and that in both the dominant race largely adopted the religious views and customs of the subjugated people.
"From the ancient laws and other sources we have direct evidence that the ritual of the dead varied with the rank, sex, and occupation of the deceased, and that it was more splendid and elaborate in the case of great men."[1]
The various kinds of monument were the Derc, the Fert, the Leacht, the Duma, the Cnoc, and the Carn.
The Derc was a hollow, a pit, or hole, dug in the ground; in fact, a simple grave.
The Fert was a rectangular chamber, composed of stones set upright, and covered horizontally with flags; in a word, a kistvaen.
The Leacht seems to have been a larger-sized kistvaen, a cromlech or dolmen, but a single upright stone was also called a leacht. When a number of persons were buried in a single mound, then a stone was set up in commemoration of each round the tumulus or cairn. A good specimen may be seen beside the road to Widecombe from Post Bridge. The cairn has been almost levelled, but the ring of stones remains.
The Cnoc was a rounded, sugar-loaf mound of earth, and the Duma was a similar mound raised over a kistvaen.
The Cairn or Carn was a mere pile of stones, generally made over a grave, but sometimes having no immediate connection with one. Here is a curious
- ↑ Introduction to O'Curry, Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, 1873, i., p. cccxxix.
