OS1/14/75/30
| List of names as written | Various modes of spelling | Authorities for spelling | Situation | Description remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitrified Fort (Continued) | [continued from page 29] "in the form of a parallelogram. The foundation seems to have been built with mortar. The ruins discover something like Vitrifiable Stones, and plainly to have undergone the action of fire. It is said that the family of Finhaven were wont to retire to this Castle in time of danger. There are evident marks of a well on the west end of it. The height of the hill is about 500 yards from the level of the country. At the foot of it, immediately south of the Castle, there is an appearance of a Crater of Volcano, and all arround something that resembles lava." Old Stat Acct. [Statistical Account] "With regard to the vitrification, various systems were immediately formed. Those philosophers, who Arrogated the most knowledge, decided that the hills, & forts, & vitrification, were all the necessary effects of extinct volcanoes. Inquirers of a different sort have said, indeed, with less confidence, that the hills are natural, that the forts are artificial, but that the vitrifications are volcanic. The discoverer of these vitrified forts, with those who have followed him, maintain that, vitrification was used, when these strengths were erected, as a mode of Architecture. But a more sober inquirer has clearly shown, that the vitrified forts are the elaborate works of design, for the security of the earliest people; & that the vitrifications are the Accidental effects of fire upon structures, which had been formed of fusible materials. Of these vitrified forts, which may be traced in Every direction of North Britain there is in Forfarshire upon the "Castle Hill of Finhaven", an eminence of great height, a British Fortress, which was once surrounded by a rampart of dry stones, but cemented by a semivitrified substance" Chalmers Caledonia Vol. [Volume] 1 p [page] 472 |
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[Page] 30Transcribers who have contributed to this page.
Alison James- Moderator, Alice Bremner
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