17. Antiquities—Circles, Sculptured Stones, Crannogs, Forts.
Aberdeenshire is particularly rich in stone-circles. No fewer than 175 of them have been recorded as existing in the district. Unfortunately many of them entirely disappeared when the sites were turned to agricultural uses; others have been mutilated, and owing tothe removal of some of the stones, stand incomplete; a few have been untouched, and from these we may judge what the others were like. One of the best preserved is that at Parkhouse, a mile south-west of the Abbey of Deer. A circle of great blocks of stone, irregular and of unequal height, some standing erect, some evidently fallen down, is the general feature. Sometimes inside the circle, but more usually in the circumference of the circle itself, there is one conspicuously larger stone, in a recumbent position. This it has been usual to call the rostrum or altar stone. It is well marked at Parkhouse, being 14 feet 9 inches long, 5 feet 9 inches high, and estimated to weigh 20 tons. The so-called rostrum is usually on the south side of the circle and the stones facing it on the north are of smaller size.
White Cow Wood Cairn Circle; View from the S.W.From _Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland_, 1903-4
White Cow Wood Cairn Circle; View from the S.W.
From _Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland_, 1903-4
Palaeolithic Flint Implement(From Kent’s Cavern, Torquay.)Neolithic Celt of Greenstone(From Bridlington, Yorks.)
Palaeolithic Flint Implement
(From Kent’s Cavern, Torquay.)
Neolithic Celt of Greenstone
(From Bridlington, Yorks.)
The size of the circles varies, the largest being over 60 feet in diameter, the smaller ones less than 30. Parkhouse measures 50 feet. They are found all over the county, in the valley of the Dee, in the valley of the Don at Alford, Inverurie and Dyce, as well as in Auchterless, Methlick, Crimond and Lonmay. The recumbent stoneis invariably a feature of the larger circles. One of the largest is in the circle at Old Keig in Alford—a huge monolith computed to be 30 tons in weight. Other good examples are at Auchquorthies, Fetternear and at Balquhain near Inveramsay.
In the smaller and simpler circles, there is no recumbent stone, and the blocks are of more uniform height.
What the circles were used for is still a matter of dispute. They have for long been called “Druidical” circles, and the received opinion was that they were places of worship, the recumbent stone being the altar. But there is no certitude in this view; and, indeed, the fact that several exist at no great distance from each other (more than a dozen are located in Deer) would seem to be adverse to it. They were certainly used as places of burying, and some antiquarians hold that they were the burying grounds of the people of the Bronze Age. A later theory is that they were intended to be astronomical clocks to a people who knew nothing of the length of the year, and who had no almanacs to guide them in the matter of the seasons. The stone-circles, however, still remain an unsolved problem.
Stone at Logie, in the Garioch (4 feet high)From Anderson’sScot. in Early Ch. Times, 2nd Series
Stone at Logie, in the Garioch (4 feet high)
From Anderson’sScot. in Early Ch. Times, 2nd Series
Besides the circles, Aberdeenshire has another class of archaeological remains, called sculptured stones. These are of three kinds: (1) those with incised symbols only, (2) those with in addition Celtic ornament carved in relief, and (3) monuments with Celtic ornament in relief and no symbols. The first class is the only one largely represented in Aberdeenshire and a good many representatives are in existence. The symbols most commonlyseen are the crescent and sceptre, the spectacles, the mirror and comb, and the so-called “elephant” symbol, a representation of a beast with long jaws, a crest and scroll feet. Another is the serpent symbol. What thesymbols signify is still a mystery, but the fact that the stones with symbolism are unusually common in what was known as Northern Pictland seems to point to their being indigenous to that area. Out of 124 stones in the first class Aberdeenshire has 42. It would seem as if the county had been the focus where the symbolism originated. The richness of the locality round Kintore and Inverurie in symbol stones is taken to indicate that region as the centre from which they radiated.
Another form of archaeological remains found in the county is the Eirde or Earth-Houses. These are subterranean dwellings dug out of the ground and walled with unhewn, unmortared stones, each stone overlapping the one below until they meet at the top which is crowned with a larger flag-stone, or sometimes with wood. The probability is that in conjunction with the underground chambers there were huts above ground, which, being composed of wood, have now entirely disappeared. At many points in these earth-houses traces of fire and charcoal are to be seen, stones blackened by fire and layers of black ashes. In one at Loch Kinnord a piece of the upper stone of a quern as well as an angular piece of iron was found. It may be inferred that the inhabitants, whoever they were, were agriculturists, and that the period of occupation lasted down to the Iron Age. Specimens of these houses, which usually go by the local name of Picts’ houses, are found in the neighbourhood of Loch Kinnord on Deeside, at Castle Newe on the Don, and at Parkhouse, not far from the circle already referred to.
“PICTS” OR “EIRDE HOUSE” AT MIGVIEABERDEENSHIREFromProceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol. V. 1865
“PICTS” OR “EIRDE HOUSE” AT MIGVIE
ABERDEENSHIRE
FromProceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol. V. 1865
The common notion of the purpose of these undergrounddwellings was that they were meant for hiding-places in which the inhabitants took refuge when unable to resist their enemies in the open, but if, as has now been discovered, they were associated with wooden erections above ground, they could not have served this purpose. On the surface beside them were other houses, cattlefolds and other enclosures; once an enemy was in possession of these, he could hardly miss the earth-houses. Moreover, the inhabitants, if discovered, were in a trap from which there was no escape. It is more probable that the dwellings were adjuncts of some unknown kind to the huts on the surface. The fact that pottery and bronze armlets have been unearthed from these underground caverns proves that the earth-dwellers had reached a certain advancement in civilisation. They reared domestic animals, wove cloth and sewed it, and manufactured pottery. They used iron for cutting weapons and bronze for ornament, and must have possessed a wonderfully high standard of taste and manual skill.
Along with the earth-houses at Kinnord are found crannogs or lake-dwellings. Artificial islands were created in the loch by forming a raft of logs, upon which layers of stones and other logs were deposited. As fresh materials were added the raft gradually sank till it rested on the bottom. The sides were afterwards strengthened with the addition of stones and beams. In this way was formed what is called the Prison Island on Loch Kinnord. In all probability the other island in the same loch, the Castle Island, may also be artificial, although it has usually been regarded as natural. Crannogs in pairs—one large and the other small—occur in several lochs.
Loch Kinnord
Loch Kinnord
A number of hill-forts, more or less disintegrated, aretraceable in the higher ground in the vicinity of Lochs Kinnord and Davan. These show concentric lines of circumvallation, with stronger fortifications at various points. Vitrified forts, where the stones have been run together by the application of heat, are found at Dunnideer near Insch, and on the conical summit of Tap o’ Noth near Rhynie. The Barmekin at Dunecht encloses an area of more than two acres, and consists of five concentric walls, three of earth-works and two of stone.
Numerous cairns, barrows or tumuli exist all over the county, at Aberdour on the coast, at Birse, Bourtie, Rhynie, Turriff, and elsewhere. Human remains have been found in most of these; and as a rule flint arrow-heads and other implements are also associated with them.