The Lake Dwellings of Ireland / Or ancient lacustrine habitations of Erin, commonly called crannogs.

During the progress of drainage operations, five canoes became exposed to view; they lay at the bottom in the same part of the lake, with their bow in a north-westerly direction, all having the same inclination or dip in the sandy or muddy deposit. A drawing was made, with measured plans and sections of the most perfect of the “dug-outs”; it was, however, split or fissured from starboard right through to the stern; it measured twenty-two feet seven inches over all, its greatest beam being thirty-one inches. It was formed out of one large trunk of oak, and appeared to have been hollowed by means of fire; close inspection showed that edged tools had been used in finishing it. The bottom (two inches thick) was perfectly flat, and without keel, and its perfectly smooth sides inclined outwards from the bottom. Two stout ridges of solid timber, one near either end of the “dug-out,” served to prevent the sides from collapsing, and between them and the bow and stern cavities had been hollowed out of the solid trunk, seemingly for the purpose of rendering the craft more buoyant. The port side was several inches lower than the starboard—manifestly the effect of accident. There were no traces of thwarts or benches; the sides had neither row-locks nor thole-pins; the canoe must therefore have been intended for propulsion by paddles. A horizontal hole, about one and a-half inch in diameter, had been bored in the most forward and highest part of the stern.

This entire fleet of ancient boats, together with several querns and bones found in the locality, were, in 1868, at Brittas, the residence of the Right Hon. General Dunn.[235]

Cullina.—Mr. Louis Orr states that in 1872 he saw exposed by turf-cutters in the bog of Cullina, about three miles from Maryborough, the remains of a primitive wooden dwelling. “The building lay from ten to twelve feet beneath the original surface of the bog, and consisted chiefly of four upright posts, which formed the angles of a square of six or seven feet across. These posts were about six feet in height. A quantity of timber, consisting of planks and trunks of trees, principally oak, lay scattered around, and some of the woodwork appeared to have been charred by fire. Within what had been the area of the hut was a trough made of oak, measuring three feet in length by two in breadth.” A piece of thin metal (whether bronze or iron is not stated), very much corroded, was also discovered. It was supposed to have been a sword.

PROVINCE OF MUNSTER.

Lough Nahinch (the lake of the island).—In the year 1810 the waters of this lake, situated near Roscrea (at the junction of King’s County and Tipperary), having been lowered four feet by drainage, a considerable portion of the land it once covered (fig. 211, b b b b b) was laid bare, and the site of a crannog became apparent. The lake is now much reduced in dimensions, but the surrounding ground being low, its expanse in winter (a a) is greater than in summer. Mr. Trench of Cangort Park—although at the time of its discovery unaware of the real nature of the construction—gave the following graphic description of it:—“The bottom (of the lake) consists of blue shelly marl, which seems to extend to a great depth, and when dry it is exceedingly light. In the highest part of this reclaimed land, which is about the middle of the old lake, there is seen a circular part resembling in shape the top of an immense tub, about sixty feet in diameter. The large planks which form the staves are from one to ten feet (?) broad, and six inches thick, quite straight as far as it has yet been possible to trace them downwards; none of them have been raised without cutting them.” There was no appearance of either axe or saw having been used in their formation.[236]

Since the change in the water level, the original aspect of the crannog has been completely transformed, its circular shape changed, many of the piles removed, and where the water was deep a quay was built for the convenience of landing turf from the southern shore. On the east there was a track into the mainland (c), and at its junction with the quay at the S.E. of the island, was one of the old oak sheeting piles. On the north, oak piles were noted forming part of a circle, and from them, running S. and S.E., there were two rows of round perpendicular ash piles (two feet five inches in diameter), that may have formed part of walls, or partitions dividing the space inside the circle of sheet piles into rooms or dwellings. On the N.W. of the island, about three yards from the present shore, were also some of the circle of sheet piles, and between them and the land ran E. and W. beams four feet apart, and four feet lower than the surface of the island: above these were irregularly-laid logs of oak, mingled with large stones. On the S.W. there was a set of oak sheet piles bounding the end of the quay. Only the general section of the island could be made on account of the inrush of water into the excavation.

GENERAL SECTION.

The artificial work, measured from the present surface, was more than five feet six inches in thickness. On the beams (layer 2 in section) there seemed to have been a basket flooring, but of this there could not be certainty, owing to the depth of water in the excavation. In connexion with them were observed wicker-walls made of hazel rods, and where these crossed the oak beams there were round holes through the latter for the stakes to pass through. In the vicinity of these beams a small rude stone implement of Silurian grit was found, but so rotten that it broke when handled. The beams in layer 3 were charred on the under surface, as if they had formed the rafters of an edifice destroyed by fire. Near the north of the island, immediately over these charred beams, there was a plank pointing N.W. and S.E.; it was ten feet long, twenty inches wide, and two inches thick; at about one foot nine inches from its N.W. end there were two holes through it, running N. and S. in a line with the north and south piles seen on the N. shore, and on each side of the plank there were upright stakes ranging in the same direction. The conclusion may be drawn that the island was occupied at two distinct periods—the first being when the E. and W. beams formed the floor of the habitations which seemed to have been destroyed by fire: afterwards the oak sticks and stones—irregularly laid—were placed as a floor for new dwellings, and between the periods it must be supposed that the water of the lake had risen considerably.[237]

COUNTY WATERFORD.

Ardmore Bay.—Here, in the year 1879, a submarine crannog was discovered on the shore under high water-mark, where a small stream runs into the sea between Ardmore chapel and the old coastguard houses; this little stream described a semicircle around the crannog at low water, but at high water all was submerged; a bank of shingle had covered it in whole or in part, but the rapid denudation going on from the action of the sea had removed the shingle and is wearing down the bed of turf, so that it is quite possible no remains of the crannog may be left. Its greatest diameter was from ninety-two to one hundred feet: the turf was over nine feet deep where the piles were driven in; these were of oak, rudely pointed and forming a double enceinte—irregularly oval in shape—of which the inner row of piles generally sloped slightly inwards, and those of the outer row—closer together and more numerous than the inner—sloped outwards. In many cases they stood above the turf, and were for the most part large—as thick as a man’s thigh. Several smaller piles were in the S.E. quarter of the crannog, probably the remains of wattled partitions. To the N.E. the sea denudation had been very great, and there, at the surface, were found many roots of bog-timber, similar to those which near the centre of the crannog lay more than two feet below the level of the solid peat.

SECTION INSIDE EAST MARGIN OF CRANNOG.

In the peat Nos. 1, 2, and 3, roots and twigs of oak occurred, and in the peat Nos. 6 and 8 were many twigs and boughs of oak, also stouter pieces of sallow. The cross-section taken along the line AB shows the present surface of the ground, with the oak piles, hazel stakes, planks, beams, &c., found in the excavation, also the high water-mark of average spring tides, and the depth of the peat—where proved. Any implements, or other relics that may have remained in this site, must have been long since washed away. A few antiquities are said to have been discovered in the Ardmore peat, but not within the bounds of the crannog, so that some charcoal found in one spot, two feet below the surface, and the “kitchen midden”—which at the close of 1880 became exposed by the action of the sea—form the only traces remaining of man’s former presence in this abode.[239]

On Arranmore island, in the Bay of Galway, the Rev. W. Kilbride discovered habitations and artificial structures extending from above high water-mark to under the low water-level of spring tides: from this it may be inferred that man existed in Ireland before the last subsidence of the land. The Irish Annals contain much that was formerly looked upon as fabulous relations of inbreaks of the ocean, but which may be reasonably held to be the reflex of traditionary tales having some foundation in fact. Geologists assert that at one time Great Britain and Ireland were connected with the Continent by a great level plain, over which roamed the Megaceros, so that even within the period of the existence of this animal, whose contemporaneity with man may be considered beyond dispute, both seas and continents have changed.

There are proofs of elevation and subsidence in the Bay of Baiæ, where the Temple of Jupiter Serapis “affords in itself alone unequivocal evidence that the relative level of land and sea have changed twice at Puzzuoli since the beginning of the Christian era; and each movement, both of elevation and subsidence, has exceeded twenty feet.”[240] It is difficult to decide whether the crannog at Ardmore had, like the Temple of Jupiter, subsided with the land, and had again been elevated: the denudation of the crannog may point to the possibility of the latter hypothesis.

COUNTY LIMERICK.

A crannog was discovered in this county during the working of the Arterial Drainage Commissioners. Site unidentified.

Coolcranoge.—Ante, p. 28.

Knockanny.—Ante, p. 156.

Lough Gur.—Ante, pp. 6, 25-6, 83, 150, 156, &c. There was found here a remarkably fine bronze spear-head, now in the collection of General A. Pitt Rivers, F. R. S. The lower part of its socket was ornamented with gold (see figs. 214 and 215). Homer more than once mentions the gold ring, or ferrule, around the spear-head of Hector. The two following relics—also from Lough Gur—may be seen in the British Museum:—(1) A moiety of a stone mould for casting spear-heads and other pointed objects of various sizes: “it is a four-sided prism, six and a-half inches long, and two and a half inches broad at one end of each face, and one and three-quarter inches at the other. A second similar prism would, it has been observed, give four perfect moulds for casting spear-heads slightly varying in form, but in each case provided with side-loops. These loops are, as usual, semicircular in form on the mould, and were no doubt destined to be flattened in the usual manner by a subsequent process of hammering. There is one special feature in this mould, viz., that at the base of the blade there is a transverse notch in the stone, evidently destined to receive a small pin which would serve to keep the core for the socket in its proper position. There is a similar transverse notch in one of the smaller moulds for the pointed objects”[241] (fig. 216). (2) An iron sword, which is ornamented on the blade thus, . The cross-like form does not necessarily denote that the weapon belongs to the Christian era, for an almost similar symbol appears in an ancient Mexican MS. now in the Belfast Museum.[242]

Effernan.—In the year 1873, a gentleman desirous to provide his residence with an ample supply of water, decided on bringing it down from this lake, situated at a distance of about two miles, and at a level of three hundred feet above his house. Before a syphon could be placed in working order, it was necessary to reduce the height of the water much below its ordinary summer level, which was effected by clearing and deepening the outlet. When making the cutting the labourers, at about six feet below the surface, came upon a densely-intertwined layer of roots of a pine forest; the trees had evidently attained maturity in the position in which they were found, and they extended also under the water. The forest must have been very ancient, as no lake could have been formed there at the time of its existence. The roots were in the exact position in which the trees grew, and these, with the direction to which their stumps pointed, seemed to indicate that, while the present prevailing wind is the S.W., it must then have been the N.W. Hills and valleys guide the aerial currents, and some convulsion of the earth’s crust may have altered these, and formed the present lake. When, by drainage, the water had been reduced nine feet, there was laid bare a low neck of land stretching into the lake, its outer end being highest. Along this neck of land ran, in irregular order, a row of posts, from four to six inches in diameter, and which, in general, only just topped the ground. At the extremity of the promontory was an unmistakable crannog, circular in form, and with wooden piles surrounding the exterior; the floor was of stone; and one large flag—seemingly the fireplace—took up the greater part of the interior space. Unfortunately, no one specially interested about lake dwellings was at the time aware of this discovery, and the syphon being completed, crannog and causeway became once more submerged.[243]

PROVINCE OF CONNAUGHT.

Ballinlough is situated in the barony of Leitrim, and parish of Ballinakill; in it were four islands, bearing no distinctive appellation; but G. H. Kinahan, who made the explorations, named them, respectively—North Island (1), (fig. 217), West Island (2), Middle Island (3), East Island (4). In the general view of the lake (fig. 218), North Island (1) is in the far distance; near the mouth of the rivulet is West Island (2); to its right lies Middle Island (3); whilst a glimpse of a portion only of East Island (4) is to be seen. The horns and skulls of numerous red deer have been discovered at various times in the lake-bed; also the head and horns of a Megaceros hibernicus. North Island (1) is nearly one hundred yards from the shore, to which, during the dry season, it was connected by a reedy bank, and, when visited, was a foot above the surface of the water; the excavation was stopped on finding the stratum undisturbed, and no traces around of ancient dwellings, either of stone, or of piling. West Island (2), twenty-six yards from the shore, was connected with it during the dry season; its form was a rude oval, the diameter thirty-three and fifteen yards, respectively, and there were flat stones round the outside. An excavation in the centre showed:—

The oak beams were sawn, not split; they seemed to run nearly N. and S.; through them, at distances of nine inches, were pairs of dowels, and at intervals of nine inches were ash poles, two and a-half inches thick, through which the dowels passed and secured the flooring beams. The wicker-work flooring was formed of hazel rods; and the crannog would appear to have been divided into huts, or apartments, as portion of a row of ash piles was observable. Below the beams there was a stratum of peat; but in consequence of the rapid influx of water, the working had to be abandoned at this point. No relics were discovered, owing probably to the narrow area of the excavation. East Island (4) was of irregular pear-shape, sixty-seven yards by fifty; it lay three hundred feet from the southern shore, and seemed to be partly natural, partly artificial. An excavation in the centre gave four feet of peat, and under it was shell marl, whilst for a radius of about twelve feet around the island there were layers of regularly-placed stones, small and flat; also at the S.E. shore there were two beams, seven inches wide; the height of the water, however, precluded further examination.

The lake occupied a hollow among low hills, the only outlet being at the village of Ballinlough, where there is an artificial cut through a bank of coarse boulder clay. If this cut were filled up, the water would rise at least four feet higher than at present; and it would seem to have been at that level not long since, for all round the beach, to over that height, there is a deposit of shell marl and peat. In the bank of drift on the west of the village is the trace of an ancient ravine, artificially filled up with stuff taken from an oblong excavation (marked a on fig. 217). To account for this artificial filling, it may be suggested that the inhabitants of the crannogs were flooded out by an enemy, who stopped the egress of the lake, thus raising the water until the islands were swamped; after this they remained submerged until the opening of the present cut. In later years they had been occasionally occupied for purposes of illicit distillation.[244]

Lough Naneevin is situated in the townland of Gortacarnam, barony of Moycullen. In the summer of 1865, G. H. Kinahan observed, in this lake, a crannog which is described as oval in form, about one hundred and fifty feet in length, seventy-five feet wide, and on the south a narrow causeway, then partly submerged, had joined it to the mainland. The island bore traces of having (since last inhabited) been covered with water at least two feet higher, for shell marl was deposited on the portion below that level. On the south shore of the crannog there was a row of round oak piles, four inches in diameter, and on the S.W. shore were two rows of similar piles, five feet apart; alongside them were oak beams, and there was a double row of piles, seemingly part of a wall, bearing north and south. No piles were observable on the east of the crannog, but there was an irregularly-laid flooring of beams of ash, oak, and sallow; from these latter, it was supposed, had sprouted the sallow trees, which at that time formed a fringe round the island. The piles had been pointed with a sharp-cutting instrument; therefore metal had been in use either when the crannog was constructed, or repaired.

Six small excavations made near the centre of the island, where the surface of the crannog was three feet above the water-level, disclosed the following section:—

About a foot below the water-level were traces of what G. H. Kinahan considered to be a basket-flooring; and a large flag-stone, used as a hearth, was found resting on an accumulation of wood-ashes, three feet in depth. Some distance to the west was a long rude bench (or perhaps the foundation of a wall) formed of stones. The height of the water prevented excavations outside the crannog, therefore few bones were met with, but a little east of the fireplace was the probable site of the kitchen midden.[245]

Loughrea is situated in the barony of same name. In the locality there lingered a tradition that a city lay buried under this lake, and indeed on a clear calm day—where the waters are shallow—there may be observed various heaps of stones, placed with a degree of regularity that renders it probable they may be remains of ancient lake dwellings. Upon examination it was ascertained that four of the islands in the lough were undoubted crannogs, and it was quite possible that another (known as Blake Island) might prove to be also of artificial formation.

Reed Island, situated at the N.W. corner of the lake, about fifty yards from the shore, lies too low to be observable in any picture. Excavations showed (section, fig. 219)—(6) marl; (5) peat; (4) large stones; (3) a layer of birch trunks and branches; (2 and 1) two layers of squared oak beams, laid at right angles to each other. The island was surrounded with a circle of piles (fig. 219)—two feet apart—that were seemingly strengthened against wave action by a layer of flat stones, deposited with great regularity; three sets of piles crossed the crannog, which rose about six inches above the ordinary level of the lake, and the lowest beams (1 in section) were four feet two inches beneath the then water surface. The island originally consisted of a wooden platform, enclosed by “a circular wall, the framework of which was the piles, the interstices being filled with sods. As the lake rose, it was found necessary to raise the floor, first by a mass of birch timbers and branches, and afterwards by a layer of stones.”[246]

Shore Island, situated immediately below Lord Dunlo’s house, and a quarter of a mile from Reed Island, appears to have been formerly connected with the mainland by a causeway formed of marl and peat; but in comparatively recent times the waters of the lake have worn a gap through it, about fifteen yards in breadth. (Plate XLIX., figs. 220 to 223.) The S.S.E. and E. shores were found to be a mass of stone, between and outside two semicircles of oak piles, whilst the W. and N. were banked up with shell marl. Twenty yards south of the island, three circles of piles, three feet apart, could on a calm day be seen below the water. Thirty-five feet from the E. shore part of a circle of piles was visible under the water, being perhaps portion of the circle found in the most northern excavation made. From the east shore a double row of piles extended from the circle, and on the north of these were horizontal beams in parallel line. A little N.W. of the double row, in an old working, there was part of a circle of piles, and in another a row of piles running nearly E. and W. Some of the upright piles formerly bore marks showing that horizontal beams had been mortised on them. This settlement was thoroughly explored, and in it basket-flooring and partitions were noticed (ante, p. 32). In 1848, among the numerous bones raised from this site were perfect crania of oxen, sheep, goats, deer, pigs, and what seemed to be those of large dogs, or wolves, together with the head of a Megaceros hibernicus, measuring over thirteen feet from tip to tip of the antlers.[247]

Ash Island (figs. 220 and 224) is sixty yards from the shore at the south-west corner of the lake. When examined, the surface above water measured twenty yards in diameter, and it was covered with flat stones, which continued for a short distance under the water. Towards the S. W. a spur, covered with small shingle, extended outwards about three yards, and to the N. and S. W. were similar spurs stretching to a distance of four yards from the water edge. On the N. E. there were visible, below the water, a number of parallel logs of round ash, six inches in diameter, and two feet apart; also one or two logs on the east side. A few piles of oak were discovered; there were no indications, however, that the island had at any time been surrounded by a regular piling, but there was found a wicker, or dividing wall, the stakes composed of round fir, two inches in diameter, and one foot apart. The finds consisted merely of fractured bones, wood ashes, hazel-nuts, two hones, and a round sea-stone.

The age of these crannogs was estimated to be over 1800 years, or before the Christian era. When they were first constructed the surface of the lake must have been at least seven feet lower, and at a subsequent period the west part of the lake must have been twelve feet deeper. The change in the level of the water was caused by the silting up of its outlet. The ancient stream from the lake seems to have been at the west end of the town of Loughrea, where is an alluvial deposit; whilst at its modern outlet there is strong corn gravel, and a little below its present bed there seems to be rock. The town is more than four hundred years old, and since that date the water could scarcely have changed its level, because the eastern outlet of the lake ran at the foot of the town wall; and thus forming part of the town defences, the inhabitants would have kept the stream free.[248]

Crannog Mac Navin.—Ante, pp. 149-50.

Ballinafad.—Ante, p. 24.

Ballinahinch.—Ante, p. 34.

Caislen-na-Caillighe.—Ante, pp. 33-4.

Goromna Island.—Ante, p. 33.

Lough Bola.—Ante, p. 34.

Lough Cam.—Ante, p. 34.

Lough Hackett, formerly Lough Cimbe (pronounced Kimmay), ante, p. 157.—An allusion that, in all probability, refers to a siege of this crannog, occurs in the Annals of Lough Cé, under date A.D. 1067, where it is stated that Torlogh O’Brien led “a hosting to Loch-Cime.”

COUNTY MAYO.

Of the crannog, the diameter is about sixty feet; its exterior face so worn away by wave action, that the traces of the outer row of piling are now some feet distant. The Irish-speaking natives still call it the Crannogh, and in English designate it “the island”; its surface is covered with a luxuriant growth of bilberry and Osmunda regalis. An excavation showed—

1. A natural growth of peat, about three and a-half feet thick.

2. A layer of branches.

3. Small stones.

Some feet from the exterior face of the crannog, on the side shown in fig. 226, numerous pointed ends of stakes, evidently dressed with a sharp metallic tool, were extracted from the mud (fig. 227, No. 1), and a large portion of another (No. 4) lay on the beach. A fragment of a beam, mortised at one extremity, was found in close proximity (No. 6); its quadrangular incision, which did not quite penetrate the plank, was saucer-shaped at bottom, and an unique arrangement of a peg-hole in each corner shows the firm manner in which it had been originally secured: it probably belonged to the framework of the crannog hut. Not far from this was part of the blade of a canoe paddle (No. 5), the bottom of a wooden vessel, one side bearing traces of fire (No. 2), and a stave (most likely of the same utensil), pierced for reception of the handle (No. 3). There were also several nondescript portions of worked timber, numerous chips, pieces of charred wood, and a couple of white sling-stones, consisting of water-worn sea-beach pebbles. Deeply imbedded in the mud was a large whetstone (fig. 228), much worn on three sides by the friction of whetting, and bearing deep and sharp indentations produced by the edges of metallic tools; the fourth side presents the natural surface of the stone.