Crannóg

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For Canada's organic brewery, see Crannóg Ales

A crannóg is an ancient island used for a settlement. The name may also refer to a wooden platform erected on shallow floors, but understandably few remains of this sort have been found. The name crannóg derives from crannoge, from the names crannóc, from Old Irish, from crann, tree.

The choice of an island as a home is thought to have been for defence and for the availability of food in the form of fish nearby. The crannog could be reached from the nearest shore by means of a causeway built up with stones, or a wooden gangway built atop raised piles. An example of a reconstructed crannóg is located at the Scottish Crannóg Centre at Loch Tay, Tayside.

The islet of Eilean Domhnuill, Loch Olabhat on North Uist may be the earliest crannóg, dated to 3200-2800 BC in the Neolithic period. Most crannógs were in use from the Iron Age through to the early Medieval period, at about the same time as the brochs, the wags, duns and the larger roundhouses.

The highest concentrations of crannógs (in Scotland) are found in several lochs within Dumfries and Galloway region, although many have been found in the highlands as well. In the Grampian Highlands a well known crannóg was built by the Burnetts of Leys, whose family thence moved nearby to the present 16th century Crathes Castle.

A crannóg dating from around 500 AD still stands in a lough in Loughbrickland, near Banbridge, County Down.

Reconstructed crannógs are located in Craggaunowen, Ireland; the Irish National Heritage Park Wexford, Ireland; and on Loch Tay in Scotland.

A variant of the crannóg was the island roundhouse. Built on a small, rocky island in a lochan and usually reached by means of a causeway, these are extremely common in the Western Isles. The visible remains are most often those of a dún, although there are examples of full broch towers occupying some sites. Not many have been excavated, but the majority of those that have been show earlier occupation underneath the visible remains. Dún is the gaelic word for fort, and a number of Scottish castles use 'Dun-' as a prefix.

[edit] Construction

The construction of the prehistoric crannóg began on a small island or shoal that was located within a loch or marsh. This rise was surrounded by a circle of oak piles with axe-sharpened bases that were driven into the bottom, forming a circular enclosure of about 200 ft. in diameter. The piles were then joined together by interlaced branches and wattle. The interior surface was then built up, first with wooden logs, then with branches and rocks, clay, peat, and other earthen materials. At the center a large stone hearth was built with large flat stones, and a wooden home was constructed around it. Sometimes multiple homes were built on a single crannóg.

This prehistoric fortification was occupied by a family or tribe, and access was often achieved by means of dugout canoe. However, many were connected to shore by timber or stone causeways, sometimes lying just beneath the surface of the water concealing them from potentially hostile intruders. The bones of cattle, deer, and swine have been found in excavated crannógs.

[edit] References

• Burnett, George (1901). in J. Allardyce (ed): The Family of Burnett of Leys. Aberdeen: New Spalding Club. 
• Armit, Ian (2000). Scotland's Hidden History. Tempus Publishing, Limited. ISBN 0-7524-1400-3. 
• Armit, Ian (1996). The Archaeology of Skye and the Western Isles. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-0640-8. 
• Dixon, Nicholas (2004). The Crannogs of Scotland: An underwater archaeology. Tempus Publishing, Limited. ISBN 0-7524-3151-X. 
• Morrison, I. 1985 Landscape with Lake Dwellings Edinburgh University Press
• Crone, A. 2000 The History of a Scottish Lowland Crannog: excavations at Buiston AOC/STAR Monograph 4, Edinburgh
• Cavers, M.G. and Henderson, J.C 2005 Underwater Excavation at Ederline Crannog, Loch Awe, Argyll, Scotland International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, vol.34.2, pp.278-94
• O'Sullivan, A. 1998 The Archaeology of Lake Settlement in Ireland Discovery Programme, Dublin
• Fredengren C. 2002 Crannogs Wordwell, Bray

[edit] External links

• The Scottish Crannog Centre Reconstruction of a crannog.
• Crannog illustration showing attack in Monaghan, Ireland in 1500s.
• Channel 4 Time Team on Crannogs The Channel 4 Time Team on Crannogs.
• Channel 4 Time Team at Loch Migdale The Channel 4 Time Team excavation at Loch Migdale, January 2004.
• Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland A searchable database of archaeological sites in Scotland, including crannogs (requires free registration).