Numerous fragments of fictile ware, of which five rims are given as specimens, were in No. 5 crannog, in the same locality (plate XIX., figs. 90, 91, 92, 95, 96); and fragments were found in No. 6 crannog, of which four examples are given (plate XIX., figs. 89, 93, 94, 97).

Figs. 98 and 99 represent fragments of fictile ware also from Lough Eyes. Fig. 98 has evidently been a deep-lipped vessel, and its “herring-bone” ornamentation is almost identical with the pattern that prevails most upon burial urns, and closely resembles that figured upon the vessel found in “One Man’s Cairn,” at Moytirra, county Mayo, as represented in Wilde’s Lough Corrib, p. 235: the same style of decoration is a characteristic of early bronze celts and other remains of the prehistoric period. Fig. 99 presents the same style of ornamentation. It was apparently an eared vessel, of reddish-drab colour.

Fig. 100 has evidently formed portion of what was a well-finished vessel. So far as at present known, its style of ornamentation is extremely rare, being identical with that seen upon portion of a decorated leathern shoe found in the crannog of Dowalton loch, Wigtonshire, and of which a representation is given at p. 49 of Munro’s Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings. The fragments of vessels found in Lough Eyes were all hand-made, and well burnt, whilst the action of the fire would seem to have been greater on the interior than on the exterior. The material used was the sandy clay of the district, or perhaps the grit may have been added in order to give greater consistency to the paste. In most of the specimens there are distinct traces of this sand, and in the ruder examples particles of white stone of the size of very small peas project from the surface. The colour varies from light drab to a very dark brown, almost black, whilst some few are of a reddish hue—but all are unglazed. Many fragments of pottery have from time to time been disinterred from the site of the crannogs in the lake of Drumskimly, county Fermanagh: one of them is figured in the Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland,[118] in connexion with a vase evidently of Pagan origin, from the “Bar” of Fintona, near Trillick, county Tyrone.

The term “Lestar” comprises vessels of various shapes, and of all kinds of material, although it is more generally applied to those made of wood—several have been found in crannogs. In a bog, occupying what in distant ages appears to have been the site of a small lake, on the lands of Cavancarragh, county Fermanagh, implements of flint, a fine bronze spear-head, and a beautifully-shaped wooden vessel, were discovered, all buried under peat. Now, according to the theory of some geologists, a peat formation of such depth as covered them would, according to circumstances, take from six hundred to one thousand years to accumulate, so that the articles found might be referred back to any period from the thirteenth to the ninth century; and at about this latter period, it is remarked, with regard to the ornamentation observable on the wooden vessel, that a similar style prevailed in the MSS. and on stone work of that era, still extant. The vessel was made of oak, the bottom alone being alder: when first exhumed it was entire, and had a cover; the original form seems to have been one of unusual beauty, and the height about fifteen inches. The lid, now unfortunately lost, is described as slightly convex, with a knob-like handle in the centre, the ornamental work on it similar to that of the vessel itself. On the dark shading round the rim, and between the interlacing ornamentation, both of vessel and lid, traces were apparent of some kind of pigment, or enamel, with which the surface of the wood had been overlaid. In the crannog of Ballydoolough, county Fermanagh, a vessel of wood was discovered in an entire state, but from long saturation reduced almost to a state of pulp. The engraving (about one-fifth the real size), gives a good idea of it. In process of drying, the vessel soon lost all shape, and became strangely twisted and distorted. On comparing this woodcut with a vase found in a small stone chamber at Knocknecoura, near Bagnalstown, county Carlow, and now in the Museum, R.I.A., a striking resemblance in form is observable; the latter vessel is, however, more ornamental. To find in a grave an urn of almost exactly the same shape as a vessel undoubtedly used to hold food, suggests the idea that the so-called sepulchral urns in cairns and graves need not be viewed as necessarily intended to hold human ashes, or the cremated bones of sacrifices. Might not the object of their position have been to supply the warrior with food on his way to the Happy Hunting Grounds of Tirnanog? A willow platter, 15 inches by 14 (fig. 104), was found in the crannog of Ballinderry. It did not split much in drying, and is in a very good state of preservation: one handle, however is defective, the other is 2¾ inches in length by 4 in breadth. The dimensions of fig. 105 are as follows: extreme length from handle to handle, 31⅛ inches; length inside, 25¾ inches; extreme breadth across the rim, 21⅛ inches. It is not so well preserved as its confrere from Ballinderry, as it rent in drying, but has not become either warped or twisted like the great majority of wooden utensils exhumed from peat.

“Meadar,” or “Mether,” is the Irish designation for a species of drinking cup, so called, it is said, because it was employed to contain “mead.” It seems to have been commonly made of yew, was quadrangular at the lip, and round at the bottom. It was usually provided with two or more handles for the purpose of passing it round from hand to hand. There was a curious cup of this description in one of the crannogs of Lough Rea, county Galway, too much decomposed, however, to be dug out in an entire state; and at Lagore, near Dunshaughlin, was a four-sided drinking vessel, composed of horn, and very small, being only 2½ inches in height; it resembles one discovered in the parish of Tamlaght O’Crilly, county Derry.[119] The use of the Mether appears to have been universal in Ireland, and continued to a late period, whilst judging from the great depth at which it is found buried in peat, its antiquity must be extreme. In drinking out of the Mether, it was not the side, but one of the four corners that should be applied to the mouth. It is related that when Lord Townsend’s term of the Irish Vice-royalty had expired, he carried over to England, on his return, two large methers, which were always produced at his dinner parties. His guests generally applied the side of the vessel to the mouth, therefore seldom escaped without a drenched neck-cloth, vest, or doublet, and the host (after enjoying the joke), if an Irishman chanced to be present, called upon him to teach the Saxons the mether drill.

The object here represented (fig. 107), is a wooden mallet, 1 foot 7 inches in length, found about fifteen feet below the original surface of the crannog of Lisnacroghera.[120] Fig. 108, about 10½ inches in length, may be also a mallet, but was more probably used as a peg to keep some part of the framework in position. It rested on one of the beams of the western crannog in Glencar, county Sligo.

The MS. Book of Ballymote contains an ancient Irish poem, which states “It was Tigearnmas first established in Ireland the art of dyeing cloth of purple, and many colours.” This monarch is alleged to have lived, A.M. 2816(?), therefore in Ireland the arts of weaving and dyeing are of remotest antiquity. Some bright red colouring matter (realgar?), rolled up in a piece of birch bark, was discovered in one of the crannogs of Loughrea, county Galway;[121] orpiment, a yellow sulphuret, probably used in dyeing, was found in Cloneygonnell;[122] and, whorls, or little discs, popularly called by the peasantry “fairy mill-stones,” are found in great numbers; of these fig. 109 is a good example. The whorl was supposed to be simply a weight, used to aid the rotation of the stick fixed to a ring on the spindle: it can be seen in Egyptian, Greek, and Roman sculptures, and wall paintings, and Schliemann in his excavations at Hissarlisk found thousands of these objects. It has been suggested that a curious ovoid piece of hard polished bone, found at Ardakillen, may have been utilised in weaving, for the purpose of keeping the threads, or cords in their proper places; its longest diameter was 2½ inches, and it was perforated with ten holes of slightly different sizes.[123] Investigation has led to the belief that flax was cultivated in Egypt more than forty centuries ago, and was thence brought into Europe; it was discovered in the oldest lake dwellings in Switzerland, of the kind which is native to the Mediterranean countries; the term lin—the root of the English word linen,—is to be traced in nearly every European language: in spoken Irish it is leen, i.e. flax. The art of spinning, being of a sedentary nature, was exclusively allotted to women, which is supposed to explain the fact of such a number of whorls being found on the site of crannogs, where this peaceful occupation was carried on. In the present day, the province of Ulster seems to have monopolized an industry that may be traced back to the primitive inhabitants of the lake dwellings of Ireland.

Articles of the Toilet, etc., or of Personal Adornment.—In crannogs, pins form one of the most numerous handicraft “finds;” they are fashioned of bone, wood, bronze, iron, and gold: great variety is observable in their shape and design: indeed there are few articles on which the crannog artificer has bestowed more pains than on these cloak or dress fasteners. At Lagore, pins of bone occurred absolutely in hundreds—the great majority were of very plain character, something like skewers—flat-headed, and perforated with one hole; some of the richer examples were singular in design—their heads presenting grotesque human figures, or carvings of beasts; a few of them terminated in plain bulbs, or in a series of graceful mouldings: but whether in bone, wood, or metal, the designs and style of ornamentation are very varied, and so minute in some instances is the decoration, as only fully to be descried by the aid of a magnifying glass. Fig. 111, of simple form, is here represented full size; it is ornamented with diagonal lines; the head is perforated, but the ring (if it ever contained one) has disappeared.[124] Fig. 112, found at Grosses Island, on the Shannon, is large, and dark in colour, it is 9 inches long, and 2½ inches thick at the head: it seems too large to be classed as a mantle pin. Fig. 113 is of less simple outline. The shank of fig. 114 is formed like a knife-blade, with a rise near the top, probably intended as a catch to secure it in the garment which it fastened. Fig. 115 is 3½ inches long, and has an oblong head of bone, with four indentations, one in each corner; it rests upon a shoulder cut in the shank. Fig. 116, 4½ inches in length, has a circular head 1 inch in diameter. Fig. 117 is another highly decorated pin, square in the shank, and 5½ inches long, with a looped head, through which is passed a ring. Fig. 118 (plate XXI.) has an acus 4¼ inches long, ornamented with the “dot-and-circle,” and the front of its flat discoid pendant has an inscription of oghamic character surrounding a dot and double circle, enclosed within an ornamented border—

The loop at the head is not continuous. In fig. 119 (plate XXI.) the acus is 4⅞ inches long, with an irregular oval ring as pendant, ornamented with the dot-and-circle. The acus has a swelling in the middle, which at one side has the dot-and-circle, and on the other a runic-like scoring—

Fig. 120 (plate XXI.) has an acus 3¾ inches long, it bears a pendant carved in the shape of a Maltese cross, ornamented on both sides with the dot-and-circle. The acus has an ogham-like scoring on one face—

In fig. 121 (plate XXII.) the acus is 7⅝ inches long, flattish, and ornamented by cross notchings, which seem merely ornamental, although at one side the character N is repeated many times; the pendant is somewhat rectangular in form, and perforated with a round opening—its rim ornamented with dots and lines. Fig. 122 (plate XXII.) is a pin 5⅜ inches long, with a large flat pendant, rudely and irregularly decorated in front. The acus has no ornament, but about its centre there is a square enlargement to keep it firm when inserted in the dress, and this projection has ogham-like scribings on three of its faces. Fig. 123 (plate XXII.) has an acus 3 inches long, with a small circle as a pendant, ornamented with dots; one side of the acus has a herring-bone pattern, the other bears scores—

Fig. 124 has the acus 3½ inches long, and a circular ring for pendant; the ring has scoring on one face—

One side of the acus is ornamented with the dot-and-circle; on the other (shown in the cut) is a runic-like scoring—

There are cracks, or openings, in the rings at the head of each acus, by means of which the pendants may have been introduced; but these cracks are possibly the result of wear or straining, and it may be that both pendant and acus were originally carved out of one piece, like Chinese chains of ivory rings. From the same “find” came a pin with acus 4¾ inches long, having a flat discoid pendant of considerable size, both acus and pendant ornamented with the dot-and-circle; also a plain bone pin 2¼ inches long, with a hole at the head for a wire ring; another plain bone pin 3 inches long, with a flat head unpierced for ring or pendant; and a pin of yew, 2¼ inches long, with a round head.[125]

The scorings on these pins, though mostly mere ornament, seem in some cases greatly to resemble Ogham and runic characters, but Professor Stephens, of Copenhagen, to whom photographs of the runic-like scribings were submitted, could not decide that they were actually runes; and again, other examples of bone pins from Ballinderry, preserved in the Museum, R. I. A., bear seemingly well-marked Ogham scorings, yet Professor Rhys and Sir Samuel Ferguson were unable to interpret them.[126] The pin given, plate XXIII., fig. 1 (full size), bears ogham-like scorings on the front of its disc, no doubt originally intended to convey a meaning, but up to the present no key has been discovered by which they can be read; it is possible they were intended as a charm of some kind. Fig. 2 (plate XXIII.) was not in the Academy when Wilde compiled his catalogue: the head of this pin is of stone, said to be agate, secured to the bone stem, seemingly, by a small wedge of bronze. Near its termination, the pin assumes an acutely quadrangular form, each face bearing an ogham-like set of scorings; these may possibly also have been talismans. Pins of bone, as well as of bronze, have been frequently found with rings of that metal attached to them, of a more or less ornamental type, but sometimes consisting of a mere piece of wire. Fig. 125, from Lisnacroghera, represents a rude ring of this nature; and quite recently a bronze pin, with similar attachment, was picked up from the bed of Drumcliff river, county Sligo. A pin of unusual form, and ornamented with two human heads, fig. 126, was brought to light in the crannog of Loughravel; the material is dark-coloured bronze, cast in the required form, but finished off with a chasing tool. In fig. 127 the ring, with which most pins are decorated, assumes the form of a coin, or flattened disc with a notch at top to allow it free play in the loop. In some specimens the disc of the coin is smooth and plain, but in others, as that here represented, it is highly ornate. Fig. 128 shows a rude plain specimen of the penannular pin, decorated in the inferior enlargements.[127] Fig. 129 from Lagore, has a head of singular fashion, and the bronze ornament claims special notice “on account of the analogy of type which it presents as compared with the remarkable silver pins found at Largo, in Fifeshire,” and with the “Hammer-headed pins” in the Museum, R.I.A. Fig. 130,[128] of similar form, is ornamented on its semicircular plate; the ground had originally been filled in with enamel, as were probably the front terminations of the tubes. It was found near a crannog in Craigywarren bog, parish of Skerry, county Antrim. Fig. 131, from Lagore, is unique; its entire length is 3 inches, and it has three rings passing through apertures in the elongated head, which is the only part here represented; its inferior extremity is decorated with a cross-like ornamentation.[129] Fig. 132, from Ballinderry, is a plain pin, with a wheel-like head, having a small hole in the neck, through which a ring passed.[130] Crannogs and street cuttings are the principal localities from which the small pins, figs. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h have been procured, they vary in length from 2¼ to 7½ inches; fig. d is from Ardakillen.[131] All the articles figured in plate XXIV. were found at Lagore, and now form part of the Petrie Collection in the Museum, R.I.A. Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are of iron, of which material very few ornamental objects have been found in Irish crannogs. No. 1 is remarkable as presenting a fine example of the torque pattern. Nos. 2, 3, and 4, in form strongly resemble brooch pins of bronze, which there is every reason to believe belong to an extremely remote period. The bone pins, Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, are faithful representations of the leading varieties of that article, as found in Irish lake dwellings, and indeed in some pagan tombs. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (plate XXV.), are believed to represent wooden pins for the hair. No. 1 remains in a perfect state: the mouldings upon its lower and thinner end were doubtless intended to keep the article in its proper place, and prevent its slipping from the “back hair” of some long-forgotten beauty. No. 2 is unfortunately imperfect, but it is of interest on account of the boldness of the mouldings by which its head is decorated. No. 3 is perhaps the most remarkable pin composed of wood which has been recorded as found in a crannog: its decoration consists chiefly of varieties of the divergent spiral, highly characteristic of early Celtic art. No. 4 may possibly have been a hair-pin, but it was more probably used as a bodkin. Nos. 5 and 6, with serrated edges, seem well designed for the purpose of securing the hair in position. Pins of this kind were probably used in pairs, attached together with a string. No. 7 is a nondescript piece of wood, with two perforations; and No. 8 represents a handle, probably belonging to a very small wooden vessel. No. 9, shaped like one half of a wheel, is cut out of the solid, and appears to have been very carefully worked. It is almost impossible to form an opinion as to the character of this object: possibly it may have formed portion of the head of a cross: if so, it is the only relic of that kind hitherto reported to have occurred in a crannog. Nos. 10 and 11 are noticed by Wilde as seal-like articles. The former of these is solid; but the latter, from its thicker end to the moulding, is hollow.[132]

Shears composed of iron, and doubtless used for all the purposes of modern scissors, are common in Irish crannogs. Some from Lagore are of graceful form, resembling articles of the same class found in Roman settlements: the one represented, fig. 133, is of very large size, 8½ inches in length. Figs. 134 and 135 differ but little from fig. 133, and they all resemble the implements commonly used for shearing sheep in the present day. Figs. 136 and 137 are small iron knives, with tangs for insertion into horn or wooden handles; at Lagore, where these articles were found, great numbers of blades, some not exceeding three inches in length, were discovered.

Of combs, the most numerous specimens are from the crannogs of Ardakillen, Ballinderry, Lagore, and Cloonfinlough: in some, brass teeth have been substituted for those of bone that had given way, showing that, at the time the repairs were made, that metal was easily procured and worked. Strangely enough, the most usual decoration consists of a series of dot-and-circle patterns. The same style of ornamentation was observed upon many of the combs found in the lake habitations of Switzerland, and amongst the waifs of Roman settlements in Britain. In the remains of such articles, in Irish and in Scottish lacustrine sites, there is a striking resemblance; indeed the bone combs, figured in Munro’s work, are identical with many existing Irish examples. Although the material is usually bone, yet specimens formed of wood are not uncommon: the great majority of combs discovered in Irish crannogs are highly artistic in design—the handle portion sometimes presenting animal forms. Sir John Lubbock says: “It is somewhat remarkable that, while even in the stone period we find fair drawings of animals, yet in the latter part of the stone age, and throughout that of the bronze, they are almost entirely wanting, and the ornamentation is confined to various combinations of straight and curved lines and geometrical patterns;” and this he believes will eventually be found to imply “a difference of race between the populations of Western Europe at these different periods.”[133] The comb, fig. 138, was procured from the crannog of Ardakillen, near Strokestown, county Roscommon. It is restored from the fragments, and in its original state was (as delineated) about 10 inches long, and 1¾ wide, it is now shrunk to a length of only 5½ inches. The toothed portions are in separate pieces, and by this contrivance the pectinated portion, if worn or broken, could easily be replaced. The comb, fig. 139, is the finest specimen of its class preserved in the Museum, R. I. A., it is 2½ inches long, and 1¾ deep. The three pectinated portions are held together by flat sides, decorated with scrolls and circles. The top shows a triple openwork ornamentation: the side pieces are grooved at one end, for the purpose of receiving the clasp of a metal tooth placed in substitution of one that had been lost. Fig. 140, of the same class, is a specimen of a short, one-sided, highly decorated comb, 2¼ inches long, by 1⅜ deep. It is formed out of a single piece of bone, is of graceful outline, and decorated upon the sides with a number of dotted lines and circles. The three elevated rivets projecting above the toothed portion, fastened metal plates which had been attached to the comb, either when it was originally made, or after it had been broken and mended.[134] Fig. 141 is also formed out of a single piece of bone, ornamented with a dot-and-circle pattern; it was found in the same crannog. A third variety of comb, being double-toothed, is of a type so modern, that it seems to call for no special description.

Save combs, very few articles for the toilet have been brought to light in Irish crannogs, compared with the numbers found in other countries: the accompanying engraving represents, however, what appears to be tweezers, 3 inches long, made of bronze, and decorated on the external surfaces with dot-and-circle pattern.[135] This, and the two following articles, are from Ballinderry. Fig. 143, a pendant or amulet, ornamented with dots in circles (as represented in the engraving), is carved out of soft stone, and the inscription which it bore is so much defaced as to be now undefinable. It is 3 inches long, including the handle, or loop, for suspension, 1¼ inch wide, and about ⅝ inch thick. The inscription is at top, separated by a line from the ornamentation in the central part: the back is plain. Fig. 144 is a flattish nodule of clay-slate iron ore: at one side, dots, each with two concentric circles in the shape of a double cross, scribed on it, surrounded by a border of similar ornamentation; on the other face, there are a number of the same circles, irregularly disposed (as shown in fig. 144), and, at one side of it, a runic-like scribing. The stone measures 3 inches by 2½, and is about 1½ inches thick. It is, to a certain extent, polished.[136]