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Having seen Rosslyn, Dunbeath,
Mey, Thurso East Mains, Girnigo-Sinclair and several brochs in Caithness, I
agree that it would be a worthwhile project, though admittedly a difficult one
in some respects. Sinclair castles seem to come in two forms; ruins (in
various stages of returning to the earth) and modern makeovers (Dunbeath an
excellent example), and in these, you are not seeing what the orginal builder
actually constructed in most cases. Some, such as Girnigoe/Sinclair can
still stir the senses, and of course the stories that go with this one still
curdle the blood, but the stones that are still sitting on top of one another
bear little resemblance to the complex as it existed at the time of residence of
the last Earls of Caithness. If it is brought back to any resemblance of
that era, it will look a lot more like a functional castle, but the tales of
it's existance may not connect with the senses as forcefully as it does now, in
my opinion. My feeling is that if someday we can all afford to restore
places like Mey in various parts of the Sinclair world, but select just a
representative few and set them up as working museums, there would be a better
chance for modern Sinclairs to see "how things were" in differant
periods of time, and to relate to the views and ambiance as they exist at the
time they will be visiting. Places like Caithness and the Orkney's change
their weather and scenery on the hour.
I hope some Caithness Scots will
pick up on this discussion, to see what they may say about the ancient
artifacts.
Ray Lower, Folsom,
California.
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