PREHISTORIC REMAINS F the early inhabitants of Shetland the brochs and earth-houses are not the only memorials which have come down to us. The implements they used in peace or war are from time to time unearthed in field or moor, and their rubbish heaps, consisting chiefly of the shells of shellfish, are often seen by our shores. Their burial mounds, round which fanciful legends cluster, are frequently met with; and many tall, mossgrown standing-stones remain, mute yet eloquent witnesses of the mystery of the past. But of these rude monuments we are left with the poet to ask in vain : "In what age wast raised? at whose command? If Pictish, or if Scandinavian hand Sank deep thy base, and bade thee time withstand?" From the great number of stone implements found in Shetland, it might be supposed that the Stone Age extended over a very long period in these islands. It is probable, however, that even after metal implements were introduced, they did not come into common use for a long period, and that the primitive stone implements were only very gradually displaced. This, it is quite reasonable to suppose, would have been likely to happen in the case of a remote group of islands where we find, even in the present day when there is frequent communication with the mainland, that the bismar is still often employed as a weighing machine, and an old world iron fish-oil lamp (the kollie) is still used in out of the way places. Though there is no proof that the primitive stone implements were made and used by the early people who raised the brochs and dwelt in the ancient earth-houses, tradition attributes them to the Picts. Most of the implements which have been found are rude in form, but may for all that have been well adapted to the purposes for which they were intended. Many, however, are remarkable for the rare skill with which they have been formed, for the beauty of their outlines and the high finish of their polished surface, indicating that the people who fashioned them were possessed of remarkable mechanical skill and exquisite taste. Primitive man, when he required the use of tools or war weapons, no doubt at first made use of what he found ready to his hand, and accordingly we find waterworn stones which bear traces of having been so employed. In most cases, however, the implements have been chipped or |