Neolithic crannogs - New Scottish Discoveries

Lough Gara

Introduction

In earlier posts I discussed the crannogs of Lough Gara on the border between Co Sligo and Co Roscommon in Ireland. Crannogs are partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers, and estuarine waters of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are commonly made of timber and stone and are occasionally built on existing rocky structures. They are widespread in Ireland, with an estimated 1,200 examples while Scotland has 347 sites officially listed. 

It had been thought that these artificial islands dated from the Iron Age. We now know that crannogs were used for over five thousand years from the European Neolithic Period to as late as the 17th/early 18th century. Four Western Isles sites in Scotland have recently been radiocarbon dated to about 3640-3360 BC in the Neolithic period - before the erection of Stonehenge's stone circle.

Aerial View of crannog in Loch Langabhat, Scotland
BBC News Scotland, Highlands and Islands

Crannogs, or at least platforms, may have been built on Lough Gara in the Late Mesolithic (5500 to 4000 BC). However, 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 used as late as the 17th century. The recent research in Scotland points to some crannogs there being much older than previously thought prompting a reappraisal of dates for these structures.

Fredengren’s survey of Lough Gara found piling, timbers and brushwood stretching over a 40m area of white marl along the north-east shore of Inch Island. The wood deposit formed three groups, 3-4 m apart. A small number of posts could be seen in the water. One of the vertical timbers produced a radiocarbon date of 4230–3970 BC, indicating activity in the latest phases of the Mesolithic, while a brushwood piece indicated a date in the early Mesolithic, showing that there was human activity on Inch Island around 7330-7050 BC (Fredengren, 2002).

A diver holds a Neoilithic (c 3,500 BC) Ustan vessel
found near a crannog in Loch Arnish, Scotland.
BBC News Scotland, Highlands and Islands

Isle of Lewis

 Archaeologists Dr Duncan Garrow, of University of Reading, and Dr Fraser Sturt, from the University of Southampton, investigated four crannog artificial islands in the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles. At one of the sites well-preserved Neolithic pottery had previously been found on the loch bed. The archaeologists said the crannogs represented "a monumental effort" through the piling up of boulders on the loch bed, and in the case of a site in Loch Bhorgastail, the building of a stone causeway. The archaeologists believe it is possible other Scottish crannogs, and similar sites in Ireland, were also Neolithic.

Eight radiocarbon dates were recorded from the structural timbers used in the building of the four crannogs on the Isle of Lewis and six of these fell within the Neolithic era.  The research also shows for the first time that the pots were likely to have been intentionally placed in the water around the crannogs.

The condition of the nearly intact Neolithic ceramic vessels found in the water around the crannogs was described as “amazing” by Duncan Garrow, who co-authored the paper. “I’ve never seen anything like it in British archaeology,” he says. “People seem to have been chucking this stuff in the water.”

Neolithic crannog of Eilean Domhnuill,
North Uist, Scotland

Loch Tay

Since 1980 archaeologists have explored the waters of Loch Tay for crannogs and have excavated one at Oakbank, just off the village of Fearnan. Preserved in the loch's cold, peaty waters were structural timbers, food, utensils and 2600-year-old clothing. They even discovered a butter dish with butter still clinging to the inside of it.

In 1994 experimental archaeologists from the Scottish Trust for Underwater Archaeology reconstructed a crannog on Loch Tay using the same material as the original at Oakbank. The reconstruction at Kenmore involved building a thatched roundhouse on a timber platform 15m across, which was connected to the shore by a timber causeway 20m long. The whole structure is supported on 168 timber piles.

Considerable skill is required to build a crannog. The first stage was to create an artificial island out of timber piles. Alder trees, 8-10m long, were used for the piles. Considerable work would have been required to pull the alder piles into a vertical position. The original crannog builders then faced the task of how to drive the alder piles up to 2m into the loch bed using only Iron Age technology. Archaeologists think that a crosspole would have been lashed to the upright pile and twisted back and forth to create enough force to drive it two metres into the loch bed.

Rathtinaun crannog (Late Bronze Age),
Lough Gara, Co Sligo, Ireland.

Conclusion

Whilst it had been thought that crannogs dated from the Iron Age, we now know that they were used for over five thousand years from the Neolithic Period to as late as the 17th/early 18th century. Dating crannogs is complicated by multi-periods of occupancy as noted, for example, in the case of Rathtinaun crannog, Lough Gara, where the foundations date from the Late Bronze Age with evidence of reuse in the Early Medieval Period.

Archaeologists can only speculate as to why the Scottish crannogs were built, how they were used, and why they became places for pottery disposal. Vicki Cummings, an expert in Neolithic monuments from the University of Central Lancashire suggests the sites’ isolation, and the pottery that surrounds them, could point to rituals that marked life transitions like the passage from childhood to adulthood.

Paper co-author Duncan Garrow admits the research is only just beginning. His team plans to conduct a broader survey to date more crannogs in the Outer Hebrides. In the meantime, the Scottish findings provides support for the earlier Mesolithic and Neolithic dates recorded by Fredengren for some of Lough Gara’s sites.

Christina Fredengren (2002) Crannogs: A study of people's interaction with lakes, with particular reference to Lough Gara in the north-west of Ireland

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-48625734

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/culture-history/2019/06/artificial-islands-older-stonehenge-stump-scientists

https://letterfromballinloughane.blogspot.com/2014/08/lough-gara-why-is-this-lake-important.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtEObzvwo4Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i931HbTN9z4  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1teGofZCk4  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=461QhIFau6g  

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.