Somewhat in accord with the conclusions of Sir Norman Lockyer, but by no means in total agreement, are the theories propounded by the Rev. J. W. Hayes, of West Thurrock. Mr Hayes, who has made a close study of stone-circles, especially with regard to their use in Gorseddau and other assemblies, has kindly permitted me to read his unpublished papers, and to glean therefrom such information as is germane to the present question. It is manifestly impossible to give more than the briefest summary of the evidence, or to enumerate the miscellaneous documents, written and printed, which Mr Hayes has consulted. The leading idea is, that the stone-circles were first erected to serve as indicators of seasons. By means of these “dials,” the priestly caste determined the times of fasts and feasts. In spring, there were sacrifices to ensure bountiful crops. Before entering upon a war, there were offerings to propitiate the gods and thus to win success. A comparison is made between the old festivals and our own Easter--itself a pagan feast originally, and still depending on the moon for the exact date of its observance. Analogies are also drawn from the customs of the Jews, the Romans, and the Egyptians. The outstanding menhirs connected with stone-circles are considered to have been intended to provide sight-lines, while the trilithons of Stonehenge, it is suggested, marked out sky-spaces. It is interesting to note, in passing, that Professor W. Gowland has recorded the use of wooden trilithons by modern Japanese sun-worshippers, for determining the position of the sun and of sacred objects. It will be inferred that Mr Hayes’s theory makes the sacrificial use of the circles subsidiary to a primary astronomical and judicial purpose. Yet he takes note that the old Irish name for a cromlech--the accepted term among modern writers for a “stone-ring”--was _siorcal leacht_, or “circle-stone-of-death.” In old Irish manuscripts such circles are always associated with pagan priests or druids. The sepulchral aspect of stone-circles, however, seems to be largely ignored by the modern school of investigators.