The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-08-06

Habitatons of the Older Natives Of Scot
land.
David MacRitchie in science
As have to-day visited an admirable
specimen of the underground structures so
frequently found in Scotland, where they
are popularity known as "Picts' houses,
some description of it will, l think, prove
interesting to the readers of 'Science,' al
though the place itself has long been known
to antiquaries. There are very many ex
amples of these structures in the British
Isles, notably in Scotland and Ireland, but
unfortunately the information regarding
them (almost invariably most exact and
detailed) is for the most part buried in the
various volumes of transactions of anti
quarian societies, and is thereby practi-
cally useless. If the descriptions already
published regarding these buildings, to-
gether with reproductions of the diagrams
illustrating them, could be focused into
one volume, the result would be of the
highest interest to those who have paid at
tention to the subject, and would be pos
tive revelation to those who have not yet
done so, And one great advantage to be
derived from comparison of the various
delineations would be that the student
would realize that, although such structures
are referred to under many names (such as
underground caves, souterrains, weems,
cloghauns, Picts houses, and-popularly
fairy hals) they all belong to one great
class
| A "HoLE IN THE GROUND
The specimen visited by me to-day is
situated at Pitcur, in Forfarshire, about
two miles to the southeast of the small
town of Cupar-Angus, and is locally known
as 'the Picts' house" It is entirely be-
meath the surface of the ground, and the
portion of it which is still covered over
stretches for about 20 feet beneath plowed
field. That is to say, its roofis covered by
foot or two of soil, through which the
pillow passes without ever striking the fiat,
stone roof below In other cases, indeed,
the plowshare has often been the first dis
coverer of these subterranean galleries.
The ground plan of the Picts' house at
Pitcur may be roughly described as of
horseshoe shape, with shorter gallery par
allel to the exterior curve of one side. The
horseshoe itself is about 1870 feet in length
from end to end, with an average depth of
six or seYep feet, and an average breadth
of about six feet. The shorter gallery is
about 55 feet long, and its dimensions 9th
erwise resemble those Of the horseshoe, ex-
oept that 1t brOadens out into bulb shape
at the inner end-a common feature in such
structures. The line of length, in each
case, is taken along the middle of the gal
lery, there being, of course, great differ
ence between the length of the inner and
outer curves
Be it understood that both Of theae gal
leries are, as il were, great symmetrical
bitches or drains, quite underground, and
entered by several burrow-like doorways
Their sides have been carefully built walls
Of large, unhewn, unmortared stones, and
these are still to great extent unimpaired.
The roof was formed by bringing the upper
tiers of the wall slightly together, and then
placing huge slabs Of stone across from side
to side. Two of the largest of these roof
slabs measure as follows: One (the largest
of alb is about "A inches in length, by 5S
inches in breadth, and from l / to l3 inches
in thickness, its shape heing an irregular
nblong. The other is about 90 inches long,
by 4S inches broad and IL inches thick.
These are certainly very large specimens,
but one is always struck by the great size
of the fiagstones used in roofing these IN
derground retreats. | have described as
unhewn all the stones employed in this
building; but Gas in similar cases. one is
led to conjecture that some rough process
Of shape must have been adopted, although
the outlines are perfectly rude, and no trace
whatever is visible of any tool. The selec-
tion of these great stones, whether from a
quarry or hillside, their carriage to the
scene of action (often from very great
distance) and the method used in placing
them in position, are all problems which
have greatly puzzled antiquaries.
THE DWELLING PLACE
In the Pitcur "house" most of the roof
slabs have disappeared, having obviously
shared the fate Of so many monuments of
antiquity, at the hands Of proprietors and
farmers in need of building materials and
quite devoid of all interest in a rcheolo-
y. But (perhaps because it goes undes-
meath arabic landD the northern portion of
the great horseshoe gallery still retains its
roof, and this part of the building is,
therefore, in all probability, in its original
condition. 1t appears to have been of it
self "house," apart from the main gallery
of which it forms portion, for it has
carefully built doorway leading into the
main gallery; and, moreover, an extra as
cent to the upper earth leads from the side
of the wall just at the outside of this door
way. On going through the doorway Of
this inner portion, one finds, on the right
hand, small recess in the wall, about 80
inches high, 20 inches broad at the floor,
and going into the thickness of the wall
abont u inches Althouoh this cavity is