tl&8 antiquities in See t land. Aug. 15, 



black. There is no tradition of the time when ei- 

 ther this structure, or the vitrified walls, were erec-. 

 ted ; bat it is sufficiently apparent that the lat- 

 ter mujt have been of a date much prior to the for- 

 mer, and built bj a nation in a very different state of 

 civil polity ; for, at the latter period, the lord of the 

 domain having found, we may suppose, the old vi- 

 trified fortification inadequate to the purpose of de- 

 fence, or inapplicable to the state of his private af- 

 fairs, has purposely demolished them, and, with their 

 ruins, erected his own habitation. This is evident 

 from the fragments of the vitrified walls and scorch- 

 ed stones, which are every where discoverable in the 

 ruins of the stone and lime building. 



This circumstance, in my opinion, deserves to be 

 particularly attended to, as it serves to throw some 

 light upon the ancient state of our civil polity, and 

 its revolutions, where more distinct records are 

 wanting. In the infancy of society, perhaps in all 

 liations, no man afsumed any other authority over 

 others than what was voluntarily yielded on ac- 

 count of his age, experience, or superior abilities, 

 whether mental or corporal. But man could hardly 

 be placed in society before he would discover that, 

 •without the afsistance of his fellows, he was a 

 weak defencelefs animal ; so that, although each 

 might live independent of another while at peace, 

 when anv danger threatened they would find the ne- 

 Cefsity of uniting together for mutual defence, and 

 of submitting, for the time, to be directed by the wis- 

 dom of some man in whom they in general placed 

 confidence. In this state of society it would exceed the 



