Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race - Knowledge Rush

CHAPTER II: THE RELIGION OF THE CELTS 53
puzzle to antiquarians. The guess may perhaps be hazarded that
they are diagrams or plans of a megalithic sepulchre. The central
hollow represents the actual burial-place. The circles are the
standing stones, fosses, and ramparts which often surrounded it;
and the line or duct drawn from the centre outwards represents the
subterranean approach to the sepulchre. The apparent “avenue”
intention of the duct is clearly brought out in the varieties given
below, which I take from Simpson. As the sepulchre was also
a holy place or shrine, the occurrence of a representation of it
among other carvings of a sacred character is natural enough;
it would seem symbolically to indicate that the place was holy
ground. How far this suggestion might apply to the Mexican
example I am unable to say.
Varieties of Cup-and-ring Markings
The Tumulus at New Grange
One of the most important and richly sculptured of European
megalithic monuments is the great chambered tumulus of New
Grange, on the northern bank of the Boyne, in Ireland. This
tumulus, and the others which occur in its neighbourhood, appear
in ancient Irish mythical literature in two different characters, the
union of which is significant. They are regarded on the one hand
as the dwelling-places of the Sidhe (pronounced Shee), or Fairy
Folk, who represent, probably, the deities of the ancient Irish,
and they are also, traditionally, the burial-places of the Celtic
High Kings of pagan Ireland. The story of the burial of King
Cormac, who was supposed to have heard of the Christian faith
long before it was actually preached in Ireland by St. Patrick and
who ordered that he should not be buried at the royal cemetery
by the Boyne, on account of its pagan associations, points to the
view that this place was the centre of a pagan cult involving more
than merely the interment of royal personages in its precincts.
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