Almost all the primaeval stone circles and cromlechs which existed in the
middle and southern districts of Scotland have been cast down and
removed. The only two cromlechs in the Lothians, the stones of which
have not been removed, are at Ratho and Kipps; and though the stones
have been wantonly pulled down, they could readily be restored, and
certainly deserve to be so. In 1813 the cromlech at Kipps was seen by
Sir John Dalzell still standing upright. In describing it, in the
beginning of the last century, Sir Robert Sibbald states that near this
Kipps cromlech was a circle of stones, with a large stone or two in the
middle; and he adds, "many such may be seen all over the country." They
have all disappeared; and latterly the stones of the Kipps circle have
been themselves removed and broken up, to build, apparently, some
neighbouring field-walls, though there was abundance of stones in the
vicinity equally well suited for the purpose.
Among the most valuable of our ancient Scottish monuments are certainly
our Sculptured Stones. Most of them, however, and some even in late
times, have been sadly mutilated and destroyed, to a greater or less
degree, by human hands, and converted to the most base uses. The stone
at Hilton of Cadboll, remarkable for its elaborate sculpture and
ornamental tracery, has had one of its sides smoothed and obliterated in
order that a modern inscription might be cut upon it to commemorate
"Alexander Duff and His Thrie Wives." The beautiful sculptured stone of
Golspie has been desecrated in the same way. Only two of these ancient
sculptured stones are known south of the Forth. One of them has been
preserved by having been used as a window-lintel in the church of
Abercorn--the venerable episcopal see, in the seventh century, of
Trumwine, the Bishop of the Picts. The other serves the purpose of a
foot-bridge within a hundred yards of the spot where we are met; and it
is to be hoped that its proprietors will allow this ancient stone to be
soon removed from its present ignominious situation to an honoured place
in our Museum. I saw, during last autumn, in Anglesey, a stone bearing a
very ancient Romano-British legend, officiating as one of the posts of a
park gate--a situation in which several such inscribed stones have been
found. Still more lately, I was informed of the large central monolith
in a stone circle, not far from the Scottish border, having been thrown
down and split up into seven pairs of field gate-posts.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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