III. ON SOME REMARKABLE DISCOVERIES OF RUDE STONE IMPLE- MENTS IN SHETLAND ARTHUY B . R MITCHELL, M.D., F.S.A. SCOT. In consequence of discoveries in the island of Unst, by Mr Edmondston of Buness, the Earl of Zetland was induced to place a sum of money at. the disposal of the Anthropological Society, to he expended on further antiquarian researche n Shetlandi s increases . wa donaThia m y dsu sb - tion from the Society itself, and Dr Hunt and Mr Ealph Tate were deputed to go north in the summer of 1865, and conduct the explorations. Mr George Petrie f Kirkwallo , s fortunatelwa , y abl joio t e n themt I . happened thaoccasionae th t l visi Shetlano t whicy mads pa t wa I hdea the timo these gentlemen thus werd advantage ha th e I there d f o ean , ON RUDE STONE IMPLEMENTS FOUND IN SHETLAND. 119 hearing muc f whaf seein ho doneo s d wa t gan , such object s theia s- ex r plorations brought to light. The absence in Shetland of those underground or semi-underground structures, commowhico s e h ar n Orkneyni s ofteha , n been pointet dou and commenter Hunt'D d san , attentiodon directes n wa spo a o dt where such a structure was said to exist, as one likely to yield results which would repa laboue yth d expensran a carefu f o e l exploration e spoTh t• . t Safestera alludee pariss i th f Sandstingn o o hi t d, wese th tn o sid, e of the mainland, and is close to a notable tumulus. Having obtained e permissioth e proprietorth f nr o Petri M r Hun D d ,e an tcommence d operations, and they very soon came upon some sort of rude and ruinous building, only a few feet below the surface. In the earth which workmee th n threw out, stone peculiaa f so r form attracted attentiond an , on examination they were thought to exhibit signs of having been manu- factured. On looking round, many of these stones were seen lying on the surface of the ground, and on instituting a careful search many more were obtained soie , surfacee th eithel th immediateln i n r ro o , y above eth structure alluded to, or in the structure itself. The last locality, how- ever, was the least rich, and the surface, I believe, yielded more than the t together—thpu otheo tw r e whole find amounting I ,think o somt , e hundreds. undergroune Th d structure with which they were associated (see fig) 1 . was about 45 feet long, and had a width varying from 16 to 19 inches, and a height of 2 to 2-| feet. One end was closed up, and there a squarish Fig. 1.—Underground Building at Safester (Section and Ground-plan). expansion occurred, whic s nowherwa h e wider tha 0 inches3 e n Th . sides were perpendicular—havin o tendencn g o converge—ant y e th d workmanship was extremely rude. The lintels were large and flattish, and many were displaced. There is good reason, indeed, for believing that 120 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 18C7. the spot was examined about 30 years ago by that eident antiquary, Mr Brydone, the minister of the parish, who is said to have found many stone weapons there. If he did so, it is probable that they consisted of usuae th l polished celt d knivess attentiohi an s r fo , n doe t appeasno o t r have been caught by objects fashioned so rudely as those now under consideration. The structure was filled with earth and stones, and in this rubbis he implement somth f o e s were discovered, but s alreada , y stated t nearle soie no th , l th mano n y ovei s n e lintels o s th ya r d an , surface of the cultivated ground, over an area of one to two hundred yard diametern si . Fig. 2.—Elevation of underground Structure at Eriboll, Sutherlandshire. Fig. 3.—Ground-pla dittof no . This underground building was puzzlingly rude, insignificant, and meaningless. At first sight it looked' like a drain, but it was too large for that, though barely large enough for anything else. Besides, it could not have bee propee ndraia th n ni r sense somn i s a ,e place flooe sth r rosd ean fell with the surface of the underlying rock. I have not seen a similar structure in any part of Scotland. That, perhaps, which most nearly approache e eartth hs i hous, it s t Eribolea l, whic (se3) ed I h figs an 2 . described to the Society some time ago, but even between these two the distanc n styl ei desig d et an Safeste a vers n i pose y yon - ma rgreate Th . sibly have been underground to some overground structure, but if so, no trace remaine superterraneae th f do n edifice—the whole surface being under ON RUDE STONE IMPLEMENTS FOUN SHETLANDN DI 1 12 . crop. It was suggested to me that it might have been a grave, begun at the close witd firse den hth t interment added t eaca an , o hdt succeeding interment I lear. n tha similaa t r suggestio bees nha n mad referencn ei e ruine somo t th Brittanyf n sei o . No thing, however founs ,t wa Safeste da r to give support to such a theory. Another view of its use naturally sug- gests itself—viz., that it had been a store or hiding-place for these hand- fashioned stones t againsbu ; t thi e sfacts th ther e , ar e tha e stoneth t s were found in smaller numbers within than without it, and that we know nothing of the man who could creep into and out of such a structure in order to deposit or withdraw the implements. In short, I have no weln theorca l I believe uses advanco t yt it ye ;o t , s t ea weri tha f i te known, there would be little about it of the wonderful. The large tumulus, clos o whicet h this structur s situated,ei alss owa examine Dy dfouns b r Hunt wa consis o t dd an , f smalo t l broken stones (which had been exposed to the action of fire), and to contain a built chamber, in a state of too great ruin, however, to permit of its plan being made out. It is worthy of remark, in passing, that many, both of the larg smald ean l green tumul Shetlann i d consis f smalo t l burnt stones,— not waterworn and rounded, but irregular and angular fragments of large stones. When I first saw the collection of worked stones from Safester, I felt much inclined to doubt their having been fashioned by the hand of man; them w t whesa bu largeI n againi d ran , numbers, these doubts were dissipated. It was impossible, I felt, to resist the belief that they were the produc humaf o t n action thad an ,t purposa ther s ewa thein ei r design. The day after I had an opportunity of examining the entire Safester find, it happened that I halted for the night at the house of a very intelli- gent Shetlandercourse th f conversation ei o d an , e nI describe th m hi o dt rude implement seenwend e H ha t. I sstraightwa s gardenhi o yt , and, much to my surprise, brought me a rude implement, which he said had been found at a place called Houland, over which, he added, I should have^to ride next day. He told me further that many had been found there, and that he had carried away about a dozen, which had all been los destroyedr o t . e show, Otheexcepme on o e t nr th t people e saidh , , had carried away those displaying the best workmanship; but, as they had been turned up in great numbers, he felt sure that many would still 122 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBKUAKY 1867. he found in the rubbish near the spot. According to his description, the workmen, while deep trenching some waste land, caine upon a building whic s undergroundwa h s necessard whicwa an , t i h o removet y t bu ; whethe workee th r d stones were found abovethin i sr o buildin coule gh d not say. He thought, however, that in the heaps of rubbish, which had been wheeled beyond the enclosure or infield, I should still find many worked stones, but that they would, probably, for the reasons given, con- rudee th sis f ro t forms. Next day I was made aware that I had. reached the spot he had •spoke y seeinb f no g suc implemenn a h s thosa t e from Safestey m t a r horse' lyins swa g feet t closI .severa o et l heap stonesf so I dismounte. d and picked it up, and in less than five minutes I found fifteen more. I carried thes crofter'a o et s house, whic neas t hhandwa ra ; an shown do - ing them, I was at once presented - with a casie1 full, lying in a corner of the room under a heap of peats. Among these was a finely-polished oval "knife f hornblendio c rock.. The people of the cottage undertook to convey my find, which in a quarte houn d becoma ha f ro r e very e heavynearesth o t ,t merchant, through whom it eventually reached Edinburgh.