Sunken Cities: Egypt’s lost worlds

Photo: Christoph Gerigk (c) Franck Goddio/HILTI Foundation

In previous posts, I have looked at archaeological sites preserved in water. Over 450 logboats or dug-out canoes have been recorded in Ireland mainly in lakes and rivers. For example, a remarkable assortment of 14 logboats has recently been discovered in Lough Corrib, Co. Galway, dating from the early Bronze Age (c. 2,500 BC) to the eleventh century AD.

Estimates of the number of crannogs found on Lough Gara, Co. Sligo, range from 145 to 369 although a maximum of 190 is more realistic. The archaeological evidence suggests that crannogs, or at least platforms, may have been built in this lake in the Late Mesolithic around 4,000 BC.

Across the Irish Sea, the Must Farm settlement in Cambridgeshire, England, is one of the most complete Late Bronze Age examples known in Britain. The settlement consists of five circular wooden houses, built on a series of piles sunk into a river channel below and seems to have been built around 1300 – 1000 BC.

The discoveries of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus have challenged our perceptions of ancient Egypt. These two ancient cities thrived on the exchange and flow of people, goods and ideas, from around 300 years before Alexander the Great arrived in Egypt (332-331 BC). The cities sank beneath the sea over twelve hundred years ago. A large multinational team is studying the finds and the cities they came from and is slowly piecing together what life was like on the Canopic coast of ancient Egypt.

Thonis and Heracleion are mentioned as apparently separate cities in ancient Egyptian and Greek sources including the trilingual Decree of Canopus, issued in Egypt in 238 BC. Excavations on the site, however, provided evidence to prove that Thonis and Heracleion, were the same town. The underwater excavations uncovered the remains of a large sanctuary located on the central island, built from limestone blocks. Archaeologists recovered a pink granite naos (shrine) from which they established that the principal god of the temple was Amun-Gereb and that the name of the town was Heracleion.

Stele commissioned by Nectanebo 1 - Thonis-Heracleion
Photo: Christoph Gerigk (c) Franck Goddio/HILTI Foundation

A second discovery around the temple was an intact stele (a stone or wooden slab) bearing a decree by pharaoh Nectanebo 1 (r. 380-362 BC.) The stele indicates the Egyptian name of the town where it was erected: ‘The-hone-of-Sais’, that is, Thonis. The discovery of these two inscribed objects – the shrine of Amun-Gereb and the stele of Thonis-Heracleion – solved a mystery of historical geography. The archaeological site that archaeologists had located was both the Heracleion of the Greeks and the Thonis of the Egyptians.

Thonis-Heracleion was active from at least the seventh century BC, rising in primacy as the major trading centre in the fifth to fourth centuries BC. The excavations have revealed a sizeable collection of pottery and coins, the study of which reveals that supply of both to the city abruptly stops at the same time at the end of the second century BC. Shortly afterwards the main temples on the central island were destroyed in a catastrophic natural event. After the destruction of its major temples, the city appears to have been largely abandoned. Core samples taken from the sediments under the bay identified the characteristic signs of ‘liquefaction’, whereby the ground surface literally turns from a solid into a liquid.

Significant quantities of metals including copper, tin and iron, are listed among the imported goods brought to Egypt on Greek and Phoenician ships in a fifth century BC tax register, together with wine, oil, wool and wood. Egyptian exports to Greece included vital supplies of grain, but also natural resources such as alum and natron, which were especially important in dyeing. Egypt was well known for semi-luxury goods such as papyrus, perfume and amulets.

Religion and religious spaces (sanctuaries) played an important role in the lives of Egyptians and Greeks, as well as in their relations with each other. Religion could help in retaining one’s own identity and culture or provide a means of adapting to a foreign environment.

Pink Granite Garden Tank: Thonis-Heracleion
Photo: Christoph Gerigk (c) Franck Goddio/HILTI Foundation

Other significant artefacts were found around the temple. Close to the shrine of Amun-Gereb, a large basin of red granite was discovered, known as the ‘garden tank’ intended for the secret rituals known as the Mysteries of Osiris. Three immense red granite statues over five metres high, representing a king, a queen and Hapy, god of fertility, abundance and the flooding of the Nile, provide clear evidence of the temple’s scale and importance.

Excavation in the Grand Canal along the north side of the temple has revealed a substantial collection of artefacts that appear to have been ritually deposited in the waters. Many of these artefacts such as bronze ceremonial ladles, known as simpula, and ritual lead models of barques (boats), were associated with the Mysteries of Osiris, and help to illustrate the sacred character of this great waterway.

Colossal Statue of Pharoah
Photo: Christoph Gerigk (c) Franck Goddio/HILTI Foundation

Specially made lamps depicting deities spread across the Roman empire as far as Britain. A Roman lamp handle with Isis nursing Harpokrates (Horus-the-child) - c. AD 100-200), was found in Faversham, Kent, the Roman town of Durolevum. Faversham had a Romano-British temple and a Roman theatre. A temple of Isis was in use in London during the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries AD.

From at least as early as the Middle Kingdom (c.2055-1650 BC), the Mysteries of Osiris were the most important ritual celebrations to take place in Egypt each year. An effigy of the god, probably made during the Mysteries, emerged from the temple for a public procession in its golden barque (sailing boat), called Neshemet.

The excavations carried out in the towns of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology, brought to light ritual deposits and instruments linked to the Mysteries of the month of Khoiak. These objects reveal the sacred character of the Grand Canal, the waterway that flowed along the north side of the temple of Amun-Gereb.

An exhibition at the British Museum entitled ‘Sunken Cities: Egypt’s lost worlds’ ends on 27^th November 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QOxsOlhQVg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARDjbz_VdUw

Lough Gara - A Glimpse into the Past

Stone Implements - Irish Stone Axe Project

Recently, I came across a list of artefacts found on the shore and in the vicinity of Lough Gara, on the border between County Sligo and County Roscommon. It makes impressive reading and highlights the archaeological importance of the lake which is renowned for its large number of crannogs. People have lived on or around this lake off and on for several thousand years leaving behind evidence of their presence in the form of stone axes, arrowheads, swords, spearheads and such like remnants.

The archaeological evidence suggests that crannogs, or at least platforms, may have been built in this lake in the Late Mesolithic around 4,000 BC. The practice of building on the shallow shores increased during the Late Bronze Age, 1200–800 BC, and again in the Early Medieval period around 600 AD. Some crannogs were also used as late as the 17th century. Estimates of the number of crannogs on Lough Gara range from 145 to 369. According to Christina Fredengren (2002), the Swedish archaeologist who carried out an extensive survey of the lake, the highest number of crannogs that can be claimed for Lough Gara is 190.

Lough Gara is not a particularly accessible lake for the casual visitor and the crannogs can be difficult to find. It is in the nature of wetland archaeology that such sites do not have much of a visible presence. In a sense, the lake’s past only comes alive when we consider the vast number of ancient tools, weapons and other objects discovered here over the years.

The Early Mesolithic period in Ireland runs from 8000 to 5500 BC and the Later Mesolithic from 5500 to 4000 BC. Radiocarbon dating of samples of wood show that there was human activity on Inch Island around 7330-7050 BC. The Lough Gara collection of Mesolithic artefacts is regarded as the largest in the West of Ireland.

Artefacts recovered from Lough Gara include:

Bann flakes 1053, Stone axes 133, saddle querns 3, rotary quern stones 6, stone discs 49, chertflakes 599, chert scrapers 14, chert arrowheads 9, flint flakes 7, hammer stones 22, bone pins 5, bone needles 2, human skulls 6, bone points 11, flint arrowheads 9, bronze rings 8, bronze pins 10, bronze sunflower pins 3, bronze spearheads 3, bronze daggers 4, iron spears 7, iron axe heads 19, bronze trumpet end 1, bronze swords 3, bronze axe head flanged 4, iron swords 6, blue glass bracelet 1 and copper coins 15.

5,000 year old axe with a wooden handle from Denmark

Over 133 stone axes alone have been discovered along the shores of Lough Gara with the largest concentration found along the Boyle River. Another large concentration of ten axes come from Inch Island in the middle of the lake. A small number have also been retrieved from other townlands such as Falleens, Tawnymucklagh, Ross and Derrymore Island.

Stone axes are normally ascribed to both the Mesolithic and the Neolithic periods. Polished stone axes, however, seem to appear first in the Neolithic while ground axes can belong to the Mesolithic. These tools were used for cutting, shaping and dressing wood. Perhaps, one of those axes was used to cut timbers for the nearby 3,000 year old togher or trackway in the townland of Creggan? 

It is likely that the lake waters, and especially the running waters of the rivers, were seen as places where depositions or offerings of suitable objects could be made. It has been suggested that the lake could have been a gathering-place for small groups during the late Mesolithic period.

Archaeologists’ use the term ‘lithic’ to refer to flaked stone tools such as arrowheads, scrapers, ground and polished stone axes and such like items. Killian Driscoll (2006) carried out a reappraisal of the lithics from Lough Gara excluding finds from excavations. He claims that the number of artefacts found in and around this lake has been underestimated. For example, the actual number of lithics recorded for the townlands of Tawnymucklagh and Lomcloon alone should be in the region of 928 - over twice the original estimate.

The discovery of quern stones from Lough Gara shows that these early inhabitants of the area around the lake were grinding corn to make bread and porridge. The presence of a bronze trumpet end points to the playing of music at gatherings and celebrations. Pins and broaches were used to fasten or adorn garments.

The Drumanone portal tomb was excavated by archaeologists in 1954 and was found to contain a considerable amount of cremated bone, indicating that the tomb was used to bury several individuals. A small polished stone axe was also found which archaeologists believe came from the Tievebulliagh Axe Factory in Co. Antrim. Other finds from this site include two flint flakes and a chert core scraper.

An Amber Necklace from Lough Gara dated to c 800-700 BC

Excavation of Rathtinaun crannog produced a hoard of various items, including:  a necklace of amber beads, rings of bronze, of pure tin and three of lead with gold-foil cover, a pair of tweezers, bronze pin and six boar tusks.

Many of the items found during the more recent excavation of the Sroove crannog were connected with personal appearance - a comb fragment, bone pins, iron pins and lignite bracelets. The discovery of a sewing needle suggests that people may have worked with textiles at this site.

The large and diverse number of artefacts from Lough Gara help to paint a picture of a people going about their everyday lives striving to survive with meagre resources. They speak to us through the items they left behind giving us a tantalising glimpse of life in the area long ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UXyGBjjq5o

Christina Fredengren (2002) Crannogs: A study of people's interaction with lakes, with particular reference to Lough Gara in the north-west of Ireland
Killian Driscoll (2006) The early prehistory in the west of Ireland: Investigations into the Social archaeology of the Mesolithic, west of the Shannon, Ireland

Lough Gara - Why is this Lake Important?

Lough Gara Lake

The recent initiative to promote tourism in the Ballaghaderreen and surrounding area, using the theme Lough Gara Lake and Legends, is to be welcomed.  Whilst the lake straddles the border between Counties Sligo and Roscommon, this should not be allowed to be an obstacle to the development of the area’s potential. Lough Gara’s rich archaeological heritage can only be beneficial to the future economic well-being of both counties.

People have lived on or around this lake off and on for several thousand years leaving behind evidence of their presence in the form of stone axes, arrowheads, swords, spearheads and such like remnants. It is noted for the large number of crannogs and artefacts found following drainage in the early fifties.

Estimates of the number of crannogs on Lough Gara range from 145 to 369. According to Christina Fredengren (2002), the Swedish archaeologist who carried out an extensive survey of the lake, the highest number of crannogs that can be claimed for Lough Gara is 190. There are 61 definite crannogs in the lake, and 123 possible and unlikely sites.

The archaeological evidence suggests that crannogs were built in this lake in the Late Mesolithic around 3500 BC. The practice of building on the shallow shores increased during the Late Bronze Age, 1200–800 BC, and again in the Early Medieval period around 600 AD. Some crannogs were also used as late as the 17th century. Most islands in Lough Gara are stone built and many look like cairns. Some have small causeways leading out from the shoreline some of which zig-zag to deter unwanted visitors.

According to Fredengren’s research over 133 stone axes alone have been found along the shores of the lake. These are normally ascribed to both the Mesolithic and the Neolithic. It has been suggested that the lake could have been a gathering-place for small groups during the late Mesolithic period.

Archaeologists have excavated three of the crannogs in the lake - Rathtinaun on the eastern lakeshore, Tivannagh on the Boyle River and Sroove on the western side.

Rathtinaun Crannog

The foundations of Rathtinaun date from the late Bronze Age and the site was reused in the early medieval period. It is possible that the site also had a later medieval phase. At Tivannagh the earliest layers are believed to date from the Neolithic or, possibly, from the Mesolithic period.  A hoard of various items, including:  a necklace of amber beads, rings of bronze, of pure tin and three of lead with gold-foil cover, a pair of tweezers, bronze pin and six boar tusks, was found during the excavation of Rathtinaun crannog.

The excavation in Sroove showed that crannog use was not confined to people from the richer parts of society. People of lower social standing also built and lived on crannogs at this stage. Many of the items found on the site in its first phases were connected with personal appearance - a comb fragment, bone pins, iron pins and lignite bracelets. The discovery of a sewing needle suggests that people may have worked with textiles at this site.

Archaeologists also found a small bowl-shaped depression that may represent the shape of a small bowl-furnace for iron-smelting. Nearby, was found remains of slag, some pieces of which had the red clay remains of the furnace attached to them. There was also a large heavy stone that may have served as an anvil.

Crannogs at Inch Island, Derrycoagh, and at Derrymaquirk, have yielded finds such as bronze rings or swords found off or at the edges of the sites. A polished horn was found at the crannog in Sroove.   

Fredengren’s survey of the lake, radiocarbon-dating, together with the artefacts recovered, shows that Lough Gara was used during the Mesolithic period. People were already building artificial islands on the lake in the in the late Bronze Age. Most activity, however, is to be found in the early medieval period, leading into the high medieval period. Some of the earlier crannogs pre-date Stonehenge and the Egyptian Pyramids and provide testimony to a bygone age. Today, they form the centrepiece of a local landscape rich in archaeology and history.

It is regrettable that there is still not a re-constructed crannog for visitors to view or an interpretive centre to bring the rich heritage of this area to life. As an interim measure, urgent efforts need to be made to establish an archaeological ‘trail’ around the lake consisting of suitable signing and information displays at appropriate points.

The current Lough Gara Lake and Legends initiative deserves our full support.

Lough Gara and its Crannogs

There is something mysterious and magical about Lough Gara and its ancient crannogs. This remote and beautiful lake on the border between Sligo and Roscommon seems to invite and at the same time repel the casual visitor. Although I left this place some forty years ago I still yearn for its tranquil waters and find myself returning there regularly.

When Lough Gara was drained in the early fifties several crannogs or lake dwellings, some dating from as early as 3500 BC, were revealed around the shoreline. Our Stone Age ancestors once inhabited this area leaving behind their stone axes, arrowheads and such like remnants. Archaeologists have found evidence of occupancy in the Late Bronze Age (1200 – 800 BC), Early Medieval Period (600 AD) and as recently as the 17th Century. Some of these earlier artificial islands pre-date Stonehenge and the Egyptian Pyramids and provide testimony to a bygone age. Today, they form the centrepiece of a local landscape rich in archaeology and history.

The word crannog comes from the Irish words, crann, meaning tree, and og, young trees or, more accurately, small woods. The word first appeared in literary sources at the beginning of the 13th Century. Estimates of the actual number of crannogs on Lough Gara range from 145 to 369, which is more than anywhere else in Co. Sligo. One of the most famous and well documented crannogs on this lake is Rathinaun, which was found to have been occupied and abandoned on no less than three separate occasions.

Archaeologists have viewed crannogs as defensive enclaves, high status residences and places for fishing and metalwork production. It has also been argued that Bronze Age crannogs were built in order to provide a place from which objects could be deposited in the lake as votive offrings. This lake and surrounding rivers are rich in such finds.

The waters of Lough Gara still hold many secrets although our understanding of the life of these early lake dwellers is growing all the time. It is regrettable that there is still not a re-constructed crannog for visitors to view or an interpretive centre to bring the rich heritage of this area to life.

Lough Gara, with its numerous abandoned crannogs is, perhaps, one of Ireland’s best kept secrets.