179^* account of antiquities in Scotland, 2 S3 



This account of the upper part of these buildings 

 I give merely from hear-say, as the walls of the 

 most entire one that I, have seen, did not, "as I ima- 

 gine, exceed twenty feet in height, and was at the top 

 very little narrower than at the base. This was at 

 a place called hun-Agglesag in Rofsfhire, about ten 



. miles W'Cst from Tain, on the south bank of the frith 

 of Dornoch, which was in summer 1775, in the 

 following condition : 



The walls appeared to be perfectly circular. The 

 internal diameter, (as nearly as I can recollect, ha- 

 ving lost my notes of this tour,) was about fifty feet. 

 The walls were about twelve feet in thicknefs, and 

 the entry into it was at one place, by a door, about 



.four feet wide. The height I could not exactly mea- 

 sure, .as the pafsage, as well as the inside of the build- 

 ing, was choaked up in 3ome measure with rubbifli, 

 so that we could not see the floor. The quoins of the 

 door consisted of large stones, carefully chosen, so as 

 exactly to fit the place where they were to be put ; 

 but neither here, nor in any other part of the build- 

 ing, could I discover the smallest mark of a ham- 

 mer or any other tool. The aperture for the door 

 was covered at top with a very large stone, in the- 

 form of an equilateral triangle, each side being a- 

 br.ut six feet in length, which was exactly placed o- 

 v.er the middle of the opening. This stone was a- 

 bout four feet in thicknefs. It is impofsible not to 

 be surprised to think in what manner a rude people^ 

 seemingly ignorant of tlie powers of mechanism, could 

 have been able to raise a stone of these dimensions 

 •o sucli a hciglit, and to plice it above loose stones, &9 



