Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 3.djvu/185

Rh est, on one occasion that the three kings, Amlaff, Imar, and Auisle, were plundering the territory of Flann the son of Conaing."—Eccl. Architecture of Ireland, &c., p. 102.

I regret to state that shortly after the discovery of the tumulus at Cuff- borough, some persons proceeded to excavate beneath the upright stones which formed the base of the chamber, in search of that much desired object, 'a crock of gold,' by which the entire structure was reduced to an undistinguishable mass of ruin; and the very stones are, I believe, now removed. But in order that so interesting an example of ancient Irish pagan sepulture may not be lost, I trust that this hurried notice of it may be deemed worthy of a place in the pages of the Archæological Journal."

Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., communicated the following note on the discovery of a sepulchral urn in a tumulus on Delamere Forest, Cheshire.

"In Ormerod's History of Cheshire the following description is given of a group of tumuli on Delamere Forest:—

'A mile south-east of the foot of the hill, (of Eddisbury,) at the lower end of a small natural lake called Fish Pool, are the tumuli known by the name of the Seven Lows, undoubtedly the ' Loos' alluded to by Leland as the marks of 'men of warre,' and much spoken of in his time. They are ranged in a form nearly semicircular, and are of different sizes, varying in diameter at the base from 105 to 40 feet.' In a note at the foot of the page the measurements are detailed thus. 'Beginning at the highest tumulus in the annexed plan, and following the semicircle, the tumuli measure in diameter at the base 105, 45$1⁄2$, 40, 105, 66, 68 feet. The seventh has been carried away to form a road. The plans of these tumuli have been reduced from the great map of the forest, by permission of the commissioners.' The text continues ; 'One has been removed in the recent alterations on the forest, and another was opened at a former period, both of which were composed of the dry gravelly soil of the forest, and contained a black matter, similar to that which appeared on opening Castle Hill Cob.' The latter is a tumulus also on Delamere Forest, in connection with a second called Glead Hill Cob, and is stated to have contained 'a quantity of black soil, which might be supposed to be either animal matter, or produced by the effects of fire.' By an act of parliament, which received the royal assent June 9, 1812, two commissioners were appointed for allotting the waste lands on the forest, and that portion including the Seven Lows fell to my share. From that period until very recently the tumuli remained undisturbed; but, in February last, a tenant employed in cultivating the adjoining land, being in want of materials to level an old road, opened for that purpose the tumulus referred to in Ormerod's plan as No. 6. On digging into it he found, that so far from being composed of the 'dry gravelly soil of the forest,' as the others were, with the exception of the superficial covering, it was composed entirely of fragments of the sandstone rock, derived apparently from an old quarry between the tumulus and the lake on its north, called Fish Pool. On my return from London some days