ness, the Clava Circles, north and south, and the Interior of Chamber, northern Cairn. Mr Machain's paper was as follows: THE "DRUID" CIRCLES. The circles of rude undressed stones found in various parts of the British Isles have been for the last two centuries alike the puzzle and the contention ground of archeologists. At the present time, the theories as to their origin and use are at least as numerous as the individuals who treat of them; and, in such a chaos of opinions, a rational conclusion is difficult of attainment. Much, however, has been done during the last quarter of a century in clearing up the beliefs and customs of primitive man, and more accurate knowledge has been obtained about modern savages: in fact, a new science has been added to the many other "ologies," this one being called Anthropology-the science of man and civilisation. Much has also been done in settling tho leading points of European ethnology; for the science of language has been accepted as the basis and main source of study in tracing the affinity of the nations of Europe, and the result is that the leading facts of the ethnology of Europe are known and "fixed." In regard to the British Isles, quite a small revolution has occurred since the publication of Mr Elton's work on the "Origins of English History," where the ethnology of Britain is dealt with in the light of all the modern researches on ancient institutions, history, language, and antiquities-whether human crania or human works of art and use. From all these scientific sources we are enabled to cast a reflective light upon the darkness that shrouds the so-called Druid circles and their builders. The cause of failure in the usual theories is a common one; a priori conceptions are formed as to the builders and the purpose of the circles, and the facts are made unmercifully to square with such ideas. And, further, archeologists are unfortunately too apt in their eager pursuit of relics and remains, to forget the living savage examples, and to ignore the labours of students of savage and barbaric beliefs and customs. They in fact ignore the anthropologist; and, what is more, they show too often a very irritating ignorance and unappreciation of the facts established by the science of language, which has so revolutionised our conceptions upon European ethnology. I intend dealing with the question of the Druid circles from an anthropologist point of view, and my argument will run in two main lines, positive and negative. The positive argument will, after a general description of the characteristics and geographical distribution of stone circles, consider the history and tradition in regard to them, and then inquire if any such or similar structures are set up or used now-a-days anywhere, and, if so, what their purpose is. The negative side of my argument is the most important; here I will endeavour to prove who did not build them, and what they were not built for, an argument on the lines of elimination, for which I will lay under contribution what modern research- -so far as is known to me- -has done in unravelling the early history of Europe and of the races that successively were prominent there. The stone circles consist of undressed stones, more or less pillar-shaped, set on end in the circumference of a circle. That is the only general statement that can be made about them, for they continually differ as to the size, interval, and number of stones in the circle; as to the size or number of circles, concentric or adjacent; and as to the existence of other structural accompaniments, such as outside trenches, cairns or mounds inside, dolmens or menhirs at or near the centre, or avenues of stones leading to them. The size of the stones may vary from two dozen to only one or two feet high; the stones may be closely set together or wide apart-thirty feet apart, as some Inverness-shire circles have them. The diameter may vary from the twelve hundred feet of the great Avebury circle to a few feet, and there may be groups of circles together, or, as in the Inverness-shire circles, the typical examples may consist of three concentric circles, and so on. The structural accompaniments-the dolmens, mounds, and avenues-may appear each alone with them, or together with one or more of the others. And in regard to their geographical distribution, they exist on the continent of Europe, more especially in Scandinavia; they are numerous in Asia--in India, in Tartary, and especially in Arabia; they appear also in North Africa, where fine specimens are found in Algeria and Tripoli; but their most characteristic development is in Britain and Ireland, and in Britain, Scotland possesses the best examples, and again, of the Scotch circles, the Inverness and Inverness-shire ones are undoubtedly the best. The valley of the Nairn is the richest spot in Scotland for such remains. Let us pass from these general statements to particular facts. The stone circle may exist alone; there are many examples of single stone circles unaccompanied by any other structure or superstructure. Such exist in Africa, India, Arabia, and frequently in the British Isles. These were alone and single |