# Shetland Folk-Lore/The Picts and Their Brochs

THE PICTS AND THEIR BROCHS
THE PICTS AND THEIR BROCHS
HE first inhabitants of Shetland, who were they, and whence did they come? are questions wrapped in obscurity; and although much has been said and written on the subject, it has never been advanced beyond the stage of conjecture. It is generally admitted that the Picts were the first inhabitants of Shetland, and that they came from Scotland, but from what region they migrated thither is a subject of uncertainty.
It is reasonable to suppose that the ​earlier migrations of the human race have been from east to west—hence we may infer that the people called Picts were Finnish adventurers from the Scandinavian peninsula, who migrated or were driven westward about the beginning of or shortly before the Christian era. And as Shetland is the nearest land to Norway, they probably colonised these islands first, and in time proceeded westward by way of the Orkneys to the mainland of Scotland. In support of this view it may be mentioned that there are a few place-names in which the Finns appear to be commemorated, e.g., Finnigirt and Finnie, in the Island of Fetlar; and Finnister, in Nesting, etc. It is worthy of note that these places are associated in the public mind with trolls, or at least something uncanny. Of Finnigirt Dr. Jacobsen says: “There are a few legends told about places along this dyke stead, and the spot where it terminates on the south side of the island has been of old a noted place for trolls.” ​Regarding Finnister in Nesting, the name is applied to one of the numerous punds or enclosures found in the Shetland scattalds. The ground inside the old Finnister dyke had evidently been a toon, and had been occupied as a croft. It is traditionally said that the last family all died or mysteriously disappeared by some enchantment, and although the ground is the richest spot in the pasture, no animal was said to remain on it after sundown.
In the parish of Delting there is a green hillock called “Finnister Knowe,” probably a burial mound. Also at Brettabister, in the parish of Nesting, near a large Pictish ruin, there is a place called the “Finnie Knowe,” i.e., the Finns’ Knoll; and the same name is applied to a green hillock near the burn of Grunafirth. And further, there is in a remote glen between the hill of Boofell and the Lang Kame two little hillocks called Finnister Hadds. The word hadd is applied particularly to the hole made by a burrowing animal. ​Even the earth dwelling of man might be termed a hadd or hiding-place. Hence the name would signify the Finns’ burrow or hiding-place. Earth houses have existed in the neighbourhood, remains of which may still be seen.
It is also worthy of note that there were, and even yet linger, numerous legends in Shetland which may be regarded as of Finnish origin, or at least associated in the minds of old Shetlanders with real or imaginary beings whom they called Finns. There were persons supposed to be descendants of Finns, who were accredited with extraordinary powers. They could render themselves visible or invisible at pleasure. They could metamorphose themselves into the likeness of beast, bird, or fish. It is even said that they could assume the appearance of a beetle, hence we have to this day the witchie-clock and the tur-diel, two kinds of beetles. They were supposed to understand the language of the corbies or ravens, and this ​gift often proved to be of considerable advantage. An old man possessed of this Finnish art had lost a young horse. He wandered up hill and down dale for several days without finding the straying animal, but one morning two corbies alighted on a knoll near his house and engaged in a short croaking dialogue, and to his surprise the conversation was interpreted as follows:—
1st Corbie—Dead horse! dead horse! 2nd Corbie—Whaar pairt? whaar pairt? 1st Corbie—Upo da Neep, upo da Neep. 2nd Corbie—Is he fat? is he fat? 1st Corbie—Aa spick, aa spick.
The man, on going to the place indicated in the corbies’ speech, found that his own horse had fallen over the banks.
Persons who were possessed of the Finnish art could perform feats by sea or water quite impossible to ordinary mortals. They could raise the wind like furies in order to wreck the crafts of their enemies, and change the storm into a calm. ​
The following are the words of an ancient spell for laying the wind at sea:
“Robin cam ow’r da vaana wi’ da sköna Twaabie, toobie, keelikim, koolikim, Pattrik alanks da Robin, Gude runk da gro.”
A Finn man could cross from Norwick in Unst to Bergen in Norway and return between the hours of sunset and sunrise, the traditional speed being nine miles to the warp (stroke of the oar). They were adepts at recovering things lost in the sea which to ordinary mortals were irrecoverable.
A story is told in Unst of a Finn whose two sons had a winter boat. They had been off at the handline, and on their return one evening after dark were recounting the day’s adventures to the old man. Among other things they mentioned their ill-luck in being fast to da baldin (i.e., a turbot) which had broken a skoag that the father had prepared. A little later he told them to put on the ​supper, as he was going out for a short time, and would be back by the time the kettle was “poor’d.” Well, just as the supper was ready the guidman entered the house, bearing on his back a large turbot, in the mouth of which hung the lost skoag. Says one of the boys: “Guid be naar dee, daa, whaar’s du been aa dis?” “Aks du dat,” says the old man; and, throwing down the fish, he exclaims: “Ill stjund ta dy glyed face. I haed da Öra at da Ötsta wi’ Vytaberg at Tonga afore I made up wi’ ’im.”
The Finns were said to be the only beings who could safely ride the Neugle. The neugle or nicker was a water deity that appeared in the form of a sleek horse, having an erect mane and tail like the “rim o’ a muckle wheel.” He frequented the banks of burns and the margins of lonely lakes, playing his pranks on water-mills (where the owner had neglected to give him an offering) by stopping the tirl. If any luckless nocturnal wanderer, ​mistaking the neugle for a real horse, should get astride the uncanny beast, he was at once borne with the swiftness of an arrow into the middle of the nearest lake or dam, and there left struggling in the water, while he beheld the creature rushing towards the opposite shore like a streak of mareel. It is not said that anyone was ever actually drowned by the neugle. But the Finns could ride the water horse, and were supposed to utilise him in some of their rapid movements.
In Shetland folk-lore the Finns, both men and women, were supposed to possess a skin or garment like the covering of a selkie (seal). Enrobed in this magic coat, they could take to the water as readily and as safely as an amphibious animal. But if by any mischance they lost or were deprived of it, then the rest of their days must be spent on terra firma like other ordinary mortals.
In old times there was an aversion to and superstitious dread of killing a selkie, ​lest it should be a metamorphic Finn; and in the case of a gun being aimed at it, the weapon was sure to miss fire until a piece of silver money was placed above the shot.
A story is told of a Norway Finn that fell in love with a bonny lass of the ordinary rank. But her father refused to sanction the union. The Finnish lover, not to be deprived of the object of his ardent affection, succeeded in carrying her off in his boat. The father, being apprised of the elopement, gave chase with all possible speed. The Finn, on seeing that he was pursued, put the helm into the hand of his fair lady, while he cut chips off the shank of the oar and threw them overboard. These, falling into the water, appeared like boats to the onlooker, and the lady’s father, seeing the runaway craft escorted by a whole fleet, gave up the chase.
Even in recent times persons who were marked as being particularly lucky, and ​those who were supposed to be skilled in the Black Art, were spoken of as Norway Finns. And a person whose odd, eccentric appearance and actions would lead to the supposition that “they could dö mair dan maet demsels,” was termed a Hjokfinnie body—i.e., a buried Finn up again.
The words or charms that were used by persons who professed the healing art, such as “telling oot” toothache or ringworm, casting the aaba knot or tying the wrestin treed, sometimes had reference to Finns, e.g.:
“A Finn cam ow’r frae Noraway Ta pit töthake awa, Oot o’ da flesh an’ oot o’ da bane, Oot o’ da sinin an’ inta da skin, Oot o’ da skin an’ inta da stane, An’ dere may du remain.”
These are a few of the Finn legends found in Shetlandic story, and it is difficult to understand how such stories came to exist unless a people called Finns had had a long-standing connection with the ​islands, either as an independent people, prior to the Norse invasion, or accompanying the Norse warriors at a later date.
But to return to the Picts. Whoever they were, they are gone, leaving nothing behind them but the numerous brochs, burial mounds, and standing stones; and as we gaze on these mouldering remains of a byegone age, we can only soliloquise in the words of the poet:
“Once in the flight of ages past There lived a man, and who was he? Unknown the region of his birth, The land in which he died unknown. His name has perished from the earth, This truth survives alone: That joy and grief, and hope and fear, Alternate triumphed in his breast; His bliss and woe— A smile—a tear— Oblivion hides the rest.”
The Picts probably occupied the islands for a thousand years. They have been a numerous, industrious, and intelligent ​people, inhabiting the land from end to end, as these remains show. Upwards of a hundred brochs and other remains may be traced in Shetland. Their number may be gathered from the many place-names to which they have given birth. In every parish there are townships called Brough, while other derivations are common, such as Burra, Burravoe, Burrafirth, Burragarth, Burraland, Burgalea, Burgasand, Burgawater, etc., etc. Then we have a great many names that take the broch as a suffix, e.g., Collingsbrough, Footabrough, Gossabrough, Overbrough, Snaabrough, Strandiebrough, Railsbrough, Musselbrough (at Uyeasound), etc., etc.
There are at least ten brochs in Unst, viz., Balta, Balliasta, Burrafirth, Oganess, Colvidale, Newgord Holm, Uyeasound, Underhool, Woodwick, and Snaabrough; and there are almost as many in Yell, while Fetlar possesses at least three. There are four existing brochs in Delting, eight in Northmavine, and, in the districts ​of Sandness and Aithsting there are traces of no less than nine brochs, several of which have been important structures of their kind. There are three brochs in Whalsay, and in South Nesting district within a radius of two miles no less than six Pictish ruins may be found. And similarly all over the southern mainland, the utmost limit of which (Sumburgh Head) derives its name from these ancient remains.
As to how the Picts supported themselves, we must be left a good deal to conjecture. Their means of livelihood were no doubt very precarious, drawn chiefly from the sheep and cattle that pastured on the hills. They perhaps grew corn, which they made into meal by pounding in a stone mortar, the old knockin’ stane and mell—now obsolete—being an improvement on the original. Some ancient people, presumably the Picts, have occupied the pastures and outruns of Shetland in a manner never subsequently attempted. ​All the hills and outruns of the islands are ramified by a network of the remains of old stone dykes. Those vestiges (which seldom have any name) are very ancient, probably coeval with the brochs. There is a place in Unst, near the broch of Underhool, where what appears to be the outer dyke of an old town can be traced; but for a considerable distance the mark of the stead was lost to view, and I concluded that the dyke had either never existed or the stones had been removed. But what was my surprise, on returning after many years’ absence, to find that the crofters, on cutting the ground for peats, had uncovered the whole length of the old dyke, leaving it almost entire, after being buried for centuries under four feet of peat moss.
Since I am referring to these ancient enclosures, I may mention that a short time ago, while a party of workmen were engaged in the construction of a road inside this old dyke, a burial place was ​discovered, in which were found three graves, each enclosed by four rough stone slabs. No human remains were found, but each cist contained a mortar and a lamp, both of stone. The mortar was smaller than the old knockin’ stane, and by its shape and wear seemed adapted for holding between the knees of the operator when being used. The inside hollow was capable of holding two pounds of meal. The lamp, as I shall call it, was a bit of stone hollowed out like a saucer—just a stone collie. It looked as if it had been saturated with oil, and bore traces of the action of fire.
These were probably Pictish remains, and though perhaps of very little archæological interest, yet tell in unmistakable language that the Picts, like ourselves, looked upon the grave as a darksome journey, and, like us, felt the need of some provision for the great hereafter. Hence, according to the light they possessed, the collie and the knockin’ stane ​were the most likely to supply those wants.
The Picts drew their means of support not only from the pastures and their scanty agricultural productions, but then, as now, the “harvest of the sea” contributed largely to their support.
Their mode of fishing was no doubt of the most primitive kind, particularly rock fishing—or craigs. The extent to which this mode of fishing has been practised in Shetland may be gathered from the vast number of small round holes, hollowed out by human hands, and known as “the cup holes.” All round the islands, unless where the height or nature of the cliffs render it impossible, these holes are found; and not one, to my knowledge, is met with in a situation unsuitable for a craigasoad or bersit (rock seat). I have sometimes landed on parts of the coast now little frequented, and have been surprised to find a nicely formed cup hole, and could trace, by the wear on the stone, where the ​ancient craigsman had sat, where his feet had stood, and where his böddie had hung. These holes are not often met with on the low shores of our inland voes, because there the primitive boat of the period could fish in ordinary weather.
Several conjectures have been made as to the origin and use of those ancient marks. Some have supposed that they have been used in connection with worship. I do not believe that those who made them were so foolish as to climb the heights of Tukkabersoada or Lucegrood, or descend to the Bersit o' Millyague to offer their devotions.
It is commonly supposed that these holes were formed for the purpose of pounding and holding rooder for soe, or lure. Probably this latter theory contains an element of truth. The craig fisherman would have found the cup hole very convenient for holding bait, and no doubt he utilised it for that purpose while engaged in fishing. The bait, I imagine, was ​limpets, and these were not prepared either as bait or lure by crushing or bruising, but by chewing in the mouth; and I presume the Picts were as expert as we are in the art of chewing, and far in advance of us in chewing apparatus.
The craigstane or bersit was to the ancient dweller of our islands what the fishing boat is to the modern fisherman. They were among his most valuable possessions, supplying him with the means of subsistence when other sources were exhausted. May we not suppose that those old marks were originally intended to give the maker some sort of proprietary right to that particular craigsitting (as they are sometimes called), and would probably descend from father to son?
Now, while the Picts were living peacefully among the hills and round the voes and creeks of Shetland,—tending their sheep, cultivating plots in sheltered nooks, brewing their heather beer, gathering shell-fish and birds’ eggs in their season ​to eke out and add variety to their dietary,—suddenly their quiet is broken by strangers landing on the coast. Those unwelcome visitors were Norsemen, who made piratical expeditions to almost all parts of European waters. The poverty of their country induced those sea rovers, or Vikings, to adopt this course; and also their religion inspired them with a love for daring enterprise, since it taught them that warriors fallen in battle were admitted into all the joys of Valhalla. The Picts soon discovered that the strangers who had landed on their shores were bent on plunder, with perhaps an eye to settlement and the acquisition of territory.
Now, those first visitors would doubtless leave after a short sojourn, carrying off such booty as they could obtain, and this would at once suggest to the Pictish mind the necessity for some means of defence; and with the instinct of self-preservation and the love of home, they would at once take steps to fortify themselves against the ​raids of the invaders. Hence the construction of the numerous brochs or castles to which we have referred. The mass of stone, often transported from a distance, used in some of the brochs is something marvellous, and points to the concerted action of a multitude of hands. The sites chosen were such as could best facilitate the transmission of messages by means of signals from end to end of the land with almost telegraphic speed. It is noticeable that from one broch another can be seen, and from this a third, and so on, from Scaw to Fitful. If a broch can be found that does not fulfil this condition, a voard or wart, which signifies a watch-tower, is in the neighbourhood.
The most favoured sites for brochs were holms in lochs, holms and skerries near the seashore, especially such holms, or islets, as were wholly or partially connected with the mainland by tidal beaches or reefs; and where such formation was absent, a sort of half-tide footway, or brig, ​was built, sometimes in a zig-zag direction, intended to mislead the stranger who should attempt to find the submerged path.
The doorways and passages of the brochs were generally so low as not to allow an ordinary person to walk erect in them, and this has probably led to the popular belief that the Picts, or Pechts, as they are commonly called, were a dwarfish race. But it does not necessarily follow that they were such. The low formation was intended to add to the security of their abode. They could easily and instinctively accommodate themselves to the size of their own familiar surroundings, whereas a stranger would be unable to make his way through such contracted openings with anything like speed; and further, a narrow passage could be more easily defended than a wide entrance.
The Picts also constructed earth houses, remains of which have been found both on hillsides and in level fields: on Housifield, at Norwick; at Fyall, near ​Haroldswick; at Scraefield, in Balliasta; and at the foot of Saxaford Hill, near the Noup of Burrafirth. Those subterranean dwellings or hiding-places are more numerous than we are apt to imagine. There are three places near the seashore north of Scuddleswick, in Nesting, where, I believe, the remains of this class of dwelling may be seen. A great mass of stones in a small, cup-like hollow where the ground is very deep can only be accounted for as fallen-in earth houses. One of these has been a sort of double circle something like the figure 8; and in the neighbourhood are two burial mounds, viz., at the burn of Scuddleswick and the burn of Whinalea.
Natural caves and hellyers along the sea coast were no doubt used by those early inhabitants as places of retreat. The names of some of these, together with legends connected with them, lead to this conclusion. For example, the Hellyer o’ Fivlagord, the Den o’ Pettasmog, the Hole o’ Henkie, and the Ha’ o’ Doon ​Hellyer, are places that from time immemorial have been associated in the public mind with trows or hillfolk. The names Fivla and Tivla appear to have been favourite appellations given to trows of the feminine gender, and are often met with in fairy legends (see Jacobsen’s “Shetland Dialect,” p. 69). The word fivla is used in Unst in designating a light fall of snow. Just as much as can give to the ground a wierd, silver-grey appearance is called a “fivla o’ snaa.” Henk is applied to the movements of trolls, particularly in a fairy dance. Old people spoke of having seen numbers of puny beings dancing round a fairy knowe. These were spoken of as a “scrae o’ henkies.” A fairy wife who failed to obtain a partner in a dance was heard to express herself thus:
“‘Hey!’ co (quoth) Cuttie; an ‘ho!’ co Cuttie; ‘An’ wha ’ill dance wi’ me?’ co Cuttie. Shö luked aboot an’ saw naebody; ‘Sae I’ll henk awa mesel’,’ co Cuttie.”
The Picts, having constructed their brochs or castles, would no doubt have a trusty sentinel located in each and on the neighbouring voard, where he might be seen gazing out on the mysterious ocean. If, perchance, his eyes descry a suspicious craft in the offing, he at once sets fire to a heap of dry heather kept in readiness for the purpose, and in less time than it takes to read this page the brochs are ablaze, and the inhabitants from Scaw to Sumburgh are warned of the impending danger. Those who cannot fight flock to the caves, hellyers, and earth houses, while every broch is garrisoned with brave men and true, determined to repel the invaders. Tradition speaks of several battles as having taken place. A great battle said to have been fought at Norwick in Unst, and also one in the neighbourhood of the Blue Mull. The Outer Mull is a sort of Gibraltar-like formation, and across the narrow neck of land between Infraneb and Fraeklesgeo there is the remains of ​a great earthwork called “the Virkie.” In this fortress the Picts no doubt entrenched themselves, and would be able to offer stern resistance to the Norsemen. An old township near the traditional battlefield, is called Viggie, which is said to signify a place of conflict. A story was told in Unst, how the ground in Blue Mull was subsequently cultivated, but had to be given up, owing to the stalks of corn being filled with blood, supposed to be a judgment on account of the carnage that had taken place there. The stone implements called celts, known popularly as thunderbolts, are generally believed to have been Pictish weapons of warfare, and the places where they are found are supposed to have been old battlefields. Few of such implements have, as far as I know, been found in any of the brochs. Some of them are very rude, others finely shaped and beautifully polished, and it is likely that they were also used for domestic purposes. ​
But the fierce, warlike Norsemen came from time to time in greater numbers, and were more than a match for the Picts, who, worn out in their vain struggle and weakened by frequent losses, at last yielded to the conquerors. Whether they were absorbed with the incomers, or left the islands to seek a home elsewhere, or were totally extirpated, it is impossible to tell. Tradition points to the last theory. It is said that a few were spared to teach the art of brewing an intoxicating beer from heather, but rather than divulge the secret they let themselves be slain. But we can scarcely believe that the Norsemen put to death the women and children. After the din of war had ceased, the new settlers would probably get glimpses in the early morning or grey moonlight of the earth house dwellers still surviving in their midst, clinging to their old haunts with that tenacious love of home and offspring that characterises the human race; and probably those of us who pride ourselves ​as being descended from the old Vikings may add to our boast by claiming to have a blending of Pictish blood in our veins.
There are a few place-names in Shetland that may be regarded as commemorative of the Pictish occupation, such as Pettasmog, which Dr. Jacobsen regards as signifying the hiding-place of the Picts. Then there is Pettaster in Unst, Pettigarth in Whalsay, Pettafirth in Bressay, and Pettadale and Pettawater in Nesting. In olden times Pettadale was spoken of as the chief haunt of trows or hillfolk. To pass Pettawater alone after nightfall required an extraordinary nerve. On the top of the hill overlooking this lonely lake there is a cup-shaped hollow, like the crater of an extinct volcano, called Da Byre o’ Hookame, probably from being used as a hiding-place for cattle.
I shall now add a few descriptive notes with reference to some of the brochs, particularly with reference to those that have escaped public notice. ​
There are several brochs in Nesting, to two of which I shall briefly refer. The Broch of Railsbrough, situated on a small islet or skerry at the east side of Catfirth Voe, appears to have been a building unique of its kind; at anyrate, it is different from any broch I have seen. I examined it about twenty years ago while the stones were being removed for building purposes. It consisted of one circular wall about twenty feet in diameter. I do not think it had been chambered, as the wall did not appear to be very thick—say about four feet. The enclosed circular space was divided into quadrants by four walls meeting at right angles in the centre, like a cross within a circle; and in the centre, at the point where the four walls met, there stood a standing-stone six or seven feet high. These inner walls had been very thin, not more than twelve inches thick, and were built of small stones. A doorway on the east side of the outer wall led into one of the inside ​compartments, but whether there was internal access to all the four divisions, I am unable to tell. The islet on which the broch is built is separated from the shore by a narrow sound, dry at spring tide, and the usual stepping-stones or bridge had been constructed to connect it with the land. Among the ruins were found peat ashes, a stone axe, and a stone lamp similar to that found in the burial mound at Unst. I shall leave the antiquarian reader to conjecture the purpose or design of this building.
The other Nesting broch to which I shall refer claims a little attention. It has no name by which it is known locally, nor does it give a name to any township in the neighbourhood, as is commonly the case. It is situated near the top of the cliffs on a very wild part of the coast, entirely inapproachable from the sea. It has consisted of a centre tower surrounded by two circular walls. The outer wall has been about 220 feet in circumference. The ​mass of stones used in the building is enormous. The Parish Church of Nesting stands at the base of the broch, and is built wholly of stones taken from the ruin. Yet, notwithstanding this, the heap that remains forms a conical mound measuring about 70 feet in diameter at the base, and 15 feet deep in the centre.
One of the most perfect Pictish strongholds, both on account of its size and also its insular position, is the Broch Holm of Lundawick, in Unst. It is referred to by Hibbert in the following words: “West of the Moul is a rock where are the remains of an ancient burgh, destroyed by time and wilful delapidation.” This description is at fault as regards the bearing from the Blue Mull. The broch is E.N.E. from the Mull, and Hibbert’s appellation of a “rock” is scarcely fair, for although much diminished in area since the days of Hibbert by the inroads of the sea, yet it can graze a few sheep all the year round. ​
Like all the brochs, time has wasted it, and also wilful delapidation. The laird of Lund built a booth on the Holm with stones taken from the ancient walls, while hundreds of tons have been carried away as ballast by the fleet of haaf boats that fished from the Ayre of Newgord. In its original form this must have been one of the most extensive of the brochs. Even in its ruined condition it is sufficiently prominent to be used by fishermen as a landmark at sea for meithing (marking) the Burgascurs. It is clear that the greater part of the stones required in the construction of this broch have been transported from the mainland, and tradition says that they were quarried in the Gill o’ Scraers and shipped to the Holm at the Geo o’ Kurkaby. I believe such was not the case, because the Picts were not so unpractical as to fetch stones from a great distance, involving tremendous labour, when the same material could be obtained within easy distance. The Gill o’ Scraers ​is a hollow in the side of Vaalafell south of Collister, and distant from the broch about two miles. True, there is a quarry here said to be the broch quarry, but the stones are not of the same kind as those used in the construction of the broch. The stone found in the Scraers quarry is soap-stone, commonly called in Shetland clamal or clebber. Now, although the stones for the broch were not taken from here according to tradition, yet I shall show what appears to be a relation between this quarry and the true broch quarry. Some years ago, when in this neighbourhood, my attention was drawn to a large hollow in the Brae o’ Newgord, a short distance from the shore and right opposite the Broch Holm. The hollow had evidently been a stone quarry, and on enquiry I learned that it locally bore the name of Berg-grave. It was from here, I presume, that the stones for the broch were taken. My reason for this belief rests on the fact that the stone here is of the same nature as that used in the ​broch, while the name Berg-grave points to the same conclusion; besides, this quarry gives easy access to the Holm—transport downhill. The sound separating the Holm from the shore is here at its narrowest, and shipment could be easily effected at a natural landing place called the Noost o’ Kurkaby. Now, in the neighbourhood of the quarry of Berg-grave I observed what appeared to be heaps or mounds of débris or refuse of the ancient working; but on removing the green turf by which it was overgrown, I was surprised to find nothing but fragments of soap-stone—the same as is found at Scraers. We are left to conjecture the purpose to be served by the clamal from the Gill o’ Scraers found at Berg-grave. Perhaps this knowledge might lead to the recovery of a lost art. It should be mentioned that there is a tradition in Unst to the effect that the Picts used clamal, or soap-stone, for blasting purposes. Thus it will be observed that the traditions ​regarding the stones of this broch may contain an element of truth in a distorted form.
With reference to what is called the “Vir” (brig) of the Holm, I am of opinion that it was not formed by the Picts. A built roadway from the Holm to the shore would have involved engineering abilities that we can hardly imagine they possessed. The sound here is several hundred yards in width, and in the middle has a depth of water even at ebb tide sufficient to allow a small vessel to enter. Besides, in wintertime a very heavy ocean swell forces in through this sound—so heavy that no rubble-built wall could resist the impact of the sea. The Picts, being dwellers there and no doubt an observant people, were not likely to undertake a work sure to end in failure. The formation of the Vir is not artificial, but natural. Had it been artificial, the ocean wear of centuries would long ere now have destroyed it; but being natural, it abides, and the cause that ​produced it being in constant operation, it remains undiminished. Along the line of the Vir two seas meet at right angles, and the result is the formation of a ridge running in a diagonal between the lines of force. The sound here is called Vaarasound. The word Vir appears to be the prefix in the place-name Virkie, in Dunrossness, and of the ancient earthwork in the Blue Mull already referred to.
On the mainland of Unst, half a mile south from the Holm, there is another very extensive broch called the Overbrough, consisting of a central tower with two concentric walls or embankments about 20 feet apart. From this ancient fort a very wide view can be obtained, both seaward and landward. The sentinel on its watch-tower could signal to no fewer than seven brochs, viz.:. Brough Holm; Brough of North Yell; Snaabrough, Oganess, and Musselbrough, in Unst; Strandiebrough and Brough Lodge, in Fetlar.
Regarding the brochs in the district of ​Sandness my learned friend, the late Mr Robert Jamieson, wrote to me an interesting letter, from which I shall make the following extract:—
“We have several brochs here. The Broch of Easter has been in its day a gigantic building, double walled, chambered like a bee-hive and fitted up with every convenience. About 1840 the laird of Melby used the stones of it in building about three-fourths of a mile of dyke six feet in height, and left as many stones as would build a castle. In the work of excavation, querns, mallets, knives, pottery, and bones of animals, were found, which now would be considered of the greatest value; but unfortunately the workmen knew nothing and cared nothing about the brochs, Hence the “finds” were gazed at, and wondered at, and then thrown away, perhaps into the sea near which the broch stood. The stones used in the construction of this castle were of large size, and had to be broken up before ​they could be removed. The original builders must have been possessed both of physical power and mechanical contrivances.
“The Broch of Ness is a very much smaller building at the head of a bay, facing the opening in the Firth. A part of the wall is still standing. I do not think it has ever been excavated.
“The broch at the end of Stourbro’ Hill has been a large building, but some of the stones lying about appear as if hewn, leading to the supposition that a house had been built in later times out of the ruins; but there is, however, no tradition of any such building.
“The ruins in the Holm of Burgawater east of Stourbro’ were torn up by Mr. Sands some years ago, with what result I do not know. It seemed a small but very ancient building, and the most conspicuous object in it was a large flat stone, supported by four posts, the whole forming a table or platform structure. On the table ​the women with the Sybil in their midst sang the Vardloker.
“The Broch of West Burrafirth, built in the head of the voe and connected with the land by a bridge of large steppingstones over which the sea flows at full tide, was still in fair preservation when I last saw it, several feet of the walls, built of large stones, still standing. I think it has been inhabited by the early Vikings, and has been in its day a place of importance, something like Mousa.
“There was also a broch at Nounsbro’, Aithsting, but nothing remains of it except the site.
“At Culswick, Sandsting, there was a large broch similar to that at Easter, all now in a heap of ruins. The district is out of the way, and I am not aware if an examination of it has ever been made. But there is another and much more ancient broch at Seffster, Sandsting,—an underground one, and of a kind existing in several parishes in Shetland. They are ​often found in level fields, dug deep into the ground. These must have formed the earliest abodes of the Norsemen. They are quite different from the mound dwellings or earth houses.
“The conclusion I have come to is that Shetland was inhabited by three successive and distinct races before the arrival of the Norsemen, and that the last of them, the Finns, built the brochs.
“The popular opinion is that the brochs were built by the Picts, a small people. Such could not have been the case. But the Finns were compelled to leave after the Northmen arrived. Before leaving they dismantled their castles, so that the Northmen could not live in them.
“The mound-dwellers took possession of them, and came in contact with the early Udallers. In time the Finn owners were forgotten, and the mound-dwellers, or Pechts, became associated in the public mind with the brochs.”
Though I do not agree with all the ​opinions expressed by Mr. Jamieson, I have quoted from his communication at considerable length, as his remarks, like all he wrote, are exceedingly vivid and suggestive. As will be seen from the following extract, Mr. Jamieson appears to have held some very extraordinary opinions with regard to the early inhabitants:
“Unless old men and women in several parishes wilfully lied, or were more liable to be deceived than we are, the mound-dwellers existed in Shetland up to the beginning of the present century.”
I have not attempted to treat of those brochs which have been described by writers of books on Shetland and in the Procedings of learned Societies. The most notable of these is the Broch of Mousa, around which the romantic interest clings that it on two occasions proved a place of refuge for runaway lovers. However romantic the tall tower on the lonely islet may appear, it could hardly have been ​considered an altogether satisfactory place to resort to for a honeymoon; but if it afforded little comfort to the refugees, its stout walls were an ample defence against the angry kinsmen who beseiged it. Another broch, in the Loch of Clickimin near Lerwick, with its causeway and massive external defences, is perhaps fully more typical of the usual form of Shetland broch. It is now nearly forty years since it was excavated by the Society of Antiquaries, and though it is under the protection of the Ancient Monuments Act, it has suffered much from youthful depredators and other vandals.
In his introduction to the “Orkneyinga Saga,” Dr. Anderson gives the following enumeration of known sites of Shetland brochs:—In Unst, 7; in Whalsay, 3; in Yell, 9; in Fetlar, 4; in Mainland and its outlying islets, 51; in Foula, 1—total, 75. This list, however, cannot be regarded as complete.
Few of the Shetland brochs have been ​thoroughly investigated; for that purpose considerable funds would be required and competent supervision. In those that have been opened, beyond information regarding their structure little else has been found, but possibly future investigations will throw some light on the obscurity which still envelopes the builders of the brochs.