BORLASE, William G: The Dolmens of Ireland.

Their distribution, structural characteristics, and affinities in other countries; together with the folk-lore attaching to them; supplemented by considerations on the anthropology, ethnology, and traditions of the Irish people. With over 800 illustrations (including 3 coloured plates), and 4 coloured folding maps.

Three volumes. Dublin: Éamonn de Búrca for Edmund Burke Publisher, 2013. Royal octavo. pp. (1) xvi, xxxvi, 312 (2) 313-712 (3) 713-1236. Full buckram decorated in gilt. In slipcase. The first comprehensive survey of each of the counties of Ireland. With sketches by the author from drawings by Petrie, Westropp, Miss Stokes, Windele, Wood Martin, Wakeman, etc. The third volume contains an index and the material from folklore, legend, and tradition. A most attractive set of books and a must for the discerning collector.

William Copeland Borlase’s The Dolmens of Ireland is one of the great nineteenth-century studies of Irish prehistoric monuments and remains an important reference work on Ireland’s megalithic archaeology. Published in three substantial volumes in 1897, the work represents an ambitious attempt to record and classify the dolmens, cromlechs and other megalithic structures scattered throughout Ireland.

Borlase travelled extensively in pursuit of his research, bringing together archaeological observation, antiquarian scholarship, local tradition and earlier published accounts. The work is particularly valuable for its detailed descriptions and numerous illustrations, plans and views of Irish megalithic tombs, many recording monuments as they appeared in the nineteenth century. Individual sites are considered within their geographical and historical setting, making the volumes a rich source for the study of Irish archaeology, local history and folklore.

The Dolmens of Ireland also reflects the remarkable growth of antiquarian and archaeological scholarship in Ireland during the Victorian period. Although subsequent excavation and modern archaeological methods have revised many nineteenth-century interpretations, Borlase’s extensive documentation retains considerable historical and research value.

An imposing and highly desirable work, The Dolmens of Ireland remains a cornerstone of any serious collection devoted to Irish archaeology, antiquities, prehistoric Ireland and megalithic monuments.