Volume 3 - Electric Scotland

248 STONE CIKCLKS.
while we can, in this way, easily account for their pre-
sence, almost wherever they exist, we are unable to ac-
count for them in the same manner on the Druidical
hypothesis. As far as we know of the Druids, we have
reason to believe that they were very limited in place,
in Britain. There is no proof that they governed or
existed in Scotland, though that may have been the
fact; and far less any reason for thinking that they were
spread over ancient Scandinavia. On the contrary, we
are perfectly informed respecting the religion of this
nation, and know that it was not Druidism. It must
therefore follow, that the circular structures of Scandinavia
were not, in any case, Druidical ; unless we
choose to imagine a more ancient order of Druids in that
country ; a fact of which there is no shadow of proof.
It is also curious, and somewhat important, to remark,
when on this question, that the Highland traditions and
opinions do not attribute the Circles to the Druids. In
fact, the common people appear to have no theory or
tradition at all respecting this priesthood, except where
they have borrowed it recently from their betters. It is
the educated among them to whom we must look for all
these theories ; and, in them, it has been derived from
the writings of modern antiquaries. The most common
opinion of the people respecting these works is, that they
were Roman, and were either temples or courts ofjustice.
Excepting that they are thus referred to the wrong
people, this traditionary opinion coincides sufficiently
with the one I am attempting to establish.
It has been a leading error with these antiquaries, to
find a common use for things that have had many uses.
The most conspicuous and important of these have now
been described, and it only remains to notice those to
which none of these assigned uses seem to be applicable.
I mentioned the crowds of circular buildings which are