■jtqz antiquiiies in Scx)tland. April 25. 



La matters of such remote antiquity, in unlettered 

 times, that the buildings of which we now treaty 

 were temples erected in honour of those gods that 

 were worlhippcd in Scandinavia. What adds still 

 greater weight to this conjecture is, that these 

 buildings are to this day called by the common people 

 Picts'' lio'tses, and it is well known that the people 

 called Ficts were anciently of Scandinavian origin. 

 They arc found too only in the Zetland and Orkney 

 isles, and in the northern parts of Scotland, which, by 

 being nearest to Scandinavia, were probably first 

 peopled from thence, and often visited in future 

 times by the Scandinavians ; and even till of late, 

 many of them were subjected to the power of Nor- 

 M'ay. They abound in Norway. 



I pretend not, however, here to explain all the dif- 

 ficulties that might be started on this subject. It ap- 

 pears that in general these structures were called cir- 

 cles of Loday'a.wdi that the spirit there worfliippcd was 

 called the spirit of Loda ; yet vve find in Ofsia,n fre- 

 quent allusions made to another temple of the same 

 kind, that was called the circle of Brumo, v.fhich was 

 placed in the isle of Craca. It is probable, however, 

 that the circle of Loda was the generic, name by 

 which all the temples of this kind were known, be- 

 cause in all of them the spirit of Loda was wor- 

 ihipped ; but that each individual temple might have 

 its particular name, by which it was distlnguiilied 

 frcm all others ; and that the circle of Brumo might, 

 be only a particular name for one of the circles of 

 Loda. Tliis circle oi BrurriQ, however, seems to have 

 ■heen eminently distinguiihe*. for' the wildnefs of it;a.- 



