A Pict's Hoose. 61 



2. Description of an Underground Dvjelling, commonly called a 

 Pict's House, at Pitcur, near Ciipar-Anyus. 



By Rev. Wm. Andsox. 



By way of introduction to this paper, I may mention the 

 occasion which led to its being written. Last summer T went 

 to the town of Blairgowrie, in Perthshire, during the holiday 

 season, and spent a fortnight there. One of the ministers in 

 the town, the Rev. Malcolm White, who takes a great interest 

 in antiquarian research, kindly invited me to accompany him on 

 a visit to .some places in the neighVjourhood where there were 

 objects of tliis kind to be .seen. Among other places he took me 

 to what he called a cave-dwelling at Pitcur, about two miles or 

 so from Cupar- Angus, and a little off the road between that town 

 and Dundee. In order to reach the place we had to cross a 

 turnip field, on the farther side of which there was a part slightly 

 raised above the level of the field and covered with turf. On 

 arriving at the spot Ave came upon an opening at a lower level, on 

 entering which we found ourselves in a regularly built gallery con. 

 struct ed of large blocks or boulders of undressed and unceraented 

 stone, about six feet wide at the bottom or floor and half-way up 

 but narrowing towards the roof, and not less than six feet high. 

 The roof was formed by large slabs of stone laid across. The 

 side walls were vertical for the first three feet from the floor, 

 and then inclined inwards with a curve by the gradual over- 

 lapping of the stones towards the centre, so that the width at 

 the top where the roofing stones were placed would not be more 

 than about four feet. There was no regular arch. The arch 

 seems to have been unknown to the constructors of these dwell- 

 ings, but a kind of rude and imperfect arch formed in the way I 

 have described. On the right hand wall at the entrance there 

 was a recess cut into the stone about six or seven inches deep, 

 and about two feet wide, and two feet or a little higher. 

 What the design of this was my friend could not say. It could 

 not be a fireplace, for there was no opening for smoke to escape 

 by, and it was too small for a press or repository of any kind. 

 My own opinion, after reading the descriptions of several similar 

 • luildings in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of 

 Scotland, is that it must have been intended to receive the slab 

 which closed the entrance to the gallery when it was opened for 

 the admission of those to whom the structure belonged. But in 



