62 Clava : " T/ie Stonehenge of Scotland!' [Sess. 



" finds " in the two Clava chambers, and it seems highly- 

 probable that they were used for all three purposes. West- 

 minster Abbey and Dunfermline Abbey may be cited as 

 examples of this. Mr Eraser says, "As a general conclu- 

 sion, it may, I think, be assumed that large circles were used 

 at one time for heathen worship of some kind, as well as for 

 burials and memorials of the dead." 



A thought which occurs to me is that they were open-air 

 temples, like the " groves " and " high places " of old ; and 

 Stonehenge, with its many door-like erections, reminds one 

 of the many gates in Solomon's Temple, and of the twelve 

 gates of the " New Jerusalem " of the Apocalypse. A lady 

 antiquary, Miss C. Maclagan, in her large and able work on 

 the " Hill Forts and Stone Circles of Ancient Scotland " 

 (1875), propounds and ably supports the theory that these 

 circles were the dwelling-places of the people, akin to the 

 brochs, and that the pillar-stones of the outer circles formed 

 part of the outer walls of the buildings. A strong point in 

 her argument is that the recumbent stone found in many 

 circles formed the lintel of the outer entrance. Much as 

 I admire Miss Maclagan's work, I cannot agree with her 

 theory. But here is yet another, and quite a new one. Sir 

 Norman Lockyer thinks they may have been observatories, 

 and supposes the " recumbent stone " to have been the point 

 from which observations of the times of the rising of certain 

 stars were made by the (Druid ?) priests, who, by their 

 superior knowledge of such things, were enabled to uphold 

 their sway over the common people. Meantime observations 

 are being conducted at certain circles, at Sir Norman's re- 

 quest, to test the truth or otherwise of his theory, which 

 recalls the opinion of some authorities that Egypt's "Great 

 Pyramid" was an observatory and not a tomb. Circles on 

 open plains or on eminences may have served as observatories, 

 but it is not easy to see how those in the deep narrow valley 

 of the Nairn, especially those purposely placed in hollows, 

 could have been used for such a purpose. 



In his paper (in last ' Transactions ') on Cup-marked Stones, 

 Colonel Sconce remarks that such stones occur frequently in 

 connection with circles, and several have been detected in 

 the Clava and other circles in Strathnairn — viz., in the inter- 



