A great antiquity has been. assigned to vitrified forts, without sufficient proof. Articles of bronze and iron have been found in the Scottish forts, while in Puy de Gaudy a Roman tile has been disco’~~ered soldered to a piece of vitrified rock. In a few of the German forts Professor Virchow found some of the logs used as fuel in vitrifying the walls, and he concluded from the evenness of their cut surfaces that iron and not stone implements must have been used. These results Indicate that these structures were possibly in use as late as the early centuries of the Christian era. It has been suggested that they were built as refuges against the Norsemen. Much in the situation and character of the forts favours this supposition. This is especially the case with reference to the Scottish forts. Here the vitrified summits are invariably so selected that they not only command what were the favourite landing-places of the vikings, but are the best natural defences against attacks made from the direction of the seacoast. In Saxony and Lusatia the forts are known as Schwedenburgen, and in the Highlands of Scotland as the fortresses of the Feinne—designations which also seem to point to an origin dating back to the times of the vikings.