Produced by David Clarke, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) ARCHAEOLOGICAL ESSAYS ARCHAEOLOGICAL ESSAYS BY THE LATE SIR JAMES Y. SIMPSON, BART. M.D., D.C.L. ONE OF HER MAJESTY'S PHYSICIANS FOR SCOTLAND, AND PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND MIDWIFERY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH EDITED BY JOHN STUART, LL.D. SECRETARY OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND VOL. I. EDINBURGH EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS PUBLISHERS TO THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES MDCCCLXXII _Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_. THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. The late Sir James Simpson, in the midst of his anxious professional labours, was wont to seek for refreshment in the pursuit of subjects of a historical and archaeological character, and to publish the results in the Transactions of different Societies and in scientific journals. Some of these papers are now scarce, and difficult of access; and a desire having been expressed in various quarters for their appearance in a collected and permanent form, I was consulted on the subject by Sir Walter Simpson, who put into my hands copies of the various essays, with notes on some of them by his father, which seemed to indicate that he himself had contemplated their republication. Having for a long time been acquainted with their merits, I did not hesitate to express a strong opinion in favour of their publication; and I accepted with pleasure the duty of editing them, which Sir Walter requested me to perform. The papers in question were the fruit of inquiries begun indeed as a relief from weightier cares; but as it was not in their author's nature to rest satisfied with desultory and superficial results in his treatment of any subject, so his archaeological papers more resemble the exhaustive treatises of a leisurely student, than the occasional efforts of one overwhelmed in professional occupations. In the present work will be found all the more important archaeological papers of Sir James Simpson, collected from the various sources indicated in the Table of Contents. The subjects to the antiquities of which Sir James first directed his attention were connected with his own profession; but, as time went on, his interest in historical pursuits deepened and expanded, and the questions discussed by him became more varied. It has been thought best to arrange the papers of a general historical scope in the first volume, and those connected with professional antiquities in the second; but readers, who may wish to trace the order in which they were written by the author, will find their various dates in the Table.