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THIS is one of the most
remarkable Druid remains in the United Kingdom next to Stonehenge and
Abury. The form is that of a cross, containing, at the intersection, a
circle, with a central stone, an additional line being superadded on one
side of the longest arms, and nearly parallel to it. Were this line
absent, its form and proportion would be nearly that of the Roman cross,
or common crucifix. The longest line of this cross, which may be
considered as the general bearing of the work, lies in a direction
twenty-four degrees west of the meridian. The total length of this line
is, at present, 588 feet, but there are stones to be found, in the same
direction, for upwards of ninety feet further, which have, apparently,
been a continuation of it, but which, having fallen, like others,
through different parts of the building, have sometimes been overwhelmed
with vegetation, leaving blanks that impair its present continuity. The
whole length may, therefore, with little hesitation, be taken at 700
feet. The cross line, intersecting that now described at right angles,
measures 204 feet, but as it is longer on one side than the other, its
true measure is, probably, also greater, although no fallen stones are
to be seen at the extremities, the progress of cultivation having here
interfered with the integrity of the work. The diameter of the circle
which occupies the centre of the cross is sixty- three feet, the lines
ceasing where they meet the circumference. The stone which marks the
centre is twelve feet in height. The heights of the other stones which
are used in the construction are various, but they rarely reach beyond
four feet; a few of seven or eight feet are to be found, and one
reaching to thirteen is seen near the extremity of the long line. The
additional line already mentioned extends northwards from the outer part
of the circle, on the eastern side. It is, however, very defective, a
great number of the stones being absent towards its northern extremity,
although there is apparent evidence of their former continuity in one
which remains erect, and in others which have fallen from their places.
There are no traces of a line parallel to this on the western side, but
as some inclosures have been made in the immediate vicinity, it is
possible that such might have originally existed.
Notwithstanding the
superstitious reverence with which the Scots in general regard these
remains, and the care with which, in their agricultural operations, they
commonly avoid committing any injury to them, the intervals between the
stones vary from two to ten feet or more, but it is probable that the
larger spaces have resulted from the falling of the less firmly- rooted
pillars which occupied those places. The number of stones in the circle
is thirteen, independently of the central one, and the number in the
whole building, either erect or recently fallen, is forty-seven. The
aspect of this work is very striking, as it occupies the highest
station, on a gentle swelling eminence of moor-land, there being no
object, not even a rock or stone, to divert the attention and diminish
the impression which it makes. The circles found in the vicinity are
less perfect, and present no linear appendages; their average diameter
varies from forty to fifty feet, and one of them contains four upright
stones, placed in a quadrangular form with its area.
To this general account
may be added, that solitary stones, apparently of a monumental nature,
are found in this neighbourhood, as well as in the island of Bernera,
and other parts of Lewis. The cruciform shape of the structure described
above is a remarkable and, perhaps, a solitary circumstance. It has not,
at least, been noticed among the numerous descriptions of these
erections which antiquaries have given to the public. It is true that in
some of the cromlechs, or smaller monuments, a disposition of the
stones, resembling that of a cross, has sometimes been remarked, but it
seems, in all these cases, to have been the result either of accident or
necessity. No monument in which that form is obviously intended has been
traced higher than the period of the introduction of Christianity, nor
was it, indeed, till a later age, that of Constantine, that the cross
became a general object of veneration. From that time its use is common,
and it is frequently applied, under a great variety of structures and
forms, to numerous objects, civil and military, as well as
ecclesiastical. Those cases in which the figure of the cross has been
found marked, or carved on' stones of higher antiquity, which had served
either for the purposes of sepulchral memorials or Druidical worship,
appear to have resulted from the attempts of the early Catholics to
convert the supposed monuments of ancient superstition to their own
ends, either from economical motives, or from feelings of a religious
nature. But such attempts cannot be supposed to have given rise to the
peculiar figure of the structure here described. The whole is too
consistent, and too much of ore age, to admit of such a supposition,
while, at the same time, it could not, under any circumstances, have
been applicable to Christian worship. Its essential part, the circular
area, and the number of similar structures found in the vicinity,
equally bespeak its origin. It must, therefore, be concluded that the
cruciform shape was given by the original contrivers of the fabric, and
it will afford an object of speculation to antiquaries, who, if they are
sometimes accused of heaping additional obscurity on the records of
antiquity, must also be allowed the frequent merit of eliciting light
from darkness. J. M. |
