David MacRitchie (16 April 1851 – 14 January 1925) was a Scottish folklorist and antiquarian. He argued that "the un-identified builders of our stone-circles, cairns, and dolmens, were dark-skinned people."

Whoever has gone into one of our Antiquarian Museums, and glanced with some curiosity, and perhaps with growing interest, at the withered fragments of canoes, preserved from total decay by the peat out of which they were dug, --at the stone heads of weapons whose handles have rotted long ago, --at the flint knives and arrow-heads, at the sun-dried pottery, --at the gaudy beads of amber or of colorued glass, --at the combs and ornaments curiously carved out of bone, --and alt all such other relics of a remote past, --has soon, in all likelihood, found himself speculating upon the nature of the people who made and used these things. The things themselves are plainly allied to the weapons and ornaments of existing savage races, and we know that the people vaguely spoken of as Ancient Britons, to whom these articles are attributed, were themselves allied to such races by community of custom. They wore little or no clothing, they tattooed their bodies and faces, they painted themselves blue or green, and some tribes smeared themselves over with iron ore; some of them are stated to have been cannibals: --could all such resemblances have existed if the races themselves, however far separated now, had not all belonged to a common stock? Can there be community of custom, apparent in most minute details, without there being community of blood?

This book provides a fascinating and unique history of the Britons from the late Iron Age to the late Middle Ages. It also discusses the revivals of interest in British culture and myth over the centuries, from Renaissance antiquarians to modern day Druids. A fascinating and unique history of the Britons from the late Iron Age to the late Middle Ages. Describes the life, language and culture of the Britons before, during and after Roman rule. Examines the figures of King Arthur and Merlin and the evolution of a powerful national mythology. Proposes a new theory on the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain and the establishment of separate Brittonic kingdoms. Discusses revivals of interest in British culture and myth, from Renaissance antiquarians to modern day Druids.

Britain's pagan past, with its mysterious monuments, atmospheric sites, enigmatic artifacts, bloodthirsty legends, and cryptic inscriptions, is both enthralling and perplexing to a resident of the twenty-first century. In this ambitious and thoroughly up-to-date book, Ronald Hutton reveals the long development, rapid suppression, and enduring cultural significance of paganism, from the Paleolithic Era to the coming of Christianity. He draws on an array of recently discovered evidence and shows how new findings have radically transformed understandings of belief and ritual in Britain before the arrival of organized religion. Setting forth a chronological narrative, Hutton along the way makes side visits to explore specific locations of ancient pagan activity. He includes the well-known sacred sites—Stonehenge, Avebury, Seahenge, Maiden Castle, Anglesey—as well as more obscure locations across the mainland and coastal islands. In tireless pursuit of the elusive “why” of pagan behavior, Hutton astonishes with the breadth of his understanding of Britain’s deep past and inspires with the originality of his insights.

This text presents a history of ancient Britain and the indelible marks which thousands of years of human civilization have made upon the landscape.

This volume work of Scottish Historian David Mac Ritchie, 1851-1925, first published in 1884 and long out of print, its impact will have as profound an impact as Gerald Massey and Godfey Higgins.