Those upon
the level ground probably mark the graves of distinguished Romans or
Caledonians who fell upon the field of battle; but others, which run in
a line extending north and south, were probably landmarks to guide
messengers on their way from Lindum, the camp at Ardoch, to Victoria,
the camp at Dalginross.
At the west side of the new cemetery, close to the public road, there
is a curious round knoll, which at one time must have been used as a
place for the burial of the dead. The attention of the writer of this
was drawn to it about twenty years ago. There were three large slabs
of stone lying upon the ground, which apparently had been at some
former period placed erect by some loving hands to mark the last
resting-place of some departed friend or hero. By the aid of some of
the Comrie masons the stones were placed in a standing position.
Curious to know what lay beneath the surface, we dug up the earth in
front of the largest slab, and came upon a stone cist placed north and
south, 7 inches long, 1 foot 8 inches broad, and 1 foot 3 inches deep.
The only remains discovered was a thigh-bone, but whether it at one
time formed a part of the leg of a Celt, a Roman, or a Saxon we could
not tell. An old man who then lived in the village of Comrie told us
that in his young days the same mound was dug up, when an urn filled
with ashes was discovered. This, perhaps, would indicate that it
formed a place of burial for Romans rather than for Caledonians. The
spot is called Dunmoid, or "hill of judgment." Besides the parish
churchyard, there are three old burying-grounds in the parish--Leckin,
on Lochearnside; Dundurn, and Tullichettle. From an antiquarian point
of view, the most interesting, perhaps, is Tullichettle. It is
situated in a sequestered spot on a rising ground on the right bank of
the River Ruchill, near the farm-house of Cultabraggan. The name,
which is Celtic, _Tulachchadail_--"hill of sleep"--well describes the
place, for a more solitary spot could hardly be selected for the repose
of the dead. Judging from the inscriptions upon the tomb-stones it has
been for long the burying-place of the Macnivens, the Macgreuthers, the
Maccullochs, and other clans. There is a curious slab over the grave
of the Riddochs. The following description of it, extracted from the
proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, has been kindly sent by the
Secretary, Dr. Anderson:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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