452 



above, the workmen came on pieces of carbon and unglazed pottery ; 

 and from thence to the level of the soil, on scattered beads of jasper and 

 agate. At 30 feet from the summit the great stones of the central 

 chamber were encountered. An opening having been effected by the 

 falling in of one of the covering stones, an interior of 13 feet 

 by 9, and about 5 feet high, was disclosed. There is no external 

 gallery, the chamber resembling, in this respect, that of the Butte de 

 Tumiac in the same neighbourhood. "Within were found the following 

 objects :— 



93 stone hatchets in h.dxdi tremoUth ; 11 ditto in jade, each broken 

 in two or more fragments — one of the extraordinary length of 18 inches ; 

 9 beads in jasper, some as large as hen eggs; 2 perfect jade hatchets, 

 one white, the other green, of beautiful finish, and 13 inches long; an 

 annular disk, or flat oval ring of jade, 5*3 inches in major, by 4-9 inches 

 in minor diameter, slightly cambered or dished in the direction of the 

 minor axis. It occupied the centre of the chamber, lying with its 

 major axis in the line of north and south, being the line of the diagonal 

 of the chamber. The small end of the green jade hatchet rested on 

 the ring, and with the white jade hatchet and some of the jasper 

 beads appeared to have been carefully placed in the same line. The 

 other objects were imbedded in earthy matter covering the floor to a 

 depth of about 18 inches, but no trace of bones or animal remains could 

 be discovered. 



i^either does any sculpture appear on the stones of the chamber ; 

 but outside, in the position of a bar laid flat among the stones closing 

 the entrance at the northern end, was discovered the very remarkable in- 

 scribed stone figured in Plate XXIY . This stone has been broken in four 

 pieces, probably by the weight of the superincumbent mass ; and one 

 small fragment is unfortunately missing. It is a rude parallelopiped of 

 granite, measuring 3 feet 9 inches in length, by 1 7 inches in breadth, 

 and 7 inches in thickness. It lay with the inscribed face under. The 

 sides had been wrought parallel by the hand, but the inscribed surface 

 is in the natural state. The writer has been furnished with a rubbing 

 and photograph, from which the plate has been carefully designed. 



The first consideration arising on the view of this remarkable ana- 

 glyph is the employment of the cartoiicfte-likQ panel occupying the centre 

 of the group. In respect to this object, the writer submits,— 



First. — That it is not itself a character, but is designed to represent a 

 shield. This conclusion arises from an examination of other objects 

 sculptured on similar stone monuments of the neighbourhood, hitherto 

 inedited or imperfectly represented. The first of these (Plate XXY.), 

 hitherto unnoticed, is from one of the parietal supports of the corridor 

 leading to the sepulchral chamber of the tumulus, on the Isle Longue, in 

 the Morbihan Sea. This seems evidently meant as the outline of a shield, 

 the rings at either side representing the arm-holds in imperfect perspec- 

 tive. The ogee form of the upper part, and the symmetrical contraction 

 or gathering-in of the panel at the springing of the curve, are features 

 to be specially noticed. The external ornamentation, giving the effect 



