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This is obviously a random coincidence - but there are ancient structures here in Scotland that were processed using fire - so called "vitrified forts" - where

This is obviously a random coincidence - but there are ancient structures here in Scotland that were processed using fire - so called "vitrified forts" - where large quantities of rock were partially melted - how or why being a complete mystery. So what's that got to do with Scotland? Well, Scots myths claim an origin in Scythia of all places which is pretty much in the area covered by the map in this article!

jacquesm 3y ago
Learn a new thing every day :) Thank you for that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrified_fort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrified_fort
- soligern 3y ago
  I have to say, the pictures on that article and others online aren’t particularly convincing. I wonder if you could pull this off in the modern world. It would be amazing to see sheer walls of granite, completely fused together as one solid mass.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    It's not completely fused together, more like loose aggregate held together by fused bits. It appears to be very brittle rather than stronger than the original wall.
    - arethuza 3y ago
      Places like the Tap o' Noth look like the the ruins of any mysterious hill top fortress that we have quite a lot of in Scotland - its only when you look closer do you realise that the rubble is actually all stuck together by melted rock. The fort (or inner bastion as there was a large outer settlement) is 100m by 30m and the walls roughly 5m by 8m - which is a lot of rock!
  - madaxe_again 3y ago
    You can. We just had a wildfire here and in a few spots, where the rocks formed a natural chimney filled with flammable material, the rocks have vitrified and deformed. You just need intense heat for a prolonged period - if they could do it with mounds of gorse, it can still be done.
  - fbdab103 3y ago
    This also seems like significantly more work than using mud as mortar. Just providing fuel for the fires to sustain this heat feels like it would be too costly to make this a routine procedure. >The expert consensus explains vitrified forts as the product of deliberate destruction either following the capture of the site by an enemy force or by the occupants at the end of its active life as an act of ritual closure.[6] The process has no chronological significance and is found during both Iron Age and early medieval forts in Scotland.
    - soligern 3y ago
      It seems almost impossible to get and keep a wall at 1000 C for several hours using primitive technology. The only way I can imagine is building a clay/mud oven around the entire wall and then having people pump massive bellows for an entire day.
yieldcrv 3y ago
I’ve made similar connections in my travels Allot of times a local mystery hasn’t involved making the connections that a seasoned traveler might simply notice
L_226 3y ago
Dragons, obviously
- arethuza 3y ago
  Actually as a Tolkien obsessed teenager growing up in the area I was convinced that the Tap o' Noth was Tolkien's Weathertop: "Away in the distance eastward they could now see a line of hills. The highest of them was at the right of the line and a little separated from the others. It had a conical top, slightly flattened at the summit." Of course, the geography doesn't line up what with Rivendell being in Switzerland ;-)
googlryas 3y ago
I've wondered about these for a while and I feel like it has to be the result of war. "Oh, you want to hide behind your big wall? Okay, we'll just light a huge fire near it and smoke you out" I'd be curious if any of the partially vitrified stones are more commonly present on the windward side of the fort, if there are prevailing winds.
- _a_a_a_ 3y ago
  Para 4 of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrified_fort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrified_fort answers your question.
  - googlryas 3y ago
    Not really, digging through the sources show it is really just a single random person interested in local Scottish history posting their opinion on a forum 14 years ago

jacquesm 3y ago

Learn a new thing every day :) Thank you for that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrified_fort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrified_fort

soligern 3y ago
I have to say, the pictures on that article and others online aren’t particularly convincing. I wonder if you could pull this off in the modern world. It would be amazing to see sheer walls of granite, completely fused together as one solid mass.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  It's not completely fused together, more like loose aggregate held together by fused bits. It appears to be very brittle rather than stronger than the original wall.
  - arethuza 3y ago
    Places like the Tap o' Noth look like the the ruins of any mysterious hill top fortress that we have quite a lot of in Scotland - its only when you look closer do you realise that the rubble is actually all stuck together by melted rock. The fort (or inner bastion as there was a large outer settlement) is 100m by 30m and the walls roughly 5m by 8m - which is a lot of rock!
- madaxe_again 3y ago
  You can. We just had a wildfire here and in a few spots, where the rocks formed a natural chimney filled with flammable material, the rocks have vitrified and deformed. You just need intense heat for a prolonged period - if they could do it with mounds of gorse, it can still be done.
- fbdab103 3y ago
  This also seems like significantly more work than using mud as mortar. Just providing fuel for the fires to sustain this heat feels like it would be too costly to make this a routine procedure. >The expert consensus explains vitrified forts as the product of deliberate destruction either following the capture of the site by an enemy force or by the occupants at the end of its active life as an act of ritual closure.[6] The process has no chronological significance and is found during both Iron Age and early medieval forts in Scotland.
  - soligern 3y ago
    It seems almost impossible to get and keep a wall at 1000 C for several hours using primitive technology. The only way I can imagine is building a clay/mud oven around the entire wall and then having people pump massive bellows for an entire day.

yieldcrv 3y ago

I’ve made similar connections in my travels Allot of times a local mystery hasn’t involved making the connections that a seasoned traveler might simply notice

L_226 3y ago

Dragons, obviously

arethuza 3y ago
Actually as a Tolkien obsessed teenager growing up in the area I was convinced that the Tap o' Noth was Tolkien's Weathertop: "Away in the distance eastward they could now see a line of hills. The highest of them was at the right of the line and a little separated from the others. It had a conical top, slightly flattened at the summit." Of course, the geography doesn't line up what with Rivendell being in Switzerland ;-)

googlryas 3y ago

I've wondered about these for a while and I feel like it has to be the result of war. "Oh, you want to hide behind your big wall? Okay, we'll just light a huge fire near it and smoke you out" I'd be curious if any of the partially vitrified stones are more commonly present on the windward side of the fort, if there are prevailing winds.

_a_a_a_ 3y ago
Para 4 of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrified_fort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrified_fort answers your question.
- googlryas 3y ago
  Not really, digging through the sources show it is really just a single random person interested in local Scottish history posting their opinion on a forum 14 years ago