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!
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.
>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.
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.
"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 ;-)
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.
Allot of times a local mystery hasn’t involved making the connections that a seasoned traveler might simply notice