The next class of persons to which the Parallel Roads are attributed, are certain kings who resided in very an dent times at Inverlochy Castle. Now, in times thus dis tant, it is very certain that the Highlands had no distinct kings. They were disunited from the proper and only kingdom, that of the Picts, in early times. After that they fell in equal degree under a Norwegian government ; some great families or chiefs still maintaining their inde pendence on the main land. Next they formed various in dependent states„of which that of the Macdonalds was the chief; and, lastly, they were multiplied or broken down into the clans who have descended almost to our own days; having been, down to a late period, almost as inde pendent of the Scottish crown as they were of each other.
The residence of such kings at Inverlochy, is by no means established. The antiquity of this building., as we shall presently show, is not high ; and the other tradi tions respecting it are equally absurd. It is said that it was once the seat of Bancho, the traditional head of the Stuart race, and that a league had been signed there by Charlemagne and Achaius, about the end of the eighth century. But it is well known from authentic records, that Bancho was not the head of the Stuart family. The history of the treaty between Achaius and Charlemagne has been proved to be a mere fiction. Nor was it possi ble that Bancho, had he existed, could have been a Thane of Lochaber. There were no Thanes in Lochaber, for the plain reason that it was not at that remote period under the dominion of the Scottish kings.
There seems little doubt that the building of Inverlochy Castle must be referred to the Cummins, who had large possessions in this country beforo they suffered by the parts they took in the troubles of that day. They were at the height of their power before Bruce gained the ascendancy; and every thing in the style of this castle marks the age of Edward the I. as it does that of the wealth and power of those who erected it. The western tower is still called Cummin's tower.
The castle itself is a quadrangular structure, occupying an area of about 1600 yards: and, like Harlech, and many others of the same class of buildings of Edward's time, it consists of four curtains, with flanking towers at the an gles. The height of the curtain is from 25 to 30 feet, and that of the towers from 40 to 50. The scarp extends to a distance of 12 feet from the foot of the wall, and the whole is surrounded by a moat, once wet, of 40 feet in breadth. It has two principal gates, one on the land side, and ano ther which appears to have extended to the water. There
are also sally ports, and loop holes, in the towers; some of the latter being designed to cover the entrances, and others to flank the curtain. The remains of a drawbridge are also visible. It is impossible to mistake the age of a building of this kind, as the history of our military anti quities is too well known; and the circumstances which we have now described serve to show that Inverlochy Cas tle cannot be of a higher antiquity than that which we have assigned to it. Thus much for traditions.
With respect to the arguments from their form, mate terials, or appearance, we may first remark, that they are deficient in all the qualities which a road requires; nei ther possessing the forms nor the dimensions, nor tending to any possible point or purpose. We formerly observed, that they were broadest and most perfect where the hill was covered with loose alluvial matters ; and that they could scarcely be traced where the ground is rocky. Had they ever been roads, they should have exhibited superior performance in the most durable materials. The effects of time will not explain this, since that which merely di minished the hardest should have obliterated the softest.
In other respects, they bear no resemblance to roads, nor to any work of art, as we may be satisfied by examin ing their profiles. There is no inferior talus, which there should have been in this case; and in only one small spot is there any trace of a superior one. No time could have destroyed these indications without obliterating the lines altogether ; whereas, as we have already seen, they often preserve a breadth•of 70 feet, an unusual dimension for roads. Neither, in any one instance, is the surface level, as it should have been had they been roads. The lowest inclination observed was twelve degrees; and more gene rally they vary from twenty to thirty ; a condition of things impossible had they originally been level, as any thing in the nature of a road must have been. Of the futility of attempting to ascertain their nature in this respect by ex amination of their materials, we have already sufficiently spoken ; nor should we indeed have thought it necessary to notice it, any more than to have argued this point at so much length, had we only been to engage with the tradi tions and opinions of the natives. But, as this theory was adopted by Professor Playfair, and partly from this very kind of examination, it became our duty to notice these circumstances.