36S MISCELLANEA. 



exhaustive summary prefixed to the magnificent folio plates, 

 published under the liberal auspices of the late, and present Duke 

 of Xorthumberland, reviewed the whole subject and adopted the 

 opinion that these markings are artificial, and ** it is possible that 

 they have some religious significancy." (See Incised Markings 

 on Stone, pp. 1-12, 1869.) 



It may be remarked on the above quotations that the occur- 

 rence of slabs covered with concentric circles in the old burial 

 places may be only accidental. A barbarous people with few 

 powerful tools would be almost certain to search the outcrop of 

 the rock-head for loose slabs, such as might be easily wedged off, 

 and even the farmers of the present day, and in the very same 

 places, employ their servants to do the very same thing, prefer- 

 ling to wedge off loose stones to the more expensive way of 

 fjuarrying. Large pieces of the Routing Linn sculptured stone 

 have been recently quamed, not for burial purposes certainly, 

 but for " walling ".and other agiicultural requirements. 



That these circles are associated with "the last remains of 

 Celtic heroes and sages," even admitting the latter were proved 

 to be such, is no proof at all tliat the circles are of Celtic origin. 

 '•The invariable association of these inscriptions with ancient 

 British forts, oppida, ^-illages, and sepulchres," is no evidence of 

 all liaving been the work of the people who dwelt in these vil- 

 lages and were buried in these tombs, for how many thousand 

 camps, etc., are there in other parts of the country belonging to 

 the same race where no trace of concentric circles has ever been 

 found ? how n.any a tomb has been opened and district explored 

 without finding a trace of these circles ? we must therefore at- 

 tribute the proximity of the camps to them on the wild moors 

 of Northumberland, Yorkshire, and Scotland, to be merely 

 accidental. 



In Northumberland, even within the historic period, the phy- 

 sical appearance and condition (»f the country where these camps 

 occur must liave been widely diircrent from what it is at present. 

 The primitive, natural wood.s as they are called in this district, 

 covered tlie tops of all but the very liighest hills, and dense 

 forests the lower ground. Proofs of this still remain in many 



