MacRitchie, a Scottish antiquary, argued in 1890 that tales of fairies, brownies and the ‘Picts’ of Scottish tradition remember an actual small, dark people who lived in chambered mounds and earth-houses. He sets folklore beside field evidence from chambered mounds, souterrains and other Scottish and Irish sites, complete with plans of their chambers.
A curious chapter in Victorian folklore studies; its ethnological theory has not survived, but the gathered traditions remain rich. Download the free EPUB.