From the crannog of Lagore was obtained a thin stone or slab of squarish form, measuring about 14 inches on either side. It presented upon its upper surface a number of squares as on a chess-board.[150] The material for this purpose, however, varied considerably, for in the “Annals of Clonmacnoise” it is stated that when _Muirchertach_ of the leathern cloaks (who lived in the middle of the tenth century) carried off the body of Cerbhall, king of Leinster, he caused a chess-board to be formed out of his bones. Instances of utilizing the osseous remains of a dead adversary were, in ancient times, not uncommon. The old Vikings, in imitation of their gods, quaffed their ale out of goblets composed of the crania of their enemies. [Illustration: Fig. 174.] In Irish lacustrine sites a number of discs, formed apparently of deer’s horn, or bone, have been frequently met with; these articles, as a rule, are ornamented on one side only with the dot and circle pattern, such as appears upon combs and other objects of bone; many were found at Lagore, Cloonfinlough, Ballinderry, &c., and they resemble one from the Loch of Forfar, figured in Munro’s _Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings_. The term “whorl” has been very generally applied to these discs, the supposition being, that their use was to aid in the rotation of the distaff or spindle. Some Irish archæologists, however, have suggested the idea of their being rather draughtsmen, or counters for a game; and English antiquarians have pronounced a similar opinion with regard to ivory discs discovered in that country. The latter suggestion certainly carries with it a great degree of probability; and although the game of draughts as now played cannot claim great antiquity, yet there were other pastimes in which little stones, shells, or nuts were employed by the ancients; but, as the arts of man progressed, “stones and shells were laid aside, and ivory counters became their substitute.” Croften Croker in his tour through Ireland early in the present century observed two peculiar games then almost universal amongst the peasantry; one of them was played on lines usually marked on a board with chalk, as shown in fig. 174. “Each player is provided with three counters (_small black and white pebbles or shells_) which are simply deposited on the board in turn; the game is won by getting these three counters in a straight line. The centre point is considered the most advantageous, and is always taken by the first player: when all the counters are deposited, moves are made from one point to the next should it be unoccupied, and so on until a careless move on either side decides the game, by allowing the adversary to form his three counters in a row.” The unperforated discs ornamented on one side only it may be fairly surmised had served either in draughts or in games of that nature. Fig. 175 represents a specimen of this class found in a “souterraine”