^{page 88 note a} « Which are said by a certain old manuscript to be so called (Orkney), as if one should say Argat, that is (for so it is there explained), above the Getes; but I had rather expound it Above Cat; for it lies over against Cath, a country of Scotland,” &c.—Camden, p. 1073.

^{page 88 note b} In Barry's History of Orkney: it lias since been printed by the Bannatyne Club, in the 3rd volume of their works.

^{page 89 note a} Reperimus itaque, imprimis, quod tempore Haraldi Comati primi regis Norwegie, qui gavisus est per totum regnum suum hac terra sive insularum patria, Orchadie fuit inhabitata et culta duabus nacionibus, scilicet Peti et Pape, quæ duae genera naciones fuerunt destructae radicitus, hac penitus per Norwegiences de stirpe sive de tribu strenuissimi principis Rognaldi, qui sic sunt ipsas naciones aggressi quod posteritas ipsarum nacionum Peti et Pape non remansit.—Barry, p. 399.

^{page 89 note b} “St. Columba meeting one day with a prince of the Orkneys at the palace of King Brude, he told the King that some monks had lately sailed with a view of making discoveries in the northern seas, and begged he would strongly recommend them to the Prince who was then with him, in case they should land in the Orkneys. They did so, and owed their lives to the recommendation of Columba.”—Smith's Life of St. Columba, p. 55.

^{page 89 note c} Adur Island bygdist of Nordmönnum varo p'ar p'eri menn er Nordmenn kalla Papa, p'eri varo menn kristner, &c.—Johnstone's Ant. Celto-Scan., p. 14.

^{page 89 note d} “After an interval of many years, when Brito reigned in Britain, and Posthumus his brother over the Latins, not less than 900 (about 256 B.C), the Picts came and occupied the islands which are called Orcades; and afterwards from the neighbouring isles, wasted many and not small regions, and occupied them in the left part of Britain, and remain to this day. There the third part of Britain they held, and hold till now.”—Nennius, C. 5, quoted by Ritson, Annals of Caledonia.

^{page 92 note a} “Several other tumuli have been opened, which had much the same appearance. In some of these were found stone chests of about 15 or 18 inches square, in which were deposited urns containing ashes; in others of these chests were found ashes and fragments of bones without urns.

“In digging for stones in one of these tumuli was found an urn, shaped like a jar, and of a size sufficient to contain 30 Scotch pints (15 gallons English). It contained ashes and fragments of bones. The colour on the outside was that of burnt cork, and on the inside grey.”—Old Stat. Ace. p. 459.

^{page 93 note a} See the accompanying Plan, IV.

^{page 94 note a} “I lately made excursions to St. Andrew's and the farm of Wideford in this parish (St. Ola), and opened two graves at the former place, and three at the latter; they all appear to be of the same date. I opened one of the largest, which was of greater diameter than the one we explored in Rendal (the Black Knowe), but not quite so high. It had a sort of circle or ring of burnt stones about afoot in breadth, and the thickness of one stone, immediately within the edge of the base. In the centre, embedded in clay, was a layer of burnt bones mixed with charcoal, about three inches in thickness. There was no kist-vaen, nor any stones near the bones.”—G. P.

^{page 95 note a} It is very singular that the Scandinavian name of this island should be so entirely forgotten. In the Orkneyinga Saga it is usually called Hrossey or Rossey, and it is so named in a map appended to Camden's Britannia; it appears to mean “the Island of horses.”

^{page 96 note a} Hened, jurisdiction, district, hundred.

^{page 97 note a} See General Plan, Plate XII.

^{page 97 note b} This ring is marked upon the General Plan; and there is a ground plan and elevation in Plate XIV.

^{page 98 note a} Marked upon the General Plan.

^{page 98 note b} There is a ground plan and elevation of it in Plate XIV.

^{page 99 note a} In the old descriptions of Druidical (?) circles, there is generally mention made of an altar (cromlech) standing within them, either in the form of a stone table or a single upright pillar.

^{page 100 note a} Notes on Orkney and Shetland, p. 20.

^{page 100 note b} A very amusing account of the Stenness antiquities will be found in a paper on the “Tings of Orkney and Shetland,” in vol. iii. of Arch. Scot.

^{page 101 note a} This is computed to weigh 10–71 tons.

^{page 101 note b} “At a little distance from the temple is a solitary stone about eight feet high, with a perforation through which contracting parties joined hands when they entered into any solemn engagement, which Odin was invoked to testify.” (Arch. Scot. vol. iii. p. 107.) This agrees with the description of Mr Leisk; but Barry's plate would lead us to imagine that the height was at least double that given above.

^{page 101 note c} It was called “The Watchstone.”—Arch. Scot. vol. iii. p. 108.

^{page 102 note a} See the General Plan, and Plate XIII. for an enlarged Plan and Elevation.

^{page 103 note a} “The number of stones which originally formed the temple is supposed to have been thirty -five, but this is uncertain; sixteen were standing in the year 1792, and eight had fallen to the ground.”—Arch. Scot. p. 108.

^{page 103 note b} As the division of the common is now taking place, it is probable this destructive practice will cease

^{page 104 note a} See General Plan.

^{page 105 note a} See the upper part of the General Plan, Pl. XII.

^{page 106 note a} In a large district or country, presenting great difference in topographical feature, it is possible that the antiquities of two co-existent races may be found together; but this is not likely to occur in a comparatively small group of islands like the Orkneys, where, according to the custom of the-savage warfare of those times, the conquerors would most assuredly extirpate the conquered; thus Scandinavian rites and observances would at once supersede those of the Picts or Celts.

^{page 107 note a} Marked upon the General Plan, to the reader's left.

^{page 108 note a} Rev. C. Clouston.

^{page 109 note a} “A tumulus containing three stone chests was opened in the parish of Sandwick, by Sir Joseph Banks, in the presence of Dr. Solander, Dr. Van Tioch, and Dr. Lind, on their return from Iceland in 1772. In one of these chests or coffins was found a human skeleton lying on its side with the knees bent; in the hollow of which was found a bag which appeared to be made of rushes, and contained a parcel of bones bruised small, and also some human teeth.” It was supposed by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander, that this bag contained the remains or ashes of his wife, or of some near relation, after burning.(?)

“In the second of these chests was found a skeleton in a sitting posture, as if seated on the ground, and the legs stretched out horizontally. To keep the body erect, stones were built up opposite to the breast as high as the crown of the head. The whole was covered with a large stone.

“In the third chest was found in one end the bones of a human body thrown together promiscuously; in the other end, a quantity of chesnut-coloured hair, covered with a turf, and under the hair about four dozen of beads, flattened on the sides, lying as if on a string, about the middle of which was a locket of bone, and underneath the beads a parcel of bruised bones like to those found in the bag in the first chest. When the hair was first touched, it appeared rotten, and the beads friable; but when exposed to the air, the hair was found to be strong and the beads hard. The beads were black, but it could not be discovered what they were composed of.”—Old. Stat. Ace. p. 459. I think there is some account of these explorations in the Transactions of the Royal Society.

^{page 110 note a} For its elevation see the General Plan.

^{page 110 note b} Ibid.

^{page 110 note c} David Balfour, Esq. of Balfour.

^{page 110 note d} See General Plan.

^{page 111 note a} Its elevation is marked upon the General Plan.

^{page 111 note b} “An artificial mound, with a large trench thrown up at the foot of it, said to have been raised for archers to shoot at. Some of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers are reported to have dug tolerably deep into the mound; but it is added, they found nothing but earth.”—Arch. Scot. p. 122.

^{page 115 note a} I need scarcely remark, that there is not the slightest evidence of these circles having been made by the Northmen.

^{page 119 note a} This name goes far to prove that the place was already a ruin when the Scandinavians arrived here.

^{page 119 note b} Arch. Scot. vol. i. p. 257.

^{page 122 note a} In the possession of the Earl of Zetland.

^{page 123 note a} There are two relics of antiquity not mentioned in the old account (of Delting). One of these is the remains of a wet dock or harbour at Burravoe (Brough-vaag), which, from its proximity to the Pictish castle that stood there, must have been built as a place of security for such small craft as belonged to it.—Stat. Ace. Shetland, p. 57.

^{page 123 note b} Plate XV. fig. 3.

^{page 124 note a} See plan and elevations, Plate XV. fig. 4.

^{page 126 note a} “The weather has been so bad since I received your letters, and my own health not very good, that there has been but one day that I could avail myself for a further exploration of the Picts’ house. We commenced on the west side on a level with the base, and as nearly opposite to the western passage (b) as possible. On paring off the turf and removing some of the stones and clay, we came to what proved to be a piece of wall exactly opposite to the inner end of the western passage. The wall is five or six feet in height from the edge of the base; and, as there appears to be a corner or angle in the wall, I am led to believe that the opening or mouth of the passage may be there, but it got so dark that we were obliged to ‘strike work.’ The wall appears only to run for about five feet to the northward. From the peculiar position of this Picts house, and the nature of its site, I do expect to find a continuous wall around it. I dug a few feet around its upper edge, and found it faced up with flat stones to about eighteen inches in depth beneath the surface; I then came to stones projecting at right angles to the upright ones, but had not time to ascertain whether they formed the top of a wall or not.

“The body of the tumulus cannot be said, as you suppose, to be a confused heap of stones and earth, but is made up of stones built generally with considerable regularity; in some cases without clay, and in others with more than a due proportion.

“The opening at the top (I) is a regularly-built hole, and particularly attracted my attention from its resemblance to the top of a chimney. The roof was otherwise continuous, and the opening extended above, as shown in the Plan. The top of the hole was on a level with the stone structure, and was merely covered with a layer of turf.” Subsequently Mr. Petrie informs me, “I have now got the Picts house explored as far as it can be done, unless the whole be demolished. I have succeeded in tracing the western passage to its opening at the western extremity. There is a wall of about two feet in height surrounding the building; this wall follows the rise of the hill, and in this way always maintains the same height. The passage to the eastward appears never to have been completed, as it only extends for six or eight feet, and then terminates. A thorough and careful investigation convinces me that a sufficient quantity of stones has been quarried out of the side of the hill to erect the building, and that in the hollow or cavity thus formed the building has been made. I found the face of the rock projecting into the building, and to within a few feet of the cells.” —G. Petrie.

^{page 127 note a} See plan and elevation, Plate XVI.

^{page 128 note a} Mr. Traill remembers when part of the roof was entire.

^{page 131 note a} When excavating the Picts house at Pierowall, a Shetlander who was present informed me, that he had been in some underground passages at Voe, near Sumbrough, in which a man could crawl about till he lost himself, and I also heard of a place of the same kind at Walls, Shetland.

^{page 131 note b} “In the spring of 1826, while removing some large stones which impeded the operations of the plough, near the foundations of a chapel in Overbister, in Sandey, a long subterraneous passage was discovered, which terminated in a circular cavity. The bottom and sides of this passage were formed of the solid rock, as well as the cavity at its extremity, which has likely been intended for a well (?) The top or roof of the passage was carefully covered with flagstones, and above was the natural soil. The entrance to the passage was by two steps cut in the rock. The length of the passage was nineteen feet and a half, height three feet, width about one foot nine inches; diameter of the well three feet; from the roof to the bottom of the well, three feet six inches. Several small pieces of decayed oak were found in the passage. The well (?) contained a very little water and mud.”—Stat. Ace. p. 141.

^{page 131 note c} See Plan, &c. in PI. XVII.

^{page 134 note a} “In South Yell, Shetland, there are a few Pictish buildings, and some dwellings of the Shetland aborigines, in which last have been found some stone adzes and knives, with drinking cups, lamps, and hammers of the same material.”—Stat. Ace. p. 87.

^{page 134 note b} Mrs. Moffat.

^{page 134 note c} “Under the head of antiquities may be mentioned those circular ruins commonly called Picts’ houses. That they were at one period inhabited seems probable from the quantity of shells still found around them.” —Stat. Ace. of Evie, p. 201.

^{page 135 note a} These have been beautifully drawn by Mr. D. Wilson, F.S.A. Scot., to whom I am indebted for much valuable assistance.

^{page 135 note b} There was one white bead found, long-shaped, apparently of glass, besides horse-teeth and the bones of cattle and sheep.