.I792« ^ on antiqttitifs in' Scotland^ 57 



matter of very great difficulty, to form even a pro- 

 bable conjecture on that head. Such is actually the 

 ■case at present with regard to those buildings which 

 ibrm the object of our present inquiry ; no record, 

 -no tradition even is preserved of their origin and 

 uses. Formerly, it was customary to ascribe every 

 ■stupenduous undertaking to the ancient race of 

 giants, with which traditionary history had peopled 

 every country of the globe, in remote times ; but we 

 do not find that this universal bias takes place here. 

 The only circumstance that bears the appearance of 

 tradition in this case is the vulgar name usually ap- 

 propriated to these structures, -jiz. the druid's house,, 

 as the druid's house of Dun-agglesag the druid's 

 house of Glenelg, "iSc. But it is well known, tha,t 

 most things that are extraordinary in Scotland, have 

 been attributed blindly to the druids, so that little re- 

 liance can be had upon this circumstance. 



Modern antiquarians, as might be expected, arg 

 divided in opinion concerning the uses of these struc- 

 tures ; butthese conjectures maybe allreduceito the 

 .following, W^.^frj/, that they have Jj sen intended to 

 serve the purpose of watch towers ; or second, places 

 of defence ; third, habitations for the princes or gran- 

 dees of the land ; fourth, places of religious worfliip.; 

 each of which ftiall be considered in order. 

 I. Watch towers. 



Many persons believe that these structures were 



erected, like the watch towers on the southern coasts 



of Spain, to serve as beacons, on which fires might 



' be lighted, to alarm the country in case of an invasio;i> 



VOL, yiii. H t 



