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crows to turn it. When the flag was turned there was a large hollow space, the bottom being filled with burned bones-from the large size I conceive mostly of animals." Subsequently, Mr. Smith having proceeded to his residence in Scotland, operations ceased; returning, however, to Ballykealy, in December, he commenced work again, and chronicles his diggings as follows:

"December 20.-Began digging at the north side of the rath, where most of the urns were found in June and July last; the ground appeared to have been moved before, and nothing worthy of notice was found.

“21st December.-Discovered the remains of a small fire.

"22nd December.-Same negative result from a deep digging lower down.

"23rd December.-Tried the west, or upper side of the rath, and soon found traces of great fires, and two very deep pits. The charcoal lay in deep beds; we found an urn seven inches high, of a curious pattern, and ornamented by six raised hoops. It was in a very soft state, and differed from the others in having been embedded in charcoal instead of fine sand.

"24th December.-Proceeded with the excavation, which was carried to a depth of five feet; found many more pits, with many bones and deep beds of charcoal-no urns.

"2nd January, 1854.-Resumed diggings, charcoal still abundant; in the afternoon found the rim of an urn of a very handsome pattern. It stood reversed, but that portion of it which had been uppermost was gone; as the rim seems too solid to have decayed away, this interment was probably disturbed before. The part of the urn, which remained, was filled with large bones and charcoal.

"3rd January. Still found traces of great fires, with deep pits, which may have served either for burning human bodies, or sacrifices, or perhaps both. Early in the day a rotten fragment of an urn was found near the surface; in the afternoon a very large fictile vessel was discovered beneath the roots of a fir tree, which had grown completely through it in every direction; got the tree taken down, and filled a large tray with the fragments of the urn, which are in too mutilated a condition to be ever put together; but there can be no doubt it was the largest yet found.

"4th January.-Charcoal and pits-no urns.

"9th January. Commenced digging again at the upper side of the rath—found a large cist most carefully built, and covered with a flag. The cist contained only large bones and charcoal. Replaced the covering flag.

"10th January.-Traces of fires.

11th January.-Fires and pits-but no urns. I have formed the idea (judging from the quantity of charcoal found, together with pits, and cists full of the bones of animals and birds, with no human remains distinguishable) that a large number of the cists contained

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