 4 feet distant are several fixed 

 stones not above two feet high." 



The possibility of the correctness of Harris' account has been 

 called in question by a writer in the Dublin Penny Journal as 

 long ago as 1834. Mr. Borlase thinks that Harris' account was 

 probably correct, and that the outer ring has been removed for 

 building stone. The removal of these seven stones of the outer 

 ring might account for the fall of the second top stone now lying 

 on its edge on the surface of the top ground ; but Harris men- 

 tions only one top stone, the one that still remains in its place. 

 It rests actually on three stones, not on seven, though there are 

 seven upright stones besides the fallen top stone. The " several 

 fixed stones " (now two in number) ' not above two feet high at 

 about four feet distance" are still there. Now the nearest one 

 of these to the uprights of the cromlech is only 2ft. Gin. there- 

 from, whereas Harris says 4 feet from the alleged outer row of 

 seven stones. Had there been such second or outer row of seven 

 stones they would actually have touched this smaller stone, not been 

 4 feet from it as Harris states. Had builders come to quarry 

 stones for their work from the cromlech it is inconceivable that 

 they would not have first taken these two comparatively small 

 outlying stones which could be easily lifted ; as the monument 

 now stands, and as it appears to have stood in Duberdieu's time. 



