Page:Shetland Folk-Lore - Spence - 1899.pdf/96



The standing stones, unlike the brochs and the fairy knolls, remain unimpaired by the hand of time, and will stand as mute witnesses of a byegone time for ages yet to come, if let alone by the hand of man. One or more of these may be found in almost every parish of Shetland. They may be seen on the hilltop, as in Burra Isle and in Bressay; or on the sloping hillside, as at Skillister in Nesting, and Clivocast in Unst; and they are also found in low-lying situations, as at Succamires, near Lund. Some of these stones are of great size, and we can only guess by what power, physical or mechanical, they have been transported or erected. The standing stone last mentioned is 12 feet high and measures 24 feet in girth at the base, and will weigh from 20 to 30 tons.

Regarding the purpose of the standing stones we know nothing. They may have been of a commemorative character,