III.

OBSERVATIONS RESPECTING ARTICLES COLLECTED IN THE OUTER HEBRIDES, AND NOW PRESENTED TO THE MUSEUM. BY CAPTAIN . W F . THOMASL . , R.N., COBE. MEM. S.A. SCOT. No. 1. Cross-stone, Paib-le Taransay, Harris.—This stone, which is of syenite inche6 1 s i ,s long, 9| inches broad aboud an ,inche 3 t s thick. n incise a e fac Os on i ne d Latin cross e e shafinche0 th th 1 ; d s i t an s arms 6 inches in length. Both arms and the head of the cross are terminate y concavb d e semi-spherical depression r cupso s , aboue on t inc diameter n hi crose anglee a lik th eacth n s i i es f f d o ho scup an ; , forming a square of about 3 inches. This cross-stone had been used in building the tacksman's house at Paib-le, and was taken out and preserved when some alterations were made in the house. The tradition is, that the house was built out of t e ruinTaran'S th f o s s Chapel site f whico th ,e s stilhi l very distinct e hous therefors withiyardi th w t i f fe eo s; na e probable thacrosse th t - stone forme de furnitur parth f e chapelo t th f eo . Concernin t gTaranS , n2 116 PROCEEDING SOCIETE TH F F SO YO I kno moro wn e tha authorite n s saidth i tha n e o h ,t Usherf yo havo t , e bee bishona f Lismorepo , whic he eithe b plac y n Scotlani r ema r o d notee b Ireland o dt thas i islane t i th t; s namedi d afte sainte th r . suspicioA n has, however , miny arisem dn ni tha t Saint Taras nwa a lady; for, separated only by a trifling rivulet at Paib-le, are the ruins of another chapel dedicated to a saint, who, in the first impressions of Martin's book, is called St Che, but in subsequent editions St Keith. I am able to record, on the authority of Mr Macdonald, tacksman of Taransay, that the proper name is Che (pronounced very like cghay); and a competent Gaelic scholar is of opinion that Che and Keith are not synonymous. The singular legend recorded by Martin must be familiar to many; it e effec th shouln o t t ma tha burie groune e s di o b th n t n di d consecrated to St Taran, nor a woman in that consecrated to St Che, or the corpse woul foune db d abovinterreds aftey wa e da t i grounr e .th n do Now, in an interesting little book called " Legends of Mount Lein- ster, Kennedyy "b I ,fin almosn da t similar tradition relate placa f o de called Temple-shambo, near Newton-Barry e countth n Wexfordf i ,yo . The hero, Cathal, out of gratitude for his victory over an Uile-bhiastor, monster, " intende Batd builo dt ol f Cromogeh o dchurca e th t t a h bu ; getting up one morning, after a dream he had had the night before, he followed a duck and mollard1 that flew before him, till they lit, one on eac he mountai th sid f o e n stream that flows through wha thes nwa ta rocky and bushy glen, but is ever since that time the churchyard of Temple-shambo. So he built a house for monks where the drake e othe th nune th alightedn rr o sside fo d . an , This passed about eight hundred years ago ; and of course the nuns' burying-place was on one side of the stream, and the monks kept to the side of the rising of the sun. Wel d goodan l ; after both buildings wen o decayt t r wero , e destroyed, still the country people kept laying their dead in the old way, and no womankind ever attempted to bury herself on the men's side." From t liberta thi e s b supposeo examplyt y ma e e,w thae origith t n of having distinct places of sepulture for the different sexes was the

anothen 1I sais booe ri havparo dth e t k h f eto followe drake a ducd a d kan . ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND. 117 same at Taransay as at Temple-shambo, and that a community of holy men dwelt on that side of the burn dedicated to St Che, and of holy women on that to St Taran.

Nos. 2 and 3 are fragments of stone dishes from a ruin at the Sands of Eath, Taransay. barA e sand-Mil, having its sides covered with looseg stonesdu s wa , expectatioe intth n oi findinf no Pict'a g s hous t provedi e; , howevero t , be only a sand-heap that a small ruin on the surface had kept from blowing, whil soie eth l (sand) surroundin beed ha n t g i excavate e th y db win brokee deptfeeta 0 2 Th o dt f .ho n dishes were lying about. These stone-dishe commoe sar n amon settle d ruine ol gth f sdo places, ane usuallar d y constan n character,—ai t n undressed slab, generally less tha feen2 t square whicin , concavita h is shapsizthe and e yeof of an ordinary soup platee founW .a broke d whee non n excavatinga Pict's house at Paib-le, Taransay, but it was too heavy for easy trans- port ; and I saw another at Mealista in Uig, Lewis. f theso e eus stone-dishe e th Wha s t verno wa ty s i apparents ; they are too heavy to be lifted without trouble, and the concavity is too small usefulle tob y employe holdinr dfo t thing no liquids ko d the I .y were the fonts of the early churches ; and the only plausible purpose I have heard assigne shellinr fo the o dt s mwa g barley. It is to be observed that similar stones, which my late respected friend, Mr R. Heddle, called corn-crushers, were sepultured in a remark- able manne a Pict' n i r s castl n Souti e h Eonaldshay, Orkneys. (See Archceologia, vol. xxxiv. p. 124.) But it is difficult to imagine that so bad a substitute for a mill would be in use, when a quern (parts of which are almost always turne p frou de oldes mth t dwellings) would have answere purpose dth muco es h better.

No. 4 is the lower stone of a snuff-mill; it was brought from Valtos in TJig, Lewisimilad an s; r instrument e still ar swerr o , e very latelyn i , use, abou inche9 t diametern si .

No. 5 is a double-pointed bone pin, found at the same place as the stone-dishe inche3 , 3) s s(Nosd longan 2 . . 118 PROCEEDING THF SO E SOCIETF YO No. 6 is another bone pin, with an eye at one end. It is from Paib-le, Taransay, and has been probably used at interment; 3J inches long. smala s i l7 bronz. No e buckle rathea f o , r unusual form, from Paib-le, Taransay, and, like Nos. 6 and 8, has formed part of the funeral trap- pingf placo somf t o observeso t e ou e e earlb ,t y no Christian y ma t I . intelligenn a remarke s t y Paib-lea b tha wa e n t i m t ma te o ,dt thath n i t earliest grave e bodieth s s see havo mt e been interre simpln di e stone graves (jnrt-vaens), and without any coffins. No. 8 is a circular bronze brooch, 3 inches in diameter, found at Uidh, Taransay; though there is no tradition of a church having stood there, I have no doubt that there was one there formerly. A Latin cross inche2 2 , s lon 1d 4g an inche s wide e breadt e th ,shaf d th an f th o arms being 6 inches, is incised to the depth of a quarter of an inch oa rudn e bloc f gneisso k , whicfee0 1 ts i hlong broa2 , d aboved an , average a foos n thicknessi t burying-grounA . d most usually points ancienn a site f th o e t t churchou , even thoug e ruins vers hth i s ya , fre- quently the fact, have been entirely removed to build dikes or houses; but a circumstance has come to my knowledge which might interfere with this conclusion e Highlandth n I . a coffi ss frequentlha n e b o yt carried long distances, and often over a pathless moor. It is with good reason that thosatteno funerae wh dth l expect refreshment I hav r fo e, myself see ndeceasea d laird borne sixteen mile relayy sb t menf so Bu . outlives paupea friends ha hi o l dal wh rs need expec suco n t h attention; no one will be at the trouble of carrying him a mile, and he may be in- terred at some accidental spot with as little ceremony as with a dog. In some such manneburying-grounw ne a r s beeha dn commenced behind the inn at Tarbert, Harris. Another circumstance against which the archasologist must be on his guard is, that the remains found in a tomb or grave may belong to a very different r whoperso fo e plac madems e th neon wa I tha. e th n have been told some amusing instances of poaching on this species of property; but the most impudent is that of a boat's crew from Harris, who robbed the grave of a knight in Barra of the stone that bore his effigy—which stone now dignifies an ignoble grave in the burying- groun parise th t hda church of-Harri! s ANTIQUAKIE SCOTLANDF SO . 119

No . Clach-nathracli,9 . snake-stoner o inc1 , diametern hi , Lewis.—This stone is said to be formed by the association of twelve snakes, and the hole is where the snake or snakes have passed through. I am not sure whethe e stonth r s madi e e froe slimmth e agglutinisin sane d gth dan earth, or whether the stone exudes from the reptiles. When the cattle are bitten by the snakes, the snake-stone is put into water, with which e affecteth d par s cure i s washed i tt i d d forthwithan , e muco th S r .h fo legend ; and I believe one of these charms has been used quite lately; but not the least curious circumstance connected with this superstition, face isth t tha tvenomou o thern e ear s snake Lewisn si blind-wor e Th . m t uncommonno quits s i i t i e t innocuousbu , . However, ther - fula be s eli lief thasheepa f i tinstancer fo , , dowe werli o ent f them o upo e e nth on , woo skid an nl woul s probabli d botn ma h ypeee alivth o l d offewh an ; trod upo rigliinn,—na the loca e lblind-wor th nam r fo e m (fro mtradia - tion that it is a princess metamorphosed),—and in consequence the skin came off the sole of his foot. Since my return to Edinburgh, I learn that these snake-stones are a part of the gear of the distaff; and it is strange that their original use shoul e quitb d e unknow n Harrii n Lewisd an s , althoug distafe hth s i f ther common ei n use.

No. Ditto10 . .