| We returned to Tralee by a different road, which is shorter, though not so picturesque as that by Connor hill. Soon after leaving the town of Dingle, we stopped to see some Ogham stones which were pointed out to us in a field opposite Mr. Hickson's residence. <br>Some are placed near an old burial-ground, and two lie close to a ditch in the field. They differ from those we had already seen, inasmuch as the stones are perfectly smooth and round at the extremities, like a large risolle or flattened bolster. I copied the inscriptions of two; the stones are about two feet, ten inches and a half in length; the circumference at the centre, three feet one inch. <br>The characters are very perfect, and one of these would be an excellent specimen for a museum; there are, I think, seven or eight stones with inscriptions, one having a cross; and some others similar in shape, but without inscriptions.<br>[p. 226] This is the second time we have found a cross on the same stone with the Ogham characters. At first sight this seems inconsistent with the received opinion, which gives to these inscriptions an antiquity far more remote than the Christian era. Some learned antiquarians at Cork have removed this difficulty by suggesting that the crosses were probably added at a later period, when the stones were accidentally made use of at a Christian burial: the rude execution of these crosses, as compared with the inscription, seems to justify this idea. <br>Near the sea, on what is called "Trabeg," or "the short strand," are some stones similarly [p. 227] inscribed. A sketch of one of them is here given. <br> Mr. Windle, of Cork, who has bestowed much attention on the study of the Ogham character, supposes the translation of the inscription to be <br>"Brus-gus the king's son was lost in the sea."* <br> […] <br>[Footnote] *On my return to Cork I was glad to find that Messrs. Horogan, Windle, and Abel had lately made an accurate inspection of the antiquities of this part of Kerry. I hope that the interesting researches of these learned antiquaries will shortly be given to the public. [Vol. 1, p. 225-227] |
