Cooke — Antiquarian Remains in Beaufort District, Kerry. 11 



water of which cures, lies some yards further on in the bottom of the 

 ditch, on the right-hand side, with rags hung about, where prayers 

 are also said. ^Notwithstanding the long spell of dry weather pre- 

 cediDg my visit, both the stones had water in them, received from the 

 droppings off the bank and bushes above, and to which due supeisti- 

 tion is attached. That the stones are never without water is due to 

 the fact of their being set well into the banks and practically covered, 

 so that there is very little evaporation from them. 



lifscRiBED Stones near Glencar (0. S. 72). — In Shanacashel 

 townland, about 200 yards from the cross-roads, on the right of the 

 road from Glencar to Killorglin, within the fields at a spot called 

 Knocknamorriv ('the hill of the dead'), are three inscribed stones. 

 As far as I know they had not been noticed up to the time of my 

 visit, and the peasantry generally were not aware of their existence. 

 They lie at the back of a ditch in one of the fields, and consist of the 

 purple grit common in the district. Stone A (Plate III., fig. 2) is 

 rudely rectangular, and measures 19 inches by 15 inches. The special 

 feature is the radiating lines from the concentric circles on the top 

 corner ; and the scribing as a whole resembles a rough map or plan of 

 a district. The rectangular figures are a familiar pattern on other 

 inscribed stones. 



Stone B (Plate III., fig. 3) is a coffin-shaped block with a nice 

 example of the dumb-bell circular ornament ; the stone measures 51 

 inches by 21 inches. Stone C (Plate IV., fig. 1) is more elaborately 

 carved, but the face of it has much weathered ; it measures 48 inches 

 by 16 inches. The ornament combines the concentric circles and the 

 rectangular patterns of the other stones. I have examined most of 

 the illustrations already published of the Irish inscribed stones, and 

 made some comparisons ; but anything I could now say would only 

 be in the nature of speculation, and I must content myself with sub- 

 mitting the rubbings and drawings of the Gortboyand the other stones 

 with the concise description here given. 



I could get no explanation locally of the origin of the name of the 

 spot ; the ground about is barren, and very poor, and plenty of loose 

 stones lie on the surface; but in the examination I gave of it — not a 

 thorough one — I could not see any signs of battle burials. I found 

 cashels, clochauns, souterrains, and standing stones in the immediate 

 neighbourhood; so that the existence of these inscribed stones is easily 

 explained from the evidence of a people dwelling here in primiti\ e 

 times. I shall not touch upon these remains, as I have not completed 

 my investigations in regard to them. 



