By the Rev. W. C. LuJcis. 153 



supports and cap-stones of ours are tolerably flat, they are so either 

 naturally, or by having had their uneven surfaces slightly worked 

 down ; but as a rule they present a decidedly irregular appearance. 

 " The stones are usually joined as close together as their shape will 

 permit, for they seldom present any traces of having been squared 

 with a tool/' (Celt, Roman and Saxon, p. 52.) The supports do 

 not fit well together, and the gaps are filled in with smaller stones 

 to keep back the earth ; and the same thing is done with the 

 interstices between the covering stones. 



There is another point to be noticed in the construction of these 

 Danish sepulchral monuments which exhibits a feature common to 

 those in our Islands but uncommon in Brittany. You will recollect 

 that Mr. Worsaae mentioned a circle of stones as surrounding the 

 mound on which the cromlech was situated. This is a feature 

 with which we are familiar, but it is not common in Brittany. 

 Dr. Fouquet describes a Dolmen near Kerfily, which has a circle 

 of stones round it, and remarks : " Ce Dolmen est entoure de Men- 

 hirs formant un cromlech, ce qui est un fait rare dans le Morbihan." 

 [This Dolmen is surrounded by Menhirs, composing a cromlech, 

 a rare occurrence in the Morbihan,] p. 55. The only other 

 instance in the Morbihan, which he mentions, is at Ville-au-Yoyer, 

 p. 74. 



Another point which must be touched upon in connection with 

 them is, that these chambers had covered ways or alleys leading 

 from the outside of the mound into the inner chambers. 1 This 

 would be unnecessary in the case of the Danish cromlech, perched 

 upon the top of the mound, which was always easily accessible, but 

 would be absolutely essential in the case of the giants' chambers or 

 larger cromlechs, buried deeply in the tumulus. The former was 

 probably the tomb of only one or two individuals, whereas the 

 latter was the sepulchre of a family or tribe, and was very fre- 

 quently opened to receive the ashes of the dead. In the large 

 cromlech at L'ancresse in Guernsey there were two distinct layers 

 of interment, and as many as 100 persons, men, women and chil- 

 dren, had been buried. This cromlech contained also about 150 



1 See Plates. 



o 2 



