The Dane’s Cast .

The Danes' Cast which commences in the townland of Scarva in the county of Down, consists of a fosse and rampart, and strongly resembles the wall of Antoninus Pius in Great Britain. The traditional stories related by the people of Ireland and Scotland, respecting these great barriers, are, in many respects, remarkably similar, and equally imbued with superstition and extravagance. Antoninus’s wall, at the western end of the Numerills, is called The Swine's Dike," and, in passing to Langton, gives the name of Swine's Dike to a village which lies between these two places. In like manner, the Dane's Cast is called by the aboriginal Irish, " Gleann na Muice duibhe: The glen of the black pig which some deem the work of a demon, others of the O’Hanlons, and others again of Mabhe Cruachan, an enchantress. The Anglo-Irish style it the Danes' Cast, and assert that it was formed by that warlike people. From the highest part of the rampart, to the top of the opposite bank, this great entrenchment measures, in many places sixty, in some seventy, and in others eighty feet in width. In the lands of Scarva, it runs in a south-west direction,: from a circular fortification of three moats called Lisnagade. It crosses the road leading from Loughbrickland to Scarva and Scarva house, the seat of John Lushington. Reilly, Esq. is built on its track. it ascends to Loughshark, which is a considerable lake, and the head level of the Newry canal On the opposite side of the lake, it passes over the townland of Lissenabreag, the property of William Fivey, Esq. not far from Union Lodge. Here the ditch is faced with stone work. It then crosses the road from Loughbrickland to Pointzpass, and becomes obliterated ere it reaches the old channel of Loughadian. In the bed: of Loughadian, which was drained upwards of seventy years ago, by the late William Fivey, Esq. a variety of implements of War. such as celts, spear heads, brazen' swords, basaltic hatchets, and missile weapons of flint, have, from time to time, been found in cutting turf; and a curious boat was dug up there in the year 1796. It canoe like in shape, skilfully excavated, and formed: out of an immense trunk of solid oak. Whether the warlike instruments might or might not have been coeval with the great rampart of which we speak we shall leave, the reader to judge.

The fosse and, rampart reappear again of the townland of Loughadian and crosses a bridle road, becomes imperceptible at the peat moss of Cornacaple. Afterwards. they run on in fine preservation, through the townland of Killysavan, and cross the direct road ,from Rathfriland to Pointzpass. At the place where they might be expected to enter the townland of Auchantaraghan,. in the County of Armagh the property of Maxwell Close, they open into a spacious circular moat but do not run through this townland.

The rectilinear direction' which the entrenchment ,should hold to where it reappears on the townland of Drumantine, is low and marshy but on the Drumantine hill, the fortification assumes it's original greatness. It pursues this course with several deflections again to the valley where it is lost, or rather is abruptly bisected by a road from Glen house the seat Arthur Innis Esq. in the marshy grounds that intervene betwixt this and the hill of Knockanarney, there is not any mark of it whatever, but on Knockanarney, it is in most excellent preservation, and shews its warlike ditch, and mound in both the rear declivity of the hill. It then passes though the townlands of Carrickrovady and Lurganare; but when it descends to the level of the meadow, it disappears here, as it does in all grounds on the same level. From this we are inclined to imagine that at that the time the rampart was formed, these low lands had entirely covered with water, which had either spread out in one continued Lough, partially encircling the hills in serpentine curves, or formed a variety of large and small lakes.

The last townland through which it runs, before leaving the County of Down, is Drumiller. It cuts along the foot of Drummiller hill, but disappears the flat grounds. Here it crosses the county drain, and enters the county of Armagh. It crosses the straight road from Newry to Pointzpass, and then runs through the townland of Gourach, the property of Roger Hall of Narrow-water, Esq. becomes fairly marked grows stronger becomes again scarcely perceptible in the Townland of Lett; and in the same imperfect state, it crosses the road from Mullaghglass church to Newry and the road from Newry to Armagh in the Townland of Glassdrummond.

The line which it now takes is towards Camlough, and the first on which it is seen after crossing that beautiful and romantic lake, is Townavaun. It then runs over the Townland of Ballyliss, and crosses the principal road from Newry to Carrickmacross, near the chapel of Killevy, at the distance three miles from Newry.

It is now found on the townland of Seafin, and appears like large wall as it stretches along the heathy plain. From thence it crosses the townland of Aughayallog, and bisects the road from Newry to Forkill about three miles from the former place. In some parts, the wall is here built rude blocks of granite. No further trace of it has been found, than in the adjoining Townland of Ballure, where it crosses the road from Newry to Jonesborough, at the distance of two miles from Newry.

The Danes Cast, and various other entrenchment's, which still remain in Ireland, afford a strong proof that the passage quoted above, from the works of the Chester monk, is correct, and that, of course, stone and lime fabrics were to be found in this country long before the days of Malachy Morgair.

From the great facility with which Armagh appears to have been frequently rebuilt, after having been at various times destroyed, we may rationally infer that the materials of which it had been constructed were light, portable and easily obtained. Some of the houses were, perhaps, made of wattles, coated or plastered over with loam or clay - others of smoothed timber, which was early applied to such uses in Ireland. Thus we are told by Bede, that Finan's church, built about the year 635, was constructed with split oak, after the manner of the Scots, (that is, the Irish,) and covered with reeds. Concubran says that the chapel of Monena, at Killeslieve, in the county of Armagh, was built of timber, AD 630 after the manner of the Irish. It is probable, however, that the cathedral and the other churches in the city of Armagh, were, at that very early period built with stone. Gelasius, in the year 1145, made an immense kiln, for cooking lime, to repair these a proof that lime had previously been used in the construction of the walls. The roofs of these buildings were tiled. Thus we find, that in the year 1125, Celsus tiled the roof of the church, which had been, in part, uncovered for the space of 130 years.

A district of the city of Armagh was fortified as its very name, Rath Ardmach, indicates. The remains of this fortification seem to have been visible in the days of Colgan, who says that the body of Lupita was found about fourteen years prior to the writing of his book, "in quodam sarcophago extra c.ivitatis muos" If we may credit the account given by O’Haloran, of the siege of Armagh, which he extracts from the book of "The Wars of Ceallachan Caisil," the city was strongly fortified in the tenth century

On the subject of these supposed fortifications, we subjoin a very ingenious conjecture, with which we are favoured esteemed friend who is well acquainted with Armagh. "We are informed by historian's, that this place has been frequently taken and destroyed. May we not, therefore, naturally conclude, that it was fortified, according to the system of that period, to guard it against similar disasters? What I allude to may have been lines of circumvallation with their fosses which, in consequence of the various changes which the surface has since undergone, by the, erection of houses, the cultivation of gardens, the alteration of roads, &c. now, only produce here and there, a more sudden descent, on the sides of the hill its line of inclination toward the surrounding valley."

"Taking the middle part of the cathedral as a centre, the distance from this point seems to vary, being apparently higher the western face of the hill, than any where else. On the northern, it appears to be at the greatest distance, which be attributed to the following cause: The ascent of the being here less rapid, the place on this side was more assailable and an additional work may have been formed, at some from the principal, to increase, its security"

"We commence our inspection of the upper line of circumvallation on the western side, we may perceive a sudden descent in the inclination of the hill, immediately under the gardens belonging to the widows and vicars houses. This descent has been visibly increased by the formation of the present road, made for the purpose of avoiding the ascent over the hill. From this western point, the line of circumvallation continues northerly, in a circular direction, passing between the infirmary and library; then crossing Abbey street; it traverses the gardens and enters Market street, beneath the house and premises, lately occupied by Mr. Charles Whittington. Crossing this street, in an ascending direction, it runs beneath the rears of the, houses of Castle-street, crossing the upper part of Chapel-lane; and from. thence to its beginning is lost by the improvement of Castle street, and that part of Irish-street over which it once passed."

"That which I consider as an additional line of defence, is indicated at present by a second descent in the inclination of the hill. Its distance from the upper, seldom exceeds from sixty to seventy feet, except on the northern side. It Commences by extending from the upper one, on the north-western side, and passes below the infirmary, continuing its course through the gardens behind the houses in Abbey-street. Crossing this street it runs through the ground on which Wesley’s chapel is now erected. Crossing Abbey lane, it passes, behind the Presbyterian meeting-house, and through the gardens, until it enters Market street, about fifty or sixty feet below the upper line. Crossing this street in a direction through the present Market house it passes the opposite side of the street, beneath the house lately occupied by Dr. Carson. From thence traversing the gardens, in a circular direction, and nearly parallel to the upper line, it crosses Chapel lane and Irish-street, terminating its circular course somewhere between that street and Callan street; from whence it may have ascended the hill to join. the upper line, The face of the hill being, on this side, more steep and difficult of ascent, presented a natural, strong barrier, that did not require, a double line of defence."