The Picts and their Brochs
a great earthwork called “the Virkie.” In this fortress the Picts no doubt entrenched themselves, and would be able to offer stern resistance to the Norsemen. An old township near the traditional battlefield, is called Viggie, which is said to signify a place of conflict. A story was told in Unst, how the ground in Blue Mull was subsequently cultivated, but had to be given up, owing to the stalks of corn being filled with blood, supposed to be a judgment on account of the carnage that had taken place there. The stone implements called celts, known popularly as thunderbolts, are generally believed to have been Pictish weapons of warfare, and the places where they are found are supposed to have been old battlefields. Few of such implements have, as far as I know, been found in any of the brochs. Some of them are very rude, others finely shaped and beautifully polished, and it is likely that they were also used for domestic purposes.
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