Crannóg
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A crannóg ( Irish plural: crannóga ) is a round, built of logs, sand and stones artificial island . Crannógs were built in the western parts of the British Isles from the Neolithic and sporadically used until the High Middle Ages . Some buildings were built on Crannógs. More rarely, natural islands have been surrounded by walls and developed into Crannógs: Examples are Doon Fort in "Lough Doon" in County Donegal and Crannóg in Lough-Na-Crannagh in County Antrim . The name comes from the Irish, where crann denotes the tree or beam.
distribution
Several hundred (estimated 3000) Crannógs are known from Ireland , from the Hebrides ( Coll , Islay , Mull , North Uist and Tiree ) and from mainland Scotland . Few are found in Orkney and the Shetland Islands . A single specimen, the Llan-Gors Crannóg , was found in Wales in 1868 in Llangorse Lake, the highest lake in South Wales, in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the Black Mountains .
Research history in Ireland and Northern Ireland
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The golden age of Crannóg research was the late 19th century when Irish researchers unearthed and described it. Many crannógs were discovered during the great drainage in the Lakelands wetlands. Because the lake levels were lowered, many small islands and cairns emerged from the water. Between 1839 and 1848, William Wilde (1815–1876) described the archaeological discoveries on the Crannóg of Lagore near Dunshaughlin in County Meath . Scholars such as William Frederick Wakeman (1822–1900) and George Kinahan were particularly active and systematically recorded and described the Irish Crannógs. Before 1886, Irish archaeologists had discovered at least 220 crannógs and William Gregory Wood-Martin (1847–1917) published his standard work: The lake dwellings of Ireland: or, Ancient lacustrine habitations of Erin, commonly called crannogs . He also published the first drawing of a reconstruction (by W. Wakeman).
Crannógs are particularly difficult places to study. Few have been extensively excavated in recent times. Four were examined in the 1930s: Lagore, in County Meath, Ballinderry No. 1, County Westmeath , Ballinderry No. 2, in County Offaly, and Knocknalappa in County Clare . Recent excavations have taken place in Lough Faughan and Loughislandreevy, both in County Down Northern Ireland and in Rathtinaun in Lough Gara , County Sligo . The excavation of the Crannóg of Drumclay in Lough Erne in County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, which was used between 900 and 1600 from 2011, produced a wealth of knowledge about the construction and use of such sites.
Ireland
William G. Wood-Martin (1847–1917), William Wilde (1815–1876) and William F. Wakeman (1822–1900) were the first to conduct crannog research in Ireland in the 19th century.
The geographic distribution of the approximately 1200 Irish Crannógs (many undiscovered) extends mainly over the lakes of the Midlands, the west, north-west and north of Ireland. Crannógs are more likely to be found in smaller lakes and are rarely found in the large Shannon river lakes ( Lough Ree etc.). The focus is on the Drumlin Lakes in Counties Cavan , Leitrim , Monaghan and Roscommon . There are also accumulations in Castlebar Lough, County Mayo and Lough Gara , County Sligo. In the province of Ulster they lie in a belt that stretches from County Fermanagh through South Tyrone and County Armagh to central County Down . Even lake-rich regions in eastern Ireland, such as County Westmeath and the south of the island, have low numbers.
When the water level in Lough Gara, in County Sligo, fell in the 1950s, 360 closely spaced Crannógs came to the surface. BC and 1000 AD were created or used. Most were built during the 2nd Crannóg Period, 500–1,200 AD.
Scotland
Most of the Crannógs are at least partially artificial. In many cases, crannógs have been created entirely from large amounts of material lying on the bottom of the lake. In a few cases, small islands or natural outcrops were only slightly enlarged. The result was always a small island, the surface of which lies above the water level of lakes ( Crannóg from Oakbank ) or sea bays ( Eriska Crannóg ). Other characteristics of Crannógs are: embankments to the bank and moorings, vertically driven wooden stakes that surround the island as a palisade , and piled rubbish.
Crannógs are round or oval, but differ greatly in size. Average diameters range from 15 to 30 m, although there are both major and minor exceptions. The materials used vary in Scotland. In the Hebrides they are primarily made of stone, while on the mainland they are mostly made of wood. As a rule, people used materials that are locally available.
Archaeologists know of two types of crannógs: they either have a solid base as an island or a pile structure. This later type stood over the water and was much larger. Excavations have shown that crannógs were used between the end of the Neolithic (2000 BC) and the early period of the historical Picts and Scots .
chronology
Originally, archaeologists believed that the Crannogs came from the Iron Age, around 800 BC. up to 43 AD This assessment is outdated. Eilean Dhomhnaill in Loch Olabhat on the Scottish island of North Uist is perhaps the oldest Crannóg. The ceramic type Unstan Ware and 14 C dates prove its Neolithic origin between 3,650 and 2,500 BC. The Crannóg in Loch Bhorgastail was also dated to the Neolithic in 2017 . In Scotland, the use of Crannógs does not end until the 17th century. The Priory Island in Loch Tay was a clan stronghold built on the remains of a crannóg. The Campbells of Glen Orchy built a fort on the island in the 16th century, the ruins of which are still standing. It is said that King Alexander I (1078–1124 AD) left the island to the monks of Scone Abbey in 1122 AD after Queen Sybilla was believed to have died in the island's monastery.
Construction
In lakes and marshes, a round or, rarely oval, artificial island (rarely more than 20 m in diameter) was created by means of wood and stones and by driving stakes as edge fortifications. Up to three huts erected on it were also round. Its walls were made of braided branches and twigs and were sealed with clay. The roof was made of thatch or straw. Inside there was a fireplace (in Moynagh Lough Crannóg and Lagore Crannóg also a forge fire).
Crannógs occasionally had access routes over dams made of stone or wood, which also ran below the waterline or were flooded by changes in the lake level. Since they did not go in a straight line, they were not easy to pass for the uninitiated. Otherwise the only access to a crannóg was by boat. Several had slipways where boats could be pulled ashore. Dugouts have been found on many Crannógs, including the excavation of Ballinderry No. 2 in County Offaly .
Craft and industry
The Crannógs were probably artisanal production facilities. Timbers of oak, yew, alder, hazel and willow, which were important raw materials, were found on many. Wood artifacts such as buckets, spoons, ladles, and twisted bowls, as well as the occasional pieces of ornate wood or bone, have also been discovered. On other Crannógs one produced fabrics or jewelry. Probably in all cases it was a matter of prestige goods. Handcuffs and chains were found on the Crannóg of Ardakillen, County Roscommon , so it is believed that hostages were held here.
Today's examples
The remains of Crannógs are still found today as tree-covered islands in the lakes. Not infrequently they are associated with Duns or Raths (Lisleitrim, County Armagh ). Reconstructed Crannógs are particularly memorable:
- Ireland
- Craggaunowen , Co. Clare
- Ferrycarrig , Co. Wexford
- Northern Ireland
- Ulster History Park , Co. Tyrone
- Scotland
- Wales
- Welsh Crannóg Center on Llangors Lake
literature
Scotland
- Nicholas Dixon: The history of crannog survey and excavation in Scotland In: International Journal of Nautical Archeology 20.1 (2007) 1-8.
- Ian Morrison: Landscape with lake dwellings: the crannogs of Scotland Edinburgh University Press 1986 ISBN 085224522X
- Robert Munro: Ancient Scottish lake-dwellings or crannogs: with a supplementary chapter on remains of lake-dwellings in England 1882
Ireland
- John Bradley: Excavations at Moynahg Lough County Meath. In: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 121 pp. 5-26
- John Bradley: Moynagh Lough, Brittas In I. Bennett (Ed.): Excavations 1998. Wordwell Ltd. Bray, 1999 pp. 161-162.
- Christina Fredengren: Lough Gara through time . Archeology Ireland 12 (1), 1998, pp. 31-33. ISBN 1-869857-56-9 , [2]
- Eamonn P. Kelly: Observations on Irish lake-dwellings . In Catherine Karkov, Robert T. Farrell (Eds.), Studies in insular Art and Archeology. American Early Medieval Studies and the Miami University School of Fine Arts 1, 1991, pp. 81-98. Oxford, Cornell.
- Aidan O'Sullivan: Crannogs, Lake-dwellings of early Ireland , Country House, Dublin 2000, ISBN 1-86059-091-8 .
- Aidan O'Sullivan: Crannogs in early medieval Ireland , Four Courts, Dublin, 2005, ISBN 1-85182-927-X .
- Seán P. Ó Ríordáin: Antiquities of the Irish Countryside (5th edition 1987) Methuen London ISBN 0-416-85630-6 p. 89 ff
Web links
- The Scottish Crannog Center (Engl.)
- Crannogs: a study of people's interaction with lakes, with particular reference to Lough Gara in the north-west of Ireland by Cristina Fredengren (detailed book review)
- Lough Gara Crannògs
- Anne Crone, Graeme Cavers The Black Loch of Myrton engl.