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Title: The Lake Dwellings of Ireland - Or ancient lacustrine habitations of Erin, commonly called crannogs.
Author: Wood-Martin, W. G.
Language: English
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THE
LAKE DWELLINGS
OF
IRELAND.
[Illustration: _Frontispiece._
IRISH LAKE DWELLING OF THE ISOLATED TYPE.
_Ideally restored from inspection of numerous sites._]
THE
LAKE DWELLINGS
OF
IRELAND:
LACUSTRINE HABITATIONS OF ERIN,
_COMMONLY CALLED CRANNOGS_.
BY
W. G. WOOD-MARTIN, M.R.I.A., F.R.H.A.A.I.,
LIEUT.-COLONEL 8TH BRIGADE NORTH IRISH DIVISION, R.A.;
_Author of “Sligo and the Enniskilleners”;
“History of Sligo, from the Earliest Ages
to the close of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.”_
“There, driving many an oaken stake
Into the shallow, skilful hands
A steadfast island-dwelling make,
Seen from the hill-tops like a fleet
Of wattled houses.…”
“The footprints of an elder race are here,
And memories of an heroic time,
And shadows of the old mysterious faith.”
_DUBLIN_:
HODGES, FIGGIS & CO., GRAFTON STREET.
PUBLISHERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.
_LONDON_:
LONGMANS, GREEN & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW.
1886.
_ALL RIGHTS RESERVED._
DUBLIN: PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
[Illustration]
PREFACE.
The object the writer has in view in this Publication is to place on
record the remarkable discoveries made in a department of Archæology
hitherto almost unnoticed in Ireland, except in the Proceedings,
Catalogues, and Journals of various learned Societies. So far back
as 1861 a writer remarked that such a work would be “a real boon to
archæology,” yet in the interval none has appeared. The cause is
not far to seek. A publication treating of the habits and social
economy of long-forgotten generations is little calculated to gain
a rapid foothold with the general public, by whom the study of the
past may probably be considered dull as well as useless reading. To
many, however, it proves most interesting to observe--despite widest
variations of climatic conditions--the great similarity of the ways and
habits of man while in a rude uncultivated state--acting as it were
by a common instinct--and again to trace his upward progress towards
civilization. A wide tract in this field of archæological research
is fortunately opened up by a comparison of the Irish Lake Dwellings
and their “finds” with those of other countries, more especially
with the discoveries brought into such prominent notice by Keller in
Switzerland, and Munro in Scotland.
To the late Sir William Wilde belongs the honour of first drawing
general attention to the water habitations of Erin; his labours have
been ably followed up by W. F. Wakeman, who has so largely contributed
to the _Journal of the Royal Historical and Archæological Association
of Ireland_ both Papers and Drawings illustrative of the subject.
In the present work, Kinahan, Reeves, Graves, Wilde, and other
specialists, have been freely quoted, as evidenced in the text; in
short, the observations of every author have been utilized, provided
they touched on points that could tend in any degree to elucidate
the subject under consideration. “A dwarf on a giant’s shoulders
sees further of the two”: thus the writer, standing in this line of
investigation on the eminence created by his predecessors, may perhaps
be enabled to lay before his readers a distinct and comprehensive view
of the Ancient Lake Dwellings in Ireland. Recent discoveries and new
matter will be found in these pages; but the special intention has
been to collect carefully all the information hitherto furnished by
the explorers of Irish Lake Dwellings, and to present that information
in a condensed form, “an abridgment of all that is pleasant,” so as to
render it acceptable to archæologists, and perchance agreeable to the
general reader, who, not having had his attention previously directed
towards the subject, can scarcely be supposed willing to explore the
voluminous records of scientific societies in search of items connected
with the question of lacustrine remains in Ireland.
This Publication may, perhaps, help to diffuse more generally the
knowledge already possessed, so that when fresh discoveries are made
in any new locality increased care may be devoted to the exploration;
for every artificial island is not necessarily of remote antiquity,
and the most careful examination is essential before arriving at a
decision respecting the probable period of the primary construction
of a crannog. It would be fortunate indeed should these pages excite
sufficient attention to prove, even remotely, the cause of having the
various relics indicative of the social economy and industries of the
inhabitants of our ancient “water-towns” arranged systematically in
the new Museum of the Science and Art Department, now in course of
construction in Dublin. The facility thus afforded of studying these
antiquities--some of them safely protected during untold centuries by
their covering of peat and water--could not fail to lead to a clearer
comprehension of the real condition of ancient culture and civilization
in Erin.
The Council of the Royal Irish Academy most generously permitted for
this work the use of all the woodcuts in their possession illustrative
of lacustrine remains, and the same favour was accorded by the Royal
Historical and Archæological Association of Ireland, through the
Secretary, the Rev. James Graves.
Plate VIII. and figures 18, 27, 57, 129, 188, 196, 197, and 216 were
granted by the Council of the Royal Archæological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland; figures 206 and 207 by the Society of Antiquaries
of London, together with plate III. taken from _The Archæologia_;
figures 6, 7, and 8, by the Anthropological Society; figures 214 and
215 by the well-known antiquary, John Evans; plate XXXVIII., by W.
T. Lockwood; and by permission of Robert Mac Adam figures 126, 147,
and 148, are reproduced from the _Ulster Journal of Archæology_. As
far as practicable, every hitherto published illustration bearing on
the subject was applied for, and, with but one exception, most kindly
granted.
Much valuable information was furnished by W. F. Wakeman, who has also
drawn most of the illustrations, their character and expression being
well carried out by the engraver, William Oldham.
CLEVERAGH, SLIGO, _October, 1885_.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
ORIGIN, CONSTRUCTION, AND CIVILIZATION OF THE ANCIENT
LACUSTRINE HABITATIONS OF IRELAND, AS ILLUSTRATED
BY THEIR REMAINS AND THE ANTIQUITIES FOUND IN OR
AROUND THEM.
PAGE
INTRODUCTORY, 1-23
Wooded nature of the country. Wild animals. Climatic changes.
Lakes. Lake-dwellings of all countries.
LAKE-DWELLINGS OF IRELAND, 23-55
Crannog, derivation of the word; a common townland name.
Submarine crannog. Favourite sites for crannogs; mode of
construction. Stone lake-dwellings. Theory of crannogs being
only temporary refuges untenable. Palisades. Dwellings.
Gangways to crannogs. Canoes. Paddles. Anchors. Curach.
Ingenuity of lake-dwellers. Clothing, &c.
STONE, BRONZE, AND IRON AGES, 55-73
Weapons and tools. Armour. Stone moulds.
FOOD AND VEGETABLE REMAINS, 73-81
Hammer-stones. Mammalia. Butter. Yokes. Piscatory implements.
HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY, &C., 81-105
Grain-rubbers. Querns. Human remains. Fireplaces on the
shore. Pottery. Wooden vessels. Drinking cups. Wooden
mallets. “Whorls.” Colouring-matter. Spinning.
ARTICLES OF THE TOILET OR OF PERSONAL ADORNMENT, 105-125
Pins of iron, bronze, bone, and wood, &c. Iron shears and
knives. Combs of bone and wood. Bronze tweezers. Stone and
bronze ornaments: brooches, penannular rings, circlets, &c.
Touchstones. Crucibles. Ornaments of gold and silver. Rings
of stone, jet, and glass. Beads of stone, bone, jet, lead,
earthenware, wood, and glass.
MUSIC, 125-128
Harps and harp pins, trumpets, &c.
AMUSEMENTS, 128-132
Chess a game of great antiquity in Ireland--anecdotes of;
game-board. Counters or discs of bone, perforated and
unperforated. Stone chessman.
INSCRIPTIONS, 132-135
Ogham, inscriptions in.--Anecdotes of.
MONEY, 135-136
Coins found in crannogs.--Anecdotes of.
HORSE FURNITURE, 136-138
Saddle, bronze cheek-pieces, iron bits, and enamelled plates.
MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES, 138-145
Decorated bones and plates of bone, bone spoon, spatula-shaped
bone, miscellaneous articles found in the crannogs of
Randalstown, Lough Guile, Ballykinler, and Cloonfinlough.
Bronze and iron objects from Lagore. Iron fishing implements.
HISTORICAL NOTICES OF CRANNOGS, 145-160
Extracts from State documents and the _Irish Annals_,
tracing their existence from the seventeenth century back
to prehistoric times.
PART II.
DESCRIPTION AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ALL
KNOWN LACUSTRINE SITES IN IRELAND, WITH AN ACCOUNT
OF THE ANTIQUITIES FOUND IN OR AROUND THEM.
PROVINCE OF ULSTER, 163-203
PROVINCE OF LEINSTER, 204-211
PROVINCE OF MUNSTER, 212-220
PROVINCE OF CONNAUGHT, 221-249
INDEX, 251-268
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
LAKE DWELLINGS OF IRELAND.
FIG. PAGE
1. Sketch Section of Swiss Pile Dwelling, 12
2. Excavation in a Crannog in Loughrea, showing Wicker-work
Wall and Basket-flooring, 32
3. Stone Lake-dwellings in Lough Bola, 34
4. Remaining fragment of Wooden Sword, found at Inver, 41
5. Sketch of Ancient Floor in the Townland of Cargaghoge,
barony of Farney, 42
6. Section of Roadway in soft ground, 44
7. Section of Roadway in firm ground, 45
8. Plan of Roadway, showing repairs, 45
9. Axe-head of bone, 45
10. Flint Arrow-head, shaft and thong still adhering, 45
11. Fragment of Deerskin Garment, 54
STONE, BONE, BRONZE, AND IRON IMPLEMENTS, &c.
12, 13. Flint Flakes from the Crannog of Lough Ravel. Half size, 58
14. Flake of Basalt from Toombridge. Full size, 58
15. Worked Flint from Lisnacroghera. Full size, 58
16. Axe-head of Red-deer’s Horn from Lough Eyes. Quarter size, 59
17. Iron Sword from Lisnacroghera. About two-fifths real size, 61
18. Iron Spear-head from Lagore, 63
19-23. Spear Butt-ends of Bronze from Lisnacroghera. Two-thirds
natural size, 64
24. Bronze Dagger from Lagore, 65
25. Bronze Skean from Loughran Island, 65
26. Bronze Enamelled object from Lisnacroghera. Full size, 67
27. Iron Axe-head from Lagore, 68
28-30. Iron objects from Lisnacroghera, 68
31. Front and side view of Iron Adze from Lisnacroghera, 69
32. Whetstone, 69
33. Iron Helmet found in the Monea Crannog. Front and side view, 70
34. Disc of Bronze from Lisnacroghera, 72
35. Stone Mould from Lough Scur, 72
36. Stone Mould from Lough Ramor, 73
37. Stone Implement from the Crannog of “The Miracles,” 74
FOOD.
38. Lower Jaw of _Sus scrofa_, 74
39. Head and Antlers of _Cervus elaphus_, 74
40-42. Crania of Goats, 75
43. Cranium of Wolf Hound, 75
44. Cranium of domesticated _Bos longifrons_, 76
45. Cranium of the _Crom-adharach_, or Crumpled-horn Ox, 77
46. Cranium of the _Gearr-adharach_, or Short-horned Ox, 78
47. Cranium of the _Maol_, or Hornless Ox, 78
48-52. Piscatory Implements or Arrows and Spear-heads, 80
53. Sink-stone. Half size, 81
54. Bronze Fishing-hook. Full size, 81
HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY.
55. Saucer-shaped Vessel of Bronze from Cloonfinlough. About
one-fifth real size, 84
56. Bronze Vessel from Lisnacroghera. Slightly over six inches
in diameter, 84
57. Bronze Vessel and Iron Ladle from Lagore, 85
58. Iron Vessel from Lagore. One-tenth the real size, 85
59. Grain-rubber. About one-tenth the real size, 85
60. Section of ordinary Quern. About one-fourteenth the
usual size, 86
61. Upper Surface of Quern from the Crannog of Drumsloe. About
one-ninth the real size, 87
62. Upper Surface of Quernstone from Roughan Lake. One-eighth
the real size, 88
63. Quernstone from Lough Eyes. About one-tenth the real size, 88
64. Quernstones, with cross and geometrical decoration. About
one-twelfth the real size, 89
65. Sculptured Stone from No. 1 Crannog, Lake of Drumgay. About
one-eighth the real size, 90
66. Pitcher from Lough Faughan. About one-seventh the real size, 92
67. Fictile Vessel from Ballydoolough, restored, 92
68. Fictile Vessel, Drumgay Crannog, restored. Quarter size, 93
69. Restored Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-fourth the real size, 93
70. Restored Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-fifth the real size, 94
71. Baked Clay Pot-cover from Lough Eyes. One-fourth the
real size, 94
72. Portion of a Perforated Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half
the real size, 95
73. Portion of a Perforated Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-third
the real size, 95
74. Portion of Fictile Vessel found on Ballydoolough Crannog.
One-half the real size, 95
75. Portion of Fictile Vessel found on Ballydoolough Crannog.
One-half the real size, 96
76. Portion of Unornamented Vessel, 96
77. Rim Ornament of Fictile Ware, 97
78. Cross-inscribed Pottery, 97
79. Cross-inscribed Pottery, 97
80. Portion of Fictile Vessel found at Ballydoolough Crannog, 97
81. Portion of Fictile Vessel, with Ear, Drumgay Crannog.
One-half size, 98
82. Rim Ornaments of Fictile Vessels, Drumgay Crannog.
One-half size, 98
83-97. _Plates XVIII. and XIX._--Fragments of Fictile Vessels
(various sizes.)
98. Fragment of Fictile Ware, Lough Eyes. One-half size, 99
99. Fragment of Fictile Ware, Lough Eyes. One-half size, 99
100. Fragment of Fictile Ware, 99
101. Stamped Pattern on Fragment of Fictile Ware, from
Drumskimly, 100
102. Carved Wooden Vessel found at Cavancarragh, 101
103. Wooden Vessel from Ballydoolough Crannog, 102
104, 105. _Plate XX._--Wooden Platters.
106. Mether, or Drinking Cup, from Tamlaght O’Crilly, 103
107. Wooden Mallet from Lisnacroghera, 104
108. Wooden Peg from Glencar, 104
109. Bone Spindle Whorl from Ardakillen, 104
110. Ovoid Piece of Polished Bone from Ardakillen, 105
ARTICLES OF THE TOILET, &c., OR OF PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
111-117. Bone Pins with attached Heads, from the Crannog of
Ballinderry, 106
118-124. _Plates XXI. and XXII._--Scribed Pins from
Ballinderry Crannog.
Unnumbered--Ogham on fig. 118; Scoring on fig. 119; Scoring
on fig. 120; Scoring on fig. 123; Scoring on ring of fig. 124;
Scoring on Acus, fig. 124.
125. Bronze Wire Ring from Lisnacroghera. Full size, 109
126. Bronze Pin, with human heads, found in the Crannog of
Loughravel. Full size, 109
127. Flattened Disc-headed Pin from Ballinderry. Full size, 109
128. Penannular Bronze Pin from Lagore. Full size, 109
129-132. Bronze Pins, 110
Unnumbered--Figs. _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_, _g_, _h_,
Bronze Pins from Crannogs and Street-cuttings, 111
133-137. Iron Shears and Knives, 112
138. Bone Comb from Ardakillen, 113
139. Bone Comb from Ballinderry, 114
140. Bone Comb from Lagore, 114
141. Bone Comb from Lagore. Two-thirds real size, 114
142. Bronze Tweezers from Ballinderry, 115
143. Stone Pendant Amulet from Ballinderry Crannog, 115
144. Nodule of Clay-slate from Ballinderry Crannog, 115
144. Ornamentation on fig. 144, 116
145. Bronze Amulet or Ornament from Lisnacroghera, 116
146. Hinge Brooch of Bronze from Ardakillen, 117
147. Bronze Fibula from Lough Ravel, 118
148. Penannular Ring or Brooch from Lough Ravel, 118
149. Penannular Ring from Ardakillen. Two-thirds real size, 118
150. Hollow Bronze Penannular Rings from Lisnacroghera, 119
151. Bronze Stud, 119
152. Bronze Rivet, 119
153-155. Bronze Circlets, 119
156. Pipe-clay Crucible, 120
157. Silver Brooch from the Crannog of Lough Ravel, 121
158. Stone Ring. One-third size, 121
159. Stone Ring. One-half size, 121
160. Jet Bracelet, or Ring. One-quarter size, 121
161. Glass Bracelet, or Ring. One-third size, 121
162-164. Beads from Lagore, 123
165-167. Beads from Lisnacroghera, 124
168, 169. Beads from Lough Ravel, 124
170. Glass Bead from Ballintlea, 124
MUSIC.
171. Bone Harp Pin from Ardakillen. Half size, 125
172. Trumpets in the Museum, R. I. A., 126
173. Showing riveting of Trumpet. Full size, 127
AMUSEMENTS.
174. Game Board, 130
175. Unperforated Bone Disc from Drumcliff, Co. Sligo.
One-half size, 131
176, 177. Unperforated Bone Discs from Cloonfinlough.
Full size, 131
178. Perforated ornamented Bone Disc from Lagore.
One-half size, 131
179, 180. Perforated Bone Discs, with Spike, from Lagore.
One-half size, 131
181. Stone Chessman in the British Museum, 132
INSCRIPTIONS.
182. Ogham found at Ballydoolough Crannog, 134
183. Scribed Stone from the Crannog of Ardakillen, 135
HORSE FURNITURE.
184. Cheek-pieces of Bits (Bronze), 136
185. Cheek-pieces of Bits from Lough Faughan and Ardakillen.
Two-thirds real size, 137
186. Iron Bit from Lagore. One-fourth real size, 137
187. Enamelled Plate of Iron from Lagore. One-half size, 138
188. Inlaid Ornament of Mixed Metal from Lagore. Two-thirds
real size, 138
MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES.
189-193. Plates of Bone, decorated. Use not known, 139
194. Rude Bone Spoon found at Cloneygonnel. Two-thirds real
size, 140
195. Spatula-shaped Bone from Ballinderry, 140
196. Bronze Object found at Lagore. Full size, 143
197. Iron Pipe with Hook, from Lagore. Full size, 143
PART II.
PLANS, SECTIONS, &c., AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF CRANNOGS,
WITH MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES FOUND IN THEM.
198. Dug-out Canoe found near the Crannog of Lough Mourne, 173
199. Upper portion of Bronze Sheath. Full size, 175
200. Iron Sickle. Eleven inches from point of blade to end of
tang, 176
201. Bronze Butt of Spear-shaft. Two-thirds natural size, 177
202. _Plate XLVII._--General Plan of the Drained Lake of
Cloneygonnel, _alias_ Tonymore, 197
203. Do. General View of the exposed Lake Bed, 197
204. Do. Section of large Crannog, 197
205. Plan of Crannog, showing radial arrangement of the
timbers, 199
206. _Plate XLVIII._--General Plan of Drumkeery Lake, 200
207. Do. Plan of Promontory, with Crannog, 200
208. _Fusus antiquus_, 204
209. Part of Lough Annagh, enlarged from the Ordnance Survey
six-inch Map, showing Sites of Crannogs, 209
210. General Plan of the Neighbourhood of the Crannog of
Annagh, 212
211. Map showing former and present Summer and Winter Level
of Lough Nahinch, 213
212. Plan of Submarine Crannog at Ardmore. One-half the scale
of fig. 213, 215
213. Section of Submarine Crannog at Ardmore, 216
214. Spear-head of Bronze from Lough Gur. One-half real size, 218
215. Ferrule, showing Gold Ornamentation. Full-size, 218
216. Stone Mould for casting weapons, from Lough Gur, 219
217. Plan of Ballinlough, 221
218. General View of Ballinlough, 222
219. Plan and Section of Reed Island. Scale, 20 feet to 1 inch, 225
220. _Plate XLIX._--View of Loughrea, showing Shore and Ash
Island, 226
221. Do. Plan of Shore Island. Scale, 80 feet to 1 inch, 226
222. _Plate XLIX._--Section of Shore Island, 226
223. Do. do. do., 226
224. Plan of Ash Island. Scale, 20 feet to 1 inch, 227
225. View of Loughrea, Island M’Coo in the distance, 228
226. General View of the Crannog of Loughannaderriga,
Achill Island, 230
227. Miscellaneous Wooden Objects, 231
228. Whetstone. One-ninth real size, 232
229. Golden-bronze Pin. Full size, 232
230. Bronze Lamp from Cloonfinlough, 235
231. Section of one of the Ardakillen Crannogs, 236
232. Skull and Iron Fetters from the Crannog of Ardakillen.
One-eighth real size, 237
233. Iron Fetters from one of the Strokestown Crannogs.
One-third real size, 237
234. Plan of Crannog in Drumaleague Lake. Scale, 20 feet
to 1 inch, 240
235. Section of second Crannog in Drumaleague Lake, 241
236. General View of Lochanacrannog, 246
237. General View of Ballygawley Lake and Crannog, 247
238. Beam, or Stretcher, binding tops of Piles, 10 feet
6 inches long by 9 inches broad, 247
LIST OF PLATES.
LAKE DWELLINGS OF IRELAND.
PLATE. PAGE
FRONTISPIECE.--Irish Lake-dwelling of the isolated type.
I. Crannog Hut, Kilnamaddo. Restored from existing
remains, 39
II. Crannog Hut discovered at Inver, Co. Donegal. Drawn
from the Model in the Museum, R.I.A., 40
III. Front, side elevation, and ground plan, &c., of Crannog
Hut, discovered at Inver, Co. Donegal, 40
IV. Single-piece Canoes, Paddle, and Anchors, 48
V. Curach, as used on the Boyne, 1848, 52
STONE, BONE, BRONZE, AND IRON IMPLEMENTS, &c.
VI. Flint, Wood, and Bone Implements from Crannogs, 58
VII. Hafted Bronze Rapier Sword, showing both sides.
Full size, 60
VIII. Iron Weapons and Manacle from Lagore, 61
IX. Weapons of Iron from Crannogs, 62
X. Iron Spear-head, from Lisnacroghera, side and edge
view. Half-size, 63
XI. Portion of Spear-shaft, with ferrules and rivet of
bronze. Full size, 64
XII. Sides of Bronze Sword Sheaths, from the Crannog of
Lisnacroghera, 66
XIII. Iron Tools, &c., found in the bottom of a “dug-out”
at Cornagall, 67
XIV. Front View of Bronze Shield from Lough Gur. Diameter,
twenty-eight inches, 71
XV. Boss-like Objects, and Rings of Bronze, from
Lisnacroghera. Full size, 72
WOODEN IMPLEMENTS.
XVI. Wooden Yokes found in Donagh Bog and on the margin
of Lough Erne, 79
HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY.
XVII. Culinary Utensils, Implements, &c., stone, bronze,
wood, and iron, 82
XVIII. Fragments of Pottery, from No. 3 Crannog, Lough Eyes.
(Discovered by W. F. Wakeman), 99
XIX. Fragments of Pottery, from No. 5 and No. 6 Crannogs,
Lough Eyes. (Discovered by W. F. Wakeman), 99
XX. Wooden Platters, 102
ARTICLES OF THE TOILET, &c., OR OF PERSONAL ADORNMENT.
XXI. Scribed Pins from Ballinderry Crannog, 106
XXII. Scribed Pins from Ballinderry Crannog, 107
XXIII. Scribed Pins from Ballinderry Crannog, 108
XXIV. Iron and Bone Pins from Lagore, 111
XXV. Articles of Wood, 112
XXVI. Bronze Brooch from Lagore, 117
XXVII. Beads, composed of various materials, from Ardakillen,
Lagore, Ballinderry, Drumdarragh, Cloonfinlough, and
Lough Eyes, 122
MUSIC.
XXVIII. Harp, from the Crannog of Ballinderry. Woodwork
restored, 125
XXIX. Bronze Trumpet, now in the Museum of the Royal Irish
Academy, 127
AMUSEMENTS.
XXX. Stone and Bone Circular Discs from Crannogs, 132
HORSE FURNITURE.
XXXI. Forefront of Ancient Irish Saddle. Back and Front
view, 136
MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES.
XXXII. Decorated Bones from the Crannogs of Ardakillen and
Lagore. Use unknown, 139
XXXIII. Miscellaneous Articles found in Crannogs, 141
XXXIV. Miscellaneous Articles found in Crannogs, 142
XXXV. Objects of various Materials from the Crannogs of
Cloonfinlough, and now in the British Museum, 143
XXXVI. Fishing Implements of Iron from Crannogs. Nos. 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, from Ardakillen or Strokestown
Crannogs. No. 9 from Lagore. All one-third real size, 144
PART II.
PLANS, SECTIONS, AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF CRANNOGS,
WITH MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES FOUND IN THEM.
XXXVII. Bronze Weapons from Crannog Sites on Toome Bar, 171
XXXVIII. Crannogs in Lough Mourne, 172
XXXIX. Haft of Iron Sword, with Bronze Mountings, from
Lisnacroghera. Full size, 174
XL. Upper and lower portion of Sides of the Bronze Sheath,
from Lisnacroghera, full size, of which a half-size
representation is given, Plate XII. fig. 2, 175
XLI. Elevation, Plan, Section, and details of the
Ballydoolough Crannog, Co. Fermanagh, 182
XLII. Drumgay Crannogs, 184
XLIII. Lough Eyes Crannogs. Plate I., 189
XLIV. Lough Eyes Crannogs. Plate II., 190
XLV. General View of the half-drained Lake of Loughavilly, 191
XLVI. Remains, &c., found at Loughavilly, Kilnamaddo, and
“The Miracles,” 192
XLVII. (Figs. 202, 203, 204).--General Plan of the Bed of
the Drained Lake of Cloneygonnel, _alias_ Tonymore;
General View of the exposed Lake Bed; Section of
Crannog, 197
XLVIII. (Figs. 206, 207).--General Plan of Drumkeery Lake,
and Plan of Promontory, with Crannog, 200
XLIX. (Figs. 220, 221, 222, 223).--View of Loughrea, showing
Shore and Ash Island; Plan of Shore Island; Section of
Shore Island; Section of Shore Island, 226
L. Map of Ireland, showing approximate distribution of
all known Lacustrine Sites, 250
ERRATA.
Pages 74, 168, n., 182, 234, for _Cervus elephas_, read _Cervus
elaphus_.
Page 90--fig. 65, for _No. 1 Crannog_, read _No. 4 Crannog_.
” 180--Crannog-na-n-Duini (see p. 150) is omitted in the enumeration of
sites in the _Co. Donegal_.
” 181--Fort Lough is situated in the _Co. Donegal_, not (as given) in
the _Co. Derry_.
LAKE DWELLINGS.
PART I.
ORIGIN, CONSTRUCTION, AND CIVILIZATION OF THE ANCIENT LACUSTRINE
HABITATIONS OF IRELAND, AS ILLUSTRATED BY THEIR REMAINS, AND THE
ANTIQUITIES FOUND IN AND AROUND THEM.
LAKE DWELLINGS OF IRELAND.
“To look back to antiquity is one thing; to go back to it is
another. If we look back to antiquity it should be as those who
are winning a race--to press forward the faster, and to leave
the beaten still farther behind.”
Let us travel back in thought some thousands of years, and picture to
ourselves the aspect of Erin at that period. After all, this retrospect
is comparatively short, if we take as correct the present computed
period of man’s existence on this globe. Geology now assigns to the
human race a duration it was long considered heterodox to imagine:
generation upon generation, who shall say how many, lie beneath the sod
over which our footsteps now pass.
The words of Genesis are in no way antagonistic to the discoveries
of modern geologists, nor even to the theory of evolution. That the
term “day,” as used in the Book of Genesis, is not to be understood as
confined to a mere duration of twenty-four hours, but should be taken
as an undefined period of time, is a point now so generally admitted
that it is scarcely needful to quote the words of Scripture, that “one
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day.” In common parlance we speak of events that occurred “in days of
old” without intention to limit the idea to periods of twenty-four
hours: the form of expression may be held to cover an indefinite number
of centuries. In the modern acceptation of the word used to denote the
duration of twenty-four hours, we consider the day to be represented by
the morning and the evening: there is the brightness of morn followed
by the gloom of eve. How different is the idea conveyed by the words
of Moses, who was versed in all the learning of the Egyptians, “the
Evening and the Morning were the first day,” and so on to the end
of the six days or intervals of time. While in its course through
the heavens our planet was in process of solidifying, “the earth was
without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”
Here we have the evening: afterwards “there was light,” that is to say,
morning followed, marking full completion of the first day, or interval
of time in the earth’s progress towards its present state. It is
therefore plain that the term evening cannot be considered to represent
a decline from the state of the previous period; rather it betokens the
nature of the morn about to follow. We watch with interest the signs of
the evening, not in relation to the day which has already passed away,
but as foreshowing the kind of morn that is to succeed.
“… oh who can strive
To comprehend the vast, the awful truth
Of the eternity that hath gone by,
And not recoil from the dismaying sense
Of human impotence?”
In looking back through the pages of history we arrive at a period
when all written records cease; but the remains of the dwellings
of man, of his arts and industries, enable us to trace out in some
degree the general routine of his every-day life. In the matter now
under consideration, prehistoric archæology interests chiefly as
demonstrating, in a practical manner, the state of the people who
occupied Erin long before the beginning of authentic history. Recent
researches enable us to lift the veil that heretofore concealed the
past of subsided lake-dwellings in Ireland, to bid
“Forgotten generations live again,
Assume the bodily shapes they wore of old”;
to realize to a great extent the physical past of their inhabitants,
and in imagination to partake of their daily life. If till lately the
learned were on this subject purblind, it is the less surprising that
the uncultured fisherman, gliding in his skiff over the placid surface
of the waters and peering into the clear depths, should have failed to
recognize that the mouldering stems projecting from the oozy bottom
were traces of the love of security of his forefathers, that in the
muddy matrix of the ever-accumulating lacustrine deposit, are preserved
material evidence of a state of society long since passed away.
Until the first half of this nineteenth century all memory of the
ancient lake-dwellers of Ireland seemed to have vanished completely,
but with the study of ethnology the interest excited in tracing out
the idiosyncrasies of the various races of man penetrated to Ireland
also, and now “few things can be more interesting than the spectacle
of an ancient, long-forgotten people, thus rising, as it were, from
the waters of oblivion to take that place which properly belongs to it
in the history of the human race.”[1] Beyond the limits of history and
archæology there extends a boundless period of human existence. Far
back in this indefinite past we catch glimpses of a shadowy race, the
first dwellers in Erin, who, it may be fairly surmised, were in a very
rude state--nomad hunters and fishers, subsisting by the chase, which
they supplemented by indigenous wild fruits:
“Rugged type of primal man,
Grim utilitarian,
Loving woods for hunt and prowl,
Lake and hill for fish and fowl.”
They formed their ordinary implements and their weapons of warfare from
flint, stone, bone, shells, and even wood.
“They were, then were not; they have lived and died,
No trace, no record of their _date_ remaining.”
New comer succeeded new comer in Erin. This epoch was eminently
characterized by the sway of brute force--a warlike front alone secured
immunity from spoliation; in short, these times were governed on
“… the good old plan
That he should take who has the power,
And he should keep--who can.”
_Wooded nature of the Country._--The ancient classical name of Ireland
was Ierne, which some etymologists derive through its Greek form from
the Celtic, signifying, they say, “the extremity,”[2] the “Ultima
Thule” of classic writers; a mystic land, girded by unknown seas, and
protected by phantom dangers, the product of imagination,
“Gorgons and hydras and chimeras dire.”
The witty and eccentric Dean Swift, remarking on the custom of writers
of his day, said:--
“So geographers in Afric’ maps
With savage pictures fill their gaps,
And o’er inhabitable downs
Place elephants, instead of towns.”
It is strange how long this ignorance both as regards Ireland and the
“Dark Continent” continued. One of the earliest names of Ireland,
given her by her own native poets, is very descriptive, _Fidh-inis_,
“the woody island.” This name at once brings before our minds the then
characteristic feature of the country, even as its modern poetical
designation, “The Emerald Isle,” depicts the luxuriant vegetation
watered by the cloud-masses of the Atlantic. The bogs of Ireland,
however, speak even more eloquently on this point than her bards, for
in these bogs vestiges of ancient forests are found buried, sometimes
at great depth below the present surface; the remains of oak, birch,
mountain ash, alder, yew, beech, deal, &c., testify to the variety of
the arboreous vegetation: they lie either prostrate in a horizontal
position, or bear marks of having been felled by man. According to
old bardic accounts, the first proceeding chronicled of the earliest
settlers was the clearing of timber off many great plains in various
parts of Ireland, evidently showing the paucity of arable land.
_Wild Animals._--This continuous forest must have swarmed with wild
animals of every description. Wolves, which even in the present day
prove a scourge occasionally in parts of Europe, were numerous; the
caves which abounded in the country were the home of the bear, and the
boar fed beneath the deep forest shade. In these remote times, too,
the Irish elk, with its huge, broad, branching antlers, a creature
of immense size and strength, was existent. Remains of this gigantic
deer, the _Megaceros Hibernicus_, have been found, covered by the peat
at various depths, sometimes close to the surface; and from allusions
in Irish poetry and legends[3] it is more than probable that it
continued to exist down to a much later period than most of the other
animals now extinct. In a very curious legend, one of the great Irish
bards who is reputed to have lived in the third century, and to have
himself attained a very advanced age, is described as reciting at a
banquet a poem in which he extolled the greatness and strength of his
contemporaries and forefathers, and described the tall gigantic deer
hunted by them. His listeners laughed incredulously, whereat the old
man rose in anger, and going to a neighbouring heap where were piled
the relics of bygone hunts, he selected therefrom a shank-bone, and
returning to the banquet, took from the table one of the shank-bones of
the deer on which the guests were then feasting, and dropped it through
the hollow of the bone he had brought in. This legend of the dim old
times tends to prove that at a very remote period tradition alone kept
up the memory of the Irish Bighorn.[4] The fact of the co-existence of
the _Megaceros_ with man does not, however, rest on mere legend; for in
a locality called the “Elk Hole,” Co. Wexford, numerous skeletons of
the extinct deer have been found in company with the remains of man,
also a skull and horns, in the “kitchen midden” of the largest of the
lake dwellings in Loughrea, Co. Galway, measuring over 13 feet from tip
to tip of the antlers;[5] whilst in the refuse heap at Breagho, Co.
Fermanagh, portion of an antler (according to the opinion of Professor
Owen) was discovered, sawn and perforated with holes. It does not
necessarily follow that this relic had belonged to an animal killed and
utilized by the lake-dwellers; the horn may have been found by them on
some spot where it had rested for ages. However, in the lake-dwelling
at Cloonfinlough, Co. Roscommon, bones of the _Megaceros Hibernicus_
have been dug up in a very broken state, as if fractured for the
purpose of extracting the marrow, whilst remains of the _Megaceros_, in
company with a greenstone celt, were discovered in a cave at Cappagh,
the bones broken and formed into implements by the hands of man.[6]
In Lough Gur, Co. Limerick, wherein is the site of a lake dwelling,
remains of the _Cervus tarandus_, or reindeer,[7] were found, together
with those of the bear; and near Ballybetagh, Co. Dublin, similar
remains were associated with those of the _Megaceros_, whilst elsewhere
bones of the _Cervus alces_, or true elk, have been exhumed, and traces
of the mammoth, _Elephas primigenius_, have been found near Dungannon.
_Climatic Changes._--If reliance can be placed on the accounts of
classical writers, it would appear that two thousand years ago an
excessive degree of cold prevailed in the climate of Europe. The great
number and extent, of forests, lakes, and morasses, which according to
classical authors existed in their time, must have rendered the climate
of Europe exceedingly cold and moist. The forests have nearly all been
felled, the stagnant water drained, thus producing a very considerable
difference between the temperature described as existing in these
latitudes 2000 years ago and in the present day. What occurred on the
Continent occurred also in Ireland, which, shaded with forests and
abounding in marshes, must have had an atmosphere more frigid than if
its soil were then, as now, freely exposed to solar influence.
Claudian applied to Ireland the epithet ‘icy’: Strabo looked on it
as a country scarcely habitable; Mela described the climate as cold
and unfavourable: however, to counterbalance these authorities, it
may be inferred from Tacitus that Ireland was considered milder in
climate than Gaul; in that point of view Æthicus says it was superior
to Britain, and Solinus states that it abounded in pastures. Owing to
the disappearance of Erin’s former leafy mantle, and the absence of
pestilential exhalations from stagnant fens, the summers have become
much _colder_ and the winters _warmer_ than in remote times.
The turf-cutter in Ireland finds that “usually the roots and trunks
of the trees under the peat, or in the lowest strata, are principally
those of the oak and yew, as if prior to the growth of the peat the
low country was a vast forest of these trees. It would appear that
subsequently mosses and other peat-producing plants began to grow and
flourish, until eventually they stopped the drainage, and formed an
envelope of peat, thus killing the trees, which one by one toppled
over and were buried in the succeeding growth of peat. After the
disappearance of the major portion of the oak trees, the bogs, year by
year, gradually increased in depth, until apparently suddenly, for some
as yet unexplained cause, their growth ceased, and on their surface
forests, principally of deals, sprang up.”[8] Thus we see that since
the glacial period there have been great changes in the aspect and the
surface of Ireland: first, the great oak forest age; then an age in
which was an active growth of peat; thirdly, a period when forests of
deal sprang up; fourthly, again a period of luxuriant peat growth.
The remains of human handicraft, in the form of log-houses or
lake-dwellings, have been found buried under each and all these peat
growths: a depth of 25 feet had overgrown the log-house discovered at
Inver, Co. Donegal, and on the floor-level, outside the building, were
traces of the corkers of the great oak forest age. It is practically
impossible to estimate the rate at which a bog grows: if there be a
fall, and consequent drainage, it will increase but little, whereas
an undrained bog augments with considerable rapidity: so many
contingencies are thus introduced as practically to invalidate in a
great degree calculations regarding the growth of peat over prehistoric
or other remains. G. H. Kinahan has estimated that in undisturbed
conditions each year’s growth, represented by a layer or lamina
somewhat resembling the markings on a forest tree, would average one
hundred laminæ to the foot in white or surface turf, two to three
hundred to the foot in brown turf, and six to eight hundred to the foot
in black turf, so that the accumulation of 25 feet above the log-house
at Inver, according to this painstaking calculation, would represent an
age of startling remoteness.
_Lakes._--Ireland was a land of lakes as well as of forests, for the
white-shell marl, which forms the substratum of peat bog in low-lying
situations, was formerly covered by water, till gradually displaced
by the encroachments of the surrounding bog. Many of the smiling
districts of to-day were then covered by water--
“Now land, now lake, and shores with forest crowned.”
Lakes were thickly scattered over the face of the country--lakes of
irregular shape connected by stagnant shallows--the majority of small
size, half marsh, half water, fringed with forest, and abounding in
fish: The axe of the primitive pioneer and the modern engineers’ spade
have revolutionized the aspect of the landscape: this process however
was gradual, the forests were only driven back little by little, and it
is comparatively yesterday since draining operations on a large scale
have been carried out; within the memory of persons still living there
were numerous localities throughout the kingdom, where
“The bittern’s lonely boom was heard
Along the waving reeds.”
It is only after drainage on a great, or rather thorough scale, that
anything like complete inspection of the original structure of a lake
dwelling, or any extensive “find” can be hoped for, the majority of
such sites being surrounded by soft pulpy bog to such a depth and
extent as to bewilder the most enthusiastic explorer.
Lough or Loch is the term applied both in Ireland and Scotland to
a lake: it also signifies an arm of the sea. The shores of small
sheets of water, and marshes with sedge-grown borders, were generally
surrounded by bog, and the annual growth of this latter substance
gradually encroached on the lake, till its former shining surface was
changed into a peat moss.
It has been remarked, that occasionally the silt now occupying the
former lake-bed, demonstrates the fact, that the under stratum was
formed in great measure by decomposed vegetable matter, probably
aqueous plants and the shed foliage of the encircling forest: the
later deposit is considerably mixed with fine clay. The most probable
solution of this problem is, that on the disappearance of the woods
the exposed surface of the soil was washed down from the surrounding
heights by every shower that fell, and if the land were tilled this
denudation would be accelerated. Consequent upon the discharge of the
water deepening and extending the outlet, and the contemporaneous
deposition of matter held in solution in the lake-bed, small loughs
in some instances now occupy sites which, from natural evidences,
it is apparent must formerly have been extensive sheets of water; in
other instances the large lake of ancient days, is now represented by
several of diminutive size, connected by marshes that had at one time
formed part of a great whole. In ancient times, however, the lakes
most frequently appear to have gradually increased in height: this was
due to the silting up of the outlet, under any circumstance a long and
tedious process; for though the aqueous growth on the bottom of the
outlet would, during the summer, impede and catch the heavy particles
washed down or held in solution by the current, yet in winter, when it
decayed, most of the accumulated matter would be swept away, so that in
a hundred years the increase in height of the outlet would be scarcely
perceptible. What then must be the age of lake dwellings, where three
and even four superincumbent floors testify to the necessity of
providing against the ever-rising water level!
Lakes, marshes, and woods, have in all ages afforded shelter to the
conquered, and have often enabled them to set the invader at defiance.
Pliny describes the Caledonian forests as “Romanorum armis terminus.”
A race inferior in numbers, in arms, or in physical development, would
avail themselves of artificial or natural bulwarks to ward off the
attacks of dreaded enemies, and water and woods have from the earliest
times formed important factors in the art of defence.
One cause to which may be ascribed the first erection of lake dwellings
in Ireland was the original paucity of open country, for on the arrival
of the first colonists (if credence is to be given to the early
native annals) the only plain not covered with forest was the level
district stretching between Dublin and Howth. This statement of the
superabundance of forest is, to some extent, corroborated by the vast
number of local names derived from Irish words signifying woods or
timber of some description. However, the most probable cause of their
erection was to serve as places of refuge, for these island homes would
necessarily provide safety and protection; indeed such, in their later
or historical existence, was undoubtedly the cause of their continuous
occupation. It is quite obvious that in primitive times, especially, a
habitation on water was of great security--more secure than could be a
stockaded _doon_ or fort.
Lake dwellings have been universally employed both in ancient and
modern times: similar physical surroundings originated practically the
same style of structures amongst far distant and even ocean-separated
tribes. “Man is moulded to a remarkable degree, physically as well
as mentally, by manner of living, food, and climate. Among barbarous
nations,” says Humboldt, “we find a _tribal_, rather than an individual
physiognomy; there are no varieties of intellectual development to
stamp the face with diversity of character: thus the slave-dealers in
Upper Egypt never ask for the individual character of a slave; they
only inquire where he was born, his character being that of his tribe.”
Let us now, like Puck,
“Put a girdle round about the earth,”
and inspect these habitations for ourselves. Ancient classical writers
are not altogether silent on the subject. Hippocrates, who lived
upwards of 400 years B.C., when describing the manner of life of the
inhabitants of Phasis, a region of the Black Sea, says that the country
was fenny and wooded, the climate warm and humid; but despite these
disadvantages, the natives lived entirely in the swamps, “for their
dwellings are constructed of wood and reeds, and are erected amidst the
waters.” He adds that they seldom practise walking, either in the city
or the market, but sail up and down in canoes constructed out of single
trees, for there are many canals there.[9]
An account is given by Herodotus of the abode of a Thracian tribe,
the Pæonians, who lived on Lake Prasias, now Lake Takinos, situated
in the country known in the present day as Roumelia. The habitations
of this tribe were reared on platforms, raised on piles above the
water, and connected with the shore by a narrow causeway of similar
formation. This tribe successfully resisted the attack of a Persian
army under the satrap Myabyzus. The Father of History thus describes
this settlement:--“The habitations on the lake of Prasias are of
this nature--floors laid on lofty poles stand in the middle of the
lake,[10] with a narrow entrance by one bridge from the mainland. All
the inhabitants used to drive, at their common expense, the piles
that served to support the floors. Subsequently they have adopted the
following regulation: for every woman a man marries he is to drive
three piles, which they procure from a mountain called Orbelus. Now,
every man takes several wives. They dwell here in the following manner:
each has a hut in which he lives, and a trap-door in the floor opening
down to the water. To their horses and draught cattle they give as
fodder fish, of which there is such an abundance that when one opens
his trap-door, and lets down his empty basket into the lake by a cord,
after waiting only a short time, he hauls it up full of fish.”[11] The
fishermen of this lake still continue, as in the time of Herodotus, to
inhabit huts built over the water.[12]
In Layard’s work, descriptive of the discoveries on the site of
Nineveh, there is an engraving of a bas-relief from the palace of
Sennacherib, which represents an artificial island, apparently formed
by weaving together the tall reeds that grew on the banks of the
Euphrates; and a prehistoric age is indicated by the dwellings which
existed in the Gocktscha lake in Armenia.
It is certain that lake dwellings were used as places of permanent
abode. Remains of such works of ancient date are, on the continent
of Europe, by no means confined to the area of Switzerland, to
which country they were for some time popularly supposed to belong
exclusively; they have been found in Savoy, in the north of Italy,
Würtemberg, Bavaria, Austria (Carinthia), Hungary, Mecklenburg,
Denmark, Pomerania, Brandenburg, and also in France. If dependence can
be placed on remains found in these numerous and widely-distributed
sites, many of them would appear to have been occupied so late as
the period of the Romans; and the silence of their historians on
the subject is therefore singular, as in general the characteristic
traits of the tribes with which the Roman legions came in contact were
depicted with remarkable fidelity.
In Switzerland, during the year 1829, an excavation was made on
the shore at Ober Meilen, on the lake of Zurich, for the purpose
of deepening the harbour; and although piles and other antiquities
were then discovered, they appear to have attracted no attention.
So matters stood till the winter of 1853-4, when an extraordinary
drought and long-continued frost caused the lakes to sink to a level
never before known. This circumstance presented great facilities for
the reclamation of land along the shores, and the inhabitants of
Ober Meilen proceeded to rescue from the water some of the land thus
temporarily exposed. When making excavations to form an embankment,
they came upon a net-work of wooden piles, a great number of stags’
horns, and various implements, only two of which were of bronze. The
discovery of this settlement aroused peculiar interest, not merely
on account of its being apparently the first recorded, but because
it evidently belonged almost exclusively to the stone age. Similar
structures were immediately after discovered in almost all the lakes of
Switzerland, the favourite site being a sunny sheltered bay, with soft
and gently-shelving bottom. They were of three classes--first, _pile
dwellings_: the piles, sometimes 30 feet in length, were driven into
the bottom of the lake, and occasionally further strengthened by the
deposit of stones around their base: these constructions always occur
in deep water. Secondly, _frame pile dwellings_, in which the piles,
instead of being driven into the mud, were fixed by a mortise and tenon
arrangement into split trunks lying horizontally along the bottom of
the lake. Thirdly, _fascine dwellings_, formed by layers of fagots,
alternating with brushwood, clay, gravel, and stones, one over the
other, till the top reached the required level above the surface of the
water; piles were driven in around to bind the heap together, and the
whole overlaid by a wooden floor, upon which the dwellings were erected.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Sketch Section of Swiss Pile Dwelling.]
This construction bears a close family resemblance to the Irish
type, in which the huts stood, so to speak, on _terra firma_, and
not _en l’air_, above the surface of the water. Like Irish dwellings
of analogous formation, this species of substructure has as yet been
found only in small lakes with soft and muddy bottoms, and of little
depth and extent; they owe their origin to the fact, that piles driven
into the oozy lake bottom could not have supported the necessary
weight; for, if heavily laden, they must have sunk altogether below
the surface of the water, or at least could not have retained their
relative positions. This formation seems to have been of more ancient
date than the artificial stages upon piles alone, inasmuch as few,
if any, instances have been discovered in which bronze remains are
associated with fascine dwellings. So far as can be judged from the
manner in which the timbers are mortised together, as well as from the
characteristics of the fictile ware found, their inhabitants differed
in nothing from those who, owing to their better acquaintance with
metal, constructed dwellings of greater solidity, in deeper water, and
under more varied conditions. “_It was impossible to adopt the fascine
structure in the larger lakes_, for it must have been foreseen that the
waves which could drive amongst the upright piles of the usual pile
dwelling without injuring them, would, in stormy weather, wash over the
edges of the fascine platform and tear it in pieces.”[13]
The “fascine” lake dwelling in the lake of Fuschl, near the Mondsee
in Austria, resembles, in most respects, those found in Switzerland,
Ireland, and Scotland. This little lake is rich in fish, and its banks
abound with game; on its western shore, in a little inlet, lies an
artificial island nearly circular, about fifty paces in diameter,
separated from the mainland by a narrow channel, now almost choked with
peat-moss and marsh plants. The islet is only just above the ordinary
water-level, and on inspection its construction was found to be as
follows:--
First, a thick layer of peat-moss, then a stratum of branches,
principally of mountain pine and dwarf birch: the foundation consists
of large boughs or trunks of pine trees, the top pointing inwards.
Small piles were driven through the different layers to hold the mass
together, whilst on the exterior, a number of much smaller piles were
driven into the lake-bed, probably to protect the structure from wave
action. The difference in general constructive details between the
dwellings on Helvetian and Hibernian lakes may be accounted for by the
depth of water of the former, and the shallow muddy bottoms of the
latter. Remains of a dwelling have been found embedded in the peat-bogs
by which the hill of Chamblon is surrounded. The peat-cutters of Les
Uttins, discovered horizontal beams with mortises, and a wooden roadway
across the marsh leading to the spot. There are two settlements here,
both very ancient: one is situated at a distance of 1850 yards from
the lake, the other at a distance of 2200 yards, in an alluvial plain
formed since their erection. Dr. Keller also describes ‘steinberge’ or
stonehills, _i. e._ elevations on the bottom of the lakes, composed
of stones and gravel artificially deposited. These were formed by the
natives on natural shallows, for the purpose of lessening the depth of
water. At Nidau, in the lake of Bienne, there is an artificial island
encircled with piles, planks being laid horizontally at the bottom to
retain in place the stones of which it is composed. At Möringen, in the
same lake, there is a structure of similar type; whilst a large canoe,
which had probably been used at its formation, was found lying at the
bottom laden with a cargo of stones. Structures almost identical with
the Irish have been found in the lakes of Inkwyler, Nussbaumen, and
Wauwyl. The pile dwellings of Switzerland, _i. e._ those erected in
deep water and in the larger lakes, bear a much closer resemblance to
the description given by Herodotus than to the dwellings discovered in
Ireland and Scotland. The settlement at Morges, on the Lake of Geneva,
was 1200 feet in length by 120 in width, so that if entirely covered by
a platform its area, according to the computation of M. Troyan, would
have been sufficiently ample to accommodate a population of upwards of
1200 souls. Sometimes, as at Wangan, the villages were built close to
the shore, and seem, as in Ireland, to have been protected by palisades.
The framework of the huts was probably made of logs and wattles, or of
hurdles plastered over with clay: portions of the latter, with marks of
the wattling still distinct on them, have been drawn from their watery
bed. The Swiss dwellings appear to have been rectangular, resembling
perhaps the châlets of the present day: it has not been decided whether
they were divided into rooms, but, just as in the Irish dwellings, each
hut had its hearth, of which the flat stones still often lie in _situ_;
the invariable presence of clay weights indicates that most families
possessed a loom, whilst from the remains of straw and reeds, it may
be inferred that the roofs were thatched. The wide chronological range
of these remains is very remarkable. The settlements in which stone
implements have been found are more widely spread and more numerous
than those of the metallic period. In Switzerland these lake villages
appear to have commenced to decay, or to have been abandoned towards
the close of the bronze age, and to have almost ceased to exist on the
introduction of iron. In the stone era the bones of wild animals, of
stags, of urus, of aurocles, and wild boar, are found, whilst in the
metallic ages remains of domesticated animals preponderate more and
more, till the final abandonment of these “water-towns.” The remains of
human handicraft around the dwellings illustrate the habits, domestic
usages, and skill, of their inhabitants during untold centuries; but
the most striking fact is not so much their similarity to the Irish
structures, as the identity in form and use of the articles discovered
in them, both those employed in war and in the chase, as also the
culinary and domestic implements, the objects of personal decoration,
and those employed in the toilet.[14]
Scottish archæologists were aroused by the lacustrine discoveries on
the Continent to investigation of similar remains occurring in their
own country. It was found that early historic references to island
forts, and incidental notices of the exposure of artificial islands,
consequent on drainage operations, had been entirely overlooked.
A crannog, that of Lochinadorb, in Moray, was honoured by a visit
from Edward I. in 1303, and was considered of such importance, that
thirty-three years later Edward III. led an army to its relief. A
crannog in Loch Kinord, in Aberdeenshire, is mentioned in history in
the year 1335: it received James IV. as a guest in 1506, and enjoyed a
continuous existence until 1648, when its fortifications were razed by
order of Parliament. Forty years after the dismantling of this island
fortress, the crannog of Lochan-Eilean, in Strathspey, is described
as “useful to the country in times of trouble or wars, for the people
put in their goods and children here, and it is easily defended.”
Artificial islands formed of wood or stone, often identical with those
a short time previously ascertained to have existed in Ireland, were
found more or less spread over the entire of Scotland. These have been
lately classified and considerably added to by Dr. Munro, and in his
work[15] at least fifty-three well-authenticated discoveries of wooden
lake structures in Scotland are enumerated.
The Dowalton settlement, in the lake of that name, in Wigtownshire,
seems to have been abandoned by its inhabitants at an early period:
nothing mediæval was found on the site; a copper coin indeed
(described, however, as of doubtful character) was picked up; but as
it may have been dropped into the water at any period, its presence
need not disturb such inference as we may draw from the other articles
discovered. Mr. Stuart says, “there is a peculiar interest in the small
colony of Dowalton, from its neighbourhood to the site of Ptolemy’s
Roman town of Leucophibia … and that at least one object of Roman
workmanship … has been found amongst the relics of the old inhabitants
of the islands. It was only a matter of conjecture how it came
there--whether in the course of commerce, by gift, or by appropriation
after the removal of their Roman neighbours. It seems, however, not
unreasonable to regard the occurrence of a Roman vessel at Dowalton,
associated as it is with relics which are elsewhere found in early
sepulchral cairns and British hut circles, as pointing to a period of
occupation of the islands not later, and probably earlier, than that
of the Roman settlement.” The list of antiquities brought to light at
Dowalton is therefore extremely valuable for Irish Archæologists, as it
included specimens of almost everything usually found in Irish crannogs
(with the exception of the copper coin of doubtful character), also of
a bronze vessel of undoubted Roman manufacture.
The Irish lake dwellings have, over and over again, yielded articles
precisely similar to the annexed list,[16] but as a rule they are more
prolific in objects of early manufacture, which, from their style of
ornamentation, are commonly referred to a period from the fifth to
the tenth century. Dr. Munro remarks, that although we cannot “argue
definitely from the present geographical distribution of Scottish lake
dwellings, the indications are so clearly suggestive of their having
been peculiar to those districts formerly occupied by Celtic races,
that the significance of this generalization cannot be overlooked.”
The unlooked-for discovery of lake dwellings in Yorkshire, resembling
those of Ireland and Scotland, proves that in Britain also there had
been a lacustrine population in times probably prehistoric. During the
execution of drainage operations in the Holderness district, bone tools
and fragments of piles were exhumed: this led to the discovery of the
remains of lake dwellings. The excavations made it apparent that the
construction, as is observable also in many Irish crannogs, was of two
ages--the stone and the bronze. In the upper stratum, bronze objects,
then rude stone, flint, and bone weapons. As in the Irish so in the
British remains, the very dressing of the timber framework demonstrates
the fact of the constructors having worked in the lower portion with
stone, and in the upper with metal hatchets.
It may be remarked that the great city of London seems to have risen
from a collection of rude pile dwellings, as traces of these structures
have been found both near London-Wall and at Southwark. They are thus
described by General Lane-Fox:--“Upon looking over the ground, my
attention was at once attracted by a number of piles, the decayed tops
of which appeared above the unexcavated portions of the peat, dotted
here and there over the whole of the space cleared.… Commencing on the
south, a row of them ran north and south on the west side: to the right
of these a curved row, as if forming part of a ring. Higher up, and
running obliquely across the ground, was a row of piles having a plank
about an inch and half thick, and a foot broad, placed along the south
face, as if binding the piles together.… The points of the piles were
inserted from one to two feet in the gravel, and were for the most part
well preserved, but all the tops had rotted off at about two feet above
the gravel, which must have been the surface of the ground, or of the
water at the time these structures were in existence.”[17] The vast
majority of the relics belonged to the Roman era, but there were others
of ruder workmanship. The kitchen middens contained cockle, mussel,
oyster, and periwinkle shells: amongst the animal remains were those of
the red deer, horse, wild boar, goat, dog, and the _Bos-primigenius_,
_Trochoceros_, _Longifrons_, and _Frontosus_. The superincumbent strata
varied from 18 to 21 feet in depth. The Thames, formerly a less deep
but wider river than at present, appears to have had a pile-dwelling
population established on its shallows at various favourable points. At
Kew, near the mouth of the Brent, piles have been disclosed to view,
marking as is supposed the site of an ancient “water-town;” and at
Barnes, in the opposite bend of the stream, similar remains have been
observed associated with flints, celts, and other primitive relics.
Well-authenticated lacustrine sites have been discovered at Wretham
Mere, in Norfolk;[18] at Barton Mere, near Bury St. Edmund’s;[19] on
Cold Ash Common, Berks;[20] and in Llangorse lake, near Brecon, South
Wales.[21]
Dr. Munro is of opinion that the lake dwellings of Scotland were
erected by the semi-Romanized Celtic inhabitants, as a means of
protection when they were left to contend against the attacks of
the Angles, the Picts, and the Scots, upon the withdrawal of the
Roman legions from Britain; but when Cæsar arrived on the banks of
the Thames the use of wooden stakes, palisading, and piles, for
defensive purposes, was, as described by him,[22] common amongst the
Britons--defences which were in fact of the nature of the palisading
with which Irish and Scotch lake dwellings were surrounded. These works
seem to have been of an enduring character, for the Venerable Bede,
writing at the commencement of the eighth century, states that some of
the stakes retained their position even in his day. A very interesting
account given by Adulfeda, Syrian Prince and historian, who wrote about
the commencement of the fourteenth century, depicts the Apamæan lake as
a collection of small sheets of water of little depth, linked together
by huge swamps. The string of lakelets was margined with dense borders
of reeds, flags, and willows, and abounded in game and fish. Adulfeda
describes the most northerly lake of this chain as “commonly called the
lake of the Christians, because it is inhabited by Christian fishermen
who live here on the lake in wooden huts built upon piles.”[23]
Venice, the once proud Queen of the Adriatic, the whilom mart of
Europe, with her lofty campanile, her beautiful temples, and her marble
palaces, rising vision-like from her watery bed, was in origin but
a cluster of fisher huts perched on piles in the shallow lagoons at
the mouth of the Po, a site selected by these toilers of the sea for
security and refuge from the ravages of the Huns under Attila. In the
commencement of the sixteenth century, when the Spaniards marched on
Mexico, “they saw, as they passed along, several large towns resting on
piles, and reaching far into the water, a kind of architecture which
found great favour with the Aztecs.” These first founders of what now
is the city of Mexico, after enduring the casualties and hardships of a
migratory life, at length resolved to erect a permanent abode; and to
protect themselves from their surrounding enemies, laid the foundations
of the future city “by sinking piles into the shallows, for the low
marshes were half buried under water: on these they erected their light
fabrics of reeds and rushes, and sought a precarious subsistence from
fishing, and from the wild fowl which frequented the waters, as well as
from the cultivation of such simple vegetables as they could raise on
their floating gardens.”[24] The Spaniards who first visited the shores
of Maracaibo, to the North of the South American Continent, found the
natives living in huts on piles in the water. They named the locality
Venezuela _i. e._ “Little Venice”: that name now embraces a forest
tract as large as France, a mountain tract larger than Switzerland, and
steppes like those of Mongolia. Vasco Nunez failed in an attack on a
tribe in Dabaybe, who lived in huts stretching from tree trunk to tree
trunk growing in a watery swamp. The city of Tchakash is built over the
river Don, and it has been suggested that the huts raised on piles by
the fishermen of the Bosphorus may represent there the last lingering
traces of an ancient custom.
Captain Hiram Cox, in his _Journal of a Residence in the Burmhan
Empire_, written in the year 1796-7, describes the villages along the
banks of the Rangoon river as “built of bamboo and cadjan, raised on
piles in the manner of the Malays,” and throughout his diary he makes
frequent allusion to this singular custom. Forrest says that in many
parts of the coast of New Guinea the people live in huts placed on
stages erected on posts, as a means of protection against the attacks
of their enemies, the Haraforas, from the interior of the country. On
these stages they haul up their proas or canoes. Similar structures
have been described by travellers in the Celebes, the Caroline Islands,
and elsewhere in Polynesia.
D’Albertes, in his _New Guinea_, states that the house inhabited
by him at Salwatee was suspended over the sea on piles, and adds,
“all, or nearly all, the houses are built like ours, on piles, and
are surrounded by water at high tide, some indeed at all times, and
the people go to and fro by means of a bridge made of the trunks of
small trees. At a distance of little more than half a mile there is
another small village.” On the river Ramoi, D’Albertes saw four or five
houses built on piles about 20 feet high; and when describing a native
village, of the people of Mausniam, he states that all “the houses are
built on wooden piles driven into the sea, and approached by a bridge
constructed of the trunks of small trees.” At Lorony nearly the entire
village was over the water. “The houses of Mafor are built entirely
in the water, so that a little bridge is necessary to enter them from
the shore.” “The Arfahs live in small villages, in houses built on
piles.”[25]
In the bay of Dorei, in New Guinea, there are four villages erected
on piles over the sea. Each village contains from eight to fifteen
houses; each house consists of a row of distinct rooms, and contains
several families. These structures are entirely formed of wood very
roughly finished. The same writer states, “Formerly the entire town of
Tondano was erected in the lake, the only means of communication from
one house to another being by boat. In the year 1810, relying on the
strength of this position, the inhabitants, who were at strife with the
Dutch, tried to shake off their yoke, took up arms, and were beaten.
It was with difficulty the Dutch succeeded in subduing them, for which
purpose they had to employ artillery and to build gunboats. To avoid
a repetition of similar troubles, the natives were forbidden in the
future to construct their dwellings on the lake.”[26]
The dwellings of the Dyaks are described by the Bishop of Labuan as
“built along the river side on an elevated platform 20 or 30 feet
high, in a long row, or rather it is a whole village in one row of
some hundreds of feet long. The platforms are first framed with beams,
and then crossed with laths about two inches wide and two inches
apart.”[27] Munro draws attention to the lake dwellings at Singapore,
erected on a series of tall piles, the flooring considerably above
the surface of the water: in the intervening space light boats were
suspended. It would also appear that pile dwellings of circular shape
are to be observed in parts of Japan. Captain Cook notices the summer
and winter habitations of a tribe called Tschutski in Kamtschatka. The
winter lodge is sunk below the surface; the summer, raised above the
ground and constructed on a platform supported on poles.
Whilst staying at Maracaibo, in Venezuela, a traveller took great
interest in a singular tribe of Indians called Guajiros, who lived
near the town in “pile dwellings.” He was conveyed to his destination
in a rude canoe, formed simply of the hollowed-out trunk of a tree.
On reaching the village, the huts, with their low sloping roofs,
were seen to be perched on high piles over the shallow waters, and
to be connected with each other by narrow plank bridges formed of
the split stems of palm trees. To enter the huts, the visitor had to
climb an upright pole by means of notches cut in the side. “Each
house or cock-loft consisted of two parts, the pent-roof shelter
being partitioned off in the middle; the front apartment served the
double purpose of entrance hall and kitchen; the rear apartment as a
reception and dwelling chamber, and it was not a little surprising to
observe how clean it was kept. The floor was formed of split stems of
trees, set close together, and covered with mats. Weapons and utensils
were placed in order in the corners.… The positions chosen for their
erection are near the mouths of rivers and in shallow waters; the piles
on which they rest are driven deep into the oozy bottom, and so firmly
do they hold that there is no shakiness of the loftily-perched dwelling
perceptible, even when crowded with people.… They are the invention,
not exactly of savages, but of tribes of men in a very primitive stage
of culture: such probably were the people who lived in the prehistoric
lake dwellings of Switzerland.”[28] Similar habitations are to be found
“Where Orinoco in his pride
Rolls to the main no tribute tide;”
and on the banks of the Amazon they are also to be seen perched on
piles driven into the muddy bottom. The delta of the Parana, which is
scarcely above high-water mark, is called the Venetia of South America.
Here the houses are built on piles in order to keep the flooring free
from the sudden rising of floods. Near Rosario, in Buenos-Ayres,
_gauchos_, who have given up horses and horse stealing and taken to
canoes and petty larceny, have constructed rude abodes in the swamps
along the banks of one of the tributaries of the La Plata.[29] Captain
Burton mentions an African tribe who had erected their dwellings in
the same way at a great distance from the shore.[30] Lake Moyhrga
or Realmah, in Central Africa, presents at the present day the
characteristic features pertaining to the descriptions of an ancient
Irish lacustrine site. Cameron[31] describes this lake as lying in a
small basin embosomed in low-wooded hills, interspersed with patches
of cultivated ground. The lake is small--only two miles in length by
one in width--the margin girt with floating vegetation corresponding
to the reeds, flags, and aqueous growth of more temperate climes.
Three villages, besides detached huts, were scattered irregularly
over its surface: the huts were built on platforms raised about six
feet above the surface of the water, supported on stout piles driven
into the bed of the lake; underneath the platform canoes were moored
and nets hung to dry. Some huts were oblong in shape, others round,
with occasionally, a projecting roof over the door, and they were
constructed in a manner precisely similar to those on _terra firma_.
The inmates live in these dwellings with their fowl and goats, only
going ashore in their “dug-outs” to cultivate their small patches
of tillage, and to allow their goats to graze. These lake-dwellers
were very unapproachable when on land, always running to their canoes
and paddling away on the appearance of a stranger. The paddles are
described as resembling large circular shallow spoons with long
straight handles, the canoes about 25 feet in length. In Eastern Africa
also pile dwellings are to be found, as at Mayunga, in Madagascar.
At Mirambaus, in Eastern Africa, the score or so of houses composing
the village are constructed on posts raised some 8 feet above the
ground,[32] whilst in the neighbouring village of Mujurumbe huts formed
of bamboo and cocoa-nut leaf are erected on piles. Thus we see that
a habitat on the water has been, or is still, used by races of men
not having the slightest affinity to each other, as the boat-living
population of China, the lake-dwellers of Central Africa, Europe, New
Guinea, Great Britain, Ireland, &c.
Although in 1810 a lake-dwelling in Ireland had been discovered by
Mr. William Trench near Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, its original use was
not known, no interest was excited, nor was the importance of the
event appreciated; and it was not till 1839[33] that the archæological
value of the investigation of lacustrine sites was perceived. The
following year Mr., afterwards Sir William, Wilde published an account
of the discovery at Lagore, Co. Meath, of the first great lacustrine
retreat noticed in Ireland in modern times. It had been anciently the
residence of the chief of a small territory in Meath. The formation
or eruption of the lake is chronicled in the Irish Annals as having
occurred A.M. 3581. Under dates A.D. 848, 933, 967 mention is made of
the destruction of the Lagore crannog, and from its being situated near
the village of Dunshaughlin, either name is indiscriminately applied to
it in the present day. W. F. Wakeman, the only archæologist probably
now living who can speak from personal knowledge of the circumstances
connected with the original discovery, relates that, when he was with
Petrie in the office of the Topographical Department of the Ordnance
Survey of Ireland, he recollects how a dealer in Irish antiquities,
named Underwood, made his appearance day after day, bringing for sale
objects of more or less archæological interest, which he stated had
been found near Dunshaughlin. Struck by the frequency of the dealer’s
calls, Petrie decided to unravel the mystery by visiting the place;
accordingly, accompanied by Wilde, he reached Lagore House, and
there, carelessly thrown on the floor of a barn, he saw a large and
miscellaneous collection of antiquities, consisting chiefly of weapons
composed of iron--swords, daggers, spear and axe-heads, saws, chains,
shears, small culinary vessels, &c. &c; pins and brooches of bronze,
articles of bone, and even of wood, all of which had been found by
labourers engaged in making a drain through the ancient lake bed.
Petrie endeavoured to procure some of these for his collection, but
the steward, or caretaker, in the absence of his employer, would not
part with any; and when the dealer returned after a short lapse of time
the collection was already greatly scattered: many objects had been
presented to curiosity-seekers in the neighbourhood, and many, it was
supposed, went to England. A few, however, found their way to the Royal
Irish Academy, to Dean Dawson, Lord Talbot de Malahide, and Petrie.
For some years after the drainage operations, the soil of Lagore
remained unturned by the spade; but in 1846, 1847 and 1848, the site of
the crannog was reopened by men engaged in the process of turf-cutting,
and, as on the previous occasion, quantities of bones were exhumed, and
with them a surprising number of antiquities, together with remains of
the ancient stockading, and the ruins of several structures evidently
used as huts; one of them is thus described by W. F. Wakeman: “Let
the reader imagine a foundation formed of four roughly-squared planks
of oak, each about twelve feet in length (so arranged as to enclose a
quadrangle), the ends of which were carefully fitted together. From the
angles of this square rose four posts, also of oak, to the height of
about nine feet. In these grooves were cut, into which roughly-split
planks of oak had been slipped so as to form the sides of the house;
the irregularities between the boards were tightly caulked with moss; a
low and narrow opening in one of the sides had evidently served as an
entrance. There were no traces of window or chimney.”[34]
Lagore crannog differed from others brought to light at a later date,
in not being either submerged or surrounded by water at the time of
its discovery. Wilde describes it as consisting of a circular mound of
about 520 feet in circumference, slightly raised above the surrounding
bog or marshy ground, which forms a basin of about a mile and a-half
in circuit, and is bounded by elevated lands. “The circumference of
the circle was formed by upright posts of black oak, measuring from
six to eight feet in height; these were mortised into beams of similar
material laid flat upon the marl and sand beneath the bog, and nearly
sixteen feet below the present surface. The upright posts were held
together by connecting cross-beams, and (said to be) fastened by large
iron (?) nails: parts of a second upper tier of posts were likewise
found resting on the lower ones. The space thus enclosed was divided
into separate compartments by septa or divisions that intersected one
another in different directions; these were also formed of oaken beams
in a state of great preservation, joined together with greater accuracy
than the former, in some cases having their sides grooved and rabbeted
to admit large panels driven down between them.”
It may be inferred that fire was the final agent of destruction, as
almost everywhere amongst the timbers lay half-consumed logs and
numerous pieces of charcoal. Unfortunately, investigations on the site
do not seem to have produced results such as might have been expected,
owing principally, as was supposed, to want of friendly co-operation
on the part of those engaged in searches. The “find” is now widely
dispersed, and can never be re-collected; but the Petrie Museum
deposited in the Royal Irish Academy, as well as some private cabinets,
would still furnish material for scores of illustrations.
At about the same date as the Lagore crannog, that of Lough Gur, Co.
Limerick, became visible when the waters of the lake were lowered. The
existence of this artificial island in ancient times was traditionally
known to the neighbouring peasantry: the stones by which it was
overlaid were in places distinctly visible to a person passing over
them in a boat when the lake level was low and the water calm. A large
tripod composed of iron was at times plainly to be seen, and had
attracted Mr. Wakeman’s attention; but, from superstitious feelings
on the part of the boatmen by whom he was accompanied, no attempt at
its recovery was then made; it is said to be now in the collection of
the Royal Irish Academy. A number of antiquities have been from time
to time obtained from the site, and there was a vast collection of
bones; but, according to the evidence of a clergyman then living in the
neighbourhood of Bruff, there does not appear to have been any vestige
of staking on or around this crannog. Other remains of the same class
were brought to light in rapid succession, so that in 1857 no less than
forty-seven of them had been recorded: since that time the number has
increased to about 200, and every succeeding year adds to the total.
In 1853-4, owing principally to the writings of Keller, the entire
attention of archæologists was attracted to the lacustrine remains
of Switzerland, and it was the more easily diverted from the Irish
sites by the pronouncement of Sir William Wilde, that no stone, and
but few bronze weapons, had been found in them: he also suggested,
that from the ninth to the seventeenth century might be considered the
probable date of the lacustrine period in Ireland. These theories have
since been abundantly confuted; but they served at the time to check
investigation, because detracting from the impression of antiquity.
_Crannog, derivation of the word._--In the Irish Annals, lake-dwellings
are called crannogs, derived from the term _crann_, which signifies
a tree. That word, always spelled with a double _n_, is in Irish
generally applied to a tree with foliage and branches, as [Gaelic:
crann na coille], _trees of the wood_, but in its primary meaning it
refers to some massive object of timber standing erect--as stems of
the forest, or a ship’s mast, which is also called [Gaelic: crann].
The last syllable in [Gaelic: crannog], _i.e._ [Gaelic: og], is the
terminal form of numerous Irish words; “sometimes it carries the force
of a diminutive, but more frequently not. [Gaelic: Crannog] is no
doubt formed in the same manner as [Gaelic: cuaróg], the name usually
applied to a wild bee’s nest, and derived from the noun [Gaelic: cuar],
any conical hollow with the diminutive ending [Gaelic: og] attached
thereto. In some country places, the old kind of pulpit or form was
called crannóg, and in others _crannghail_ or _crannghaoil_, a word of
somewhat similar meaning. This latter word, too, was the Irish term for
a hurdle, and was commonly used for those wicker-chimneys so common
formerly in country cottages.”[35]
It is doubtful whether the term _crannog_ was originally applied to
the timber framework of which the island was constructed, or to the
wooden huts erected on it; though now-a-days it is generally understood
to include the whole structure, both island and dwelling. In its
topographical sense, the word is applied to wooden lake dwellings, but
in another sense the Anglo-Irish employed it to designate a basket,
hamper, or measure of a certain size for measuring or gauging grain
or corn.[36] G. H. Kinahan states[37] that, although “crannog” is now
the generally-accepted appellation for the ancient lake dwellings of
Ireland, it is, nevertheless, “a modern term introduced to supply the
place of the ancient one, which is unknown or unrecognized.”
Lake dwellings bore in Scotland the same designation. In a document
dated 14th April, 1608, directed to State officials, concerning the
surrender of some rebellious clans, it is ordered, that “the haill
houssis of defence, strongholdis and _cranokis_ in the yllis perteining
to thame and their foirsaidis sal be delyveret to his Maiestie,” &c.
Although the term crannog is to be found in the Irish Annals, yet in
the earliest entries these dwellings are designated simply as _Inish_,
i. e. island: for instance, in an old Irish MS., “The wars of the
Gaedhiel with the Gaill,” it is recorded that, in the year 1013, Brian
Boru repaired inir locha Gair, i. e. _the island_ of Lough Gur, county
Limerick, which is one of the most important as also apparently one of
the most ancient Irish lacustrine sites; for, as before stated, remains
of the reindeer, the _Megaceros Hibernicus_, and bear, were found in
the lake bed.
_Crannog, a common Townland Name._--There are numerous localities
throughout Ireland in which the term “crannog” is embodied in the name,
and where, consequently, must have been formerly a lake or swamp, with
its accompanying artificial island, although in some cases the lake
has now disappeared, and the swamp has been drained. In most of the
districts in which these islands were found several small lakes are
clustered together. In Connaught, near the demesne of Longford, county
Sligo, the residence of Sir Malby Crofton, Bart., in a small pond,
almost dry in summer, there is an islet, still called by the country
people “crannog:” it has bequeathed its name to the townland in which
it is situated, _i.e._ “Lochanacrannog,” signifying the _little lake
of the crannog_.[38] In the parish of Cloonclare, county Leitrim, is a
locality called Crannog Island. In Connemara, county Galway, there is
an island in Ballinahinch lake which has given name to a parish and to
a barony, the word Ballinahinch signifying _village of the island_. In
Ulster there is a townland in county Tyrone called Crannog. In county
Donegal, Crannog-boy, or the _yellow lake dwelling_, was the head
quarters of The O’Boyle, a steady supporter of the O’Donnels. In county
Antrim, Lough Crannagh, situated over Fair Head, probably derives its
name from a small artificial island which lies in the centre of the
lake.[39] In Loughmacnean, county Fermanagh, are several artificial
islets, one of which is called “Crannog Island.” In Leinster there is
a townland in county Kilkenny called Cronoge. In Munster there is a
place in the parish of Ardagh, county Limerick, called Coolcranoge,
_the angle of the lake dwelling_. “Crannog Island,” “sunken island,”
“drowned island,” “Inish,” or “the island,” are common designations
for diminutive artificial islets, showing themselves above water only
during summer drought in many lakes throughout the kingdom. There is
hardly a large sheet of water to which is not attached a tradition of
a frightful outbreak of flood, covering what was formerly “a town;”
or which does not possess its legend of an enchanted well, which,
consequent upon some affront offered to its guardian spirit, covered
the valley, its inhabitants, and houses. May not these traditions be
traceable to lingering remembrance of former lacustrine habitations,
for Giraldus Cambrensis, writing in the twelfth century, described
the tradition that then prevailed in the north of Ireland, of waters
having overwhelmed the plains now occupied by Lough Neagh, a locality
the most thickly studded with these remains; and the legend has been
immortalized by Moore, who thus alludes to it:--
“On Lough Neagh’s banks as the fisherman strays,
When the calm clear eve’s declining,
He sees the round towers of other days
In the waves beneath him shining.”
Similar legends of submerged towns are prevalent in the south of
Scotland, on the littoral facing the Irish coast. In the neighbourhood
of Carlingwark Loch, Kircudbrightshire, in which are sites of crannogs,
there has been from time immemorial a tradition that “there had been
a town in the loch which sunk or was drowned;”[40] whilst a Scotch
writer states that, “amongst other points of coincidence between Scotch
and Irish crannogs may be noticed a tradition connected with some of
them, common to both countries, which seems to have arisen from the
submersion of the island homes by the rising of the waters in the
loughs.”[41] The same idea is held by the natives of Central India:
“from this hill is heard the sound of fairy drums; in that lake are
seen reflected the ruins of a buried city.”[42]
The tradition of towns buried beneath the waters is not confined
merely to the lakes of Ireland: there is the beautiful fable of the
City of Gold, hid beneath the angry ocean, sometimes seen, but ever in
different localities:
“Yet at times the waves sever,
And then you may view
The yellow walls ever
’Neath the ocean’s deep blue.”
_Submarine Crannogs._--After a very high tide at Ardmore, near Youghal,
the waters retired more than customary, disclosing the fact that this
particular portion of the sea-shore had been the site of a forest, as
remains of trees were found in various parts of the submarine deposit.
This submerged tract extends to between the four and five fathom line,
but it has not been ascertained to what further distance it may stretch
seaward. A bank of shingle having shifted by a change of current,
laid bare the substructure of an undoubted crannog: at high water it
was covered by the tide to a considerable depth. Either this dwelling
had been erected when Ireland was joined to Great Britain, or it was
existent when Ireland was at a greater elevation above the sea, and
therefore of greater extent than at present. The theory is enunciated
by eminent geologists that many of our present harbours had been
inland lakes in prehistoric times, and thus the Bay of Ardmore may
have formerly presented a similar appearance to the Gulf or Lake of
Maricaibo in Venezuela at the present day.
In the Irish Records, lake dwellings are likewise designated “Stockaded
Islands,” and in the _Ulster Inquisitions_ of 1605, the term applied to
them is _insula fortificata_. Although antiquarians have differed in
opinion respecting the age of these remains, yet after patient analysis
of the characteristic features of the numerous excavations made in
recent years, the weight of evidence seems to indicate that these
constructions _were of all ages_, some being very ancient; it is quite
apparent that they have been built and rebuilt, and in them have been
found implements of stone, bronze, and iron in their respective strata.
It would seem, indeed, that the “age of bronze” had in many instances
largely overlapped that of iron. The chronology of this period is a
subject that has not as yet been determined, and the time when it
commenced and when it ended is still unsettled.
_Favourite Sites for Crannogs._--Marshes, small loughs surrounded by
woods, and large sheets of water, were alike suitable for the home of
the Irish lake-dweller, his great and primary need being protection;
he was bound by no conventional engineering rule, he did not
exclusively employ wood, but appears to have been guided by surrounding
circumstances. On peaty or muddy sites a wooden substructure was
essential; on hard bottoms, stone, gravel, or earth were, if
convenient, employed. As providing good fishing grounds, the entrance
or exit of stream from lake was a favourite site, and natural shoals
thus placed were eagerly selected.
_Mode of Construction of._--Having decided on the position, the
_crannog_ builder set to work by driving stakes into the bottom of
the lake in a circle of from sixty to eighty feet in diameter, a
considerable length of the stake sometimes projecting above the water;
these were in many instances joined together by horizontal beams, the
interior filled up by branches of trees, stones, gravel, earth, and
bracken. Often an inner row (or more than one) of piling is found about
five feet distant from the outer, and piles are driven in various parts
of the interior, either to consolidate the mass or to act as stays for
the walls of the dwelling. Next were placed one or two layers of round
logs, cut into lengths of about six feet, generally mortised into the
upright piles, kept in position by layers of stone, clay, and gravel.
In some cases, where the foundation was soft, the superincumbent
layers of timber were of great depth; in other cases, where the bottom
of the lake was firm, the platform of timber was confined to a portion
of the island. The side most affected by the action of the water was
frequently strengthened by rows of piles, sometimes five or six deep,
as well as by a breakwater of stones.[43] On the foundation, when
raised sufficiently above the water, the dwelling was erected; the
hearth was in the centre of the island, for in almost every case a
collection of flag-stones has been discovered in the interior of the
enclosure, bearing on them marks of fire. At times several hearths
occur. In some instances there are indications of these structures
having had additions made to their height at various times, either to
keep pace with the chronic rising of the level of the lough; or, taking
into consideration the compressible nature of the component parts of
the foundation, the island may have required increased elevation,
owing to the effect of natural subsidence. The enormous amount of wood
employed in the formation of a crannog, despite the mass of stones
and other material with which it was laden, must have had at first a
buoyant tendency, but according as the wood became completely saturated
with water, consolidation of a more or less pronounced character would,
in the course of time, become observable. The stones deposited over the
lower strata of fern, bracken, and branches, were indubitably used to
compress and solidify the substructure, as likewise were the stones on
the upper strata used for a similar purpose. Considerable ingenuity was
displayed in the formation of these island homes, which were frequently
constructed in a depth of twelve to fourteen feet of water; and, apart
from having served in their day as secure retreats for large numbers of
persons, they have proved their durability by resisting successfully
the ravages of time, which may be reckoned by centuries.
The Scottish lake dwellings were formed in almost identically the same
manner; in fact, the structural details are so completely analogous
as almost to necessitate the belief of their having been erected by
the same race. Up to the present time, out of the fifty-three lake
dwellings constructed of timber, discovered in Scotland, thirty-three
have been found in Wightown,[44] Kirkcudbright,[45] Dumfries,[46]
Ayr,[47] and Bute,[48] in south-western Scotland, whilst the greater
number of those found in Ireland are situate on the opposite coast,
_i.e._ in Ulster.
[Illustration: Fig. 2.
Excavation in a Crannog in Loughrea, showing wicker-work wall and
basket flooring.]
G. H. Kinahan, who explored crannogs in four localities,[49] states
that in all of them floors of wicker- or basket-work were found. The
first discovered by him was in the large crannog of Loughrea. In
one of the excavations there became apparent a perpendicular single
wicker-work wall or partition that went down to the level of the basket
flooring; from it, for eleven feet towards the north there was a rough
pavement, on which was a thin layer of gravel. The surface of the
pavement was on a level with the basket flooring. The rods of which it
was composed were soft and rotten--in fact reduced to mould, gave no
resistance to the spade, and might easily escape ordinary observation.
The heads of the piles forming the partition walls may, according to
this authority, be seen in an unexcavated crannog near Strokestown,
county Roscommon. There seems, therefore, reason to suppose that all
piles situated in the interior of crannogs point out the direction
of the partition wall or walls of the habitations, as, whatever may
otherwise have been the mode of construction--whether of wicker-work or
rods--they were supported at intervals by piles. May not the so-called
basket flooring have been a portion of the wattle walls which had
fallen down? Other experts on the subject have been unable in their
explorations to detect the presence of wicker-work floors; but in the
year 1858, in a small island about 200 yards from the shore, in the
lake formed by the Shannon at Castleforbes, county Longford, the Earl
of Granard discovered traces of stockading and piling, together with a
coarse sort of wicker-work.[50] This, however, was in the encircling
palisades, and W. F. Wakeman has recently noticed similar remains
around the crannog of Lisnacroghera.
_Stone Lake Dwellings._--On some of these artificial islands the
last structures seemed to have been formed of stone: for example, in
Loughtamand, county Antrim, a stone house or castle, the stronghold
of the MacQuillans, replaced a circular structure composed of wood;
a similar change seems to have been made in one of the crannogs of
Loughrea. The transition from buildings of wood to those of stone
has also been observed in Scotland. Mention may be made of a few
stone-built island fortresses; and although, strictly speaking, the
term “crannog” is scarcely applicable, yet many of them that present
a modern appearance are structures erected on ancient foundations. In
parts of Galway and Mayo, where timber was either scarce or of stunted
growth, buildings of stone seem to be most numerous, whilst in Ulster
they occur in the rocky districts of Antrim and Donegal.
Goromna Island, in Lough Hilbert, county Galway, is a peculiar
structure, which, though not formed of wood, is somewhat allied to a
crannog, being wholly or in part an artificial island. A large and
good specimen, _Caislen-na-Caillighe_, or the Hag’s Castle, stands in
Lough Mask. It is one of the oldest fortresses mentioned in the Irish
Annals, being noticed at the date A.D. 1195. In 1233 the Anglo-Norman
castle erected on its site was demolished by Felim O’Conor, chief of
Connaught, and so late as 1586 it was with difficulty captured by
Sir Richard Bingham. This great circular enclosure, ninety feet in
diameter and thirty feet in height, occupies almost the entire island.
The walls, which are still eight feet in depth at top, exhibit the
characteristic inward slope peculiar to the cashel; its situation
near the mouth of a river (the Robe) is characteristic of crannogs.
In Lough Bola there is a curious cashel, or stone lake dwelling;
the accompanying sketch gives an idea of its present appearance. A
primitive habitation lies in Lough Cam, north of Roundstone, and two
miles west of Toombeola. All these islands have a crannog-like aspect.
To the south of Ballinahinch lake lies that of Ballinafad, and in its
northern portion there becomes visible, when the water is low, a circle
of stones and a small island, evidently the remains of some artificial
structure. O’Flahertie, in his _History of Iar-Connaught_, mentions
that the ancient castle of the O’Flaherties of Bunowen, in the lake
of Ballinahinch, was built on an artificial island: this had been
constructed by one of the original septs long prior to the occupation
of the country by the O’Flaherties, who in their turn were driven out
by the Martins.[51]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Stone Lake Dwelling in Lough Bola.]
_Theory of Crannogs being only Temporary Refuges._--The opinion has
been frequently advanced that crannogs were merely refuges used in
case of hostile incursion--not a general or habitual residence; and if
a rath chance to be in the immediate vicinity, it is pointed out as
the abode of the chief on shore. The great mass of bones, however, and
remains of household gear, found upon and around some of the sites,
point conclusively to their having been places of residence for long
and various periods, and many of them bear signs which denote their
having been often demolished, burnt, and rebuilt, the Celt clinging to
his watery home with as much pertinacity as in latter days he clings
to his cottage on terra firma. Keller was of opinion that the great
distinction between the continental pile dwellings (_pfahlbauten_),
and the crannogs of Ireland and kindred lake dwellings of Scotland, is
that the latter served merely as places of refuge for chieftains, their
families, and property, _i. e._ strongholds belonging to individuals,
whilst the Swiss lacustrine dwellings were inhabited century after
century by groups of families; here they fabricated their pottery,
their utensils, their wearing apparel, their fishing implements, their
weapons of warfare; and hence in Swiss waters rows of huts are found,
each furnished with its hearth and its weaving loom. Although Irish
and Scottish lacustrine dwellings may have been the abode of chiefs,
yet the clan clustered around them, for in many Irish lakes a large
crannog is observable, whilst in close proximity--sometimes connected
with it--are others of smaller size and meaner construction; might we
not fairly surmise that the larger one was the abode of the chief, the
others those of his followers? The theory that these dwellings were
places of merely temporary refuge can be refuted on many grounds. The
evidences of repeated renovations and re-erection of crannogs after
having been burnt,[52] also the traces of cattle, which appear to have
been kept in them, the enormous quantity of bones contained in the
kitchen middens, the hearths, the remains of fire, of cooking utensils,
of spindle whorls, of household gear, the domestic arrangements made
in each hut for the accommodation of a family, the various articles
for personal adornment and for amusement, all tend to denote continuous
occupancy; finally, we must bear in mind the enormous expenditure of
time and labour that would be required for erection of what was, on
such a theory, to serve only as a place of temporary shelter.
_Palisades and Dwellings._--Palisaded fortifications are unquestionably
very primitive. Around the cyclopean wall of Dun Ængus and other
prehistoric forts in the Isles of Arran, county Galway, are found
palisades, or _chevaux-de-frise_, of sharp-pointed stones, and such
defences have in all ages proved effective under skilful management.
Even in the present advanced state of military science, the various
wars in New Zealand have demonstrated the formidable nature of the
Maori pah or fort. The outer range of piles around crannogs rose
considerably above the water, and thus formed a stockade or breastwork
for repelling an attack from enemies. The Lord Deputy Sidney,
describing to Elizabeth a repulse of her troops from one of these
retreats, says that at a distance it did not appear formidable, as
it was simply encircled with a stout palisade bristling with rows of
sharpened stakes; but when assaulted, the soldiers found it impossible
either to scale or undermine it. This style of defensive work was of
ancient origin in Ireland, for the Annals state that, in the year 990,
the island as well as “the dreach and rampart of Lough Cimbe” (now
Lough Hackett, county Galway) were swept away by a violent storm.
Within the area enclosed stood the hut or huts in which the families
lived; the stockade served equally for shelter and defence, fulfilling
the same purpose as did the circumvallation of the rath or _doon_ on
terra firma. Edifices constructed of logs, of wattling, and hurdles
daubed over with clay, and thatched with reeds, were in early times
considered characteristic of the Irish; even public buildings were
constructed of these materials. Bede states that an Irish monk, who
had been elected Bishop of Lindisfarn, built a church for his see
“altogether of sawn oak, and covered it with reeds, after the manner of
the Scots” (_i. e._ the Irish). We need not, however, refer to history,
or depend upon conjecture, in order to reconstruct these island
dwellings; for the foundations, and even some of the log walls, have
been exposed to view. Good examples are presented by the flooring of an
oblong house at Drumaleague, county Leitrim, and at Cargaghoge, county
Monaghan; remains of a wooden hut at Kilnock, county Antrim; and the
following in county Fermanagh--mortised beams at Loughavilly, a house
at Gortalough, angle posts at “The Miracles,” and lower framework of
a house at Ballydoolough. At Kilnamaddo, in the same county, log huts
were found buried under seventeen feet of peat; these were practically
almost perfect, wanting nothing save the roof; they were very low, the
side walls scarcely four feet in height, and they might be looked upon
rather as lairs for sleeping in, than dwellings in the modern sense of
the word; indeed, the primitive races of Ireland, whether building in
stone or wood, made use of low roofs and consequently low doors. The
openings left for egress and ingress were probably closed by hurdles
of wicker-work, as demonstrated by the old Irish proverb, _Fuair se
air suibhal eadar cliath a’s ursainn_ (he got off ’twixt hurdle and
door-post), equivalent to the saying, “he escaped by the skin of his
teeth.”
A considerable portion of the townland of Kilnamaddo (_the wood of the
dog_) had apparently, in olden times, formed the basin of a sheet of
water, and upon one of its shoals some primitive tribe had erected a
habitation. The piling can still be traced, but the chief antiquarian
interest attached to the discovery consisted in the remains of the huts
already referred to, and which were constructed of oak beams. They were
two in number, stood about fifty feet apart, and somewhat resembled the
hut exposed to view by Captain Mudge in Donegal, but differed from it
in not being divided into an upper and lower story. The Kilnamaddo huts
were quadrangular, and the larger and more perfect specimen measured on
the outside eleven feet six inches by ten feet. To make the structure,
four massive posts of oak, averaging seven feet in length and seven
feet in circumference, were set in the ground. These timbers, near
their upper ends, have mortised holes averaging eleven inches in height
by eight and a-half in breadth, through which passed the ends of beams
to which slabs of oak were attached, and the floor was also composed
of oaken planks. The roof, as well as a great portion of the sides,
did not remain _in situ_ at the time of the discovery, but a number
of timbers found immediately adjoining each of the structures were
admirably suited for the purpose of forming side walls and roofing.
The lower frame of the work appears to have been very similar to that
upon which the roof had rested. In the lower portions of the four
upright posts were very curious mortise holes, evidently intended
for the reception of beam ends. The sides of this edifice were
retained in position and pressed to the frame below by a row of small,
well-sharpened piles; no sign of pinning or grooving in the upper
portion of the frame could be discovered, therefore the conclusion may
be drawn that the huts were originally built within an excavation,
the peat was then heaped against the sides, probably even over the
roof, and a small passage left as an entrance. In short, it was a
structure of wood, but otherwise analogous to the stone-lined chambers
and passages so generally found in raths. Almost in the immediate
neighbourhood, may still be observed a subterraneous work of uncemented
stones, styled “St. Lasser’s Cell.” In it are three very small,
low-roofed chambers, connected by passages equally low; but there is
no reason to suppose they had communication with any other structure,
and, although named after a “saint,” they rather convey the impression
of pre-Christian origin. Unlike the remains of most crannogs, that of
Kilnamaddo presented no indication of having been destroyed by fire;
had such been the case, the posts would have shown undoubted signs of
charring. Evident traces of a kitchen midden were discovered in the bog
close to the hut, but at a level slightly above it. The height of the
interior of the most perfect of the huts, without making any allowance
for a sloping roof, being only four feet, they would thus correspond
to the souterrains of a rath. It has been suggested that they were
used by the crannog occupants only for the preservation of perishable
commodities; and in seeming corroboration of this theory, large lumps
of the substance called “bog-butter” were discovered in them carefully
rolled up in cowhide.
It is difficult to arrive at even an approximate estimate of the age
of these curious structures: the mortise-holes, pierced clean through
timbers more than seven feet in circumference, could hardly have been
formed by the aid of stone hatchets or chisels: several of the piles
and other portions of the work show traces of long, clean cuts, such as
are given by sharp metallic tools; yet the only implements found here
were of stone, and by the aid of such it is possible that some of the
timbers were more or less worked. The roots and part of the trunk of a
yew were found _in situ_ in the bog, on a higher level than the roof of
the more perfect hut. It has been computed, from the girth of this yew,
that it would take at least one thousand years to attain the bulk it
showed when first laid bare, and the eleven feet of bog by which it
was covered would take at least another thousand years to grow.[53]
[Illustration: Plate I.
Crannog Hut, Kilnamaddo. Restored from existing Remains.]
Plate I., fig. 4, represents the most perfect of the Kilnamaddo
huts restored. When the drawing was taken, all the timbers in the
illustration were on the spot, and some of these retained their
original position. Fig. 3 is a slab of oak measuring six feet by two
feet nine; it is not so thick as fig. 2, which represents a slab of
oak five feet ten inches in length by one foot six inches in breadth,
the depressions at its broader end being five inches by six, and it is
one foot two inches in thickness; this and fig. 3 were found lying by
the side of the hut, and it is conjectured that they formed a portion
of the roof. Fig. 1 represents an angle-post five feet six inches
in length, and four feet ten inches in circumference. This style of
construction appears, as far as is yet known, to have been confined to
the north-west portion of Ireland, the two somewhat similar huts being
those discovered by Captain Mudge in Donegal, and by Mr. Morant in
Monaghan.
A representation is given (plate II.) of the wooden hut discovered
in 1833, by Captain W. Mudge, R.N., in the bog of Drumkelin, parish
of Inver, county Donegal, it being the most perfectly preserved
primitive dwelling of that material yet brought to light in Ireland.
It was surrounded with a staked enclosure; portions of the gates
also were discovered. The flooring of the house (plate III., fig. 3)
rested on hazel branches covered with a layer of fine sand; a paved
causeway (plate III., fig. 4), over a foundation of hazel branches and
logs, led from the door of the house to a fireplace, on and around
which lay ashes, charred wood, and half-consumed turf. This unique
structure was nearly square, twelve feet wide, and nine feet high,
formed of rough logs and planks of oak, apparently split by wedges,
the interstices filled with a compound of grease and fine sea sand.
One side of the hut, supposed to be the front, was left entirely open.
The framework[54] consisted of upright posts and horizontal sleepers,
mortised at the angles, the end of each post being inserted into the
lower sleeper of the frame, and fastened with a large block of wood.
The discoverer states that the mortises were very rough, as if made
with a kind of blunt instrument, the wood being bruised rather than
cut, and it may be inferred that a stone celt found lying upon the
floor of the house was the identical tool with which the mortises had
been formed (plate III. figs. 6 and 7). By comparing the chisel with
the marks of the tool used in making the mortises and grooves, it
was found to correspond exactly with them, even to the slight curved
surface of the chisel; but the logs had evidently been hewn with a
larger instrument in the shape of an axe, undoubtedly of stone, as the
marks, though larger than those the chisel would have made, are of the
same character, being somewhat hollow and small cuts, not presenting
the smooth surface produced by a common iron axe. A second but larger
stone was also found on the floor, which, being ground at one end to
an edge, was probably used as a wedge for splitting timber (plate III.
fig. 5). There was also a flat freestone slab, measuring three feet
by one, and two inches thick, having a hollow in the middle about
three-fourths of an inch deep; large quantities of whole and broken
nuts were found near it, together with several round shingle stones.
The hollow in the flag is supposed to have been a receptacle for the
nuts, the small stones being used as hammers to break them.
[Illustration: Plate II.
Crannog Hut discovered at Inver, Co. Donegal. Drawn from the Model in
the Museum, R. I. A.]
The interior of the structure was divided into two stories, _each
about four feet in height_ (plate III. figs. 1 and 2); its flat roof
was sixteen feet beneath the original surface; therefore, nearly
twenty-five feet of bog must have grown around it since its first
erection; a piece of a leather sandal,[55] a flint arrow-head and
wooden sword were found; the latter relic was quite perfect when dug
up, it was subsequently broken into two pieces, one of which--the
pointed end--may be seen in the Museum, R.I.A., and is here
represented (fig. 4); the portion remaining measures twenty-seven and
a-half inches in length, its greatest breadth being three inches.
[Illustration: Plate III.
Front, Side Elevation, Ground Plan, &c., of Crannog Hut, discovered at
Inver, Co. Donegal.]
The depth at which the hut was buried, and the flint and stone
implements found in it, seem to prove unquestionably its extreme
antiquity; added to which, upon the level of the floor, and extending
all around, were the corkers of a forest of hard wood trees that had
co-existed with the occupation of this structure. Wood, in large
masses, when either thoroughly immersed in water or buried under
ground, lasts longer in a semi-decomposed state than is generally
supposed, for calcined ends of timber antæ and rafters were dug out
from the pseudo site of Troy.[56]
[Illustration: Fig. 4.
Remaining Fragment of Wooden Sword found at Inver.]
At the time of Captain Mudge’s discovery, so little was known on the
subject of lake dwellings, that many were the conjectures floated in
connexion with this Donegal “find.” Now, however, this famous log
house is pronounced to be simply a very well preserved example of the
ordinary crannog hut of an extremely early period, _i.e._ of a time
when axe-heads of stone were still in use, and when metal, if known
at all, was so precious that ordinary weapons were occasionally at
least formed out of hard wood. That the structure in question occupied
a crannog will be sufficiently obvious to any inquirer who examines
the model of it preserved in the Royal Irish Academy. The stakes
represented _in situ_, to the left of the illustration (plate II.),
are plainly remains of the stockade, one timber of which appears in
the foreground; and, in the sides of the drain made to carry off the
water from the excavation, Captain Mudge observed a number of ends of
large oak logs placed in regular order, portion evidently of the usual
crannog foundation.[57]
[Illustration: Fig. 5.
Sketch of Ancient Floor in the townland of Cargaghoge, barony of Farney.
From A to B, 18 ft. 4 in.; from C to D, 17 ft. 6 in.; from B to E, 11
ft. 6 in.; F, fireplace; G, large tree stump; H, remains of posts; I,
dotted line showing ends of planks bared by the tenants.]
In 1867, the remains of a dwelling brought to light in the townland
of Cargaghoge, near Carrickmacross, county Monaghan, is thus
described:--[58] A man engaged in cutting turf, having uncovered the
ends of three planks of oak, the circumstance, when reported to Mr.
G. Morant, induced him to have the superincumbent bog carefully dug
away, and after some hours’ work the floor of a house became exposed
to view; as the explorers approached its level, they were particularly
careful to examine the layers next to it, in the hope of discovering
some relics of its inhabitants; but, beyond ashes, nutshells (both in
considerable quantities), some pieces of very rude pottery, and a few
small worked flints, nothing was found. The floor, as may be seen by
the accompanying engraving, is approached by a narrow causeway of black
oak planks, similar to those of the floor itself, very rudely formed,
of unequal size, and laid loosely, without any apparent fastening,
except by occasional posts, as marked on the sketch. At the end of the
causeway nearest to the floor are the remains of posts, which probably
formed the entrance to the house, and at one side is a large tree stump
of some soft wood resembling sallow. The timbers of both causeway and
floor have evidently been fitted to the boll of the tree, proving that
it must have existed before either the causeway or floor was laid. The
latter sloped at a considerable angle to the south-west, owing to the
withdrawal of the water from a small lake not far from the site of
this ancient floor; the bog in former days was at least fourteen feet
deep over it. In the memory of persons still living, this portion of
Cargaghoge was entirely covered with water. About the centre of the
floor was a collection of stone slabs, closely fitted together, with a
substratum of blue clay, but all laid on planks of timber forming part
of the floor. On this fireplace there was a quantity of ashes, and on
the edge of the hearth a small corn-crusher of stone. Underneath the
planks, as far as could be observed without disturbing them, a thick
deposit of hazel and birch branches formed a foundation for the support
of the flooring.
From the descriptions given in Irish MSS., it would appear as if the
very earliest wooden dwellings were either rectangular or of oblong
form, but there is absolute proof of the co-existence of circular
houses, made chiefly or wholly of wicker-work. Similar dwellings of the
Gauls are figured on Roman bas-reliefs; the plan of this kind of house
resembled a tent; the poles were driven into the ground in a circle,
the spaces between filled in with wicker-work, and the interstices made
weather-tight by daubing them with clay. In the centre of the interior,
a stout post, commensurate with the required height of the conical
roof point, was firmly erected, and to this the rafters were attached,
descending at a steep incline to the upright wall poles. According as
they radiated from the central post their distance from each other
correspondingly increased; in these spaces cross-beams were inserted,
and across the radial rafters narrow slips of wood were fastened,
forming a complete covering from the conical point of the roof to the
eaves; a sheeting of rods was laid over this at right angles, and the
framework of the roof was then thatched with straw, rushes, or sedge
bound down with scollops.[59]
[Illustration: Fig. 6.
Section of roadway in soft ground.]
_Gangways._--Some crannogs were connected with the shore by a wooden
gangway supported on piles driven into the bed of the lake. The
artificial island in the lake of Effernan, county Clare, affords a good
example of this kind of passage. It has been often stated that the
characteristic feature of Irish lake dwellings was their insularity,
their complete disconnection with the land; yet it would be tedious to
enumerate the many instances in which remains of both pile gangways
and stone causeways have been discovered; although with regard to the
latter it is quite possible that in some cases the so-called causeways
may have been merely the stones that had been deposited around the
base of the piles, to give solidity to the uprights supporting the
footpath.[60] It has been suggested that these gangways, being under
the water level, were meant to provide on sudden emergencies a means
of secret access to the crannog, and that their oblique, sometimes
even tortuous, course was for the purpose of preventing any but those
accustomed to the submerged path from making use of it. Is it not
more probable that the people who made it merely availed themselves
either of a shoal or of the best foundation into which uprights might
be driven? Wooden roads and causeways across the deep, treacherous
morasses and soft miry banks with which lake dwellings were environed
have been frequently discovered. A roadway, evidently made for
convenience of the crannog in Loughnahinch, county Tipperary, was
covered with a great accumulation of peat.[61] Another submerged
roadway, constructed somewhat like an American corduroy road, was
discovered in a bog between Castleconnell and the Esker of Goig, in
county Limerick.[62] In the north portion of the Wexford estuary was
a causeway that in ancient times connected Begerin to other islands;
there were two rows of oak piles on which, apparently, had formerly
been transverse beams.[63] In Duncan’s flow bog, Ballyalbanagh, county
Antrim, was a wooden roadway laid on the surface of the _black_ turf,
level with stumps of deal corkers; this road was seven feet wide,
formed of longitudinal oak beams sheeted with transverse planking of
the same material. In the centre of the bog, where the foundation was
soft (fig. 6), there were eight longitudinal beams, whilst in the
firmer ground (fig. 7), near the edge of the bog, there were but three,
one at each side and one in the centre. The roadway, with the exception
of one log, was formed entirely of oak; holes worn in the oak planking
had been mended (fig. 8) with pieces of _deal_ fixed in position
across the aperture. “On the roadway there are now five feet of uncut
turf, while ten feet of ‘good turf’ are said to have been cut away.
Over the good turf there must have been ‘white turf’ and clearing,
which would add at least about five feet more to the thickness of peat
over the cash,” or roadway.[64] A paved causeway, covered to the depth
of eight or nine feet with bog, leads down to what used to be the edge
of the water, at Kilnock crannog, county Antrim.[65] On an ancient
wooden causeway or road in Ballykillen Bog, barony of Coolistown,
King’s County, a remarkable axe, formed of bone (fig. 9), was found
seven feet below the then surface of the bog; the axe is eight inches
long, and the sharp cutting edge at the small extremity had been formed
by an oblique cut of the bone. With it was a flint arrow-head (fig.
10) in a briar-root shaft, the thong which tied it still adhering.[66]
Remains of cut reeds, ferns, heather, and sand or clay, are very
frequently found strewn on the roads thus leading into crannogs.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.
Section of roadway in firm ground.]
[Illustration: Fig. 8.
Plan of roadway, showing repairs.]
[Illustration: Fig. 9.
Axe-head of Bone.]
[Illustration: Fig. 10.
Flint Arrow-head, Shaft and Thong still adhering.]
_Kitchen Middens and Refuse Heaps._--The most usual site of the kitchen
midden, or collection of refuse thrown out of the dwelling, is at
the entrance to the crannog, where was formerly the landing-stage
or gangway leading to the shore; and what more natural than that
prehistoric housekeepers should take the easiest method of getting
rid of refuse by merely throwing it out of the door, a practice
followed, on terra firma, by many of their descendants in Ireland at
the present day. The accumulated mass of bones (invariably found in
a broken state for extraction of the marrow) is in some instances
immense; it is estimated that at Dunshaughlin, in Meath, about two
hundred tons were sold for manure, three hundred tons were exhumed from
the kitchen midden of one of the lake dwellings in Loughrea, county
Galway, and fifty tons from that of Ardakillen, county Roscommon; the
bones in the heaps have, evidently, in some instances, been gnawed by
dogs after their owners had extracted the marrow, for which dainty
the Irish appear to have had a peculiar relish, judging from their
proverb, _Ma bhris tu an cnamh char dhuighail tu an smior_, i. e.,
though you have broken the bone, you have not sucked out the marrow:
equivalent to saying, “you have done the most difficult part of the
work, though you have not completed it.” Refuse heaps may be said to
form also a perfect mine of antiquities, for every “cast” article of
household gear was thrown into them; hence, the objects though numerous
are generally fractured. After bones the next most frequent “find”
consists of fragments of fictile ware. It has been remarked that if the
former site of a crannog becomes again exposed to the light of day,
by the _gradual_ cutting away of the peat under which it lay buried,
perhaps during centuries, then many objects calculated to excite the
interest of archæologists might be turned up from time to time without
attracting particular notice, and thus no means would be left to form
even an approximate estimate of the date of the crannog; but if careful
examination be made of a kitchen midden, exposed to view by the simple
drainage of water from the site, then the antiquities discovered afford
tolerably correct and safe data from which to calculate the age of the
structure.
_Canoes._--Some crannogs appear to have been veritable islands, the
only means of communication with the land being by canoes; of these,
in Irish and Scottish waters alike, remains have been frequently found
near the dwelling, in some instances alongside the landing-stage, as
if sunk at their moorings.[67] A canoe formed by hollowing out the
trunk of a tree seems to have been almost universally the first attempt
at boat-building, and to effect this, a people even in the rudest
state of existence would possess sufficient ingenuity. Canoes are so
universally found associated with crannogs, that their discovery in
lakes and bogs in Ireland has been considered an indication of the
existence of lacustrine dwellings in the immediate vicinity; but it
may be safely concluded that, unless implements or articles of stone
or bronze are found with “dug-outs,” they do not of themselves carry
us back to prehistoric times, nor do they necessarily indicate the
great antiquity commonly attributed to them. Canoes have been found
of the oldest type known, and yet containing articles of iron of very
modern form; therefore, it may be surmised that a people of primitive
habits like the lake dwellers clung tenaciously to old customs, and
their models remained unchanged during many ages. Irish single-piece
canoes may be roughly divided into three classes or varieties--(1) the
first, generally either sharp or rounded at both extremities, averages
twenty feet in length, and about two in breadth, some however have
been discovered square at both ends. Again, some are flat-bottomed
and others round: the inside depth varies according to their state
of preservation; (2) the second kind is generally of much greater
length; one found, measuring forty feet, was round in the bow, but
square in the stern, which was formed of a separate piece, let into a
groove within a few inches of the extremity: this make is altogether
more heavy and clumsy than the preceding; (3) the third variety is
trough-shaped, and has been appropriately designated “the portable
canoe”; the length is from eight to twelve feet; it is square at both
ends, round in the bottom, and having projecting handles at either
extremity, apparently for the convenience of carrying it from lake
to lake. All alike seem to have been hollowed out of a single tree,
probably in the fashion described by Captain Speke, in his _Travels
in Central Africa_, wherein he says the negroes fell a large tree,
lop off the branches, shape the timber, then cover its upper surface
with wet mud, as it lies on the ground, and set fire to it, burning
out the core, and finishing off with roughly-constructed hatchets
the part unconsumed by fire.[68] In Lough Owel, county Westmeath, in
the immediate neighbourhood of a crannog, a very large canoe was
found in company with two of smaller size. The prow was in shape like
a curved beak; it might be expected that the principle of the curve
would have been carried out in its after end, but, whilst the entry is
spoon-shaped, the stern is square, and a hollow but shallow groove cut
at the very end was formerly filled by the stern board. This canoe was
round in the bottom; twenty-four holes were drilled through the sides,
and the same number through the floor. A canoe twenty feet nine inches
long, four feet seven inches broad, and one foot eight inches deep, was
found at Derryhollagh, county Antrim; another in the lake of Moynalty
was twenty-four feet in length.[69] One unearthed at Ardakillen
measured forty feet in length, by four feet across the bow,[70] whilst
another in Drumaleague Lough, county Leitrim, was only eighteen feet
long by twenty-two inches broad--not formed for speed, certainly--being
square at stem and stern. A canoe at Cahore, in Wexford, was twenty-two
feet in length, two-and-a-half feet across amidships, and eleven
inches in depth (plate IV. fig. 1). At a place called Cornagall, about
six miles from Cavan, was found one more than half consumed by the
conflagration which had destroyed the crannog itself; in the bottom
of this boat lay a complete set of tools, belonging to an ancient
craftsman who had lived at a period subsequent to the adoption of iron
tools.
In consequence of the low level of the Boyne in the summer of 1837,
workmen engaged in taking gravel from the river, near the obelisk
erected to commemorate the period
“When James and William staked a Crown,
And cannons they did rattle,”
discovered a well-preserved “single tree” canoe, which was for many
years after exhibited as a curiosity in Liverpool, but finally
presented to the Royal Irish Academy. The length of this canoe is
eighteen feet nine inches, it averages two feet ten inches in width, is
twenty inches high in the side, and has three circular and artificial
apertures in the bottom, as shown in the illustration[71] (plate IV.
fig. 2.) Three canoes were found at Toome Bar; the one figured
(plate IV. fig. 3), is hollowed out of a single piece of oak, the
length, fifteen feet, with projecting beaks at prow and stern; it is
twenty inches wide, fourteen inches deep, and is flat-bottomed; it lay
“from six to eight feet below the surface, in a bed of sand and Lough
Neagh clay.”
[Illustration: Plate IV.
Fig. 1. Single-piece Canoe from Cahore, Co. Wexford.
Fig. 2. Single-piece Canoe from the Boyne.
Fig. 3. Single-piece Canoe from Toome Bar.
Fig. 4. Supposed Single-piece portable Canoe from near Enniskillen.
Fig. 5. Paddle from Toome Bar.
Fig. 6. Stone Anchor.
Fig. 7. Iron Anchor or Grappling from Toome Bar.
Single-piece Canoes, Paddle, and Anchors.]
The discovery of an ancient canoe beneath the waters of Lough Erne was
made in a somewhat romantic manner. A steamer plying upon that lake
attempted, in consequence of the unusual height of the water, to make
a short cut, but grounded on a bank, and in so doing pushed upwards
her ancient sister into the light of day. The “dug-out” thus found
is of oak, eight feet in length, by one foot five and a-half inches
in breadth, its internal depth is seven and a-half inches, the sides
averaging about an inch and a-half in thickness. In shape it differs
from any other canoe in the Museum, Royal Irish Academy, and, taken as
a whole, conveys the idea of the elongated bowl of a table spoon; it
also presents a peculiar characteristic, in that a number of holes at
almost regular intervals, in sets of three, have been pierced through
its floor; there are three sets of these holes, each about an inch in
diameter; they cross the boat in threes, at right angles with a line
drawn through the middle from end to end.
During the operation of changing a line of road about a mile and a-half
from Enniskillen, the antique figured (plate IV. fig. 4), was exposed
to view. Its position was almost equidistant from Lough Erne and Lough
Rossole. Owing to the smallness of its proportions as regards beam,
objections have been raised to its claim to be classed as a canoe, and
it has been suggested that it was perhaps a brewing vat for manufacture
of some kind of drink. Impossible to say what the original length of
this square and hollowed block of oak may have been, but the remaining
portion measures about fifteen feet: the sides and bottom are thin,
the depth is one foot, the breadth at its remaining end only one foot
three inches; that end, however, is seven inches thick, and from it, on
the exterior, two handles cut out of the solid block project, as shown
in the drawing.[72] The great difference between the thickness of the
sides and end may be accounted for by the presence of the handles, as
they would need to be attached to solid timber if required for use as
lifting agents; the diameter of these handles is about three inches,
the length six inches, and at the end, between the handles, there
is a hole by which this antique could be drained. If it be really a
canoe, the handles would prove most serviceable for the purpose of
transportation from one lake to another, and for the chase of wild
fowl on lake or river, would meet the requirements of the primitive
sportsman. A groove cut upon the interior of what may be termed the
remaining portion of the gunwale, seems as if intended for reception
of a covering in the style of an Esquimaux canoe, and, owing to the
extreme narrowness of the supposed craft, this arrangement would be
absolutely necessary for the safety of the occupant.[73] A portable
single-piece oaken canoe or trough of similar description, twelve feet
in length, by three in breadth, and furnished with handles, was found
in the bog of Ardagh, parish of Maghe-Ross, and is figured in Shirley’s
_Dominion of Farney_.
The foregoing furnish specimens of the three classes into which canoes
may be divided; in all, about fifty have been found in Ireland.[74]
Owing to the preservative properties of peaty matter, the wood of
some of these canoes was in a fairly sound state when dug up: one of
the largest and most perfect found in connexion with the Strokestown
crannogs, was cut up by a “grim utilitarian” for roofing material, and
the best canoe belonging to the Ballinderry crannog was split into
firewood.
_Paddles._--For the purpose of propelling a canoe paddles were
essential, and of these numbers have been discovered: there are several
in the Museum of the Royal Historical and Archæological Association at
Kilkenny, as also in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin.
The paddle, two feet seven inches long, by five and a-half inches
across the blade, as represented (in plate IV. fig. 5), was found in
the immediate neighbourhood of a crannog site at Toome Bar, on the
Lower Bann. It is the largest of two from the same locality; both are
imperfect, the handle of each being fractured in the same spot, so
that the original length cannot be ascertained; but as they were not
more than half an inch thick, they could only have been employed in
propelling a very light craft, perhaps a portable canoe.[75]
_Anchors._--For the purpose of holding a canoe stationary an anchor
is requisite, but of these not more than three have as yet been
discovered. The one figured (plate IV. fig. 6) is of stone. The shank
must have been of wood, lashed to the stone. There was with the canoe
discovered in the Boyne what bore the appearance of a kind of wooden
anchor. At Toome Bar was found an anchor or grappling instrument
twenty-one inches long, but being formed of iron it should be viewed as
comparatively modern (plate IV. fig. 7).
_Curach._--There is yet another kind of boat, the curach, that must
have been employed by these lake dwellers; of it, however, on account
of the perishable materials of which it was composed, no remains have
as yet been exhumed. We may all recollect, when reading English history
in our childhood, the description given of the primitive Celtic boat,
constructed of basket-work and covered with skins, in which the Picts
and Scots are said to have invaded Britain in crowds, and of which the
Britons themselves made use: this is frequently referred to by old
classical writers. Herodotus mentions boats of this kind as existent in
his time on the Tigris and Euphrates; similar skiffs are used on those
rivers at the present day; boats of analogous construction are employed
in some parts of India; they are propelled by paddles where the water
is deep, and poled over the shallows. Nothing can be more simple than
the construction of these skiffs; only two materials are requisite,
and they the most accessible in the country, _i.e._ bamboo and hides.
When Cæsar had constructed boats in Spain, after the manner learnt by
him in Britain, it is said that “the keels and ribs were made of light
timber, the rest of the hull being woven together with basket-work, and
covered with hides.”[76]
“The bending willow into barks they twine,
Then line the work with spoils of slaughtered kine.
…
On such to neighbouring Gaul, allured by gain,
The bolder Britons cross the swelling main.”
Pliny says:--“Even now, in the British channel, they (the boats) are
made of osiers, covered with hides sewn together.” Solinus, describing
the rough sea between Britain and Ireland, says that the natives
“sail in ships made of osiers, which they surround with a covering of
hides.” Adamnan, in his life of St. Columba, refers to a voyage made
in a curach by St. Cormac. The curach is said to be still in use on
the Severn,[77] and on some parts of the coast of Ireland, in shape
and build similar to those of thousands of years ago; at the same time
it may be affirmed that few persons of the present generation could
declare they have seen the _true_ curach, that term having been now
transferred to boats covered with coarse tarred canvas, and which
differ widely both in form and method of construction from their
ancient prototype. The curach seen by W. F. Wakeman in use on the river
Boyne so late as the year 1848 is thus described by him:--A regular
frame of willow ribs, generally laid in pairs, and extending along the
sides and floor, formed the skeleton of the future boat, which was in
the form of the bowl of a spoon, a little broader towards one end than
the other; about eight feet in length, but very nearly circular. The
extremities of the ribs for a depth of about eighteen inches from what
would now be called the gunwale, were set in a very thick, strong,
and closely-woven band of wicker-work, above which the ends of the
rods slightly projected. Midships was a thwart of ash or oak pierced
with four holes, two near either end, through which were rove thongs,
composed of twisted osiers connecting the seat, or thwart, with various
portions of the above mentioned band, so as to bind the work together.
The frame was then covered over on the outside with skin, untanned, of
the horse or cow; and the result was the completion of a boat well
adapted for the requirements of fishermen.[78] The raw hide of a newly
slain animal, properly extended presented a ready means of constructing
a boat, and became to the early inhabitants of the British Islands what
the birch-tree bark is to the American Indian. In the sculptures from
Nineveh a similar use of the hide is observed, as a means of crossing
rivers, but the application is less ingenious, being merely a skin
inflated with air like what is called on some parts of the Irish coast
a “stookey,” and with which, not unfrequently, fishermen, so late as
the year 1860, floated their nets and lines; the skin of a dog or any
other animal served the purpose.[79]
[Illustration: Plate V.
Curach, as used on the Boyne, 1848.]
_Ingenuity of Lake Dwellers, Clothing, &c._--It has been remarked
that the brains of most savages and the skulls of most primitive
races are larger than, in theory, they ought to be; often rather
larger than the brains and skulls of the average masses of the great
cities of the present day; but this need not cause surprise, if the
life of intelligent interest passed by the savage child be taken into
consideration. From the tenderest age he was observant of all the
devices practised by his parents for procuring clothing, food, means
of defence, in short, all the essentials of existence; the natural
result of his wild life was health and strength; indeed, on the
principle of the survival of the fittest, it could only be the robust
who lived through the hardships and climatic exposure incidental to a
savage life. The lake dweller was no exception to this rule, for his
ingenuity would be most fully exercised in endeavouring to procure the
means of sustenance for his family. It is easy to imagine the various
daily occupations needful in his struggles for existence. Timber from
the forest supplied him with materials both for his dwelling and for
fuel; the skins of wild animals furnished him with clothing, he shaped
them with a sharp flint flake, and sewed them with thongs, using as
needle the pierced bone of some bird or small mammal. In early Irish
history mention occurs of skin or leather garments: when _Muircheartach
MacNeill_ made his celebrated circuit of Ireland, A.D. 942, it is
stated that his soldiers were clad in long leather cloaks. We are
not left to mere conjecture regarding the manner in which the men of
these primitive times protected themselves from the inclemency of the
weather. In the year 1821 the body of a man, about six feet in height,
with dark, reddish-coloured hair, short beard, and teeth in a good
state of preservation, was found ten feet below the surface of a bog,
on the lands of Gallagh, near Castle Blakeney, county Galway. The head,
legs, and feet were bare, but the body was covered with a deer-skin
tunic reaching to the knees and half-way down the arms; in front it
was laced and fastened by thongs of the same material. The mantle was,
unfortunately, much injured in the disinterment, but a few fragments
of it still hung together; portions of the seams sewed with fine gut
of three strands still remained; “the regularity and closeness of
the stitches are most remarkable, as shown by the accompanying cut,
in which a portion of one of the joinings is represented double the
natural size. This closure was effected by what is termed the looped
stitch, similar to that used in working a button-hole, so that by
having each stitch knotted the chance of ripping was lessened.”[80]
The age of the Irish mummy (if we may apply that term to the body here
described) is considered by some to date back at least 2000 years.
[Illustration: Fig. 11.
Fragment of Deerskin Garment.]
A bed of growing peat is endowed with marvellous powers. It seems to
act like the ancient Egyptian process of embalming on the bodies of men
or animals that have become accidentally entombed in it, preserving
them for centuries after their contemporaries have, by the ordinary
laws of nature, totally disappeared, and organic substances, such as
butter, seem also to feel its influence. Peat may bear comparison with
ice, the well-known preservative properties of which were strikingly
illustrated by the discovery on the shores of Lake Oncoul, in Siberia,
of a carcass of the _Elephas primigenius_, or mammoth (supposed to
have become extinct in the Pleistocene period) in a perfect state, and
so well refrigerated that, when thawed, the dogs of the neighbourhood
devoured its flesh. Again, in 1846, the summer in Siberia had been
unusually hot; the frozen marshes which extend along each side of the
river Indigirka were thawed, and a perfectly preserved carcass of a
mammoth floated down the stream. This monster had most probably met his
death centuries before by sinking into the deep snow of the morasses,
was frozen over, and thus remained until the exceptional summer heat
melted his icy prison.
_Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages._--We know that the learned have divided
the period man has inhabited the globe into what may roughly be called
three Ages--the Stone, the Bronze, and the Iron. Ancient mythology
presented us with another, ycleped the Golden, when our planet was
supposed to be a paradise, and man lived in a state of perpetual
happiness; it is to be feared that the idea of a golden age, either
past or to come, is purely mythical. Future archæologists may, perhaps,
be tempted to apply the designation “Steel” to the present or now
commencing epoch, in order to distinguish it from the mere “Iron Age.”
Improved methods of manufacture are now-a-days causing steel in some
degree to supersede its parent metal, iron, even as iron superseded
bronze. Excavations on the site of crannogs have demonstrated clearly
the fact that some of them have had a continuous existence throughout
the three ages of Stone, Bronze, and Iron. Classification of the
earth’s history into those three ages does not, however, imply a
defined and distinctive period when stone, bronze, or iron alone was
in exclusive use, though there may possibly have been a time in which
only stone and bone were available. When the empires of the Tigris
and Nile were in their prime, the northern littoral of Europe was
inhabited by a race using implements of bone and stone, but these
regions were in the Bronze Age[81] at the period when the Phœnicians
had attained the zenith of their power. According to some writers, the
inhabitants of the Baltic littoral had not till early in the Christian
era discarded bronze and stone for iron. Although weapons of bone or
flint were certainly of an earlier age than bronze and iron, yet it
is more than probable that flint, bronze, and iron may have been in
use at one and the same period, and even in the same locality, down
to a period long subsequent to the Christian era. To this day the
Esquimaux use bone implements, but they also employ iron, so that
in remote countries a stone age might be said still to exist, the
few iron implements in possession of the wild tribes being acquired
by recent contact with western civilization. In Ireland there is no
fixed line of demarcation between the stone, the bronze, and the
iron age; there was an overlapping and co-mingling as the better and
more useful metal gradually superseded its predecessor. Thus a stone
instrument, by itself, would be a most deceptive guide in determining
the state of civilization of the inhabitants of the site on which it
was discovered, because stone implements are also found associated with
articles both of bronze and iron. “Like the three principal colours of
the rainbow,” writes Mr. Evans, “these three stages of civilization
overlap, intermingle, and shade off, the one into the other; and yet
their succession, as far as Western Europe is concerned, appears to be
equally well defined with that of the prismatic colours, though the
proportions of the spectrum may vary in different countries.” Petrie,
the well-known Irish antiquary, was the first to claim for a large
class of iron remains the position of an interesting connecting link,
which they are now allowed to hold, between the bronze manufacture of
a remote age and the industrial achievements of comparatively modern
days. At the period of the first discovery of the remains of Irish lake
dwellings, archæologists looked upon objects of iron found in lakes,
or in their immediate vicinity, with very little interest, for it was
considered that they could not have held out against the corroding
influence of water for a lengthened period; therefore iron was supposed
to stamp lacustrine habitations with a mediæval or even modern impress.
The belief was then very general that the inhabitants of Erin of the
prehistoric period, having existed generation after generation as
manufacturers of flint and stone weapons, had gradually, through some
unknown channel, become acquainted with gold, silver, and bronze, and
that this latter metal, down even to the advent of St. Patrick, was
used almost exclusively in the manufacture of weapons of war, small
ornaments for personal adornment, and objects of domestic use. Articles
of stone, bone, wood, bronze, and iron have been discovered in strange
medley: swords, spear and javelin heads, axes, daggers, knives, hones,
querns, shears, tweezers, chains, combs, pins, brooches, beads, horse
trappings, cauldrons of hammered bronze, lumps of iron slag, &c.--in
short, every conceivable object, from the rudest flint implement to
highly-finished silver ornaments.
The accidental discovery of the great historical crannog of Lagore,
in the county Meath, already referred to, presents the first,
and probably the most important, treasure-trove of earliest iron
implements. In A.D. 848 an Irish chief, with his Danish allies,
plundered this island fortress and burnt it; whilst in 933, nearly a
century later, the place again suffered a similar fate at the hands
of another marauder. Nothing more was heard of it till the date of
its disinterment, about the year 1840. The latest period, therefore,
to which the majority of the antiquities so plentifully found within
and around this stronghold may be referred, is somewhere between the
eleventh and earliest half of the tenth century. This approximate date
is about the historic limit in which the so-called “Iron Age” may be
allowed to have reached back in Ireland. How long it had previously
existed there must be matter of conjecture; but it is almost incredible
that its natives should have been far behind their neighbours in
the art of metallurgy; and we know that Cæsar[82] found the Britons
acquainted with the use of iron. It can only be surmised that, at some
very remote period, bronze as the prevailing material gave way to iron,
but the period of transition may probably be counted by centuries.[83]
_Weapons and Tools._--In nearly all Irish crannogs, more especially in
the larger sites, weapons of war and of the chase have been discovered
in abundance, consisting chiefly of arrow- and spear-heads, swords,
daggers or skeans, knives, and axe-heads. The numerous fragments of
artificially fashioned bone found in and around crannogs plainly
demonstrate how much that material was utilized by their inhabitants;
many tips of the antlers of deer contained in the collection of
the Royal Irish Academy and in that of the Royal Historical and
Archæological Association, have evidently been sawn from the original
branches, and employed in forming handles for swords, knives and
daggers; some are ornamented, whilst others are pierced with a hole at
one extremity, having evidently been fabricated for a distinct purpose,
for spear- or javelin-heads, &c.; these were attached to handles or
shafts, by means of the sinews of animals, or thongs of skin. Amongst
primitive races the transition from tool to weapon is slight; the same
article must, in many cases, have served the double purpose. Arrow-
or spear-heads have been found of bone, horn, flint, bronze, and iron;
they are usually of small size. Figs. 12 and 13, from Lough Ravel,
county Antrim, represent (half-size) flakes fashioned into arrow- or
spear-heads. Fig. 14 is a flake of basalt (full-size) from Toombridge,
in the same county. Fig. 15 is a flint implement from the recently
discovered crannog of Lisnacroghera.[84]
[Illustration: Fig. 12.
Fig. 13.
Flint flakes from the Crannog of Lough Ravel. Half-size.
Fig. 14.
Flake of Basalt from Toombridge. Full-size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 15.
Worked Flint from Lisnacroghera. Full-size.]
Plate VI., No. 1 is a flint implement, probably a knife. No. 2--A
well-worked flint, most likely used for the same purpose. No. 3--A
flint “scraper,” that appears to be somewhat injured at one end. No. 4
represents what antiquaries style a “core” of flint. It is in fact the
remains of a block, from which flakes have been struck for the purpose
of forming them into arrow-heads, knives, &c., &c. No. 5 is a specimen
of the hammer-stone so frequently discovered in the refuse heaps of
Irish crannogs. They are usually abraded at the extremities, as if from
long use, and similar articles occur in the shell mounds of our
coasts, having probably been used for breaking crustaceæ. No. 6 is an
ordinary stone hatchet. No. 7 represents a wooden object which has all
the appearance of having been used as the handle of a stone-hatchet.
It is here given ⅛ of the real size. The aperture, supposed to have
been made for the reception of a stone celt, measures in length, 3⅜
in., but the shrinking of the wood in drying renders it impossible
to say what its original breadth may have been. The dotted line is
introduced to show how the cutting instrument was most probably placed.
No. 8 may have been either a dagger or a spear-head; it is of bone;
a rivet-hole indicates that a handle was at one time attached. No.
9--A knife of bone, the handle and blade in one piece. It measures 8
in. in length, and the haft portion, as shown in the illustration, is
ornamented with a series of squares enclosing a rude pattern composed
of dots. No. 10 is a very curious little article formed of bone, and
not untastefully decorated in the same style as the socket portion of
the iron spear-head, as shown in plate IX., fig. 6. It was evidently a
scoop, and would be serviceable in the extraction of marrow from bones
of deer, or other animals used as food by the lake dwellers. Nos. 11
and 12 are rude unornamented knives, in a single piece each. It is not
easy to guess what articles of this kind could have been employed to
cut, but so early as the times of stone chambers, knives of bone were
in requisition.[85]
[Illustration: Plate VI.
Flint, Wood, and Bone Implements from Crannogs.]
[Illustration: Fig. 16.
Axe-head of red-deer’s Horn from Lough Eyes. Quarter-size.]
Fig. 16, from Lough Eyes, represents the horn of a red-deer converted
into a weapon; its weight is considerable, and there can be little
doubt that it had served as a rude battle-axe; its broader end had
been fined to a cutting edge, and a notch shows where a leathern thong
or sinew was lashed for attachment of the axe-head to the handle into
which it had been set in the manner of a stone or flint celt. This
antler, together with the bone axe-head from Ballykillen, are the only
specimens of that special class of weapon; but both spear-heads and
daggers formed of bone have been found at Ardakillen, Ballinderry, and
other crannogs. In the Swiss “Pfahlbauten” it was only the handle of
the axe that was composed of horn, the cutting portion being flint or
stone, inserted into the shaft at its thicker end.[86]
Swords, whether of bronze or iron, are almost invariably of small size,
and double edged. There is usually a central rib to the blade, but
in some instances fluting occurs. The ordinary crannog sword may be
described generally as of two kinds, the one increasing in breadth from
the handle to the end, which terminates in the form of a triangle; the
other is shorter, with a broad straight-edged blade obtusely pointed.
Their handles were composed of bone or horn, and sometimes wood was
used. There was no hilt or guard, properly speaking, though the handle
usually somewhat overlaps the edges of the blade, while it recedes in a
curve tending in a direction opposite to that of the pommel.
[Illustration: Plate VII.
Hafted Bronze Rapier Sword, showing both sides. Full size.]
In April, 1864, a sword-blade of bronze, with the haft still attached,
was found adjoining a lake containing a small artificial island, in
the townland of Galbally, county Tyrone. The extreme length of blade,
25 in.; breadth at tang, 1¾ in.; weight, 13¾ ounces. The handle (both
sides of which are represented in the accompanying plate) is of bone,
probably cetacean; its length, 3½ inches; weight 1 ounce; thickness,
⅝ of an inch. The smallness of the handle is very remarkable,
taking into consideration the popular idea of the great stature and
strength of Erin’s ancient inhabitants.[87] A well-preserved iron
sword, with bronze mountings to the handle, was found in the crannog
of Lisnacroghera. The blade tapers gradually to a point from about
midway down its length, with a central ridge. The bronze mountings
of the sword-handle are four in number. “Of these, one is at the
pommel, another hoods as it were the butt of the blade, two others
are intermediate, and very probably do not now occupy their original
position, one of them certainly being movable. It is, therefore,
impossible to judge of the space which had been left for reception of
the swordsman’s hand. It may be observed that the edges of all these
fittings had been serrated or milled, but no other attempt at
decoration appears upon them. The blade measures in length 14¾ in., the
handle 5 in.”[88]
[Illustration: Plate VIII.
Iron Weapons and Manacle from Lagore.]
[Illustration: Fig. 17. Iron Sword from Lisnacroghera, about ⅖ real
size.]
Plate VIII. presents good examples of iron swords, two of them
double-edged: (1) the one measures 22¼ in., including the strig or tang
that passed through the hilt; the blade is 18½ in. long and 1⅜ in.
wide, with a broad shallow groove or channel along its entire length;
the other double-edged sword (2) measures 15¼ in., and the blade is
formed with a central ridge. No. 3 somewhat resembles an oriental
weapon, the blade being curved towards the point; the length is 13¼
in., width 1 in., and the curved portion alone has a cutting edge. No.
4 is a peculiar, single-edged weapon of diminutive size; the blade
measures 8 in., and the entire length is only 13 in., including the
cross ornamented socket into which the haft was fixed.
With these articles an iron ring was found (5) having a portion of
chain still attached; it is seemingly part of a manacle. In ancient
Irish writings mention is made of “golden” fetters, and no doubt the
“golden” swords,[89] also noticed in old poems as having been used by
the Dalcassians, were so described on account of the yellow colour of
the bronze of which they were composed; a fine example of neck fetters
may be seen in the Royal Irish Academy, with a chain of considerable
length and strength attached.[90]
No. 1, plate IX., is an iron sword, with bronze mounting at handle,
measuring 25¾ in. in length; the breadth of blade is 1½ in.; and the
handle 3½ in. long. This was considered by Petrie to be the finest
specimen of its class then found. No. 2 may be also considered a very
characteristic specimen of the ordinary crannog sword; its length is
23 in. including the handle, which measures 4 in. No. 3 exhibits a
beautifully executed bronze fitting which separated the handle from
the blade; the ornamentation of the bronze is a fine specimen of the
“trumpet pattern.” The total length is 21½ in. No. 4 is characteristic
of the shorter crannog sword or dagger; total length 14¼ in.
[Illustration: Plate IX.
Weapons of Iron from Crannogs.]
Few darts or spear-heads have been found of bronze, but the iron
examples are very numerous, often of beautiful form and highly
ornamented; they vary in length from about 6 to 18 inches. No. 5
represents a spear-head of iron in a wonderful state of preservation,
and retaining two rivets, by which it was attached to the handle.
The socket is ornamented with an elegant pattern in lines obliquely
crossing each other, but the work is too fine to admit of being
properly shown on the scale here given; length 13⅛ in. No. 6. A
spear-head, its socket strengthened by two bronze ferrules, is very
curiously ornamented with a number of small crosses, separated from
each other by fillets; there are apertures for four rivets which do
not now remain; possibly they were of wood; length 14½ in. No. 7. A
spear-head, interesting on account of the ornamentation on its socket,
as also from its general _contour_, which resembles that of some of
the finest known bronze examples; length 13⅛ in. No. 8. An extremely
slender spear-head from Ballinderry, where it was found with a good
many others; length 16 in. No. 9. A spear- or javelin-head; the form
is very slender: entire length 9 in. No. 10 is a well-preserved and
interesting axe-head of iron, its cutting edge well steeled. It
measures 4½ in. at the edge, and 3¾ in. from edge to back. Axe-heads
of this peculiar form are to be seen in Scotland, sculptured on early
monumental stones, probably of the Pictish age. No. 11 is an axe-head
of the form most commonly found in Irish crannogs; it measures 7
in. in length. No. 12 was found with the last described; it measures
7½ in. This form of axe-head, although of rather rare occurrence in
Ireland, is common on the Continent. No. 13 is an iron dagger, no doubt
in use contemporaneously with the swords just noticed. The handle is
of bone or horn, and it is valuable as an illustration of the style of
hafting early iron weapons of the sword and dagger class. No. 14 is a
point formed of iron, and containing a socket. It was most likely an
arrow-head. No. 15 is a very beautifully formed arrow-head from Lough
Gur; length 3¼ in. From the size of the socket the shaft must have
been extremely slender.[91] Arrow-heads of this kind are rare in Irish
crannogs.
[Illustration: Plate X.
Iron Spear-head, from Lisnacroghera, side and edge view. Half size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 18. Iron Spear-heads from Lagore.]
[Illustration: Fig. 19.
Fig. 20.
Fig. 21.
Fig. 22.
Fig. 23.
Spear Butt-ends of Bronze from Lisnacroghera. Two-thirds natural size.]
The two spear-heads from Lagore, (fig. 18), are in fine preservation
and very sharp; their length 10 in. In the crannog of Lisnacroghera,
a magnificent spear-head of iron was discovered, of which a front and
side view (half-size) is given, plate X. Spear-heads of this class
have been commonly met with in the larger lacustrine sites, but this
specimen is invested with a peculiar interest, from its being found in
company with a number of bronze objects, whose use up to the present
was unknown to antiquarians. It is now certain they were the butt-ends
of spear-shafts--indeed two were discovered with the ends of their
shafts still remaining in them. The mode in which one--and probably
others also--had been attached to the handle is thus described by
Canon Greenwell:--“The end of the shaft is split, and into the split
is inserted a wedge of iron, so that when driven home, the wedge
expanded the end of the shaft, and kept it firm in the butt.” In
Anderson’s _Scotland in Pre-historic Times_ one is described as having
been found in Orkney. Like its Lisnacroghera fellows, it differs from
the generality of Irish remains of its class, in the possession of
a rich moulding bisecting the neck, but in all other particulars the
style is identical. All the specimens of this class here figured were
obtained by Canon Grainger from the crannog of Lisnacroghera. To one
bronze butt was attached the whole of the shaft, 8 feet in length,
furnished at top with a beautifully designed loop of bronze (see plate
XI), and upon it was displayed a perfect Greek fret, with provision for
the reception of enamel. From the same locality was procured also the
highly interesting fragment which forms the central object of plate
XI. It is portion of a spear-shaft retaining its bronze ferrule, and
the rivet, also of bronze, by which the head was secured; this band or
ferrule, being exceptionally beautiful, has been drawn as if rolled
out. Adjoining the edges are slightly projecting fillets, enclosing a
space through which runs a graceful wavy pattern in relief. The hollows
were doubtless enamelled, as in the case of similar ornamentation on
some bronze remains in the same “find.” The space between the fillets
or bands is occupied by a singular design, and this design, all but the
circular bosses, four in number, may be described as in low relief.
The intervening spaces, like those of the fillets above and below,
at one time contained coloured enamel. Altogether the style of
this object represents as it were a combination of classic and Celtic
ornamentation. The smaller and even more classic-looking ferrule to the
left of plate XI. has already been noticed (_ante_, p. 64); the figure
to the right (plate XI.) represents a bronze rivet of curious form,
with well-sunk depressions on one of its sides, like those seen on a
cog-wheel.[92]
[Illustration: Plate XI.
Portion of Spear-shaft, with ferrules and rivet of Bronze. Full size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 24. Bronze Dagger from Lagore.]
[Illustration: Fig. 25. Bronze Skean from Loughran Island.]
The distinguishing characteristic of the bronze dagger or skean from
Lagore (fig. 24) consists in its openwork handle forming one piece
with the blade. The weapon is 9¾ inches in length; the handle, 3⅛.
The blade, 1⅜ inches in width, is flat, with broad bevelled edges.
Fig. 25, found at Loughran Island, in the Lower Bann, is 4⅞ inches in
length by 1¾ in width. It is a thin, flat, angular-shaped dagger blade,
decorated on the surface of the mid-rib with a series of dotted lines,
and pierced at the broad end by four small rivet-holes.[93] Daggers or
skeans of bone, as well as of bronze and iron, have been frequently
found in Irish lake dwellings, and knives formed of flint are not
uncommon. The iron knives found in the crannog of Ballinderry, and now
in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, resembled those figured in
Munro’s _Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings_.[94]
At the time the Catalogue of the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy was
compiled by the late Sir W. Wilde, although some objects of bronze,
supposed to have been ornaments on leather or wooden dagger sheaths,
are mentioned by him, yet he was unable to point to any example
composed altogether of bronze. Since that period, however, three
sword-sheaths of that metal have been discovered in the crannog of
Lisnacroghera, county Antrim. Their workmanship is exquisite. They bear
traces of enamel, and one of them contained a sword of iron so firmly
attached to it by corrugation that any attempt to withdraw it must have
involved the mutilation or utter destruction of the bronze in which it
was encased.
The decoration of the sheath, plate XII, No. 2, is very remarkable; the
distinctive peculiarity being its spiral character, a perfect specimen
of those combinations of involved circles and curvilinear lines,
supposed to be characteristic of early Celtic art. Some portions of
the sheath, near its end, still retain settings in enamel, the colour
of which, though now faded, must have been rich vermillion. Enamel
of the same hue and material once occupied the little saucer-like
depressions which occur on the terminating snake-suggesting head. One
of the circles (that had been, doubtless, intended to represent eyes)
shows that it had been so filled, as were, probably, the little raised
bosses, two in number, that may be observed at the opposite extremity.
The interior of what might be styled the crescent-shaped patterns, nine
in number, which occupy the chief plane of the sheath, as also the
minor spirals of their adjacent spaces in the general figure, exhibit
a design suggestive of basket-work. It is now impossible to determine
whether the sheaths had been formed by casting, or were beaten into
shape from a plain sheet of copper. It is evident that for the
production of the ornamentation a graver had been used. The lines are
sharply and deeply incised, and appear to have been intended for the
reception of enamel of a black shade, some traces of which appear here
and there. The enamel on the sheath “was, in all probability, _niello_,
a composition of silver, copper, sulphur, and lead, the _nigellum_ of
ancient writers. It was not so hard or lasting as the ordinary enamel
of glass or vitrified paste, some examples of which may be seen on
several early ecclesiastical remains. The art of enamelling in _niello_
is of the very highest antiquity; it was practised by the Egyptians.
Specimens of it, of various ages, even of modern times, are numerous,
and it appears to have been known to the Anglo-Saxons, as a ring of
Bishop Ethelwulf (ninth century) is ornamented with it.”
Although the decoration of the third sheath is similar in style, yet
some of its features are peculiar, especially the dot and circle
pattern along one of the edges, and which appears to have extended from
handle to extremity.
[Illustration: Plate XII.
Fig. 1.--Sides of Bronze Sheath, containing an Iron Sword.
Figs. 2 and 3.--Sides of Bronze Sword Sheaths, from the Crannog of
Lisnacroghera.]
Fig. 26 represents an object supposed to have been an ornamental
termination of the pommel of a sword; it is of bronze, richly decorated
with bands of white and red enamelled designs in a chevron or wavy
pattern. The form is oval, and upon the upper rim are representations
of two birds. Early Irish decorative art is characterised by bird-like
forms, and figures of this kind are to be seen on early MSS. and on
articles of the toilet or of personal adornment.[95]
[Illustration: Plate XIII.
Iron Tools, &c., found in the bottom of a “dug-out” at Cornagall.]
[Illustration: Fig. 26. Bronze enamelled object from Lisnacroghera.
Full size.]
In a small lake called Cornagall (_the Hillock of the Dane or
Stranger_), about six miles from Cavan, there is an almost circular
artificial island, thirty yards in diameter, its crannog nature,
attested by rows of oaken stakes fencing its margin, showing above
the summer level of the lake. In August, 1869, the water being
then particularly low, a log of timber that bore evident traces of
manual labour was ascertained to be the end of a “dug-out” embedded
in soft, boggy matter. It proved, however, to be only a fragment,
the other portion having been destroyed by fire, as evinced by the
charred appearance of the remains: the large quantity of charcoal,
half consumed sticks and chips visible on the margin of the crannog
indicated its destruction also by that element. A set of iron tools
lay on the floor of the canoe thus discovered, all here represented
one-third their real size. The following is a brief description of
them:--
Plate XIII., No. 1, is an adze in a perfect state: the metallic portion
consists of soft iron, well steeled to a considerable distance from
its cutting edge. No. 2 is an adze, scraper, or implement of the same
class, but differing from the former in that it shows no perforation;
its narrow-pointed end had evidently been intended for insertion in a
wooden handle: the edge being broken, it is impossible to determine
whether it had been steeled. No. 3 is a hammer of iron, the handle of
oak, split at its upper extremity for the insertion of a wedge, which
still remains. No. 4 is a celt or chisel--a somewhat similar object
(from Lagore), but considerably broader, is preserved in the Museum
of the Royal Irish Academy. Nos. 5 and 6 represent a thin, knife-like
piece of iron and a wooden handle, originally, perhaps, portions of
one implement; the wood, hollowed for reception of the blade, is
perforated for the insertion of a rivet, which no longer remains. With
the iron tools in the canoe was found a remarkable object, composed of
oak, use unknown; it is curiously notched upon one of its sides, near
the edge. Figs. 8 and 9 represent two views of it.[96]
[Illustration: Fig. 27.--Iron Axe-head from Lagore.]
Fig. 27, an iron axe-head, from Lagore, is seven inches in length,
massive, and of considerable weight; the cutting edge singularly
narrow. A great number, made of stone, have come to light; and all that
are composed of iron are well steeled round the cutting edge. Axe-heads
are of great diversity of form.
A front and side view (fig. 31) is given of an iron adze, six inches
and a-quarter long, from the crannog of Lisnacroghera, as were also
the three objects of iron here represented (figs. 28, 29, 30), the
uppermost, probably a knife, and having a hole through what appears
to have been the haft end. The other two articles are said to be the
remains of a saw, and the long fragment, perforated in four places, is
supposed to be the strengthening bar attached to the piece of wood into
which the back of the saw had been inserted.
[Illustration: Figs. 28, 29, 30.--Iron Objects from Lisnacroghera.]
[Illustration: Fig. 31.--Front and side-view of Iron Adze from
Lisnacroghera.]
_Hones._--Hones and sharpening stones are very commonly met with
in crannogs; they plainly denote that at some period during their
habitable existence the occupiers possessed metallic weapons or tools.
The Cornagall “find” presents two specimens of whetstones; one is given
(plate XIII. fig. 7); the material dark-grey in colour, almost black,
extremely hard, and close-grained; they are symmetrical in form, and
partake greatly of the character of the so-called touchstones. Fig. 32
is a perforated example.
[Illustration: Fig. 32.--Whetstone.]
_Armour._--Amongst crannog “finds” no well-authenticated remains of
defensive armour have been recorded, with the exception of a fragment
of chain armour from Inisrush, and the ancient “golden bronze” shield
from Lough Gur. The armour found on the site of the crannog in Lough
Annagh is not here taken into consideration, it being evidently
seventeenth century work.
In the townland of Monea, about five miles from Enniskillen, county
Fermanagh, in a small but deep lake,[97] there is a very fine circular
crannog, about seventy-five feet in diameter, composed almost entirely
of timber, and surrounded with remains of staking; a complete
examination of the site was not possible, owing to the thick mass of
roots and fibres thrown out by the trees with which it was studded.
Upon digging into that portion of the shore offering the greatest
facility, there were discovered several fragments of bones of the _Bos
longifrons_ and other animals, quantities of charcoal, some iron slag,
and the remains of the curious iron helmet here figured, which must,
however, be viewed as of comparatively modern date. The helmet is
entirely devoid of ornamentation, is acutely conical in shape, and no
traces of nasal or cheek pieces remain. A casque, very similar to this,
was found in the river Nore, near Borris-in-Ossory, Queen’s County, and
is preserved in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy.
[Illustration: Fig. 33.--Iron Helmet found in the Monea Crannog, front
and side view.]
[Illustration: Plate XIV.
Front View of Bronze Shield from Lough Gur. Diameter 28 inches.]
The shield, of which the accompanying plate gives a correct
representation, was found in the bog close to the banks of Lough Gur,
County Limerick; and near it were the head and antlers of a _Megaceros
Hibernicus_. This shield is a disc of bronze, slightly convex, and
strengthened by a series of six concentric circles formed of hollow
bosses, about two hundred in number, surrounding the central umbo. It
appears to have been carried slung on the shoulder, the slinging loops
being fixed so as to form bosses on the obverse equal in size to those
contained in the circle: it was furnished with a very small handle,
interiorly traversing the umbo. The rim is an inch three-quarters in
width; the diameter, two feet three and three-quarter inches. The holes
with which the shield is pierced are not proofs of warfare; it was the
discoverer--a boy with a fishing gaff--who inflicted the injuries in
bringing his novel spoil to land.[98] The Rev. James Graves considered
the looseness of the rivets at the inside loops for the strap by which
the shield was carried, to be proof that some material, most probably
the hide of an animal, had originally formed an inner lining, as the
thin bronze being in itself incapable of withstanding the impact of a
fishing-gaff, could afford little real protection against even ordinary
weapons of warfare. The coating of sheet bronze may be viewed rather
as ornamentation than as rendering the shield more impenetrable; or it
may have been but a variety of the arrangement of studs or circles of
bronze affixed to bucklers of wood or leather--
“Whose brazen studs and tough bull-hide
Had death so often dashed aside.”
In the Museum of Antiquities at Edinburgh may be seen a bronze shield
of like character.
In the Crannog of Lisnacroghera was discovered, with many warlike
weapons, a disc of thin bronze, its centre from one-third its
circumference descending into a hollow, at the base of which is an
aperture: the ornamented side, as here portrayed, must have been
intended to be the front, as the other side is quite plain. “Can it be
the centre of a shield, other portions of which were composed of less
durable materials? Certain it is, that thin circular plates of bronze,
displaying similar depressions, have been found both in England and in
Ireland, and are supposed to be connected with the mounting of shields.”
[Illustration: Fig. 34. Disc of Bronze from Lisnacroghera.]
The first figure to the left, plate XV., represents an object of the
same class, but slightly smaller, and not so much ornamented. To
the right are two views of another article, which presents all the
appearance of an umbo. On the same plate (XV.) are four bronze rings:
one of them is formed of two very thin plates, secured together by
rivets of the same material; the three remaining rings are solid, and
of a class which some antiquaries suppose formed a kind of defensive
armour. It is imagined that they were attached pretty closely together
to portions of the ancient warrior’s garment; and it is worthy of
remark that in the collection of the Academy a number of such rings,
or objects very like them, may be seen looped together by bronze
fastenings.[99]
[Illustration: Fig. 35. Stone Mould from Lough Scur.]
[Illustration: Plate XV.
Boss-like Objects, and Rings of Bronze, from Lisnacroghera. Full size.]
Stone moulds, evidently employed in casting celts, weapons, tools,
and other articles of bronze, have been brought to light. Fig.
35, discovered in the Crannog of Lough Scur, county Leitrim, is a
triangular block of coarse white sandstone 7½ inches long, 5¼ wide, and
3½ thick, having both sides indented for castings. On the side here
presented are moulds for a plain celt three inches long, and another
celt four inches long, with cross strop and ring for attachment to
the shaft. Castings taken from this mould “delivered” implements
closely resembling several in the Museum, R. I.A.[100] At Lough Ramor,
county Cavan, a very curious block of sandstone was found, having a
mould on three of its faces: the one here represented is for a broad
arrow-head, with side rings. Upon the obverse is one for a small spear
and leaf-shaped arrow; on the right side is another arrow-mould.[101]
[Illustration: Fig. 36.
Stone Mould from Lough Ramor.]
_Vegetable Remains._--The ancient Irish set great value upon the hazel
plant, a fact demonstrated by the frequent mention made of it in their
best and oldest MSS.; the numerous round stones met with in crannogs
are supposed to have been used for breaking the nuts; their shells
form the most considerable portion of vegetable remains in the kitchen
middens, where beech nuts also are present; and it is known that within
historic times the Irish kept large herds of swine that fed on masts in
the woods, for then
“The forests cast their fruits in husks and rind.”
Grain (species not stated), and various kinds of wild fruit, have been
discovered; walnuts at Lough Nahinch, cherrystones at Ballinlough.[102]
_Hammer-stones._--It cannot be doubted that in a few instances
the round stones, sometimes designated “sling-stones,” have been
artificially worked, but the great majority must be looked upon simply
as water-worn pebbles that had been utilized as hammer-stones. Many of
the egg-shaped specimens are more or less frayed or chipped at their
extremities; and similar stones, used, as is supposed, for breaking
crustacea, are common in the “shell mounds” on the coast, as also
amongst the “kitchen middens” of ancient settlements that abound within
the sand dunes of the north-western littoral of Ireland. A large flat
stone implement, with circular termination, rough sides, and polished
edges, was found in the crannog of “The Miracles,” county Fermanagh.
It measured about eleven inches by three, and was one inch thick. Its
flat end shows marks of wear, as if used for a pounding instrument.
A stone exactly similar was found in a “kitchen midden” at Ardnahue,
county Carlow, which had all the appearance of having been grasped in
the hand for use, hence the edges polished from constant friction.[103]
[Illustration: Fig. 37.--Stone Implement from the Crannog of “The
Miracles.”]
[Illustration: Fig. 38.
Lower Jaw of Sus scrofa.]
_Mammalia._--Amongst animal remains, those of the _Sus scrofa_ are very
numerous. This species of wild swine lived in the woods and marshes,
was long-faced, and had great length of tusks.
The accompanying illustration represents a lower jaw of this ancient
Irish pig, procured from the crannog of Lough Gur, county Limerick;
it is of a yellowish-brown colour, a hue that pervades all the animal
remains from that locality.
[Illustration: Fig. 39.--Head and Antlers of Cervus elephas.]
[Illustration: Fig. 40.
Fig. 41.
Fig. 42.
Crania of Goats.]
Bones of the red deer (_Cervus elephas_) are extremely plentiful in
lacustrine sites. It is the wild animal most frequently mentioned in
early Irish history, and of which there were many until a comparatively
modern epoch: so late as 1752 they abounded in the barony of Erris,
county Mayo, and some few exist still in Killarney. The head and
antlers here shown came from the crannog of Ballinderry, county
Westmeath. The horns in this specimen are still attached to the
cranium, and there were originally seven tines on the right, and
eight on the left side. Bones of the _Magaceros Hibernicus_, or Irish
big-horn, of the wolf and fox, of a small breed of horse, and of the
ass, have been also met with. The remains of sheep belong to the horned
class. There are several specimens of the four-horned variety of the
goat (fig. 42), but those of the ordinary kind are more numerous:
figs. 40 and 41 are from Dunshaughlin. Amongst the vast collection
of animal remains on the site of this crannog were heads of canine
animals: of the largest of these the accompanying cut gives a faithful
representation. “It is nearly eleven inches in length, measured from
the end of the occipital ridge to the alveolar process at the roots of
the upper incisors, and is principally characterized by the magnitude
of the crest.”[104] The profile view of the outline, and the prolonged
muzzle, rather lead to the belief of its having belonged to the true
Irish wolf-dog of former times, a large long-coated hound, of an
iron-grey colour.
[Illustration: Fig. 43.
Cranium of Wolf-Hound.]
According to the best authorities, there were in Europe in early
times four great types of oxen: first, the _Bos priscus_, or Urus, the
great Auroch, that even in classic times roamed through the forests
of Germany; and its bones have been found in Swiss lacustrine sites:
it was of great size, had long upright horns, a narrow forehead, high
frontal crest, projecting orbits, and a warm shaggy coat, reddish-brown
in colour. The second type, the _Bos primigenus_, was found by the
Romans amongst the wilds of Europe; it had long, slightly-curved
horns, set on at right angles to the head, but turning forward at the
extremities, and spreading to a breadth of nearly five feet from tip
to tip. The third variety, the _Bos trochocerus_ had a very narrow
head, and long cylindrical horn-cores rising high above the level
of the back of the occiput, then curving forwards and inwards. The
fourth type, which is almost peculiar to Ireland, has been denominated
_Bos longifrons_, the long-fronted or small fossil ox--somewhat of a
misnomer it must be confessed, because, properly speaking, it should
be denominated _Bos latifrons_, from the exceeding breadth of forehead
and face, in which particular it differs in an especial manner from the
three former.
[Illustration: Fig. 44.--Cranium of domesticated Bos longifrons.]
Specimens of the crania of four distinct breeds of cattle from crannogs
are here given as described by Wilde, who named them very appositely:
1, the straight-horn, or _Drom-adharach_; 2, the crumpled-horn, or
_Crom-adharach_; 3, the short-horn, or _Gearr-adharach_; 4, the
Hornless, or _Maol_. Of the first type (Fig. 44), which was found at
Dunshaughlin, Wilde states that there are none now existing in Ireland
of this race, evidently domesticated descendants of the ancient wild
_Bos longifrons_. The cranium is “broad in the face, flat on the
forehead, nearly level between the horns, with but slight projecting
orbits, short thick slugs or horn-cores rising but little above the
occipital crest, and turning slightly inwards, like some of the best
short-horned bulls of the present day. It is eighteen inches long in
the face, and nineteen from tip to tip of horn-core.”
[Illustration: Fig. 45.--Cranium of the _Crom-adharach_, or
Crumpled-horn Ox.]
Fig. 45 represents a cranium of the _Crom-adharach_ or Crumpled-horn,
which, judging by its remains, appears to have been the most numerous
variety. This magnificent head of a bull of the race is “in point of
size as fine a specimen as has yet been found: it is twenty-three and
a-half inches long, and eight inches across the forehead, which has
been broken in by some blunt instrument, probably in slaughtering. The
horn-cores are not so large at the base, but more than twice as long
as those of the “straight-horned” race; they are curved considerably
inwards, so that the tips of the horns, when perfect, must have
approached much nearer than their bases. Each horn-core was, when
perfect, about eleven inches long.” This head, together with many
similar crania, came from the crannog of Lough Gur, county Limerick.
[Illustration: Fig. 46.
Cranium of the Gearr-adharach, or Short-horned Ox.
Fig. 47.
Cranium of the Maol, or Hornless Ox.]
The third class, or “short-horn”, had long narrow faces, with
exceedingly small horn-cores curving abruptly inwards. The cranium
of one specimen (female) measured seventeen inches in length of
face, six inches across the forehead, and eleven inches from tip to
tip of horn-core. Fig. 46 gives a good illustration of this breed,
which was abundant. The fourth class, the _Maol_, or Myleen (the
hornless or bald), differs in nothing from those of the present day,
save that it appears to have been of smaller size than its modern
representative. The average length of face is about seventeen inches,
by about eight inches across the orbits. Almost all the heads of this
variety presented by Wilde to the R. I. A. came from the crannog of
Dunshaughlin: they exhibit a remarkable protuberance or frontal crest.
[Illustration: Plate XVI.
Figs. 1 and 2.--Top and Side view of Yoke found in Donagh Bog.
Figs. 3 and 4.--Yoke found on the margin of Lough Erne.
Figs. 5 and 6.--Yoke found with Figs. 3 and 4.
Wooden Yokes found in Donagh Bog and on the margin of Lough Erne.]
In Switzerland, at Robenhausen, a settlement of the Stone Age which had
been buried under a bed of peat, it is stated by Keller that horizontal
layers were discovered of a foreign substance, from two to ten inches
thick, ascertained on analysis to be composed of the fæces of cattle.
May not some of the dark strata on crannogs be composed of like matter?
for there is documentary evidence that the Irish chiefs kept cattle on
their islands in time of war. The Lord Treasurer Winchester, writing to
announce the decease of Shane O’Neill to the Lord Deputy, says, that
“he ought to inspect Shane’s lodging in the fen, where he built his
abode, and _kept his cattle_ and all his men,” &c., &c. This “abode” is
known to have been a crannog.
_Butter._--The custom of burying or hiding butter in bogs is probably
of very ancient origin, but, like many old customs, was carried down in
Ireland to a very late period. Thomas Dineley, in a diary of his visit
to Ireland in the reign of Charles II., states that the Irish used
“Butter layd up in wicker basketts, mixed with store of … a sort of
garlick, and buried for some time in a bog.” Sir William Petty mentions
“butter made rancid by keeping in bogs.” The custom is thus described
in the Irish _Hudibras_:--
“Butter to eat with their hog
Was seven years buried in bog.”
The Faröe islanders had a similar practice with regard to tallow. Bog
butter, or mineral tallow, is usually met with in single-piece wooden
vessels, like long firkins.
_Yokes._--For beasts of burden, the yoke was in use from the earliest
ages, but any that have been hitherto discovered, whether double or
single, appear too small for cattle of species still existent; however,
the old race of domesticated kine in Ireland may have been smaller
in size than those of the present day. Probably the first yoke that
attracted notice was the one described and illustrated by Wilde in his
Catalogue of the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, for it was not
until a comparatively late period that the attention of antiquaries
was directed towards this class of remains, usually found covered by a
considerable depth of bog. A good idea of their general appearance is
conveyed by the accompanying illustrations (plate XVI.) representing
two yokes of wood that were discovered under eighteen feet of peat
in Donagh, county Monaghan, in the year 1867. Fig. 2 is drawn on
a somewhat larger scale than fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 represent yokes
found by turf-cutters about the year 1874, deeply buried in a bog
abutting on Lough Erne. One of them was composed of oak. Figs. 5 and 6
are specimens curiously contorted, twisted, and split, the result of
over-hasty drying.[105]
[Illustration: Fig. 48.
Fig. 49.
Fig. 50.
Fig. 51.
Fig. 52.
Piscatory Implements or Arrows and Spear-heads.]
_Piscatory Implements._--In the crannog of Drumgay, county Fermanagh,
there were implements for forming the meshes of nets. They consisted
of nine pieces of deer’s horn, varying in size from six to little more
than three inches in length. Four of them are curiously fashioned.
Similar objects, composed of the tips of deer’s horn, have frequently
occurred in crannog “finds,” and, during excavations made about
the year 1851, in Christchurch-place and Fishamble-street, Dublin,
many like specimens were discovered. There can be little doubt
that they were used for making fishing lines or nets: indeed one
of the discoverers having procured some thread, at once proceeded
to illustrate his theory by the manufacture of a fishing line. The
suggestion has also been offered that they may have been arrow or
javelin heads. From vegetable fibre the crannog dweller made nets with
which he obtained an ample supply of fish from the waters around him,
and sink-stones, used for either fishing lines or nets, are by no means
a rare “find.” Quoit-like discs of sandstone, pierced with a hole to
attach them to the bottom rope of a net, are not uncommonly employed,
even in the present day, in remote localities. A bronze fishing-hook
picked up from the bottom of a lake is here figured, and in plate
XXIX., vol. ii., of Keller’s work, there is a representation of one
closely resembling it. In 1845 there was found in Lough-na-Glack,
county Monaghan, a bolt or missive of bronze, 16½ inches in length,
evidently used for spearing fish, and of which two illustrations are
given in Shirley’s _History of the County Monaghan_. The thong or
string attached to this weapon, and by which it was hauled back after
projection, was called in Irish _fuainemain_. The name is in the
present day applied by the herring fishermen of the south of Ireland to
the bolt-rope of their fishing-nets.
[Illustration: Fig. 53.--Sink-stone. Half-size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 54.--Bronze Fishing-hook. Full-size.]
_Household Economy._--In crannogs vessels of iron have been brought to
light, also many cooking utensils of bronze; some, as may be noticed,
of remarkable shape. Cauldrons both of large and small dimensions,
hammered out of single sheets of copper, are numerous.[106] Plate
XVII., No. 1 is a cup composed of “soapstone,” discovered with other
remains, now scattered and lost, in the crannog of Drumsloe, near
Ballinamallard, county Fermanagh. Articles hollowed out of stone are
somewhat rare in Ireland, but more than one fine specimen occurs in
the collection of the Royal Irish Academy. A very perfect example
similar to that found at Drumsloe, and represented at page 114, fig.
87, in the Catalogue, was brought to light in the river Shannon, and
a portion of another may be seen in Canon Grainger’s interesting
Museum at Broughshane, county Antrim. These curious vessels, though
formed of stone, are usually found with objects belonging to a supposed
late iron period. Cups strongly resembling them have been exhumed in
connexion with the so-called “Picts’ Houses” in Scotland, and in some
of the Lake Dwellings of that country.[107] No. 2 is a cauldron-like
vessel of thin, hammered bronze, measuring 22½ inches in diameter by
six inches in depth: it was found with many other objects of interest
in the crannog of Cloonfinlough. On its upper side it presents a rim
or lip measuring one inch in breadth, strengthened by four small
plates, fastened to the vessel by bronze rivets, and placed at about
equal distances from each other. No. 3 represents the upper portion
of what had been a very large cauldron, with rivet-holes indicating
the points where staples had been fixed for reception of rings, or the
ends of a handle. The bronze, beaten to extreme thinness, of which
this specimen is composed, seems to be of very early character. No.
4, a shallow bowl of oak, about twelve inches in diameter, exhumed,
with other remains, from the crannog of Breagho, county Fermanagh,
was quite perfect when first laid bare, but on exposure to the
atmosphere it split into several pieces. No. 5, found in the crannog
of Cloonfree, county Roscommon, is a beautiful little vessel hollowed
out of a single piece of wood, and tastefully mounted with bronze
fittings, but the scale on which it is drawn is too small to admit
of the delicacy of its ornamentation being properly displayed. No.
6 represents an artistically formed ladle of extremely thin bronze,
measuring in all 11½ inches, the internal diameter of its bowl being
five inches. This ladle was discovered by turf-cutters in the bog
of Bohermeen, county Meath, in close proximity to a large number of
pointed stakes and other remains of timber, doubtless portion of the
framework of a crannog; but in 1848--the date of its discovery--very
little was known about lake dwellings, and few particulars of the
“find” can now be chronicled. This vessel was bought at the time by
W. F. Wakeman, and by him (together with a beautiful bronze pin found
with it) presented to the late well-known antiquary Petrie, amongst
whose collection, deposited in the R. I. A., it may now be seen. In the
same Museum are several similar vessels, turned up during drainage
operations in various parts of the country. They are supposed by some
writers, but apparently without sufficient reason, to be of Roman
origin: in Ireland, however, they are usually discovered in connexion
with remains of purely Celtic type, and it is not known that in any
instance classic decoration occurs upon an Irish example, although in
Munro’s _Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings_, a bronze vessel (fig. 13.
p. 45) of similar style is ornamented in undoubtedly late Roman art.
No. 7 is a “coffee-pot”-shaped utensil of bronze, discovered in the
crannog of Rooskey, parish of Killevan, county Monaghan, in June, 1876.
It is seven inches in height, by four in breadth at the centre. The
sketch is from a photograph of the original, kindly supplied for this
work by Dr. Gillespie, of Clones. The spout branches into two, each
terminating in the form of a monster’s head; the legs are finished like
claws, and the animal ornamentation on the concentric rings or bands
encircling the body of the vessel furnishes distinct evidence of very
late Celtic art. The handle no longer remains. This is the only example
recorded as having been as yet met with in an Irish crannog, although
bronze articles of the same class are not uncommon--at least six others
may be seen in the Museum, R. I. A., all from different localities,
found either in bogs or in the beds of rivers. A similar example, save
that it does not possess a dual spout, is figured at p. 24, _Ancient
Scottish Lake Dwellings_, and thus is established another point of
resemblance between the crannog remains of the two countries, although
Stuart in his _Notices of Scottish Crannogs_ remarks, that hardly any
mention is made of the bronze dishes, pots, or “coffee-pot” vessels,
amongst the relics of Irish crannogs which are so frequently found in
those of Scotland. Characteristic examples from Lagore of iron remains
of a domestic character are No. 8, evidently a flesh-fork, which
measures, at present, 13¼ inches from end to end; and No. 10, a knife,
measuring eighteen inches.
[Illustration: Plate XVII.
Culinary Utensils, Implements, &c., stone, bronze, wood, and iron.]
It will be seen that the majority of crannog culinary articles are more
or less rounded at their base; thus when placed over a fire they would
require to be suspended or have a support to steady them. No. 9, from
the great crannog of Lough Gur, county Limerick, is composed of very
fine iron, which had evidently been smelted with wood charcoal; it is
admirably adapted for the purpose of sustaining a pot or other vessel
over a fire of peat or wood, but it is a comparatively modern article.
Bones of deer and other animals found in connexion with Irish crannogs
frequently bear marks of a saw, and No. 11, from Lagore, represents an
instrument of this class, measuring six inches in length. It was, no
doubt, secured by rivets to a back or handle of wood, but the rivets
no longer remain. Saws of this kind, some larger, some smaller, have
constantly accompanied crannog implements of iron. No. 12, also from
Lagore, is, seemingly, a ladle or miniature frying-pan, scarcely eight
inches in length.
In the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy there is a beautiful thin
saucer-shaped vessel, hammered out of a single piece of bronze that has
been cleaned to show the rich red golden colour of the metal.
[Illustration: Fig. 55.--Saucer-shaped Vessel of Bronze from
Cloonfinlough. About one-fifth real size.]
It is 7¾ inches in diameter, the rim pierced with two small holes
as if for suspending it, and decorated externally with a number of
indentations.[108] The crannog of Lisnacroghera furnished a vessel of
fairly graceful form, composed of extremely thin bronze; but it is
unprovided with either handles or holes for suspension.
[Illustration: Fig. 56.--Bronze Vessel from Lisnacroghera. Slightly
over six inches in diameter.]
[Illustration: Fig. 57.--Bronze Vessel and Iron Ladle from Lagore.]
[Illustration: Fig. 58.--Iron Vessel from Lagore. One-tenth the real
size.]
A bowl or vessel of bronze measuring 5¼ inches in diameter and three
inches in height, together with an iron ladle, were amongst the
numerous objects procured at Lagore,[109] also another vessel 9⅞ inches
in diameter, formed of thin iron.
[Illustration: Fig. 59.--Grain-rubber. About one-tenth the real size.]
_Querns_, or hand-mills, both of ancient and modern type, either in
a perfect state or else more or less broken, have been found in most
crannogs. “_Grain-rubbers_, for triturating corn, are, perhaps, the
most primitive implements used in the manufacture of cereal food.
Each consisted of a flag or flat stone slightly hollowed upon the
upper surface, so as to hold the parched grain, and a convex rubber,
or mullet, which was passed backwards and forwards with the hand, and
thus bruised the corn into meal. Querns are evidently the next step
in food-making machinery.… Although there are several varieties, the
most simple and natural division of them is twofold. The first is that
in which the upper and lower stone are simply circular discs from
twelve to twenty inches across, the upper rotating upon the lower by
means of a wooden handle, or sometimes two, inserted into the top,
and fed or supplied with corn by an aperture in the centre, analogous
to the hopper, and which may be termed the ‘grain-hole’ or eye. In
this quern the meal passed out between the margins of the stones.
The upper stones are usually concave and the lower convex, so as to
prevent their sliding off, and also to give a fall to the meal.” The
second variety is usually styled a _pot-quern_, and has a lip or margin
in the lower stone, which encircles or overlaps the upper, the meal
passing down through a hole in the side of the former. Most of this
variety are of smaller size than the foregoing, which is evidently the
more ancient and simple form, as well as that which presents us with
the greatest diversity. The upper stone in the pot-quern was turned,
as in the first-named kind, either by one or sometimes by two wooden
handles. This kind of quern was denominated “bró.” The word, used in
the signification “to grind,” occurs in Proverbs, chap. xxvii., v.
22: “Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a
pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.”
[Illustration: Fig. 60.--Section of ordinary Quern. About
one-fourteenth the usual size.]
A gentleman in Ireland, who at the commencement of the present century
saw a quern at work, describes it as having the upper stone (fig. 60,
A) about twenty-two inches in diameter, its under surface considerably
concaved; the lower stone (B) was convexed, so that an easy descent was
afforded for the meal (E) when ground. In the centre of the upper stone
was a circular hole nearly three inches in diameter, and through it
the quern was “fed,” as it is called, _i. e._ supplied with fresh corn
(EEE) as fast as the bran and flour fell from the sides of the machine.
Within about two inches of the edge was set an upright wooden handle
(D) for moving the upper stone, which rested in equilibrio on a strong
peg or pivot (C) in the centre of the lower stone. There were generally
two women employed in the operation. They sat on the ground facing
each other, the quern between. One of them with her right hand pushed
the handle to the woman opposite, who again sent it to her companion,
and in this manner a rapid rotatory motion was communicated to the
upper stone, whilst the left hand of the operator was engaged in the
“feeding” process. The corn, previously dried over a slow fire, when
arrived at a certain degree of crispness, was taken up to be ground.
This preparation prevented the raw taste perceptible in meal from
modern mills. Little cookery was required. The ordinary way of using it
was to mix the meal in its raw state with milk, to the consistency of
thick porridge, and it was then eaten without any other accompaniment,
the simple mixture being called “a crowdie.” A quern is evidently the
primitive kind of mill referred to in the Scriptures, where it is said
“two women shall be grinding at the mill:” and Shakspeare makes Puck to
“sometimes labour in the quern.”
[Illustration: Fig. 61.--Upper surface of Quern from the Crannog of
Drumsloe. About one-ninth the real size.]
In the centre of the crannog of Drumgay, county Fermanagh, there was
a large block of stone punctured with a cross, and another resembling
it was discovered many feet deep, in the centre of the pagan carn of
“The Miracles,” in the same district. Similar figures are inscribed or
punched upon rocks and upon the sides of natural, or partly artificial
caves, as at Loch na Cloyduff, _The Lake of the Dark Trench or
Diggings_, and the “Lettered Cave,” in the cliffs of Knockmore, “_Great
Knoll_,” county Fermanagh. Within the precincts of well-authenticated
pagan tumuli, as at Dowth, cross patterns have been found, accompanied
in several instances by “scorings,” at present unintelligible. On the
base of a sepulchral urn, preserved in the Museum of the Royal Irish
Academy, the cross is displayed, and the figure of a cross within
a circle occurs on an urn discovered at Broughderg, county Tyrone.
Mr. Albert Wray has described some spoon-shaped objects of antique
bronze, all decorated with the figure of a cross similar in design to
the symbol as observable upon the earliest Irish quern-stones. The
bronze articles in question exhibit a style of workmanship which has
invariably been associated with pre-Christian times in both Britain
and Ireland; whilst in the latter country discs and thin plates
of gold belonging to the same period have been found presenting a
cross-like ornamentation. At Drumgay, at Lough Eyes, at Roughan, and
at Drumsloe, _the Ridge of the Host_, were cross-inscribed querns.
Drumsloe lake, now almost drained, is situated within a short distance
of Ballinamallard county Fermanagh. Interesting objects, now dispersed
or lost, have been there from time to time turned up on the site of
a crannog, the traces of which are now nearly obliterated, and the
curious quern or _bró_, of which the accompanying cut is a facsimile,
is one of the few remaining relics authentically connected with the
locality. The quernstone measures one foot six inches in diameter.[110]
[Illustration: Fig. 62.--Upper surface of Quernstone from Roughan Lake.
One-eighth the real size.
Fig. 63.--Quernstone from Lough Eyes. About one-tenth the real size.]
About the year 1839, upon lowering the level of the water for drainage
purposes in Roughan lake, near Dungannon, county Tyrone, an island
artificially formed was exposed to view. On it were numerous fragments
of pottery and bones, a bronze pin, a few bronze spear-heads, together
with a quern. The illustration (fig. 62) represents the top stone,
which is eighteen inches in diameter, and two and a-half inches thick;
it is formed of sandstone, the ornamentation being in high relief.
The hole or socket for reception of the handle is in one of the arms
of the cross, and goes quite through the stone.[111] Portions of a
highly decorated quernstone, restored in the accompanying illustration
(fig. 63), were found in one of the crannogs in Lough Eyes. On “Bone
Island,” in the lake of Drumgay, several fragments of quern-stones
were collected. Two of those obtained were inscribed with a cross-like
ornamentation, one of them presenting a most unusual style of crannog
geometrical decoration.
[Illustration: Fig. 64.--Quernstones with Cross and Geometrical
Decoration. About one-twelfth the real size.]
On pottery at Ballydoolough, a cross pattern was observable, as also
on a comparatively modern iron article at Cloonfinlough, and there
was in a crannog in Argyleshire a Greek cross, with crosslets as a
pattern, or ornamentation, burnt into a piece of oak.[112] The “Croix
gammée,” or Swastika, occurs on sculptured stones in Scotland, and
appears on a mosaic pavement in the recently discovered Roman villa in
the Isle of Wight. In Keller’s _Lake Dwellings of Switzerland_,[113]
a cross within a circle is represented: it was found at Auvernier,
and had seemingly been an article of personal adornment. Layard, in
his work entitled _Nineveh and Babylon_, states that he found what is
now called the Maltese and Irish cross in such connexion as led him
to identify it with the sun. In these ancient sculptures the cross
was often inserted within a circle, which, having neither beginning
nor end, was considered to be the emblem of eternity, and may be so
observed in Assyrian sculptures. Dr. Schliemann, in his _Troja_ (p.
167), gives a representation of a curious copper or bronze ring, about
the size of an ordinary napkin ring, but very heavy. It has five
compartments, each ornamented with a cross marked by openings cut
in the metal. Amongst the whorls found by Dr. Schliemann, numbers
are ornamented with [Illustration] and [Illustration]. The same sign
is found in Pompeii, and amongst the ancient heathen population of
Yucatan and Paraguay. “Later still, it was even adopted by the
Christians as a suitable variety of their own cross, and became
variously modified geometrically.” In No. 1 crannog, in the lake of
Drumgay, there was a very peculiar cross-sculptured stone, two feet
in length by three inches in thickness. It is seemingly of no great
antiquity, and was most probably intended for a tombstone to be placed
in the neighbouring cemetery of Devenish.
[Illustration: Fig. 65.
Sculptured Stone from No. 1 Crannog, Lake of Drumgay. About one-eighth
the real size.]
_Human Remains._--There have been, as yet, few instances of the
discovery of human bones in crannogs. At Dunshaughlin, in Meath, at
Ardakillen and Cloonfinlough, in Roscommon, the people appear to
have met with a violent end, and there is no reason to believe that
the remains are very ancient. The lake dwellers of Switzerland had
cemeteries on the mainland, directly opposite their habitations, and it
is probable that the Irish disposed of their dead in the same manner,
but up to the present this subject has not been investigated.
_Fireplaces on the Shore._--Numerous fireplaces on the shore adjoining
crannogs were discovered at Drumkeery lough, and at Lough Eyes. In
the immediate vicinity of the latter were traces of gins or traps for
catching game. In the neighbouring bogs labourers have, at various
times and in different localities, met with stakes planted in the
original surface soil, in a vertical position, and sharpened to a
point, seemingly by a clean-cutting metallic tool. Since fixed in
their original position the peat had grown so much that it is now, on
an average, about five feet above the pointed ends. It has been often
surmised that stakes planted thus were in some way connected with the
trapping of deer and other wild animals.[114]
_Pottery._--Dr. Schliemann rightly designates fragments of pottery as
the cornucopia of archæological science; it is always abundant, and it
possesses two qualities--those, namely, of being easy to break, and yet
difficult to destroy, which render it very valuable in an archæological
point of view. Investigation has shown that the inhabitants of crannogs
had in use a description of fictile ware, distinctly characteristic in
style, graceful in form, and well manufactured, admitted by English
archæologists to be superior to that possessed by the Britons or early
Saxons. It is known that the primitive people of Ireland possessed the
art of constructing excellent fictile ware for mortuary purposes of
fire-hardened clay; they could therefore manufacture every-day culinary
vessels of the same material. An immense quantity of pottery has been
found in connexion with many crannogs, by which means facilities
are afforded for comparing ordinary domestic vessels with the urns
and vases of an undoubtedly prehistoric and pagan period. The great
majority of specimens of crannog pottery present designs marked upon
them, similar in style to the ornamentation observable on the walls
of sepulchral cairns and the vessels deposited in them, on golden or
bronze ornaments, on implements, and on the surface of rocks, all of
which are usually acknowledged to date from prehistoric times.[115]
Mr. Rau states that the fictile vessels discovered by him amongst the
debris of Indian relics on the left bank of the Cahokia Creek, on the
Mississippi, opposite St. Louis, resemble the ancient Irish fictilia,
“more especially those found in crannogs and kitchen middens.” One
fragment showed punctured and impressed ornamentation of the class so
usual on Celtic urns. Mr. Graves observes that the arts of primeval
peoples may be illustrated by comparison with those that prevail under
similar conditions of civilization existing in or near our own times.
Thus in India cromleac builders raise their megalithic monuments on
hills. In the Hebrides, cloghans, _i. e._ mortarless stone-built and
roofed habitations, similar to those strewn over the western littoral
of Connaught, and also lake dwellings in various parts of the world,
are even still occupied.
[Illustration: Fig. 66.--Pitcher from Lough Faughan. About one-seventh
the real size.]
From the crannog of Lough Faughan, Co. Down, was procured the pitcher
No. 9, Museum of the Royal Irish Academy; also another pitcher, 13
inches in height, and 32 in girth, of a description of pottery so light
as only to weigh 5 lbs. 10 oz. It figures as No. 10 in the collection
of food implements. Externally it is dark in colour, and being
partially glazed, is, therefore, not of very ancient date: it is so
rounded at the bottom that it cannot stand upright: about the neck, and
for some distance down the sides, it is tastefully decorated, and the
handle is peculiar in form.[116]
[Illustration: Fig. 67.--Fictile Vessel from Ballydoolough, restored.]
The accompanying engraving (fig. 67), a good specimen of another class
of fictile ware, represents, in a restored form, one of the finest of
the crocks found at Ballydoolough. In colour it is light-yellowish red;
it measures three feet two inches round the mouth, and is tastefully
ornamented on the rim and sides. This decoration had been evidently
impressed upon the soft clay before the vessel was burnt, and the
pattern conveys the idea of such antiquity that, if found in a tumulus,
it would be referred to a prehistoric age.
[Illustration: Fig. 68.--Fictile Vessel, Drumgay Crannog, restored.
Quarter size.]
A large fragment of fictile ware was discovered on one of the crannogs
in the lake of Drumgay; it was of size sufficient to enable a restored
representation (fig. 68) to be made of a vessel that had been in use by
the former inhabitants of the crannog for culinary purposes.
[Illustration: Fig. 69.--Restored Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-fourth
the real size.]
The following illustrations (figs. 69 and 70) represent two of the
vessels found in the crannog in Lough Eyes, county Fermanagh,
carefully restored from fragments discovered on the sites. With the
remains of these vessels were numerous flat discs formed of the same
kind of clay, and that would seem to have been their covers or lids.
[Illustration: Fig. 70.--Restored Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-fifth the
real size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 71.--Baked Clay Pot Cover from Lough Eyes.
One-fourth the real size.]
For the escape of steam during the process of boiling, a simple
provision is observable in several of these earthen pots. In the neck
of the vessel, just below the point where the lid would be supported,
is a small circular hole (see figs. 72 and 73). The aperture occurs in
numerous fragments, but it is not now possible to determine whether
this class of vessel, when entire, was invariably perforated.[117]
[Illustration: Fig. 72.--Portion of a Perforated Vessel from Lough
Eyes. One-half the real size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 73.--Portion of a Perforated Vessel from Lough
Eyes. One-third the real size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 74.--Portion of Fictile Vessel found on
Ballydoolough Crannog. One-half the real size.]
About 140 fragments of earthen vessels were discovered in the
Ballydoolough crannog--none, however, in an entire state; but several
pieces of the same article being found to fit together, a restoration
giving a correct idea of the perfect vessel was easily attained.
Fig. 67 (see _ante_, page 92), has been thus reconstructed. The next
engraving (fig. 74) represents a fragment of what must have been a very
large vessel, ornamented on the side with a chevron, and on the rim
with an oblique pattern; it is composed of very hard-baked clay, dark
in colour.
[Illustration: Fig. 75.--Portion of Fictile Vessel found on
Ballydoolough Crannog. One-half the real size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 76.--Portion of unornamented Vessel.]
A third fragment (fig. 75) partakes of the character of the last
described. The decoration is more elaborate and the punctured design
or chevron slightly different. Many of the indentations are of
semicircular form, and not angular or semiangular, as in most of the
other crocks. The material is very hard, like fig. 74, and of a dark
colour. Fig. 76 is portion of a large, straight-lipped vessel, that
measured originally over three feet in circumference round the rim; it
is unornamented, and formed of hard, well-baked, darkish-coloured clay.
[Illustration: Fig. 77.--Rim Ornament of Fictile Ware.]
Fig. 77 is the only pattern of its kind found at Ballydoolough. It is
drawn half-size. Whether this specimen and fig. 76 were originally
furnished with ears it is now impossible to say. Figs. 78 and 79, drawn
one-half the real size, represent portions of vessels. The larger
fragment bears upon its ear, or handle, two figures somewhat like a St.
Andrew’s cross; on the smaller there is only one.
[Illustration: Fig. 78.
Cross inscribed Pottery.
Fig. 79.
Cross inscribed Pottery.]
Fig. 80, drawn half-size, exhibits a bold but rude chevron pattern.
[Illustration: Fig. 80.--Portion of Fictile Vessel found at
Ballydoolough Crannog.]
There were thirty-five distinct patterns on the various fragments
unearthed, yet the locality was not thoroughly explored. Specimens of
the pottery from Ballydoolough were forwarded to Mr. Albert Wray, a
well-known authority on such subjects, and he would not refer them to
a very early age, or to that in which the use of bronze was prevalent.
The mode of ornamentation appeared to present a slight resemblance to
the “Cuerdale Hoard,” which is sometimes ascribed to the ninth century.
W. F. Wakeman, however, is of opinion that amongst the numerous designs
found upon the crannog vessels there is none suggestive of the work
of Christian times in Ireland, unless the cross-marked fragments
be considered as such, chevrons and circular depressions being all
expressive of Pagan ideas of ornamental art.
[Illustration: Fig. 81.--Portion of Fictile Vessel, with Ear, Drumgay
Crannog. One-half size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 82.--Rim Ornaments of Fictile Vessels, Drumgay
Crannog. One-half size.]
On “Bone Island,” in the lake of Drumgay, were several fragments of
earthen vessels. The one represented in the annexed cut, drawn half
size, is a portion of what had been a large and well-formed vessel with
ears. The top of the rim is ornamented with a pattern. The diameter of
the vessel at the mouth is about eleven inches; the neck is short, and
the sides are decorated with indented lines about an inch in length,
placed diagonally. There were also several fragments of fictile ware
consisting of unimportant portions of rims decorated as shown in the
accompanying representations. One pattern is a simple chevron. The
accompanying illustrations represent characteristic examples of
the pottery found in abundance on No. 3 crannog in Lough Eyes, county
Fermanagh (plate XVIII., figs. 83 to 88).
[Illustration: Plate XVIII.
Fig. 83.--Fragment of Fictile Vessel from Lough Eyes.
Fig. 84.--Fragment of Fictile Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 85.--Fragment of Fictile Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 86.--Ear of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 87.--Fragment of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-third size.
Fig. 88.--Lip of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fragments of Pottery, from No. 3 Crannog, Lough Eyes.
(Discovered by W. F. Wakeman.)]
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).
[Illustration: Plate XIX.
Fig. 89.--Fragment of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 90.--Rim of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 91.--Rim of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 92.--Rim of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 93.--Fragment of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 94.--Fragment of base of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 95.--Rim of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 96.--Rim of Vessel from Lough Eyes. One-half size.
Fig. 97.--Fragment of Vessel from Lough Eyes.
Fragments of Pottery, from No. 5 and No. 6 Crannogs, Lough Eyes.
(Discovered by W. F. Wakeman.)]
[Illustration: Fig. 98.--Fragment of Fictile Ware, Lough Eyes. One-half
size.
Fig. 99.--Fragment of Fictile Ware, Lough Eyes. One-half size.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 100.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 101.--Stamped pattern on fragment of Fictile Ware
from Drumskimly.]
[Illustration: Fig. 102.--Carved Wooden Vessel found at Cavancarragh.]
[Illustration: Fig. 103.--Wooden Vessel from Ballydoolough Crannog.]
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.
[Illustration: Plate XX.
Fig. 104.--Willow Platter from the Crannog of Ballinderry, Co.
Westmeath. (Museum, R. I. A.)
Fig. 105.--Carved Platter made of Fir, from Ballykeine Bog, Co. Antrim.
Wooden Platters.]
“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_.
[Illustration: Fig. 106.--Mether, or Drinking Cup, from Tamlaght
O’Crilly.]
Dean Swift, in his translation of “O’Rourke’s Noble Feast”--a poem
written about 1720, in the Irish language--thus alludes to this species
of drinking cup--
“Usquebaugh to our feast, in pails was brought up,
An hundred at least, and a _madder_ our cup.”
[Illustration: Fig. 107.
Wooden Mallet from Lisnacroghera.]
[Illustration: Fig. 108.
Wooden Peg from Glencar.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 109.
Bone Spindle Whorl from Ardakillen.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 110.
Ovoid piece of polished Bone from Ardakillen.]
[Illustration: Fig. 111.
Fig. 112.
Fig. 113.
Fig. 114.
Fig. 115.
Fig. 116.
Fig. 117.
Figs. 115, 116, and 117 are Bone Pins with attached Heads, from the
Crannog of Ballinderry.]
[Illustration: Plate XXI.
Fig. 118.
Fig. 119.
Fig. 120.
Scribed Pins from Ballinderry Crannog.]
_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--
[Illustration: Ogham on fig. 118.]
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--
[Illustration: Scoring on fig. 119.]
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--
[Illustration: Scoring on fig. 120.]
[Illustration: Plate XXII.
Fig. 121.
Fig. 122.
Fig. 123.
Fig. 124.
Scribed Pins from Ballinderry Crannog.]
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--
[Illustration: Scoring on fig. 123.]
Fig. 124 has the acus 3½ inches long, and a circular ring for pendant;
the ring has scoring on one face--
[Illustration: Scoring on ring of fig. 124.] One side of the acus is
ornamented with the dot-and-circle; on the other (shown in the cut) is
a runic-like scoring--
[Illustration: Scoring on acus, fig. 124.]
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]
[Illustration: Plate XXIII.
Scribed Pins from the Crannog of Ballinderry.]
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]
[Illustration: Plate XXIV.
Iron and Bone Pins from Lagore.]
[Illustration: Fig. 125.--Bronze Wire Ring from Lisnacroghera. Full
size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 126. Bronze Pin, with human heads, found in the
Crannog of Loughravel. Full size.
Fig. 127. Flattened disc-headed Pin from Ballinderry. Full size.
Fig. 128. Penannular Bronze Pin from Lagore. Full size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 129.
Fig. 130.
Fig. 131.
Fig. 132.]
[Illustration: Fig. _a_.
Fig. _b_.
Fig. _c_.
Fig. _d_.
Fig. _e_.
Fig. _f_.
Fig. _g_.
Fig. _h_.]
[Illustration: Fig. 133.
Fig. 134.
Fig. 135.
Fig. 136.
Fig. 137.]
[Illustration: Plate XXV.
Articles of Wood.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 138.--Bone Comb from Ardakillen.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 139.--Bone Comb from Ballinderry.
Fig. 140.--Bone Comb from Lagore.]
[Illustration: Fig. 141.--Bone Comb from Lagore. Two-thirds real size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 142.
Bronze Tweezers from Ballinderry.]
[Illustration: Fig. 143.--Stone Pendent Amulet from Ballinderry Crannog.
Fig. 144.--Nodule of Clay-slate from Ballinderry Crannog.]
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]
[Illustration: Ornamentation on fig. 144.]
[Illustration: Fig. 145.--Bronze Amulet, or Ornament, from
Lisnacroghera.]
Fig. 145, found in the crannog of Lisnacroghera is a small bronze
object, considered by W. F. Wakeman to have been an amulet: “the
figures which it bears are curvilinear examples of a symbol known to
antiquarians as the swastica. There can be little or no question as to
the eastern origin of this form of cross.”[137]
From the tenacity with which craftsmen adhered to ancient designs
or patterns, it is difficult to assign even an approximate date to
many remains of articles suitable for personal decoration; however,
any brooch, pin, or other object, upon which interlacing tracery
is displayed, should not be referred to a period antecedent to the
introduction of Christianity into Ireland.
[Illustration: Plate XXVI.
Bronze Brooch from Lagore.]
[Illustration: Fig. 146.--Hinge Brooch of Bronze from Ardakillen.]
[Illustration: Fig. 147.--Bronze Fibula from Lough Ravel.
Fig. 148.--Penannular Ring, or Brooch, from Lough Ravel.]
[Illustration: Fig. 149.
Penannular Ring from Ardakillen. Two-thirds real size.]
Of bronze articles connected with personal adornment, few can equal
in design and workmanship the hinge brooch from Ardakillen, here
represented; it is considered to be of great antiquity. The decoration
on the enlarged ends partakes of the “Celtic trumpet pattern,” while
the central connecting curved strap, with a raised intertwinement,
like that seen on some sculptured crosses, and in the illumination of
ancient MSS., would appear to have been cast. The thin ornamented plate
in front is fastened by eight rivets to a stout flat plate behind,
which also overlaps the edges of the strap; its flat pin is hinged at
the back.[138] The very remarkable brooch, represented full size, plate
XXVI., was obtained by Petrie[139] soon after the first opening of the
Lagore crannog. The original discoverer stated that it was enclosed
in an ancient case or box of yew--this has unfortunately been lost.
The material of which the brooch is composed, is fine golden-coloured
bronze, so lustrous that, in places which have been rubbed or exposed
to friction, it is difficult to decide whether the article had not been
originally gilt. The pin is 6⅝ inches in length: the diameter of the
ring 3⅝ inches. The deeply set compartments, or panels, some thirteen
in number, into which the ring is divided, contain ornamentation
in what is generally designated the Celtic style: these designs,
various in character and admirably executed, remain as sharp as when
originally made. It is decorated on the front only. The ring, as is
usual, expands on one of its sides, so as to fill up nearly one-half
of the circle. The head of the acus is secured to the ring by a boldly
projecting loop. The thickness of the plate forming the ring is about
a quarter of an inch; the edges are plain. Another bronze brooch,[140]
in use amongst the crannog dwellers of Lagore, is smaller than that
shown on plate XXVI. The ring measures but 2 inches in diameter; the
head of the acus contains a series of circular concentric mouldings,
the intermediate spaces being deeply sunk; in the centre is a cavity
which formerly contained a setting. The ring is continuous, and one of
its sides expands, exhibiting circles (similar to those ornamenting
the head of the pin), in one of which a fine setting of amber still
remains; the other is now empty. There is no trace of enamel having
been used on this brooch. A beautiful bronze fibula, or brooch,
found on the site of the crannog of Lough Ravel, is here reproduced
(full size), from the engraving in the late _Ulster Journal of
Archæology_. This brooch, and one of silver from the same locality, are
distinguished by their peculiar bird-head ornamentation on the superior
extremity. From the same crannog came the penannular ring or brooch
(fig. 148); and, from Ardakillen, a small penannular ring (fig. 149),
of most curious torque pattern; indeed, penannular rings of bronze,
of various sizes, sometimes highly decorated in very primitive style,
are of not unfrequent occurrence in Ireland: they are supposed by some
writers to have been used as a kind of money; others have pronounced
them to be finger-rings, or bracelets, according to their size; similar
objects are met with in gold, and, like their bronze prototypes, have
greatly puzzled the learned in antiquarian matters. At the crannog of
Lisnacroghera were found two penannular rings, formed of very thin,
golden-coloured bronze. They are hollow, and consequently extremely
light, so that they could scarcely have served as money: and the
smallness of their diameter, which is only 1⅜ inches, shows that they
could not have been bracelets. The following articles are also from
Lisnacroghera. Fig. 151, a bronze stud--use problematical. Fig. 152, a
plain bronze rivet. The circlets of bronze, figs. 153, 154, 155, may
have been either the rings of brooches or pins, or perhaps buckles
which had lost their tongues. Fig. 155 still retains traces of red
enamel in its chevron, or wavy ornamentation.[141]
[Illustration: Fig. 150.--Hollow Bronze Penannular Rings from
Lisnacroghera.]
[Illustration: Fig. 151.--Bronze Stud.
Fig. 152.--Bronze Rivet.]
[Illustration: Fig. 153.
Fig. 154.
Fig. 155.
Bronze Circlets.]
Touchstones would appear, from their make, to have been worn about the
person, several being pierced with a hole, seemingly for attachment of
a string. Sir W. Wilde remarks that they have been found both flat and
four-sided, and with and without perforation. They are formed generally
of black Lydian stone or of jasper, either material being suitable for
gold-testing. Lydian stone, or black chert, is “an impure flint, found
in the central portions of the carboniferous limestone of Ireland,
and at the base of the Kilkenny coal formation. It is of a dull dark
colour, approaching to black; is more opaque, brittle, and stone-like,
than flint; never possesses the same translucency, and does not so
readily chip into conchoidal fragments: but, next to flint, it is one
of the hardest of the siliceous rocks, and hence was used occasionally
for forming tools and weapons by the inhabitants of those districts
where flint was rare. Lydian stone, ‘Lapis Lydius,’ or, ‘Lapis
Hibernicus,’ as it was denominated by the old Dutch writer De Boot, so
long ago as 1647, is the true touchstone of the ancients.”
[Illustration: Fig. 156.
Pipe-clay Crucible.]
Few ornaments of silver, and still fewer of gold, have been brought
to light in crannogs, the antiquities of which consist mainly of the
more homely class of bone, bronze, and iron articles for personal
adornment; yet numerous gold ornaments have doubtless been discovered,
but remained unrecorded, from fear of detection on the part of the
finder, before the Treasury Minute respecting “Treasure Trove” came
into operation. Antique articles of gold have been turned up in the
bogs of Ireland, and in various parts of the country. Is it likely
that the inhabitants of “island fortresses” should alone be devoid of
the precious metal, especially as in them have been found both small
earthen crucibles--so diminutive as to have been useful only for gold
or silver smelting,--and also small pipe-clay cupels for refining
purposes, like those used in the present day for the assay of gold and
silver? Fig. 156 represents a pipe-clay crucible from the crannog of
Lagore, 2 inches broad, and 1 inch high. A well authenticated instance
of the discovery of the precious metal in a crannog, was that of
“several gold pins,” at Loughtamand, county Antrim;[142] and, in the
autumn of 1870, a beautiful, almost unique, specimen of early Irish
art came to light on the site of the former lake dwelling of Lough
Ravel, county Antrim. The accompanying woodcut is the size of the
original. This silver brooch, or fibula, represents two bird-headed
serpents joined together: both sides of the ornament are alike; the
silver is slightly thinner than a shilling piece; the pin is missing.
In the design there seems to be a resemblance to some of the initial
letters in the “Book of Kells,” and other early Irish MSS., so that its
probable age is not later than the tenth century.[143]
[Illustration: Fig. 157.--Silver Brooch from the Crannog of Lough
Ravel.]
[Illustration: Fig. 158.--Stone Ring. One-third size.
Fig. 159.--Stone Ring. One-half size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 160.
Jet Bracelet, or Ring. One-quarter size.
Fig. 161.
Glass Bracelet, or Ring. One-third size.]
Figs. 158 and 159 are good examples of stone rings, the former 2½
inches in the clear; the latter, 2¾ inches. Fig. 160, drawn one-fourth
the real size, is a bracelet of jet, from Lough Eyes, restored from the
fragments; and fig. 161, restored from existing remains in the Museum,
R.I.A., is of blue-coloured glass, decorated with spots and a cable
pattern.
[Illustration: Plate XXVII.
Beads, composed of various materials, from Ardakillen, Lagore,
Ballinderry, Drumdarragh, Cloonfinlough, and Lough Eyes.]
Beads of stone, bone, jet, earthenware, and wood, occur in crannogs;
also beads of amber, of which many are in modern use amongst the
peasantry as prayer-beads. O’Flaherty, in his _Iar Connaught_, states
that amber was procured in more or less quantities on the coast of
Galway. Ornaments of glass, from the most simple and unpretending plain
blue bead to that studded with settings of enamel or vitreous paste,
so varied in colour and of so much beauty in outline that they might
be worn at the present day, are still met with in crannogs, as well as
in pagan sepulchres. Blue appears to have been the favourite colour,
but some are pale green, white, yellow and red, with spirals and
decorations of varied colours; whilst others have a dark groundwork,
and are studded with fragments of red, green, yellow, blue and white
enamel. All the beads figured in plate XXVII. are drawn full size. No.
1, formed of stone, presents an average specimen of its class. No.
2 is from Lagore, where a considerable number, but of smaller size,
occurred. No. 3, composed of bone, is probably the largest bead of that
material found in any crannog: usually, they are scarcely the size of
an ordinary pea. No. 4 is a pendant of black opaque glass; it probably
formed the centre of a necklace. One resembling it, but composed of
stone, may be seen in the Petrie Collection, R.I.A. No. 5 is a small
bead of blue glass; its form is one of rare occurrence. No. 6, of plain
cylindrical outline, was accompanied by several others of the same
class: in colour it is a dull green. No. 7, a small globular bead of
glass: colour deep blue; and No. 8, of similar shape, is composed of
opaque white glass, or porcelain. No. 9 is a beautiful bead of green
glass, presenting in dark-blue the dot-and-circle pattern; the spaces
between the dots and their surrounding circles are pure white, so that
a very pleasing effect is produced. No. 10 is an unusually long bead,
of material similar to No. 6. No. 11 is a curious bead, through which
passed a piece of bronze wire, which probably formed the loop of a pin.
No. 12 is formed of dark-green glass, relieved by yellow ornamentation,
as shown in the representation; and No. 13 is of dark-blue opaque
glass, or paste, with chevrons of white glass, or enamel, passing round
it. No. 14 is formed of white glass, or porcelain, ornamented with
a pattern in black, and the opening for the string unusually large.
No. 15 is composed of very light-coloured blue glass; and No. 16 of
pure crystal. No. 17, formed of jet, was accompanied by fragments of
bracelets of the same material. No. 18, apparently formed of fine
clay, its colour what artists call Venetian red, is in the Petrie
Collection. No. 19 is, undoubtedly, most curious, not on account
of its form or design, which is common, but in regard to its being
made of lead--perhaps the only example of a bead of that material
discovered in Irish crannogs. No. 20 is a fine specimen of the amber
bead, so often discovered in connexion with very early remains. No.
22 is also an amber bead, of rather unusual form, being almost flat,
like a wheel. Nos. 23 and 24 were picked up by W. F. Wakeman, from the
shores of one of the crannogs of Lough Eyes, but at a time subsequent
to the publication of his Paper on that locality.[144] The collection
of glass and enamel beads in the Museum, R.I.A., contains one of long
cylindrical form, composed of blue, white, and yellow enamel; it is ¾
of an inch long, is decorated with a blue and white band round each
extremity, and has yellow spots on the centre: it is of the same
character as No. 41, represented by fig. 162. No. 21, one of the most
beautiful beads in the collection, fig. 163, measures half an inch
in the longest diameter, and is composed of clear glass, with bright
yellow spirals of opaque enamel covering its sides. No. 27, represented
by fig. 164, is an opaque bead of glass, light-green in colour: the
aperture is rather large, so that it may have been used as a necklace,
or pin-bead; it is grooved in melon-form. Two beads, composed of green
glazed-ware, and also of melon-shape, may be seen figured at page 178,
in Munro’s _Scottish Lake Dwellings_. Nos. 20, 21, and 27, Museum, R.
I. A., are from the crannog of Lagore.
[Illustration: Fig. 162.
Bead from Lagore.
Fig. 163.
Bead from Lagore.
Fig. 164.
Bead from Lagore.]
[Illustration: Fig. 165.
Fig. 166.
Fig. 167.
Beads from Lisnacroghera.]
[Illustration: Fig. 168.
Fig. 169.
Beads from Lough Ravel.]
[Illustration: Fig. 170.
Glass Bead from Ballintlea.]
The three following beads here described are from the crannog of
Lisnacroghera. Fig. 165, of opaque blue glass, very dark in colour,
but relieved with white streaks of the same material, crossing each
other obliquely. Fig. 166, of ordinary blue glass, quite plain; and,
fig. 167, an elongated cylindrical bead of amber.[145] In Wilson’s
_Prehistoric Annals of Scotland_, and in Keller’s _Ancient Lake
Dwellings of Switzerland_, may be seen representations of beads,
greatly resembling one from the crannog of Lough Ravel, county Antrim,
as shown in fig. 168. Fig. 169, from the same locality, is somewhat
similar, but the yellow, raised and rope-like decoration which
encircles it does not form an integral part of the glass; it has been
produced by laying the colour on the surface, instead of its being
fused into the glass. The bead, fig. 170, although from the lands of
Ballintlea, near Timahoe, Queen’s County, is of the same class as many
discovered in crannogs. At top and bottom it exhibited indications of
friction, showing it had been strung with others as a necklace, or some
article of personal adornment. It is formed of sea-green glass, moulded
to represent interlaced cords, the strands composed of threads of white
glass; round the upper and lower rims there are small knobs of opaque
yellow glass. That these beads are of native Irish manufacture
is extremely probable, as, in two instances at least, lumps of blue
glass in an unfashioned state have been discovered in connexion with
crannogs, which also yielded beads of exactly the same colour and
material. The majority of the beads present internal evidence of the
manner in which they were made: “the glass has at first been in the
form of a rod, then a portion, when in a soft state, was bent into the
form of a bead, and sufficiently heated to cause the ends to unite.…
When the ornamentation is composed of a spiral rod, it has been laid
on in the same way, and the line of junction can be made out in every
case.”[146]
[Illustration: Fig. 171.--Bone Harp Pin from Ardakillen. Half-size.]
[Illustration: Plate XXVIII.
Harp, from the Crannog of Ballinderry. Woodwork restored.]
_Music._--It has been remarked that, in order to form a just
estimate of the character of any particular people, it is necessary
to investigate the pastimes and amusements most prevalent amongst
them; war, and other contingent circumstances may place men at
different times in different points of view, but when we follow them
into the retirement of their homes, we are most likely to see them
in their true state. In crannogs few musical instruments have come
to light, owing probably to the perishable materials of which they
were usually composed, yet enough remain to prove that, in time of
peace, the sweet sound of the harp, and in war, the hoarse bray of
the trumpet, resounded over the waters of the lakes. Portions of
ancient harps have not unfrequently occurred in crannogs, but no
fairly perfect example has as yet come to light. Some harp pins are
formed of bronze, and several of bone were found at Ardakillen. In the
Museum, R.I.A., there are upwards of twenty harp pins, the majority
obtained from crannogs: they vary in length from 2⅛ to 4⅛ inches,
are square in the head, and perforated in the smaller extremity,
for holding the wire string. In the accompanying plate XXVIII., is
figured (1) an Irish harp as restored: it stands at present 37 inches
in height, all the metal portions were discovered in the crannog of
Ballinderry, county Westmeath, and the proportions and form of the
modern woodwork were regulated by the size and form of the original
metal work; the thirty-five pins show the number of strings that were
formerly attached. Although the style of decoration is of a very early
character, yet as the letters I.H.S., surmounted by a cross, appear
engraved on a brass plate in front of the instrument, the work cannot
be older than the sixteenth century. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, convey a
clear idea of the kind of ornamentation on the metal fittings, and No.
7 (from Drumdarragh crannog) represents a harp pin of the usual kind.
[Illustration: Fig. 172.--Trumpets in the Museum, R.I.A.]
[Illustration: Fig. 173.--Showing riveting of Trumpet. Full-size.]
[Illustration: Plate XXIX.
BRONZE TRUMPET, NOW IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY.
FOUND IN THE CO. DOWN, A.D. 1809.
Figures 2 and 3 side view of Trumpet, scale one and a-half inch to a
foot; Fig. 4 shows the joining of the plate, and of the two lines of
rivets of Fig. 2; Fig. 3 is similarly rivetted.
Fig. 1 section of fig. 2 at larger end, full size, showing strap and
rivets.]
In 1809, at Ardbin, parish of Annaghclone, county Down, both joints of
a very large and perfect curved bronze trumpet, or bugle-horn, were
disinterred from a peat bog that had been a sheet of water about the
middle of the last century. As conclusive proof of there having been
a crannog in this former lake-bed, a stratum of burnt oak, a canoe
scooped out of a single tree, together with four short paddles, were
dug up from the peat. Of the trumpet, the remains--minutely described
in the _Newry Magazine_ for 1815--are now in the Museum, R. I. A.,
and in the accompanying engraving (fig. 172) the outside trumpet is a
representation of this instrument. As may be observed, from comparison
with the various other horns in the Museum, it is by far the largest
of that collection, and is probably (as asserted by Wilde) the finest
of its kind discovered in Europe. The trumpet is given on a larger
scale in plate XXIX.: “it measures 8 feet 5 inches along the convex
margin, and consists of two portions, each formed of very strong
sheet bronze of a yellowish red colour, and joined along the seam.” It
is 3½ inches wide at the open of the large end, and ⅝ at the upper;
the small tube has parallel sides, and is about the size of the small
extremity of the larger. By what means the two were joined together, or
whether a mouth-piece was attached to the small extremity, is unknown,
yet a variety of loud martial tones can be produced by the lower
fragment. “The riveting of the edges in this instrument is the most
perfect thing of its kind yet discovered, and is well exhibited in the
accompanying cut, drawn the natural size from portions of its external
and internal surfaces. The bronze strap which covers the joining on
the inside is studded with small circular-headed studs, riveted on the
outside, as shown in the lower section of the cut. There is no strap
externally; and the perfection of the riveting has long been a subject
of admiration to the curious, there being as many as 638 rivets in the
lower portion.[147] By what means they were introduced throughout,
or what description of mandril was employed for riveting them upon,
is still subject of speculation.”[148] To judge from its size, this
kind of war trumpet should give no uncertain sound. It is stated by
Polybius, that on the continent “the parade and tumult of the Celts
terrified the Romans, for there was amongst them an infinite number of
horns and trumpets,” &c. And in describing the Celtic Gauls, Diodorus
Siculus says, “they have amongst them trumpets peculiar as well to
themselves as to other nations; these by inflation emit an hoarse sound
well suited to the din of battle.”
_Chess, &c._--In early Irish MSS. frequent mention is made of chess
as a favourite amusement of the Celtic people; and in “The Dialogue
of the Ancient Men”--a valuable tract contained in the _Book of
Lismore_--there is a curious passage relating to a game of chess, the
players being Finn Ban Mac Breasel, son of the king of Leinster, and
Guaire Goll, one of Fionn Mac Cumhail’s chess-bearers; the wager was
three ounces of gold, and the players quarrelled as usual. The passage
is here given as a record of the prevalence of this game at a remote
period: “And these two played for three days, and Guaire did not win
one game during that time. And he threw down his wager, and insulted
and abused the other man, and he said ‘he was not a servant in service,
nor a vassal in vassalage, nor a hero in heroism;’ and Finn Ban raised
his fist, and gave Goll a blow that brought three front teeth out of
his upper jaw, and they fell together on the back of the chess board.”
Another anecdote in proof of the prevalence of the game may be found in
O’Curry’s _Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish_; in it the scene
is also laid in the pagan age, but anterior to the time of the famous
Finn Mac Cumhail--[149] “It was a century before the Incarnation, that
Eochaidh Airemh was monarch of Erinn, and his queen was the celebrated
Edain, a lady remarkable not only for her beauty, but for her learning
and accomplishments. One day that Eochaidh was in his palace at Teamair
(according to this ancient story), a stranger of remarkable appearance
presented himself before him: ‘Who is this man who is not known to
us, and what is his business?’ said the king. ‘He is not a man of any
distinction, but he has come to play a game at chess with you,’ said
the stranger. ‘Are you a good chess-player?’ said the king. ‘A trial
will tell,’ said the stranger. ‘Our chess-board is in the queen’s
apartment, and we cannot disturb her at present,’ said the king. ‘It
matters not, for I have a chess-board of no inferior kind here with
me,’ said the stranger. ‘What do we play for?’ said the king. ‘Whatever
the winner demands,’ said the stranger. They played then a game, which
was won by the stranger. ‘What is your demand now?’ said the king.
‘Edain, your queen,’ said the stranger, ‘but I will not demand her till
the end of a year.’ The king was astonished and confounded; and the
stranger, without more words, speedily disappeared.” It is clear that
chess is a game of great antiquity,
“Age cannot wither it, nor custom stale
Its infinite variety.”
From the crannog of Lagore was obtained a thin stone or slab of
squarish form, measuring about 14 inches on either side. It presented
upon its upper surface a number of squares as on a chess-board.[150]
The material for this purpose, however, varied considerably, for in the
“Annals of Clonmacnoise” it is stated that when _Muirchertach_ of the
leathern cloaks (who lived in the middle of the tenth century) carried
off the body of Cerbhall, king of Leinster, he caused a chess-board to
be formed out of his bones. Instances of utilizing the osseous remains
of a dead adversary were, in ancient times, not uncommon. The old
Vikings, in imitation of their gods, quaffed their ale out of goblets
composed of the crania of their enemies.
[Illustration: Fig. 174.]
In Irish lacustrine sites a number of discs, formed apparently of
deer’s horn, or bone, have been frequently met with; these articles,
as a rule, are ornamented on one side only with the dot and circle
pattern, such as appears upon combs and other objects of bone; many
were found at Lagore, Cloonfinlough, Ballinderry, &c., and they
resemble one from the Loch of Forfar, figured in Munro’s _Ancient
Scottish Lake Dwellings_. The term “whorl” has been very generally
applied to these discs, the supposition being, that their use
was to aid in the rotation of the distaff or spindle. Some Irish
archæologists, however, have suggested the idea of their being rather
draughtsmen, or counters for a game; and English antiquarians have
pronounced a similar opinion with regard to ivory discs discovered in
that country. The latter suggestion certainly carries with it a great
degree of probability; and although the game of draughts as now played
cannot claim great antiquity, yet there were other pastimes in which
little stones, shells, or nuts were employed by the ancients; but, as
the arts of man progressed, “stones and shells were laid aside, and
ivory counters became their substitute.” Croften Croker in his tour
through Ireland early in the present century observed two peculiar
games then almost universal amongst the peasantry; one of them was
played on lines usually marked on a board with chalk, as shown in
fig. 174. “Each player is provided with three counters (_small black
and white pebbles or shells_) which are simply deposited on the
board in turn; the game is won by getting these three counters in a
straight line. The centre point is considered the most advantageous,
and is always taken by the first player: when all the counters are
deposited, moves are made from one point to the next should it be
unoccupied, and so on until a careless move on either side decides the
game, by allowing the adversary to form his three counters in a row.”
The unperforated discs ornamented on one side only it may be fairly
surmised had served either in draughts or in games of that nature.
Fig. 175 represents a specimen of this class found in a “souterraine”
at Drumcliff, county Sligo, in company with calcined bones and traces
of iron remains; it seems to be identical in style, size, and material
with those found in crannogs, as for example fig. 176, from the crannog
of Cloonfinlough, ornamented with a border of circles with dots in the
centre surrounding four groups of similar circles: each group consists
of four circles. Fig. 177, from the same locality, is plainly decorated
with five circles arranged in a cruciform pattern. Both these articles
are stained a dark-brown colour.[151]
[Illustration: Fig. 175.--Unperforated Bone Disc from Drumcliff, Co.
Sligo. One-half size.
Fig. 176.
Fig. 177.
Unperforated Bone Discs from Cloonfinlough. Full size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 178.--Perforated ornamented Bone Disc from Lagore.
One-half size.
Fig. 179.
Fig. 180.
Perforated Bone Discs, with Spike, from Lagore. One-half size.]
With regard to the perforated discs, it should be borne in mind that
they were of the same size as the _unperforated_, were decorated with
similar designs on one side only, and that it is almost incredible
so much trouble should have been bestowed on the ornamentation of an
object intended to serve merely as a spindle whorl, as for example on
the accompanying examples from Lagore. The more natural inference seems
to be, that these discs were employed in some game--say chess--the
perforations being intended for reception of the upper parts, marking
the distinctive character of the various pieces used in the game. Nos.
10 and 11, plate XXV., may possibly have been these distinctive upper
portions. An object similar to fig. 180 is described in the _Catalogue
of the Museum, R.I.A._, as a “whorl,” in which a portion of the lower
end of the bone spindle still projects; but might it not equally be
supposed to represent a chessman--possibly a pawn--judging from the
simple outlines of its projecting portion?
Plate XXX., Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, from Lagore, and now in the Petrie
Collection, R.I.A., are all perforated. Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11
are discs formed of bone or horn, varying in thickness from ¼ to ⅛ of
an inch; No. 6, however, is scarcely ¹⁄₁₆ of an inch. All these are
unperforated, therefore could not have been used as “spindle-whorls.”
No. 11 is quite plain, the other specimens are ornamented, but only
on one side; all the above are of bone; Nos. 12 and 13--both of them
composed of stone and perforated--also came from some of the crannogs
in the neighbourhood of Strokestown, and the latter is a good specimen
of the so-called “whorl” commonly found in the northern counties, where
hundreds of them have been discovered in a great variety of places, in
carns, crannogs, plough lands, &c.
[Illustration: Fig. 181.--Stone Chessman, in the British Museum.]
Fig. 181, from Cloonfinlough, is, it is believed, a unique specimen of
a stone chessman, rounded in the body, diminishing towards the top,
and flattened at both extremities. It is 1³⁄₁₆ inch in height, ¾ inch
in diameter, and is polished; the material beautifully veined, yellow,
pale brown, and white.
[Illustration: Plate XXX.
Stone and Bone Circular Discs from Crannogs.]
_Ogham._--It is a disputed point, with regard to Ogham inscriptions,
whether the signs represent a very ancient alphabet, or are merely a
mediæval invention, or cipher. Some allusions to be found in old Irish
MSS. refer them to ante-Christian times; but it may also be observed,
that in similar writings frequent mention is made of a man’s _Ogham
name_ as being scribed on a stone raised in commemoration of him;
such name must therefore be inferred to differ from that by which he
was ordinarily known. Now, if Ogham be viewed as a cipher, dating
only from the early monkish period of Christianity, the _Ogham name_
may mean simply what in the present day would be termed _the name
in Religion_. It is, however, immaterial for the present purpose to
which category Ogham characters be assigned, for in either case they
belong to the metallic age, as probably no race in the stone age had
attained the art of communicating ideas by means of an alphabet. Even
in the present day, when seeking to civilize barbarous tribes, it is
found essential, for the purpose of imparting information, to adapt
their languages to an alphabet. Ogham may be briefly described as an
arrangement of strokes, or indented lines or notches cut on the arris,
though sometimes found on the flat of the stone or other material, when
a straight line is substituted for the arris. The letter is denoted by
the length of the stroke or notch, its position, whether above or below
the arris or line, or appearing both above and below, and likewise the
number of strokes or notches grouped together. Oghamic scribings have
been found on a stone in the crannog of Ballydoolough, and on bone pins
and other ornaments in the crannogs of Ballinderry and the Strokestown
group. Ogham appears to have been employed not only for mortuary
inscriptions carved on pillar-stones erected over celebrated warriors,
but also, in the same manner as we now use the Roman alphabet, for
communication by messengers, &c. On one occasion a celebrated mythical
Irish hero, named Cuchullain, when traversing a forest saw an inscribed
pillar-stone, and hung round it a verse in Ogham character, carved by
him upon a withe.[152] The MS. from which this anecdote is quoted was
compiled about the year 1106. The same hero is elsewhere represented as
sending information to Meave, queen of Connaught, by means of cutting
or scribing on wands; the son of a Scottish chief is described as
cutting Ogham characters on a spear. The date of the latter incident is
assigned to the commencement of the Christian era. Another instance is
mentioned, partaking however more of the nature of a regular letter. In
A.D. 408, Corc, son of the king of Munster, was driven by his father
into exile; he fled to the court of Scotland; but, before appearing in
the king’s presence, an Ogham inscription on his shield was discovered
and deciphered by a friend, who thus saved the prince’s life, the
inscription being to the effect that, should he arrive at the Scottish
Court by day, his head was to be cut off before evening, and if by
night it was to be cut off before morning.[153]
It is almost needless to add, that all Ogham mortuary scribings are in
very antique language, thereby adding considerably to the difficulties
attending any attempt at translation of these archaic inscriptions. The
Gaelic of to-day, where it yet lingers, is to the ancient dialect much
what modern English is to the Anglo-Saxon of olden times. The oldest
lettered characters of the Irish lake dwellers are Ogham or runic-like
markings on stones, amulets, pins, and brooches. An important “find” at
Ballydoolough consists of a block of hard reddish sandstone, measuring
2 feet 1 inch in length, by 4½ inches in breadth, and 6 inches in
depth. On it are well-marked Ogham characters, and these, when read by
the light of the Ogham alphabet, would seem to spell the word B A L H U.
[Illustration: Fig. 182.
Ogham found at Ballydoolough Crannog.]
In the comparison of Irish and Gaulish names by Professor Adolph.
Picket[154] is found the Celtic name “Balanan” (BALANU), which seems
very like that on the stone. At the thicker end of this stone, just
before the commencement of the Ogham, a slightly-marked cross of
peculiar form may be traced;[155] and the accompanying illustration
represents, full size, a fragment of an ornamented stone, from
Ardakillen, inscribed with Ogham-like scores.
[Illustration: Fig. 183.--Scribed Stone from the Crannog of Ardakillen.
Full size.]
_Money._--The precious metals, shaped for purposes of traffic, at once
stamp crannog “finds” with a modern, or at least with an historic
date. Very few coins, however, have come to light; the most numerous
are of the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth, some of them being forgeries.
In the crannog of Cloonfinlough the coins varied in date from one of
the Emperor Hadrian to a specimen of the brass money of James II. One
coin was discovered under such strange circumstances that it claims
special mention:--In the lake adjoining the glebe house, in the parish
of Aghnamullen, county Monaghan, there are two islands, and about the
year 1850 one of them was for the first time ploughed, and many curious
antiquities turned up. In 1863, the rector then in possession, while
seated on the island, and peering into the water, observed what to him
appeared a button on the leaf of a water-plant growing up from the
bottom of the lake; on pulling the leaf, this proved, however, to be
an ancient coin--a half groat of the reign of Edward III. The natural
growth of the aqueous vegetation had thus lifted to the surface of the
lough some of its buried treasures.[156]
Strange as is this incident, it is surpassed by one related in
connexion with the discovery of a silver penny of King John. It appears
that upon preparing a fish of the bream species, taken in Dalkey Sound,
the coin referred to was found in its stomach, and as it is on record
that some time during the reign of John, a ship containing a large
sum of money was sunk close to the place where the fish was captured,
it is but reasonable to suppose that the coin in question had formed a
portion of the lost treasure.
[Illustration: Fig. 184.--Cheek-pieces of Bits.]
_Horse Furniture._--At Ballinacarriga, near Moate, county Westmeath,
the peaty mould of a lake, now almost dried up, has at various times
yielded numerous objects of interest. One of them (plate XXXI.) is
thus described by Alderman Day, F.S.A.:--“It somewhat resembles in
shape the wooden forepart of a cavalry saddle of the present day, but
here the likeness ends; this piece of horse furniture is covered with
interlaced knot-work of the choicest kind, similar to the well-known
ornamentation upon our ancient Irish crosses. The timber composing it
is yew, which fortunately was preserved by being deposited in the peaty
mould of the lake bottom. The centre of the pommel is pierced by a very
Moorish-looking horse-shoe ornament, and both sides of the timber are
carved in compartments, no two of which are alike in their filling up
of scroll and net-work. Even the top of the pommel, of both near and
off side, differs in the pattern of the ornament. The points of the
pommel at both sides are pierced with two holes, where the mark of the
fong is apparent, by which the forepart was secured to the lateral
boards which formed the seat of the saddle, and both points are grooved
for the reception of these boards.” Bridle-bits, or cheek-pieces, were
discovered in Loughran Island, in the river Bann: of these, one is
quite plain, and the other remarkably slender; it measures 6 inches
across--the two metal rein-straps still remain on the posterior
loop. The third, fig. 184, represents a fragment merely, of one that
had borne ornamentation.
[Illustration: Plate XXXI.
Forefront of Ancient Irish Saddle. Back and Front view.]
[Illustration: Fig. 185.--Cheek-pieces of Bits from Lough Faughan and
Ardakillen. Two-thirds real size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 186.--Iron Bit from Lagore. One-fourth real size.]
Fig. 185 represents cheek-pieces from the crannog of Lough Faughan,
and from Ardakillen. The bit proper, by which cheek-pieces of this
class were connected, appears to have been almost invariably composed
of iron. A perfect specimen with bronze mountings is represented in
Shirley’s _History of County Monaghan_. An example of the iron bit
which is supposed to have succeeded that composed of bronze and iron
is here given. It came from Lagore, as did also several flat pieces of
iron, which there is reason to believe had been attached as ornaments
to some article of horse trapping. They measure 3 inches or so in
length, by about ¾ of an inch in breadth, and are most curiously
decorated in enamel of various colours, the patterns being geometrical
interlacing figures in the style known as _Opus Hibernicum_; at the
time of their discovery, they presented the only examples of enamel
on iron which had then been noticed, and some of them may now be seen
in the Petrie Collection of the Museum, R. I. A. It is not known when
enamel was first used in Ireland. Some writers refer its invention to
the Gauls, on the authority of a passage from Philostratus (who lived
about the commencement of the third century), to the effect that the
barbarians bordering on the ocean knew how to spread colours upon hot
metal so as to become on the cooling of the material as hard as the
substance over which they were laid. Fig. 187 represents a small plate
of iron, covered with a rich pattern in enamel--vermilion, yellow,
and black; and fig. 188 is an ornament of mixed metal supposed, like
the preceding, to belong to a piece of horse furniture: it is inlaid
with red, brown, and yellow enamel, and “exhibits also specimens of a
remarkable glass-mosaic in chequered work of blue and white, encrusted
in cavities chiselled out on the face of the metal. This kind of
ornament is found occasionally on ancient Irish works in metal, it
bears much resemblance to some antique ornaments discovered with Roman
remains, and it occurs on the curious bronze basin found in the bed of
the river Witham near Lincoln.”
[Illustration: Fig. 187.--Enamelled Plate of Iron from Lagore. One-half
size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 188.--Inlaid Ornament of Mixed Metal from Lagore.
Two-thirds real size.]
_Miscellaneous Articles._--It would be impossible to classify all
the articles brought to light on lacustrine sites; indeed the use
to which some of them were, or could be, applied must now be purely
conjectural, so widely do the habits of life in the present advanced
state of society differ from the rude and primitive existence of the
lake dweller. To the representation of objects, whose use could not
now be defined with any degree of accuracy, have been added--since the
work went to press--a few plates of miscellaneous articles that fell
under the writer’s observation in the interval. They are of interest,
as throwing still further light on the details of the lake dwellers’
ordinary pursuits.
Amongst the debris of crannogs have been found several designs carved
upon the polished surface of the larger bones of mammalia. Sir W. Wilde
observed that clear, sharp, and accurate impressions might be made
from some of these carvings in the same way that proofs are taken from
a woodcut. In some instances the pattern is elaborately finished, and
would answer equally well “as a design for the panel of a stone cross,
the decoration of a doorway, or cornice of a round tower, a compartment
of a brooch pin, the capital of an early ecclesiastical archway, the
illumination of a MS., or the graving of a piece of warlike furniture.”
An example of this kind of decoration is shown on plate XXXII., fig.
1; it is the leg bone of a deer, 8½ inches long, highly polished, and
covered with carvings; its precise use is as yet conjectural. Figs. 3,
4, 5, are _fac-similes_ of the embossed patterns on this bone.
[Illustration: Plate XXXII.
Fig. 1. Decorated Bone from Ardakillen. One-third real size.
Fig. 2. Decorated Bone from Lagore. One-third real size.
Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Embossed Patterns on fig. 1. Real size.
Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Fig. 9. Ornamentation on Bone from Lagore. Real
size.
Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 12. Ornamentation on Bone from Lagore. Real size.
Decorated Bones from the Crannogs of Ardakillen and Lagore. Use
unknown.]
Another carved leg bone of a deer (plate XXXII.), fig. 2, is stained
a dark brown colour, probably by lying in peat; its polished surface
shows how much it had been handled. Upon the surface of this bone there
are various devices traced with a graver or other sharp tool. Figs.
6, 7, 8, 9, represent these (full size), and figs. 10, 11, 12, are
characteristic of Celtic animal ornamentation.
[Illustration: Fig. 189.
Fig. 190.
Fig. 191.
Fig. 192.
Fig. 193.
Plates of Bone, decorated, use not known.]
In the Museum, R. I. A., there are eight thin plates of bone,
varying in length from 1 to 5½ inches; they are of every variety of
shape--square, triangular, irregular, but the majority oblong. In some
respects they resemble in form, size, and ornamentation, the class of
small stone articles supposed to have served as toys, amulets, or in
some kind of game. According to Wilde, however, their more probable use
was either for the decoration of small caskets, or for dress fasteners.
They are generally perforated in several places, and the foregoing
illustrations display great variety of outline. Their outer surface,
smooth and convex, was more or less decorated with a number of circular
indentations and dotted lines. Most of the specimens were found in the
crannogs of Ballinderry and Ardakillen.
[Illustration: Fig. 194.--Rude Bone Spoon found at Clooneygonnel.
Two-thirds real size.]
Spoons formed of thin cuticular horn are not of unusual occurrence. The
specimen represented, fig. 194, is one of two such articles found in
the crannog of Clooneygonnel, and shaped out of the concave epiphyses,
or joint surfaces of the vertebræ of some large mammal. A wooden handle
had probably been originally attached to it.[157] Fig. 195, from
Ballinderry, is a curious, rudely formed object of bone, perforated
with four holes; its use unknown.[158]
[Illustration: Fig. 195.--Spatula-shaped Bone from Ballinderry.]
[Illustration: Plate XXXIII.
Miscellaneous Articles found in Crannogs.]
Plates XXXIII. and XXXIV. contain representations of miscellaneous
crannog “finds” from Randalstown and Lough Guile, county Antrim, and
Ballykinler, county Down: when not otherwise specified the articles are
from the first-named locality. Plate XXXIII., 1, a piece of pottery
(¼ size) that seems to have formed part of an earthen vessel; it is
coarse, strong, well made, and graceful in design; other fragments
were met with, and judging from the appearance of fire on the outside
of one, it had been used for cooking purposes. 2. A remarkable object
of granite (½ size); two of similar form were found at Ballykinler
crannog. 3. A paddle or oar made of oak, its length 3 feet 7 inches
by 4½ inches in breadth. 4. A wooden scoop; total length 12 inches,
the handle 4 inches, thickness 1½. 5. A wooden vessel found with a
canoe; its diameter 7 inches, depth 3, and thickness 1 inch; it would
be adapted for baling out a boat. 6 seems to be a netting needle (½
size); it is made of iron. 7. A battle-axe; length from face to end of
projection at back 7 inches, length of face 5½ inches, breadth 1 inch
at the one end, and at the other 1½ inches. 8. Iron sock of a plough;
length 7½ inches, greatest breadth 4 inches; it terminates in a point.
The following objects are all drawn one-half size:--9. A knife, the
only specimen met with at Ballykinler crannog, having a handle. The
haft is of goat’s horn, and the blade like a penknife of large size;
it does not seem applicable to any ordinary domestic purpose, but it
may have been used for bleeding or operating on animals. 10. A wooden
instrument--of which two were found--made of soft, long-grained wood
of the pine kind; they might have been used for coarse knitting. 11.
An instrument of similar wood, use unknown. 12. There were several
like No. 12, formed of soft wood; they might have served as fastenings
for mantle or hair. 13. An instrument of bone, neatly made and
polished, which might have been used as a pin. 14. A pin, made of a
close-grained, hard, white wood, probably holly; several of these were
brought to light. 15. An article of iron, use unknown. 16. A pin of
iron; several of these were found. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, are pins
of bronze. There were a great number resembling No. 17, also several of
No. 19. 24. A large button made of bronze; the eyes are not fastened
in but cast. 25. A crucible, seemingly of foreign manufacture, and
unused; but several were met with greatly calcined. 26, 27, 28, seem
to be fastenings for leather or other garments; they are of very thin
bronze. 29 is a comb made of bone and riveted with iron (found at
Ballykinler crannog).
Plate XXXIV., 1, is a pointed and socketed iron instrument from
Ballymena. 2, drawn about half-size, is evidently a lamp of late, or
perhaps mediæval form, composed of iron, and the workmanship good; it
had an upright handle pierced by an oblong hole, with another hole in
a projection at end of handle. A gentleman saw a lamp of this class
in use near Carrickfergus in the year 1840, as also in the islands
off the coast of Ulster. 3 is a canoe paddle made of oak, and about
3 feet in length; 4 is of stone, and was found in a crannog in the
county Down; 5 is a “spindle-whorl” (so called) made of jet, and
having indentations on it for a thong or string; 6 is a flint knife
(full size); the form is rather unusual, flint knives being generally
straight; 7 is a full-size representation of the smallest of two bronze
knives; the other differs from it in being 1 inch longer, and the shape
not so curved; it should however be observed, that these two articles
are supposed by some authorities to be modern forgeries. 8 is a bronze
instrument about 6 inches long, and very sharp at the point; the metal
and workmanship being similar to the knives, it therefore may also be
spurious. 9. A lozenge-shaped “spindle-whorl” of jet. This and the
three preceding are said to have come from Lough Guile. 10 is a stone,
natural size, perforated with two holes crossing at right angles, and
at each end a hole going a short way in. It is suggested that it may
have been the axis of a small wheel, “the arms being inserted through
the holes in the body of the stone, while it worked on two projections
inserted into the holes at the ends.”[159]
[Illustration: Plate XXXIV.
Miscellaneous Articles found in Crannogs.]
A pair of scales were found at Loughtarmin, and several at Lagore.
At the latter place were also a number of sewing-needles, composed
of various materials: the majority were of bone, about six or eight
of iron, and four or five of bronze. Those made of metal were
comparatively small and fine. Needles of the same kind have been met
with in the great crannogs of Ardakillen and Ballinderry.
At Lagore was found a bronze object, use unknown, fig. 196. In one
part it is ornamented with a beautiful chased design, once probably
enamelled. In the same crannog there was a square iron pipe, 2½ inches
in length, to which a long hook was attached.
[Illustration: Fig. 196.--Bronze Object found at Lagore. Full-size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 197.--Iron Pipe with Hook, from Lagore. Full-size.]
All the articles figured on plate XXXV. were found in the crannog of
Cloonfinlough, and are now in the British Museum. No. 1 (one-fourth
real size) represents a leaf-shaped dagger, skean, or knife, of an
extremely early type; it is a characteristic specimen of its class.
Similar weapons have, in Ireland, frequently occurred in company
with socketed celts, paalstaves, spear-heads, and other implements
of the so-called “Bronze Age.” The handle is very small, perforated
for insertion of a rivet, and probably the haft had been originally
prolonged by the addition of a piece of bone, horn, or wood, secured
to the bronze by means of the rivet. No. 2 (full-size) is an _eo_ or
brooch of bronze of a not unusual design, having a long pin and broad
flat ends, with a sunk lozenge in each, filled with a hatched pattern.
This form of dress-fastener must have remained unchanged during many
ages, for whilst it seems to have been common in the later “Iron
period,” it has also occasionally been found under circumstances which
point to much earlier days and usages. One example was discovered in
a cinerary urn amongst calcined bones. No. 3 (full-size) is a pin of
bronze with a crozier-like termination, ornamented with a series of
minute indentations, arranged without any regular pattern. A number
of these objects have been discovered in Christian cemeteries in
Ireland--as at Clonmacnoise and the Arran Islands. No. 4 (full-size)
is a very small arrow-head of iron; traces of a rivet hole are yet
discernible. No. 5 (one-third real size) is a ring made from the crown
of a stag’s horn, and polished on the interior; its use unknown. No.
6 (one-third real size) represents a double-bladed axe-head; similar
implements occurred at Lagore and at Drumdarragh; they belong to the
late “Iron period,” and vary greatly in dimensions. No. 7 (one-third
real size) is a single-piece shoe of leather, joined at the heel and
toe; at each side is a slit for a thong or strap to be brought over
the instep. Articles of this kind were used amongst the Irish down to
a very late period. Some specimens, highly decorated in early Celtic
style, have been figured by Wilde.
[Illustration: Plate XXXV.
Objects of various Materials from the Crannog of Cloonfinlough, and now
in the British Museum.]
_Fishing Implements._--It is probable that on account of the smallness
of their size, many bronze fishing-hooks may have been overlooked
by searchers amongst crannog sites, though a number of specimens
formed of iron occurred amongst the relics of ancient Dublin during
the excavations made many years ago in Christ Church-place, and
Fishamble-street. Several implements of iron, evidently designed for
the capture of fresh-water prey, have been found on the sites of
crannogs, and may now be seen in the Museum, R. I. A. Plate XXXVI.
No. 1 is the head of an eel-spear, one of several exhumed from the
debris of the Ardakillen crannogs; no trace of the handle remained.
The implement consists of nine barbed prongs (the wings of the heads
nearly touching each other) set in an oblong-shaped socket, composed
of extremely thin iron plates or bands, that measure in width 5½
inches, in depth 2¾ inches, and are of sufficient strength to receive
and secure the prongs; these average somewhat less than a quarter of
an inch at their greatest diameter, which occurs near the head. The
socket in its various parts is secured together by a number of rivets,
irregularly set; from it descends a shaft measuring 4¾ inches. It is at
first quadrangular, but midway assumes a cylindrical form, resembling
sockets of crannog spears of the later “iron period,” and like
them secured to wooden handles by a rivet. The implement presents
altogether a rough and bizarre appearance. No. 2 is a smaller example
of an eel-spear, with socket, and having only eight barbed prongs. No.
3 is another form of fish-spear, or gaff. It measures 9½ inches in
length, and is furnished at its pointed head with two long narrow barbs
designed for holding. Unlike the spear and arrow-heads used in war, or
in the chase, this implement was secured to its wooden shaft by a tang.
Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 8, are darts or spear-heads of the same class. Save
in size, they differ very slightly from No. 3, but are considerably
eroded by the moisture of the bog-stuff in which they were embedded.
No. 6 is a highly-finished head of the fish-spear class, though at
first sight it might almost be taken for an arrow-head. Its barbs were,
however, evidently intended to hold any substance into which they might
be struck; the tang is solid and octangular, and just at the point
where it joins the head there are three rather deep transverse notches.
No. 9 is an ordinary iron fish-hook.
[Illustration: Plate XXXVI.
Fishing Implements of Iron from Crannogs. Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and
8 from Ardakillen or Strokestown Crannogs. No. 9 from Lagore. All
one-third real size.]
_Historical Notices of Crannogs._--According to Keller, Swiss
“_Pfahlbauten_,” or pile dwellings, attained their highest development
about fifteen hundred years B.C. This statement he founds on the
absence in them of traces of winter corn, hemp, and domestic fowl
(unknown to the Greeks till the time of Pericles). These lacustrine
sites appear to have been abandoned about, or perhaps before, the
commencement of the Christian era; whilst on the other hand, although
we have no account of the first erection of crannogs in Ireland, and
must therefore consider their origin to date back from prehistoric
times, yet we have undoubted proofs of their continued use down to the
close of the seventeenth century; although now where
“… swells the wave
All other sounds are still,
And strange and mournfully sound they;
Each seems a funeral cry
O’er life that long has past away,
O’er ages long gone by.”
In Connaught, next after Ulster, the greatest number of lake dwellings
have been discovered, but a list of them could have only temporary
value, as further explorations might greatly change, or even reverse,
the numerical superiority of the crannog sites in Ulster. It is
only of late that Munster can be said to be embraced within the
lake-dwelling area, whose ambit now includes the entire kingdom. From
the present stand-point, the northern province, however, seems to have
been _facile princeps_ the home of the lake-dweller. Its population,
even to the close of the seventeenth century, followed a life of rude
and primitive character. The waters of the Erne, its tributaries and
lakes, stretched for a distance of nearly sixty miles; the counties of
Monaghan and Cavan of the present day formed then a district of low
wooded hills, interlaced with a perfect net-work of bogs and lakes,
through which ran but one road--that by Carrickmacross in the barony
of Farney--whilst the Few mountains, at that period wooded, served to
complete a “scientific frontier” of nature’s own formation. The term
“Lake Country” has often been applied to the county Fermanagh: indeed
the whole territory would seem at no very remote date to have been a
watery maze. Upon almost every side may be observed either marshes that
had once been lakes, or else sheets of water varying in size, from what
may be termed lakes to mere lakelets; and at a period when the whole
neighbouring country was one mass of wood these inland loughs served as
tolerably secure retreats. At the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion of
Ireland castles on terra firma seem to have been but lightly esteemed
by the northern chieftains, for the conqueror of Ulster had erected
many strongholds to secure the subjugated territory, more especially
in the country of Mac Mahon, who “with solemn protestations vowed to
become a true and faithful subject, whereupon de Courcy gave him two
castles with their demeanes to hold of him. Within one month after
this Mac Mahon brake down the castles, and made them even with the
ground. Sir John de Courcy sent unto him to know the cause: his answer
was, that he promised not to hold stones of him, but the land.” Later
on one Thomas Pettiplace, in answer to an inquiry from the Government
as to what castles or forts O’Neil was possessed of, in a letter of
the 15th May, 1567, states:--“For castles I think it be not unknown
unto yr honors he trusteth no points thereunto for his safety, as
appeareth by the raising (_razing_) of the strongest castles of all
his countries, and that fortification that he only dependeth upon _is
in sartin ffreshwater loghes_ in his country, which from the sea there
come neither ship nor boat to approach them; it is thought that there
in ye said _fortified islands_ lyeth all his plate, wch is much,
and money, prisoners, and gages, wch islands hath in wars before
been attempted, and now of late again by ye Lord Deputy Sr Harry
Sydney, wch, for want of means for safe conduct upon ye water,
it hath not prevailed.” Of the unsuccessful attack on the crannog or
stockaded island, to which allusion is thus made, the account forwarded
by Sir Henry Sydney to Elizabeth, dated Drogheda, 12th November,
1566, is here given:--“On Thursday, the 17th of the last September,
I, your Highness’ Deputy, accompanied with the Earl of Kildare, the
Marshal Francis Agarnde and Jaques Wingefelde, with the rest of the
captains and soldiers of your Highness’ army--each man in his calling
as willing to serve your Majesty as ever I saw men--issued out of this
town of Drogheda, and encamped in the confines of the English Pale
and O’Hanlon’s country, at a place called Roskeaghe, where we were
forced to remain, for sundry necessary things not come as then out of
the English Pale, four nights. So, on the 21st of the same month, we
removed and marched towards Ardmach, and in the way, having occasion
to encamp hard by a logh, in which was an island, and in the same,
by universal opinion and report of divers of that country, a great
quantity of the rebels’ goods and victuals kept, only without guns,
as it was thought, not greatly strong as it seemed, being but hedged
about, and the distance from the main not being passed five-score
yards, the army coming timely to the camp, divers soldiers were very
desirous to attempt the winning of it, which was granted to them, I the
Deputy making choice only of such as could swim; nevertheless there was
prepared for them a bridge which floated upon barrels, whereupon they
went but disorderly, for many more went than were appointed, among whom
Edward Vaughan, a gentleman of Wales, who being none of the army, but
come over to serve this journey, as many more gentlemen and others of
that country and the marches of the same did, was one who, unwitting
to me your Highness’ Deputy, being gone from the place where the
bridge did lie, to stay the shot of the army, least they should hurt
their followers, with divers others not appointed, stepped upon the
bridge and rowed away, which overcharge of men caused the bridge more
to sink than else it would, and yet not so much but that it floated
still and carried them over, but in such sort as the fireworks conveyed
with them miscarried, so they were able therewith to do nothing. They
found the place better manned than it was thought, and they of better
courage than before that time the like men had ever shewed themselves
in the like place. They found the hedge so bearded with stakes and
other sharp wood, as it was not without extreme difficulty scaleable,
and so ramparted as if the hedge had been burned--for doing whereof
the fireworks failed--without a long time it was not to be digged
down. Yet some scaled to the top, whereof Edward Vaughan was one, who
being pushed with a pike from the same, fell between the hedge and
the bridge, and being heavily armed--albeit he could swim perfect
well--was drowned, and two others hurt upon the rampart and drowned;
one other slain upon the bridge with a shot; a man of mine, the Deputy,
slain upon the main with a shot; and Anthony Deringe, a servant of the
Earl of Leycester’s, stricken through the thigh without perishing any
bone, and is perfectly recovered; the rest, unhurt, returned upon the
bridge to the land. We write of this trifle thus largely to your Most
Excellent Majesty least some malice or ignorance might inform the same
contrary to the truth; and as many of us as were at the journey by
these our letters affirm this to be the truth, and the whole truth, of
that fact.”
Extracts that here follow, from notices of crannogs contained in native
annals,[160] trace back their existence in Ireland during a period of
over a thousand years from the seventeenth century.
After the surrender of Charlemont, Sir Phelim O’Neil “retired to a
fortified island called _Raghan_ (? Roughan) _Isle_, and was there
captured in February, 1653, by William Lord Charlemont.”[161]
A small lake situated somewhat to the north-west of the village of
Desertmartin has given title to the barony of Loughinsholin, lying
south of the city of Londonderry; it was so named from _Inis Ua
Fhloinne_ (O’Lynn’s Island), a stockaded dwelling near its eastern
margin. The lake itself is now known as Lough Shillen. The oak piling
that formerly surrounded the island was removed for firewood, leaving
a mere bank covered with reeds and low bushes. In Father O’Mellan’s
Journal (written in Irish) of the rebellion of 1642, he mentions
two attacks on the island by the English, in the years 1642, 1643;
and again in 1645, its final abandonment and destruction by fire on
the part of the Irish, owing to inability to hold out from want of
provisions. He states that on the “27th April, 1642, the Coleraine
detachment (_i.e._ the English) came upon Cormac O’Neill, son of
Fedhlim Oge, at Rayleagh, and robbed and killed his people, namely
the Clann William; thence they proceeded to _Lough-inis-olyn_, and to
Moneymore, until the two forces were near one another. They collected
a great deal of spoil, and the creaghts fled to Dungannon. After
plundering far and near, the English returned to Lough-inis-olyn. They
sent Rory Ballagh O’Mellan to demand the island from Shane O’Hagan, son
of John, son of Edmond Oge. It was refused them. They then fired three
shots from a cannon, which they had with them, and departed from the
place, returning to their homes laden with spoil.”
Again, on “August 25, 1643, Inis-O’Luin was garrisoned by Shane
O’Hagan. The enemy came and called on them to surrender, which they
refused to do. They then stopped up a stream which ran out of the lake,
and turned the course of another into it, so that they contrived to
flood the island. The garrison kept watch in the island house, and one
of their men was killed by a cannon ball while on watch. However, they
refused to surrender the island on any terms. One man in attempting
to swim away had his legs broken. The enemy at length departed.” The
latest entry occurs under date 7th March, 1645, when “The people of
O’Hagan burned Inis-O’Lynn, for want of provisions, and followed the
general eastwards.”[162]
The crannog of _Mac Navin_,[163] county Galway, was taken in the year
1610; it is previously mentioned under date 1601. G. H. Kinahan, who
searched for but could find no trace of this crannog, imagined its
site must have been somewhere in the large alluvial flat and bog that
extends south of the townland of Crannagh, in the parish of Tynagh,
county Galway. This supposed site lies about four miles E.N.E. of the
crannog of Ballinlough. The difficulty experienced in identifying the
site is the more remarkable as the descendants of the sept of Mac
Navin still reside in the locality, and the crannog was inhabited up
to a very late period.[164] In 1603, after the subjugation of Leitrim
by the Crown, “O’Rourke was obliged to remain with a small force in
the woods, in the remote glens and on the islands in the lakes in his
country;” whilst the same year Hugh Boy O’Donnell was conveyed by his
adherents to the retirement of a crannog, to be healed of his wounds.
This retreat, called “_Crannog-na-n-Duini_, in Ross Guill, in the
Tuathas,” was situated in the parish of Mevagh, county Donegal, between
Redhaven and Sheephaven. In 1599 the crannog of _Lough Gur_, county
Limerick, was taken from the “Queen’s people” by the Earl of Desmond,
then in rebellion against Elizabeth. Sir George Carew relates that
the Lord President of Munster, who reconnoitred the crannog for the
purpose of its recapture in the following year, _i.e._ 1600, observed
two small islets (the crannogs) and one large island; this latter “he
found to be a place of exceeding strength, by reason that it was an
island encompassed with a deep lough, the breadth thereof being, in the
narrowest place, a caliver’s shot over. Upon one side thereof standeth
a very strong castle, which at this time was manned with a good
garrison, for there was within the island John Fitz Thomas with two
hundred men at the least.”[165] “After much parade in the preparation
of ordnance to reduce Lough Gur, its surrender was purchased for sixty
pounds from Owen Grome, who had been entrusted with its defence.”[166]
There yet lingers here “the reflex of a legend past,” for it is
supposed that beneath the waters of the lake lie enchanted the grand
old castle of the Desmonds, the great earl himself, his beautiful
countess, and all the retinue that surrounded him in the days of his
splendour. “In one of the lakes is a small island, rocky and wooded,
which is believed by the peasantry to represent the top of the highest
tower of the castle, which sank under a spell to the bottom.”[167]
In a plan-drawing of the siege of Enniskillen castle, in the year 1592,
the remains of a crannog appear in the river close to the castle, where
seemingly a circle of stakes encloses a diminutive island.[168] The
survey or maps of the county Monaghan, made by one Francis Jobson in
1590, though meagre, and certainly--as its designer expresses in an
apologetic note to Burghley--“nothing perfect,” is nevertheless highly
interesting by reason of the rude sketches of the water-laved abodes
of the chiefs of Monaghan. Each barony possessed one, designated “the
island”; that in Farney was at _Lisanisk_, written _Lysonske_, and
it is marked on the map as “The Island, Ever M’Cooley’s house.” In
the year 1843 traces of this structure were discovered; the former
artificial island was then a peninsula, having been joined to the
shore. Seven feet below the surface of the ground, and two feet below
the water level, a double row of piles was disclosed, formed of young
trees with the bark still adhering, and from six to twelve inches in
diameter; the area thus enclosed was an oval sixty feet by forty-two
feet.[169] In Jobson’s map several crannogs are represented in _Lough
Mucknoe_, barony of Cremorne; also “Mac Mahoun’s house,” or crannog,
is shown in _Lough Monnachin_. According to the same authority, a
sub-chief of the present county Monaghan, named Mac Kenna, resided in
a crannog either on the lake of _Glaslough_ or that of _Erny_ in the
parish of Donagh. The map is so rough that it is difficult to decide
which of the lakes is intended. Francis Jobson likewise represents the
residence of a chieftain named Brian Mahon, as a crannog on _Lough
Rouskey_, in the parish of Killeevan. In 1588 Aedh O’Donnell and nine
of his followers were murdered in the crannog of _Mongavlin_, parish
of Taughboyne, county Donegal. “The crannog is not now traceable, nor
is there any water in the locality in which such a structure could
have existed, with the exception of Lough Foyle, on the margin of
which Mongavlin is situated.”[170] In 1571 the Mac Dermots burned
_Inis-Floinn_ and _Inis-Mic-David_,[171] situated somewhere on the
borders of Roscommon and Sligo. The statement that the islands were
burned seems to sufficiently demonstrate their artificial character.
In the sixteenth century the island fortress of _Inishrush_ was held
by an Irish sub-chief named Brian Carragh; and Dr. Reeves quotes a
document from the State Paper Office, in which allusion is made to
it in the form of a letter to a Captain Piers, dated 10th December,
1566. The writer says:--“Als mony as we migt drywe and dreaf ower ye
Ban all ye carycht yt Brean Karriche hade … and ane innyse (i.e.
_Island_, namely _Inishrush_), yt Brean Karriche hade of befair and
Oneiles servand tuk yt, and now we have gotten ye innys agane, and
that harchips I behuffit to Sla yame to be meet to my arme.” The
crannog of Inishrush (_i. e._ the island of the wood), or perhaps,
peninsula, has long ceased to bear that name. It is a small island in
the middle of a marshy basin called Green Lough, in the townland of
Inishrush, barony of Loughinsholin, county Derry. Some years ago this
marsh was a sheet of water about half a mile in circumference, the
drainage of which was effected by means of a deep cut that carried its
contents into the Clady river. About the centre of the lakelet was
a circular artificial mound composed of clay and gravel, the sides
gradually shelving downwards. It was girt with a circle--about one
hundred and fifty feet in circumference--of oak piles, most of them
still in position. Horizontal beams of oak were mortised in the upper
ends, and upon this framework rested seemingly the foundation of a
wooden house securely attached to the supporting timbers. An artificial
causeway, leading from the western margin of the lough, appears to have
formerly connected the crannog with terra firma. The sole discovery
made was a fragment of chain-armour. The lake basin became again partly
submerged owing to neglect of the drainage, and when Dr. Reeves visited
the locality in 1859, he failed to reach the crannog. It remained,
however, above water, prominently covered with a luxuriant growth of
grass.[172]
In 1560 O’Rourke was drowned “whilst going to sleep on a low
sequestered crannog in _Muinter Eolius_,” county Leitrim. Under heading
of the year 1544, crannogs in the county Antrim are referred to in the
_Annals of the Four Masters_:--“O’Donnell marched with a force into the
Routes, and took (i.) _Inis-an-Lochain_, on which was a wooden castle
and an impregnable fortress in the possession of Mac Quillan; and after
O’Donnell had taken the castle he gave the castle to O’Kane. On the
same expedition O’Donnell took the castle of (ii.) _Baile-an-locha_,
and he found much property, consisting of arms, armour, brass, iron,
butter and provisions, in those castles. O’Donnell also took after
that (iii.) _Inis-locha-Burrann_, and (iv.) _Inis-locha-Leithinnsi_,
in which he likewise found much property.” (i.) _Inis-an-Lochain_ (_i.
e._ the island of the little lake) lies in the river Bann, about a
mile and a-half to the south of Coleraine. It is now called Loughan
Island. The crannog had been erected, or perhaps, _re_-erected in 1170.
(ii.) _Baile-an-locha_ (_i. e._ the village of the lake), anglicised
Ballylough, and (iv.) _Locha-Leithinnsi_ (_i. e._ the lake of the half
island), now known as Lough Lynch, are both situated in the parish of
Billy. Lough Lynch originally covered about twenty acres, but has been
drained, and the former island is now accessible by dry land. This
crannog “is shown as the birthplace of Colkitto, a chief who figured
in Montrose’s wars,” and who has found a place in Sir Walter Scott’s
“Legend of Montrose,” as well as in one of Milton’s sonnets, written on
the critics who cut up the title of his book “Tetrachordon:”--
“‘Bless us! what a word on
A title-page is this!’ And some in file
Stand spelling false, while one might walk to Mile-
End Green. ‘Why, it is harder, sirs, than Gordon,
Colkitto, or Mac Donnel, or Galasp.’
These rugged names to our like mouths grow sleek
That would have made Quintillian stare and gasp.”
Colkitto’s real name was Alexander Mac Donnell, a relative of the Earl
of Antrim. (iii.) _Inis-locha-Burrann_ was situated in the parish of
Ballintoy; the lake is now drained, and the place known by the name of
Loughavarra.[173]
In 1541 the eastern crannog in the lake of Glencar, on the borders
of Sligo and Leitrim, was taken by one sept of the O’Rourkes from
another. Shortly afterwards the dispossessed proprietor attempted to
set fire to the “fortress,” but was discovered, pursued by boats, taken
prisoner, and hanged. In the summer of 1540, O’Donnell besieged the
crannog of _Loch Betha_, now Lough Veagh, county Donegal. He encamped
round the lake shores, but failed to take the stronghold. In the autumn
he, however, defeated his opponents, and “broke up and completely
demolished the crannog.” Previous mention is made of it as the scene of
strife in the year 1524, when Eoghan O’Donnell took Niall O’Donnell’s
“town” (_i.e._ the crannog of Loch Betha); whilst in 1257 O’Donnell
was confined to this crannog during twelve months from wounds received
in a battle near Sligo. In 1512 the crannog of Mac Gauran was taken by
Mac Guire. In 1495 Mac Gauran, a chief of Tallaghaw, in the present
county Cavan, was drowned in _Loch Crannoige_ of _Coill-an-mhuilinn_
(_i. e._ Lake Crannog of the Wood of the Mill), now Ballywillen Lough.
In 1477 a violent tempest swept over Ireland which did great damage,
especially to crannogs. Had these structures not been very numerous,
the chroniclers would scarcely have drawn special attention to the
havoc thus wrought. In 1455 Torlogh Mac Guire took and plundered the
crannog of Mac Clancy on Lough Melvin, county Leitrim. In 1452 O’Hanley
was murdered by his own tribe in the crannog of _Loch-Leisi_ (stated by
O’Donovan to be now called Muckenagh Lough), in the parish of Kilmeam,
county Roscommon; whilst in 1246 it is of record that O’Conor made his
escape when a prisoner from the same lake-dwelling, after drowning
his guards. In 1368 an O’Conor was taken prisoner in the crannog
of _Ardakillen_, parish of Killukin, county Roscommon, and in 1388
another O’Conor burned this crannog and the Island of _Loch-Cairgin_
(_i. e._ Cargin’s Lough[174]), near Tulsk in the same county. In
1365 Brian Mac Mahon, chief of Oriel, invited his father-in-law to a
banquet, where he made him prisoner, and “put him in a lake to conceal
him”[175]--evidently meaning his confinement in a crannog--for Mac
Geoghegan states that the captive was committed “to a strong place
on a lough to be kept.” In 1247 Mac Costello took and garrisoned the
crannog of _Cloonloch_ (now Lough Clean), county Leitrim, and expelled
the proprietor, Mac Rannall, who, however, succeeded in recapturing his
stronghold.
In 1223 William de Lacy, one of the great Anglo-Norman settlers in
Ireland erected “the crannog of _Inis-Laodhachain_, and the Connacht
men entered forcibly upon it, and let out on parole the people who
were in it.” This erection of a lake-dwelling by a Norman baron is
an instance of the habit laid to the charge of many of the English,
of forsaking their own language and usages, and of living according
to the manner of the Irish amongst whom they dwelt. “The names
_Inis-Laodhachain_ and _Loch-Laodhachain_ are now obsolete.” In 1220
“Walter de Laci came to Erinn, and performed a great hosting to the
crannog of O’Raighilligh.[176] He went upon it and obtained hostages
and great power.” The crannog here referred to “appears to have been
situated in Lough Oughter, county Cavan, where the old castle of
Cloch-Uachtair (or Cloch-Oughter) now stands. In a letter from Guy de
Chatillon to Henry III., dated July, 1224, Grennoch Oraely (as the name
is therein written) is stated to have been captured from William de
Lacy by Oraely, Walter de Riddelsford, and Richard Tuit, on the same
day on which the castle of Kilmore (county Cavan) was taken, from which
it appears to have been in the neighbourhood.”
There is evidence that some crannogs were constructed by the Northmen,
for in 1170 the chief of a small territory in the barony and county
Monaghan “was killed by the men of a fleet which came from the
Orkneys, in the island which had been constructed by themselves in
_Loch-Ruidhe_, i. e. Inis-Lachain.” There is no lake in Ireland now
known by that name; but to the south of Coleraine there is a small
island in the river Bann called “the Loughan,” which bears all the
appearance of having been artificially constructed.[177] In 1150 an
Irish chief was killed “on the island of _Loch-Laighaire_.” This
crannog lay in the country of the “_Sliocht O’Neills_,” and, as appears
from subsequent references, was situated to the south of Lifford,
in the barony of Clogher, county Tyrone, and was the residence of
that branch of the O’Neills. It is written _Loch-Laoghaire_ and
_Loch-Laighaire_, i. e. Leary’s Lake, said to have been so called from
“Leary the Victorious,” one of the heroes of the Red Branch Knights of
Ulster, in the first century; but for nearly two hundred years it has
been generally known under the designation _Corcreevy_, i. e. wooded
hill. In 1845, when the water had been drained off, the crannog was
here discovered. There are several allusions to it in the Irish Annals.
In 1325 “O’Donnell, the son of Brian O’Neill, Lord of Tyrone, died at
Loch-Laighaire. In 1431 Nachtan O’Donnell went to assault the castle of
Loch-Laighaire, and took it from Turlough O’Donnell, and all the spoils
that were in it he carried off.” In 1436 the crannog had been seized by
the O’Neills, when some of the same sept summoned Mac Guire to their
assistance and “commenced constructing boats to go to the crannog, but
the sons of Bryan, who were then in the crannog, came to the resolution
of delivering it up.” In 1500 Hugh Roe O’Donnell “burned the crannog of
Loch-Laighaire;” whilst in 1509 there is a notice of a fight between
two septs of the O’Neills on the shores of the lake.
In 1025, it is stated in the _Annals of Loch Cé_, that a predatory
expedition was made by the inhabitants of Fermanagh, on which occasion
they burned the crannog on _Loch-n-Uaithne_ (Lough Ooney), “and slew
seventeen men on the margin of the lake.” Lough Ooney lies in the
county Monaghan, in the barony of Dartry, the chiefs of which territory
had their principal residence on this lake, whence they were sometimes
designated “Lords of Loch-n-Uaithne.”
In the enumeration of various kinds of fortresses repaired by Brian
Borumha, crannogs are included, as recorded in a well-known Irish ms.
entitled “The Wars of the Gaedhiel with the Gaill.” In it mention
is made of four crannogs, one being near Knockany, county Limerick,
and situated in _Lough Cend_, now drained; also the celebrated
crannog in _Lough Gur_, in the same county. The site of the crannog
of _Loch Saiglend_ has not been identified;[178] the site of
_Inis-an-ghaill-duibh_ (_i. e._ the island of the black foreigner or
Dane,[179]) is unknown, or at least uncertain; however, in the Dublin
copy of the _Annals of Innisfallen_, under date 1016, it is stated to
have been situated in the river Shannon. We learn that in some of
his numerous conflicts with the Danes, Brian Borumha pillaged various
_islands_ in the Shannon, where the invaders had placed their women and
children for safety, as well as their treasure, as “there was much gold
and other wealth in these islands and fortifications.” In 990 a violent
tempest “sunk the island of _Lough Cimbe_ (now Lough Hackett) suddenly,
_dreach_ and rampart, _i. e._ thirty feet;” this crannog was afterwards
rebuilt by Brian Borumha.
With the Danes, the struggle in Ireland between invaders and invaded
was carried on as much in the lakes and rivers as on terra firma. Of
the importance attached to crannogs during this contest many instances
might be given, but a few will here suffice. In 984 “the islands of
Connaught were destroyed by these marauders.” In 933 the crannog of
_Lagore_ in Meath was burnt by them; whilst in 848 they fired and
dismantled it. Lagore being the residence of one of the principal
chiefs of Meath, frequent notices of it appear in the annals, where it
is written _Loch-Gabhar_. “_Gabhur_” is an ancient Irish and British
word for a horse, and accordingly the name _Loch-gabhra_, which occurs
in the life of St. Aidus, is translated _Stagnum-equi_, the lake of
the horse,[180] now euphonized “Lagore.” In 967 Beollán, “king” of
this place, died; in 907 Maelogra, also “king” of Lagore, was slain;
whilst in 868 the son of Edirscel, “king” of Lagore, fell fighting
against the Danes. In 865 Tighernach, “king” of Lagore and “half-king”
of Meath, died; and in 856 Cinaedh, chief of the present baronies of
Upper and Lower Duleek, in Meath, in alliance with the Danes, “spoiled
the islands” of Lagore. This entry is of great importance, as it points
to the probability of the site of another crannog or crannogs in close
proximity to the celebrated historical stronghold dug out of its peaty
covering in 1847, and which as early as A.D. 673, must have been of
importance, for in that year a considerable battle took place on the
shores of the lake. In 927 and 928 the Danes plundered “the islands of
Lough Neagh,” and in 922 the same fate befel “the islands of Lough Rea.”
In 847 “the island of _Inis-Muinremhar_,” in Lough Ramor, county Cavan,
was “demolished by the inhabitants of Leyney, county Sligo, and
Gallen, county Mayo, who were plundering the territories after the
manner of the Gentiles.”[181] In 636 a chieftain named Maelduin was
burned to death in “the island” of _Inishkeen_, county Louth, on the
borders of Monaghan,[182] and in the same year mention is made in the
_Annals of the Four Masters_ of “a lake in which a crannog was built,
situated in Oriel (but not now known), called _Loch-da-damh_, the lake
of the two oxen.”[183]
There is an ancient poem in Irish,[184] attributed to St. Columbkille,
which commences--
“Alone am I on the mountain.”
The Saint is flying from his enemies after the order of banishment from
Erin had been issued against him: he subsequently exclaims--
“Though even in a church, the reprobates are slain;
Though _in an island, in the middle of a lake_,
The fortunate of this life are protected,
While in the very front of battle
No one can slay me.”
A well-known Irish scholar, the Rev. Canon Bourke, gives the following
translation of the same passage:--
“If by six thousand I was guarded,
Or placed _in islet in a lake_,
Or in a fortress strong protected,
Or in a church my refuge take,
Still God would guard His own with care;
And even in battle safe they fare.
No man can slay me till the day
When God shall take my life away.”
There is said to be an ancient _Life of St. Patrick_ which contains a
notice of one of those dwellings; and in a translation into English
of an ancient Irish ms., the “Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne”--two
characters belonging to the earliest, indeed generally supposed
mythic, period of Irish history--Fionn and Diarmuid are represented as
addressing each other, and the one calls to mind that Miodhach the son
of Colgan, “had a Bruighean upon land, and a Bruighean _upon the wave_”
(_i. e._ an island). The word Bruighean means a palace. The island upon
which this structure stood was, according to the text, situated upon
the Shannon, and was approached by a “ford.”
Thus can be clearly traced a continuous historical occupancy of these
structures until all written record of them ceases, and their origin
is lost in the mists of antiquity: enough proof has been advanced to
show that crannogs existed, as may be fairly surmised, from the first
colonization of Erin. In the most diverse climates “water towns” seem
to have sprung up independently, by virtue of the natural laws which
govern man’s action in a semi-civilized state--
“Facies non omnibus una
Nec diversa tamen, qualis decet esse sororum.”
The continuance in Ireland of this very primitive form of habitation
was doubtless prolonged in consequence of the restless internecine
feuds and generally unsettled state of the country. However, the
“silver streak” around the island homes of Ireland’s early inhabitants
was not always a secure barrier; during severe winters, when the water
was sufficiently frozen, it no longer presented an obstacle, but on
the contrary was of considerable assistance to marauders. In the
native chronicles most notices of crannogs are connected with scenes
of strife, the island of the weaker party being usually given to the
flames. A disturbed state of society up to a very late period was also
characteristic of the sister kingdom of Scotland, and the antiquarian
and poetical genius of Sir Walter Scott brings the feuds of the past
before the eyes of the modern reader. The scene wherein the Lowlanders
or Saxons fruitlessly essay to reach the island on Loch Katrine, where
the Highlanders or Celts had placed their women, children, and goods
for safety, had most probably its foundation in some real occurrence.
In his _History of the Rise of the Dutch Republic_, Motley traces the
gradual development of what is now the kingdom of Holland, from a race
of ichthyophagi who dwelt upon mounds which they raised like beavers
above the almost fluid soil, but whether there ever was in Erin a
period purely lacustrine, or to what extent villages on terra firma may
have co-existed, is a problem that will most probably never be solved.
From careful examination, however, of the “finds” in lake dwellings,
the conclusion may be drawn that civilization in Ireland, from the
earliest dawn, has been on the whole steadily progressive, for
“… I doubt not through the ages one increasing purpose runs,
And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns.”
There is something in the continuity of these successive ages that
may be considered analogous to the connecting links of a chain. The
Palaeolithic, or rude stone period; the Neolithic, or polished stone
age, as well as the Bronze age, in all probability overlapped more,
and had a longer continuance, than elsewhere in Europe. But the mere
fact of the discovery of stone implements, particularly as in Ireland,
in a stone-producing country, is not necessarily proof of a barbarous
state of society, for, as remarked by the Duke of Argyll, the remains
of the first Chaldean monarchy plainly demonstrate that a high state of
civilization co-existed with the use of stone implements of a very rude
character.
END OF PART I.
LAKE DWELLINGS.
PART II.
DESCRIPTION AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ALL KNOWN LACUSTRINE SITES
IN IRELAND, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE ANTIQUITIES DISCOVERED IN OR AROUND
THEM.
PROVINCE OF ULSTER.
COUNTY ANTRIM.
_Lough Ravel_ (otherwise Derryhollagh).--This name is but a modern
corruption of the ancient form, found in the Inquisition of 1605 to be
in the district of the “Feenagh”:--“Est in eodem tuogh quidam lacus
vocatus Loughdireare in quo est insula fortificata.” The site of this
crannog, lying between Toomebridge and Randalstown, is known to the
country people as “the island” in Aghaloughan bog; it seems to have
been entirely artificial, constructed on oak piles driven into the
bed of the lough, and bound together by horizontal beams of the same
timber mortised to the piles. The interior was filled up with wood and
earth, thus forming an island of about twenty-eight yards in diameter;
and beyond this, at the distance of some six or eight yards, there
still remain several oaken piles, probably traces of an outer stockade.
On the crannog were stone hearths with marks of fire on them, and
partially within the enclosure was a very perfect single-piece canoe
of oak, twenty feet nine inches long, by four feet seven inches broad,
the sides twenty inches deep. In the island and its immediate vicinity
were querns, several wooden and copper dishes, daggers and spear-heads
of bronze, iron celts, and stones with holes perforated in them; also
some articles seemingly intended for ornamental purposes, and others
of strange shape, regarding the use of which no conjecture can be
formed. These “finds” have been sold from time to time to various
collectors. At a short distance from the island, and twelve feet below
the surface of the bog, was brought to light in the summer of 1856, a
pan-shaped circular vessel of thin hammered copper, twenty-two inches
in diameter, and eight inches in depth; it is now in the Belfast
Museum, and a label attached to it states that a few years previously
a similar one had been found nearer to the island; and in 1859 another
vessel of small size, made of hammered copper, was discovered in the
same locality. A bronze needle or bodkin, three inches long, with the
eye quite perfect; a narrow iron hatchet, eight inches in length, and
one and a-half inches wide at its cutting edge;[185] a bronze pin of
unusual form, ornamented with two human heads (_ante_, p. 109, fig.
126); two bronze fibulæ (_ante_, p. 118, figs. 147 and 148); undressed
flint flakes (_ante_, p. 58, figs. 12 and 13); the glass beads figured
(_ante_, p. 124, figs. 168 and 169); and a beautifully designed silver
brooch (_ante_, p. 121, fig. 157), were found in this crannog.[186]
_Loughmagarry._--The townland of this name is in the parish of Craigs,
barony of Toome lower; it contains within it a low-lying piece of land,
the former bed of a lake that was drained towards the close of the last
century. The present name bears no resemblance to its designation in
the Inquisition of 1605,[187] but it has been identified as the same
by Dr. Reeves; the large townland which adjoins it on the west, and of
which it appears to have been formerly a sub-denomination, is called
Feenagh. The Loughinchefeaghny of the deed of 1605 is a compound word,
signifying--according to the above authority--“the lake of the island
of Feenagh,” but perhaps may be interpreted the island of Fiodhnach,
_i. e._ the wooded place. The crannog stood close to the shore of
the lake near its western margin, where the bank rises abruptly from
the hollow; it is now a mere gravelly knoll, but the country people
recollected seeing it surrounded with an external framing of oak posts,
the interior filled in with gravel and clay. Several curiosities (now
dispersed) are said to have been found in it.[188]
_Loughtamand_, or _Loughtarmin_.--In the townland of Lisnahunshin,
parish of Craigs, barony of Toome lower, and four miles N. W. of the
village of Ahoghill, a crannog became apparent about 1849, when the
lake was drained. According to the description given by labourers
employed in the operations, a kind of framework, consisting of oaken
beams in a good state of preservation, was discovered, entirely
surrounding an island. Local tradition assigns this stronghold to the
sept of the Mac Quillans, and being situated on the boundary of the
districts of Dalaradia and Dalrieda, it afforded great security as a
place of retreat, after marauding expeditions--a recommendation that in
ancient times would render it a position of considerable importance.
Its site was identified by Dr. Reeves as the “Loughtoman” mentioned
in the Inquisition of 1605: “Est in eodem le tuogh quidam lacus sive
stagnum vocatum Loughtoman in quo est insula fortificata.” The lough is
bordered on the east and south by traces of bog, and enclosed on the
north and west by hills three in number, from two of which the country
slopes down with a regular fall to the river Bann. Between the hills
on the north and north-west there is a considerable depression, and at
this point a small stream flowed, carrying off the surface water, and
which stream, being deepened, served as a drain for the lough. Before
the withdrawal of its contents, about fifty acres were submerged, the
water varying in depth from seven to ten feet. In the year 1820 the
lough was drained by Lord O’Neil, but from after neglect the water once
more accumulated in the hollow; it was, however, again drained, and is
now under pasture. On the east side the banks of the bog which formed
the margin were from twenty to thirty feet in perpendicular height,
the outline of the basin being thus well defined; it was of irregular
oval shape, and about a mile in circumference. The island itself, of
circular form, and seventy yards in diameter, was situated almost in
the centre, though somewhat nearer to the north and east sides; it
was visible even before the drainage, and on it was a stone house.
In the draining operations the main cut was carried across the long
diameter of the lough from south-east to north-west, passing through
the middle of the island, where the workmen came upon oak piles. These
piles--from seventeen to twenty feet long, and from six to eight inches
thick--were driven into the bed of the lough, and projected five or six
feet above it; they were bound together at the top by horizontal oak
beams, into which they were mortised and secured by stout wooden pegs.
Above the top of these piles there was a depth of three or four feet
of earth, and it was only when the earth had been removed from time to
time that the wooden structure became apparent in its integrity. The
piles--twenty-six in number--were arranged in a circle of about fifteen
yards in diameter in the centre of the island, and just under where
the stone house stood. It was stated that a few feet below the present
surface of the bed of the lough a paved causeway of stone, about
five feet broad, led from its western margin across to the island,
which is now reduced to the level of the surrounding ground from the
effects of cattle tramping over it, and persons digging down in search
of treasure. The horizontal beams were removed and used for various
purposes; the drain formed a tangent to the circle of piles touching
it on the east, where some of them were dragged up on being laid bare.
A single-piece oak canoe, in tolerable preservation, was discovered
about thirty yards from the island on the north-west side, and from
time to time the following articles were found in it: metal dishes;
small axe-heads; two iron swords; a small anvil; a pair of scale; many
small hammers; “several gold pins;” an iron cauldron of low dilated
shape, and a stone yellowish-white in colour, beautifully polished,
about twelve inches long, three and a-half inches broad, and two inches
thick, accurately squared at the sides, having at each end a round hole
one and a-quarter inches deep, and a-half inch in diameter, the top
surface and one of the sides being covered with carved devices. Lord
O’Neil obtained the swords; the anvil, scales, and hammers, were sold
for trifling sums to an itinerant dealer; the iron cauldron was in use
as a potato pot, and the polished stone was given by the finder to a
friend as a “rubbing-stone” for his web.[189]
_Kilknock._--In the Ulster Inquisition sped at Antrim on the 12th
July, 1605, which still remains of record, it was found, amongst other
things, by the jury, “Et quod est infra metas et bundas ejusdem
le tuogh quoddam stagnum vocatum Loughernegilly in quo est insula
fortificata.” Although that name is now obsolete, yet Dr. Reeves,
after careful research, succeeded in identifying it with Kilknock
lough situated in the north-west corner of Drummaul, in the townlands
of Kilknock, Ballybollen, and Gillistown. In former times this lake
covered fifty acres, but it was drained about the close of the last
century: by this means the crannog was brought to light, and the
oak piles on which it was constructed were exposed to view. It is
described as of nearly circular shape, sixty feet in diameter, and on
it were the remains of a wooden hut, constructed of oak beams; these
timbers were removed, and some of them utilized as roofing material
for a neighbouring barn. A canoe was found (at the same time) in the
lough. Owing to a dispute, which afterwards arose, as to the ownership
of the drained land, the outlets of the water were allowed to close
up, and in consequence a considerable portion of the former lake had
become again submerged. The island could be reached by wading, but
was distinguishable from the rest of the marsh only by its greater
firmness. Over the tops of the oak piles--said to be about two feet in
diameter--was a considerable depth of soft boggy matter, and a paved
causeway, covered eight or nine feet deep, led down to what used to be
the edge of the water. The bog around the lake, thickly studded with
trunks of oak, varying from one to three feet in diameter, prove it to
have been at some remote period the site of an extensive wood.[190]
_Randalstown._--The large crannog in this locality appears to have
been formed with very heavy beams laid horizontally, but its condition
when discovered must render any account of the original construction
quite conjectural. The island is said to have been formerly occupied
by a sub-chief of the O’Neils; the lake in which it stood was long
since drained, and a peat-moss now occupies the place. Many articles
discovered in this crannog are now dispersed; they would seem to have
been of all ages, and to have been deposited at varying intervals of
time: a stone hatchet of rather diminutive size, but in shape neither
remarkable nor uncommon, was probably the most ancient relic, and the
most modern was a base coin of Philip and Mary. The surrounding bog has
yielded up not merely several fragments of canoes, but also some in
an entire state. One of large size, and quite perfect, was (in 1860)
exhumed from a depth of sixteen feet of peat: when first raised it
retained its original shape, but from drying and atmospheric exposure
it soon warped and became shapeless. The length of this canoe was about
twenty feet by four feet wide at the stern, and three feet at the
stem; from thence for about two-thirds of its length it was formed out
of a single log, the stern end being composed of thick short planks
well fastened with strong wooden pegs. In the bottom was a neatly made
paddle of oak, three and a-half feet long (plate XXXIII., No. 3);
beside it lay a wooden bowl that would contain about a quart; it had
been hollowed out of a single piece of wood, and its sides were thick
and rough (plate XXXIII., No. 5). Later on another canoe paddle of oak
was discovered measuring three feet in length (plate XXXIV., No. 3). A
good idea of the importance of this stronghold may be formed from the
number of tools and appliances found in it for carrying on the ordinary
business of every-day life, such as the tongs and supposed anvil of
the smith--the latter a rough lump of iron somewhat smoothed on one
side, and weighing fifty or sixty pounds--many crucibles, one unused,
but several greatly worn and burnt, the most perfect specimen being
about the size of a hen’s egg; a netting-needle of iron; a battle-axe,
such as was borne by the ancient gallowglasses; a very small sock of
a plough (plate XXXIII., Nos. 25, 6, 7, 8), and an iron lamp (plate
XXXIV., No. 2).[191]
_Ballymena._--At a distance of about four miles from this town, and
near Cloughwater, the site of a crannog was discovered in the middle
of a bog, formerly the basin of a lake, that had been filled up by
peat, which had grown to such an extent as to entirely bury the island
dwelling until laid bare by turf-cutters. Seemingly the crannog was
not of great size, neither did it contain objects of special interest
in themselves, their peculiarity being that instruments of iron and
stone were found in company, also a bronze pin and several fragments
of crucibles, together with remains of the fuel used. A pointed and
socketed iron instrument (plate XXXIV., No. 1); two small flint knives;
a stone celt; a round flat stone, two inches in diameter, having an
oblong indentation on either side; and several pieces of rude pottery,
bearing marks of fire, were amongst the articles brought to light.
_Lough Guile._--In the parish of same name, and on the site of a
crannog situated in a bog, are said to have been discovered two bronze
knives, and with them a bronze instrument, six inches long and very
sharp in the point (plate XXXIV., figs. 8 and 7); and on the same
plate, fig. 6, is a flint knife, the form rather unusual: there were
several of the articles commonly called “spindle-whorls,” some of
lozenge shape, but most of them round; one was composed of jet, having
indentations on it as for a thong or string. No description of the
special formation of this crannog is recorded.[192]
[Illustration: Plate XXXVII.
Bronze Weapons from Crannog sites on Toome Bar.]
_Toome Bar._--In 1864 Robert Day, junior, gave the following
interesting description of sites of crannogs in this neighbourhood. The
bridge which spans the river at Toome forms a connecting link between
the counties Antrim and Derry. At this place Lough Neagh presents the
appearance of a great V, having the space between the points filled
with a sand-bank, known as Toome bar, and which is almost invariably
covered with from two to three feet of water. Barton, who published a
work on Lough Neagh in 1751, states that before the autumnal season the
water discharged at Toome was so very inconsiderable as not to afford a
depth greater than that which may reach to the ankle or the knee of a
person wading, and that on one occasion a man, taking advantage of an
inblowing wind, walked over dryshod. Strewn upon the bar, and imbedded
in it, were logs and balks of timber, some bearing the marks of fire,
while others still retained their upright position. They must have
been placed there artificially, as the bar of sand extends a quarter of
a mile into the lake, outside of which there is deep water, and if it
were by the force of the water they had been thrown up, it is equally
probable they would have been swept away by the first flood. From this
it may be inferred that there was on the spot, at a very remote period,
a crannog or lacustrine settlement. The large number of flint weapons
found on the surface, or imbedded in the sandy bottom, renders it more
than probable that they had been in use by the dwellers in this island
village. Flint is not found within seven miles of Toome, so that it
must have been carried to and manufactured in the crannog. The most
conclusive proof of their having been made on the site was furnished
by the presence of the large cores of flint from which the weapons had
been struck. Two rudely-shaped, barbed spear-heads were here obtained,
and four celts of the ordinary type, made from the trap rock, two
of them polished, but the others were made with less care, the edge
alone showing signs of careful working. Antiquities of great variety
belonging to the stone and bronze periods were found at the time the
river Bann was deepened; these were deposited in the Museum, R. I. A.
All the good specimens, evidently designed for special purposes, and
to which had been given certain and definite shapes, were made out
of rocks characterised by possession of all the essential qualities
needful for such articles; whilst the rude, ill-formed implements
were composed of shale, slate, schist, grit, or any other stone which
presented itself within reach. The greater number of the flint weapons
were formed by not more, probably, than three or four skilful strokes,
thus: one would strike the fragment from the core, two more would form
the mid-rib giving it a leaf-shape, and a fourth stroke would cause
the slight depression at the base intended to secure the weapon to its
shaft or handle. These opaque flint flakes, of the largest size and
honey yellow in colour, were found six feet under the bed of the river
Bann, lying with several others and a stone celt “in one mass on the
old or former gravel-bed of the river, not far from Toome Castle, on
the county Antrim side.” At Toome were found also the bronze weapons
figured plate XXXVII., in which No. 1 represents a sword in a perfect
state, having the point worked down below the level of the blade, for
about four inches; it has a broad handle-plate, cleft for pommel, with
six rivets still in position; it is 25⅜ inches long and 1⅛ broad. No.
2 is a complete blade, but the handle-plate is defective; it is
brazed in two places, only half an inch asunder, the line of junction
being scarcely discernible; it is bevel-edged, has hilt notches, four
rivet-holes, and is 26½ inches long, by 1¼ broad. No. 3 is a plain
blade, slightly corroded, and wanting part of handle; its length is
19¼ inches, by 1¾ broad. No. 4, _ibid._, perfect, feather-edged,
slight hilt notch, four rivet-holes in handle-plate, 21 inches long,
by 1⅜ broad. No. 5 is a leaf-shaped blade, 19 inches long and 1⅞
wide at broadest part: this weapon is from the crannog of Bohermeen,
county Meath, and is here given for purpose of comparison. No. 6 is a
perfect knife-shaped dagger, grooved in casting; slight raised notch on
handle-plate, and 4¾ inches in length. No. 7 is a perfect specimen of
the long narrow spear-head; it has straight edges, loops at angle of
slender socket, broad bevelled edges, and is 16¼ inches long, by 2 in.
broad at base. No. 8 is a thick, short, cast bronze spear-handle, with
bulbous extremities, 6¾ inches long, and it “still contains a fragment
of the ancient shaft.” This relic points to a close intercourse
between the north of Ireland and Scotland, for in their wars against
the Romans, A.D. 208, the Caledonians had, amongst other weapons of
offence, a spear of peculiar construction, “having a brazen knob at the
end of the shaft, which they shook to terrify their enemies.”[193]
[Illustration: Plate XXXVIII.
CRANNOGES, LOUGH MOURNE.
Examined August 1882.
PLAN OF SMALLER SINGLE CRANNOGE.
PLAN OF FOUR LARGER CRANNOGES.
SECTION THROUGH LARGER CRANNOGES.
SECTION THROUGH SINGLE CRANNOGE.
1. LARGE STONES.
2. LAYER OF MOSS TURNED TO PEAT.
3. RADIATING TIMBERS.
4. HEATHER AND BRUSHWOOD.
5. STONES.]
_Lough Mourne._--The waters of this small lake, situated upon a
hill about 600 feet above the level of the sea, and three miles due
W. of Carrickfergus, were temporarily drained off in the summer of
1882, to enable the engineers of the water-works to carry on their
operations; and, when the level of the lake had been lowered ten
feet, a number of artificial islands were exposed to view. There was
a _group_ of crannogs consisting of four islets erected on one common
pile foundation, and at some little distance there was a _solitary_
crannog. The group was formed of some hundreds of piles, four or five
inches in diameter, with a cross timbering of branches of various
sizes upon a thick layer of heather and moss. Upon this the four
islets were built of boulder-stones to form the floors of the wooden
houses … the piles generally retained their bark, and were mostly of
pine, willow, and ash, with occasionally some of oak; they were rudely
pointed on one side only. Many of the stones bore traces of fire, and
had evidently formed part of the hearth; a piled causeway, one hundred
yards long, led part of the way to the shore; the interior was filled
with heather and moss. The single crannog lay somewhat farther from
the shore, and in deeper water than the others; greater skill, too,
appears to have been displayed in its construction. The lowest course
(see section, plate XXXVIII.) was composed of large stones, whose
exact depth could not be ascertained owing to a strong spring of water
which flowed up between them; upon this was a layer, two feet thick,
of moss, which time and pressure had converted into peat. Upon the
moss were radiating timbers, the outer ends of which rested on and
were notched or mortised into piles disposed in several rings round
the island; these piles and cross timbers were larger than in the
composite crannog, and many of them were of oak. Upon the timbers was
a layer of heather and brushwood, upon which rested the stones forming
the floor of the hut: in this case there was no causeway to the land.
The relics discovered were not numerous, but the soft, almost liquid
nature of the mud rendered a thorough search almost impossible. There
was found about five feet of the prow of a “dug out,” and, in addition
to charcoal and bones in considerable quantity, there were two small
stone crucibles, calcined flint flakes, several fossil sea urchins from
the chalk, worn smooth by having been carried about as ornaments or
charms; a small stone with a hole in it--possibly also a charm--and a
pair of “rubbing-stones.”[194] In midsummer, 1884, a very fine canoe
of oak, found entire in the bed of this lake, was presented to the
Field Club by the Water Commissioners, and has been by them lodged
in the Belfast Museum. This canoe appears to have been shaped chiefly
by the axe; it is hollowed out of a single trunk, is twelve feet eight
inches in length, and two feet six inches in width, the inside depth
being nine inches--the same breadth continues throughout--the bottom of
the canoe is perforated with six rather cleanly cut round holes, about
three quarters of an inch in diameter.
[Illustration: Fig. 198.--Dug-out Canoe found near the Crannog of Lough
Mourne.]
_Lisnacroghera_ crannog lies at a little distance from Broughshane,
in the parish of Skerry, barony of Antrim. About the year 1882,
workmen employed in cutting turf--bared by the partial drainage of the
lough--came upon oaken timbers laid in regular order; unfortunately
nearly all were removed before anyone acquainted with the peculiarities
of crannog structure had seen them, and in the autumn of 1883, most
of the timbers had disappeared, though a few of the encircling piles
remained in position. Some remarkable antiquities, discovered either
within or around it, have been rescued from oblivion and destruction.
A spear with iron head and butt, and rivets of bronze, and the iron
sword-blades enclosed in sheaths of bronze (which are now in Canon
Grainger’s museum), seem to call for prominent notice. With regard
to these the Rev. James Graves says:--“It cannot be denied that this
crannog find is one of the most important and valuable yet recorded in
Ireland, especially in its bearing on the style and the chronology of
the art of that early period when the bronze and iron eras overlapped.
The spears have bronze butts, with terminal iron heads, for such
were discovered in the crannog, whilst no spear-heads of bronze--an
imperishable metal--were found. The bronze rivets remained in the
shafts by which the iron heads had been secured. All this reminded one
of the ninth century legend of the armourers of the Tuatha dé Danann
when preparing for battle with the Fomorians at the northern Moytura.
The mode of workmanship is graphically described:--Goibniu at his
forge finishes the spear-heads in three hammer-strokes (probably they
went through three processes in their fabrication); so it was also
with the work of Luchtiné on the ashen spear-shafts, and Creidné on
the bronze rivets. When Goibniu had finished the iron lance-head, he
seized it with his pincers and sent it quivering into the door-post.
Then Luchtiné launched the finished shaft so surely aimed that it
found the socket of the lance-head, and penetrating to the bottom was
firmly fixed there: whilst Creidné instantly flung from his pincers the
finished _bronze_ rivet with so sure and true an aim that it entered
the rivet-holes to the required depth, and so the weapon was completed
(_Three Irish Glossaries_, p. 32, _Sanas Cormaic_, p. 123). Hence,
without assuming that the bronze-iron age should be thrown back to the
mythic period of the Tuatha dé Danann and the Fomorians, it is evident
that in the ninth century there was a tradition of its characteristics
and existence in Ireland, and that of so remote a date as to suit the
myth of the contest of the gods of light and life with the deities of
darkness and death. The fashion of the spears, of the swords, and of
their sheaths, prevailing at this early period, when the use of bronze
and iron overlapped, has been hitherto but sparingly revealed to us
by finds of weapons in England, Scotland, and Scandinavia. Kemble,
in his _Horæ Ferales_, engraves several examples of short swords or
daggers, the fashion of which is identical with that now for the first
time so clearly shown us by the Lisnacroghera crannog find.” Professor
Anderson, in his _Rhind Lectures_, has recorded the discovery of a
bronze spear-butt, exactly similar, in one of the _brochs_ of Scotland;
it is correlated by him with the pagan iron age; and in a recent number
of the _Proceedings_ of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Denmark
there is engraved an iron sword-blade, with bronze haft-mountings,
nearly identical in form and fashion with those discovered at
Lisnacroghera.[195]
[Illustration: Plate XXXIX.
Haft of Iron Sword, with Bronze Mountings, from Lisnacroghera. Full
size.]
The antiquities found in this crannog consisted of a plain bronze
sheath (plate XII., fig. 1), containing an iron sword (p. 61, fig. 17):
the haft is represented full size (plate XXXIX.). One side of
ornamented sheath slightly smaller than the former (plate 12, fig. 2):
a full-sized representation is given (plate XL.).
[Illustration: Plate XL.
Upper and lower portions of side of the Bronze Sheath, from
Lisnacroghera, full size, of which a half-size representation is given,
Plate XII. fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 199.--Upper portion of Bronze Sheath. Full-size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 200.--Iron Sickle. Eleven inches from point of
blade to end of tang.]
Another ornamented bronze sheath (plate XII., fig. 3), of which the
upper portion is here given, full size. A sword of iron with bronze
fittings to the handle: this is not the sword to which the sheath
belongs. An iron sickle that had been affixed to its handle by a tang;
their usual length was twelve inches--occasionally much smaller--and
they may be divided into two classes, bronze and iron. Sickles of
iron have been found amongst Roman and Saxon remains in Britain. A
spear-head of iron (_ante_, plate X.). An iron adze (_ante_, p. 69,
fig. 31), and some miscellaneous objects of the same metal (_ante_, p.
68, figs. 28 to 30). Six butt-ends of spear-shafts formed of bronze:
five of these are represented (p. 64, figs. 19 to 23); the sixth is
here given (fig. 201). Boss-like objects (six in number) and rings of
bronze, supposed to be fragments of defensive armour (plate XV.). A
bronze rivet (_ante_, p. 119, fig. 152). Two hollow penannular rings
of bronze (_ante_, p. 119, fig. 150). An article composed of bronze,
probably an amulet (_ante_, p. 116, fig. 145). An object in bronze,
richly decorated (_ante_, p. 67, fig. 26). Three circlets of bronze
(_ante_, p. 119, figs. 153-5). A small loop of bronze (_ante_, p. 109,
fig. 135). A disc composed of thin bronze (_ante_, p. 72, fig. 34). A
small boss or stud of bronze (_ante_, p. 119, fig. 151). Portion of an
amulet of jet. Three beads of glass (_ante_, p. 124, figs. 165-7).
[Illustration: Fig. 201.--Bronze Butt of Spear-shaft. Two-thirds
natural size.]
_Craigywarren._--_Ante_, p. 110.
_Loughavarra._--_Ante_, p. 153.
_Lough Lynch._--_Ante_, p. 153.
_Lough Crannagh_ (or Lough-na-crannagh).--_Ante_, p. 28.--Amongst
the scientific grants for the year 1885, recommended by the Council,
R.I.A., appears the following;--“£20 to Mr. Alexander M’Henry for a
report on the animal and other remains found in the sand-hills of
Ballintoy and the crannog of Lough-na-crannagh.”
_Lough Ronel_ is a name set down in the MS. register of Irish crannog
objects, &c., British Museum. It is most probably an incorrect
designation for Lough Ravel.
COUNTY DOWN.
During the working of the Commission for the Arterial Drainage of
Ireland, a crannog--no name given--was discovered in this county, and
traces of another at _Ardbrin_ (_ante_, pp. 126-8).
_Ballykinler._--In 1860 this crannog was no longer traceable, but
fortunately a short description of it had been previously given.
The section made through its centre showed it to be of the usual
construction--surrounded by a circle of small piles, driven deep into
the mud, and secured by cross-beams firmly mortised together, the
space so enclosed filled with brushwood, on which was placed a layer of
gravel and earth, that process being repeated until the surface became
perfectly solid.[196]
_Lough Faughan, or Falcon_, in the barony of Lecale.--About the year
1845 a crannog was discovered in this lake. “There were large stakes
driven into the ground, completely enclosing the space within, and not
rising above the surface as a palisade, but evidently for the purpose
of keeping in the soil from encroachment of the water. The tradition
respecting it is, that there had been a castle on the shore opposite,
the chieftain of which caused this island to be made as a place of
refuge from the sudden onslaughts of the O’Neils; and to render this
retreat more secure he would never allow more than one boat or canoe
on the lake.” During drainage operations a “dug-out” of oak was found
near this crannog, from which locality were also procured two earthen
pitchers (_ante_, p. 92, fig. 66).
_Ballywoolen._--This crannog was entire when seen in 1860, in a lake
surrounded by hills, the surface of the island nearly level with the
water. At one spot there was a flagging of flat stones where the hearth
had been, and near it lay a quern.[197] The discoverer states the
site of this crannog to be in the county Down; but the only townland
in Ireland named Ballywoolen, is set down in the Ordnance Survey as
situated in the parish of Dunboe, barony of Coleraine, county Derry.
COUNTY ARMAGH.
_Camlough_ has a crannog at its north end.
_Marlacoo Lough_, near Armagh, has another.
_Lough Ross_, near Crossmaglen, also contains one, stated to have been
the place of meeting of the Irish leaders in 1641.[198]
COUNTY TYRONE.
During the working of the Commission for the Arterial Drainage of
Ireland, a crannog was discovered in this county, but its exact
locality was not defined.
_Corcreevy_ (alias _Loch-Laoghaire_), by which latter name it is
mentioned in the _Annals_ (_ante_, pp. 155-6).--The site was examined
and the following articles brought to light: a pair of bronze and
iron manacles; a double comb of bone in a perfect state, length 3
inches, and breadth 2⅜ inches, and having a brass ring attached to
one extremity--it is now in the Museum, R.I.A.; parts of a musical
instrument; an arrow-head; a spear-head; a sling, or hammer-stone.[199]
_Cranny_ townland in this county possibly derives its name from having
been the former site of a lake dwelling.
_Clogherny_, in the parish of this name, in the barony of East Omagh.
The Rev. R. V. Dixon, D.D., thus notices the discovery of a crannog
situated in a bog on the borders of the townland of Roscavey. About
eight or ten feet below the surface turf-cutters laid bare the tops
of a row of oaken planks which described a circle about seventy feet
in diameter. These planks were from eight inches to fourteen inches
in width, and from three inches to five inches in thickness, roughly
split from the log, the lower extremities pointed and driven ten or
twelve inches into the ground; their tops were all decayed; the length
of the remaining part was about four feet. Each plank was pierced by
a square hole, bearing marks of having been made by a blunt tool, and
this orifice was narrower at the centre than at the edges. The planks
forming the enclosure were placed edge to edge, and several rough logs
of alder and birch, from two inches to four inches in diameter, were
laid horizontally against the lower part of the planks on the inside
of the enclosure, which was floored with oak, and underneath was
about two feet of peat. Between the oaken floor and the outer fence
were several flag-stones, evidently the old hearths, as shown by the
quantity of charred wood that was about them. Southward two square
posts were found. This crannog lay in a depression running nearly E.
and W. between two sloping hills. “The fall of this hollow is towards
the east, where it spreads out and sinks into a large basin, or glen,
closed by rising ground of considerable height to the north and east;
by a gravel ridge, or ‘esker,’ on the south; and opening on the west
into the hollow in which the crannog stood. A considerable mountain
stream enters this basin from the east, and after flowing round a
conical gravel hill (connected with the esker) which stands in the
middle of it, escapes through a deep natural cut or gap in the esker
which, as before mentioned, closes the basin on the south. If this cut
were closed, the basin would be filled up by the stream which now flows
through it, and the level of the water would probably rise sufficiently
high to fill the hollow in which the crannog stood, and this hollow
would then form a shallow arm of the lake.”[200]
_Galbally._--_Ante_, p. 60, plate VII.
_Roughan._--_Ante_, p. 88.
COUNTY DONEGAL.
_Crannog-boy_, parish of Inishkeel, barony of Banagh.--_Ante_, p. 28.
_Mongavlin_, parish of Taughboyne, barony of Raphoe.--_Ante_, p. 151.
_Lough Veagh._--_Ante_, p. 154.
_Drumkelin_, or _Drumkeelin_, parish of Inver, barony of Banagh.--The
account of the crannog-hut here exhumed is given, _ante_, pp. 39-41.
COUNTY DERRY.
_Inishrush._--_Ante_, p. 152.
_Loughshillen._--_Ante_, pp. 148-9.
_Loughan Island._--_Ante_, pp. 153 and 155.--Six stone celts, two
bronze celts, three fibulæ, a bridle-bit, two bronze cheek-pieces
(_ante_, pp. 136-7), an iron spear-head and spike,[201] were found
here, and are now in the Museum, R.I.A.
_Fort Lough_ occupies nearly the centre of an extensive bog on the
right-hand side of one of the roads leading from St. Johnstown to Burt
on Lough Swilly. It is described as about one mile long, and a quarter
wide, but was formerly of much greater extent. There was a tradition
that formerly a castle erected in the centre of this lake had been
submerged by the neglect of a girl in not carefully _re_-covering a
fairy fountain in the vaults, and consequently the waters burst forth
in a raging torrent! After drainage operations, when the level of the
lough subsided, marks of an island became visible in the centre, and by
degrees stonework was observed rising above the surface, proving that
the subaquatic castle was not altogether mere visionary fiction. These
walls were found supporting a deposit of peat.[202]
COUNTY FERMANAGH.
[Illustration: Plate XLI.
ELEVATION, PLAN, SECTION AND DETAILS OF THE BALLYDOOLOUGH CRANNOG, Co.
FERMANAGH.
W.F. Wakeman, 1870.]
_Ballydoolough_ (_the place of the dark lake_) is five miles distant
from the town of Enniskillen; the expanse of water covers not more
than twenty-four acres, and even during times of flood never exceeds
twenty feet in depth; at the bottom could be discerned remains of a
primæval forest. In June, 1870, from the effect either of drainage
or of long-continued drought, a small island became apparent, on
which were found fragments of fictile ware, and this led to a careful
examination being made. Near the centre was an oaken beam, fifteen feet
seven inches long, having evidently formed portion of one side of the
lower framework of a dwelling. It was grooved throughout its entire
length (plate XLI., No. 7), and had two holes--measuring nine inches
by six--that were plainly intended for the reception of upright posts,
to which the sheeting or side-boards of the structure were attached.
Several oaken slabs, grooved at the sides (plate XLI., No. 9), were
discovered in close proximity buried in the sand and mud. Upon clearing
the foundation, the framework of the house was shown to be composed of
well-squared beams of oak, grooved for the reception of planks, and
mortised for the insertion of uprights, the angles dovetailed together,
and fastened with wooden pins. The beam forming the eastern foundation
of the house rested upon two blocks of dressed oak that projected from
it at a right-angle to a distance of seven feet (plate XLI., No. 2),
and this foundation may perhaps have supported a landing-stage. The
lowest timbers of house and projecting beams were secured in position
externally and internally by a row of wooden pegs, or small stakes,
which enclosed the entire foundation, and rested against it on the
exterior (on the plan these are indicated by a dotted line); the
south-western angle of the house was strengthened by a flat block (No.
6). Of the upper work of the edifice no description can be attempted,
though several dressed boards (Nos. 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13, on a scale of ⅛
inch to a foot), that had evidently formed part of the structure, were
found scattered about.[203] On the western side of the island, being
the one most exposed to the action of the water, the stakes were in
greatest number, placed four, and at one point even five, feet deep.
In some instances their upper extremities had been inserted in holes
cut for their reception in beams of oak laid horizontally, and although
only one such beam was found still _in situ_, yet an inhabitant of the
locality stated that within his memory many of the horizontal timbers
could be seen actually resting upon the stakes or piles, just below the
surface of the water. The kitchen-midden of the dwelling contained a
considerable quantity of bones, intermixed with numerous fragments of
pottery. A selection of the bones having been forwarded to Professor
Richard Owen for analysis, he pronounced them to be parts of _Bos
longifrons_, _Cervus elephas_, _Sus scrofa_, and _Equus asinus_. In a
more or less restored form, characteristic specimens of the pottery
are figured (_ante_, pp. 92, 95, 96, 97). There were not many articles
of bronze, but mention may be made of a plate of that metal, oblong
in form, about as thick as a sixpenny-piece, and measuring five and
a-half inches in length, by four and a-half inches in breadth; it
retained a number of rivets, and appeared like a patch off some pan or
dish. In Ireland the majority of cauldrons or dishes composed of thin
golden bronze are usually found to have been carefully mended. Of wood,
a vessel was discovered in an entire state, but from long saturation
reduced almost to a pulp (_ante_, p. 102, fig. 103); and there was a
small oaken vessel formed with staves. There were also balls of stone,
varying in size from that of an orange to a walnut; several querns, and
the inscribed stone described and figured (_ante_, p. 134).[204]
_Coolyermer_ is the name of a lake four miles from Enniskillen, in the
direction of Letterbreen; it contains an island which seemed to be
composed entirely of oaken beams; the water, however, was too high to
admit of an examination being made.
_Drumdarragh_, otherwise _Trillick_, has been recently thoroughly
examined by W. F. Wakeman, whose report, accompanied by numerous
drawings of remains discovered within the crannog, is prepared for
publication in the _Journal of the Royal Hist. and Arch. Association
of Ireland_. To the Museum of that Society the Earl of Enniskillen, in
1875, presented an oak paddle found at Drumdarragh crannog, in company
with a single-tree canoe that had been unfortunately destroyed.[205]
[Illustration: Plate XLII.
DRUMGAY CRANNOGS
W. F. Wakeman, 1870.]
_Drumgay_ (_the ridge of the geese_) lies nearly four miles to the
north of the town of Enniskillen, and separated from the northern
shore of Lough Erne by a narrow belt of land. This sheet of water
is completely land-locked; there are in it three islets, and the
south-eastern shore has a projecting point of artificial construction
that becomes an island owing to the rise of water in winter time.
Plate XLII., No. 1, conveys an excellent idea of the general aspect of
the lake, and of the position of the islands; the large wooded one,
situated near the centre, and now known as “Bone Island”--although its
older appellation appears to have been “Cherry Island”--is constructed
of beams of oak, ash, and pine, laid in rough blocks, radiating from
a centre to the edge of a circle formed of stakes set in the ground,
the diameter from north to south being one hundred and five feet, but
from east to west a few feet less (plate XLII., No. 2). When the lake
is at summer level the encircling piles are plainly visible; they had
been roughly trimmed with an instrument of metal; the longitudinal
cuts measured nearly a foot, and some of the piles were of oak (plate
XLII., No. 7); they had no slope outward, and only at a few points did
the rough wood and small branches usually interwoven with them still
remain in position. From a point near the centre of the crannog, in a
direct line to the eastern shore, a trench was dug; it commenced in
the centre, was cut outwards to the water’s edge, and thus prevented
sudden flooding; a similar trench was subsequently made on the opposite
shore. As the result of these excavations, a very distinct idea of the
internal construction of the work was obtained (plate XLII., No. 4).
The old crannog-builders appear to have selected a natural shoal in
the lough as the scene of their operations. This shoal consisted of
marl covered by a streak of whitish sand about four inches in depth;
over the sand, to a height of six or eight inches, was a stratum of
yellowish clay, which supported unhewn logs of oak and birch, together
with an immense quantity of small branches, twigs, brambles, and small
pebbles, all compressed into a peat-like mass about two feet thick;
this was covered by two feet of earth, containing here and there layers
of burnt clay and bones; the clay was mixed throughout with bones of
animals greatly broken, articles of early manufacture, slag or dross
iron, charcoal, and rough stones. The surface of the island was in many
parts covered with flat stones of considerable size, and stakes larger
than those which formed the outer circle, yet of the same character,
were found here and there, even in the highest and most central
parts; they were designed to stay and prop the work, for their points
were deeply imbedded in the marl which formed the bottom of the lough.
It was impossible to procure any perfect specimen of these supports,
as the wood, softened by saturation, broke off on application of the
slightest pressure. Scattered amongst the bones that lay upon the shore
of the island, were several fragments of earthen vessels; the one
represented (_ante_, p. 93) was found here. Although search was made,
yet comparatively few antiques were brought to light.[206]
In plate XLII. a large island is represented to the extreme left; this
is what may be termed a composite crannog. The body of the island,
formed entirely of stones, was formerly surrounded by rows of oaken
stakes; none, however, are now to be seen; they served as fuel to a
man who lived on the shores of the lake. The greatest height of this
island above summer level of the water was about five feet, the form an
irregular oval, two hundred and seventy feet in length, by one hundred
and thirty-eight feet in breadth, and a trench cut through to a depth
of five feet reached what seemed to have been the ancient bottom of the
lake. The great peculiarity of this structure is that the collection of
small flat sandstones of which it was composed had been placed on edge
(plate XLII., No. 5). By the country people it is appropriately styled
“the quarry.” Close to the north-western extremity of the lake may be
seen a small crannog--about thirty feet in diameter--that is all but
submerged even in the dryest season; the few oaken timbers that remain
seem to radiate from a common centre, and are intermixed with stones,
as shown in plate XLII., No. 3. Evidently this islet had originally
been strongly staked. The fourth and last crannog is represented
at the extreme right of the general view of the lake; but here the
crannog wrecker had been at work, and the stakes that formerly entirely
surrounded it were pulled up and used as fuel. A curiously sculptured
stone (_ante_, p. 90) was discovered here. The last two crannogs lay at
a very low level, owing perhaps to the fact of an unusual quantity of
boughs and compressible matter having been used in their construction.
Portion of a single-tree canoe of oak was found in the lake, as also
two very neatly formed paddles of oak, measuring about two and a-half
feet in length.[207]
_Gortalough (the field of the lake)_ is situated near Drumgay, and
within three miles of Enniskillen. Here a log-house, or crannog-hut
was discovered buried under many feet of peat, but no trace of it now
remains.[208]
_Drumskimly_, near Derrygonnelly.--In this lake, now almost drained,
there were formerly two crannogs that are in the present day dry and
under cultivation; but there remained a little island surrounded by
water and well palisaded in the usual manner; it was circular in form,
and about thirty-five feet in diameter; its surface has been converted
into a garden. From time to time were here disinterred a spear-head and
arrow-head, both of iron; a pair of quern-stones, and many fragments of
pottery; one of the latter is figured (_ante_, p. 100).[209]
_Drumsloe._--See _ante_, pp. 87-88.
_Ballaghmore_ is the name now applied to a lake (about a mile and
a-half from Enniskillen) in which was a crannog seemingly composed
entirely of earth and stones, in a soft depth of mud, surrounded with a
mass of aqueous vegetation. No piles were visible.
_Moinenoe (the bog of the yew)_ is a locality about a mile from
Enniskillen, and sometimes called Chanter Hill. It was the former site
of a lake which now in summer becomes a soft and treacherous swamp, and
such traces of the crannog as yet remain would be difficult to explore.
A single-tree canoe was found in the bed of the ancient lough.
_Breagho (wolf-field)._--Near a place of this name labourers when
cutting turf came upon a stockaded enclosure buried some twelve
or fourteen feet below the then surface of the bog; the crannog
was circular, and about thirty-five feet in diameter. A pair of
quern-stones, a large oaken, bowl-shaped vessel, split in several
places, and the sawn and perforated bones of a _Megaceros hibernicus_,
were the only “finds” recorded.
_Aughlish._--In a lake so called, about five miles from Enniskillen, in
the direction of Boho, there is a crannog, but the height of the water
precluded an examination. The tops of numerous piles are frequently
visible in summer-time.
_Killynure (the wood of the yews)_ is a small lakelet, distant a mile
from Enniskillen, on the Tempo road. It contains a crannog which is
usually flooded.
_Lough Acrussel_ is situated near Enniskillen. The crannog was found
standing in deep water; but after a continuance of dry weather the
piling all around could be distinctly seen, and the posts were, as a
rule, connected by horizontal beams. Near the centre of the island
there was a large flag-stone that had evidently been used as a hearth.
Upon sinking shallow trenches through portions of the work, bones
and teeth of animals of the usual character were discovered, as also
iron slag, wood charcoal in small quantities, and some thin pieces of
bronze, seemingly parts of a cauldron or dish. The plan of the crannog
was nearly a perfect circle, and its diameter sixty feet.[210]
_Lough Yoan._--In the summer of 1883, the crannog in this lake was
visited by W. F. Wakeman, who reported that its surface seemed covered
with bones of various animals, the larger of them having been broken
apparently for extraction of the marrow. There were several whetstones
and fragments of querns; but no traces of woodwork remained visible,
though possibly by digging through the sand and stones, of which the
shoal is chiefly composed, some discoveries might be made.
_Lankhill._--In this lake, situated near Enniskillen, a crannog
was discovered by W. F. Wakeman, by whom it will be described in a
forthcoming number of the _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Association
of Ireland_.
_Lough Macnean_ contains four islets, the one lying close to the
western shore being appropriately designated “Crannog Island.” Its
diameter is about sixty-four feet, and the work, which consists of a
cairn of stones--rising to a height of eight or ten feet above the
winter level of the water--had been formerly enclosed by a double row
of piles composed of oak, yew, and pine. The usual amount of bones,
a couple of fragments of pottery, and a large quantity of iron slag
and charcoal, alone were discovered, although the shore was carefully
searched. The island situated near Belcoo was of the same dimensions
and formation; nothing but bones, slag, and charcoal, were found in it.
In the crannog at the southern extremity of the lake, digging had to be
discontinued in consequence of the percolation of the water. Much of
the piling was still visible, although everywhere reduced to a state of
pulp. The fourth islet, named _Inishee_ (i. e. _fairy island_), yielded
nothing; it was of natural formation.[211]
_Lenaghan._--Here, about three miles from Enniskillen, is a small lake
containing a crannog. On it were found immense numbers of animal bones,
as also some few antiquities; one of them, a dagger of bone, measured
fourteen inches in length.
[Illustration: Plate XLIII.
LOUGH EYES CRANNOGS.
Plate 1. W. F. Wakeman 1870.]
_Lough Eyes_ is situated two miles north-east of the village of
Lisbellaw; it is about two-thirds of a mile long, by less than a
quarter of a mile across at its greatest breadth. This lough was not
known to possess any manner of interest, scenic or otherwise, except
indeed for the disciples of Isaak Walton, who found it well stocked
with scaly prey. The Irish name of the lake appears to have been lost,
possibly corrupted, or perhaps translated, for near the southern shore
a spring called _Tobernasoul_--“_the well of the eyes_”--still gives
forth water forming a small rivulet that connects the well with the
lake, so that in all probability this furnishes a clue to the modern
name of the sheet of water. Lough Eyes, like the crannog retreats of
Ballydoolough and Drumgay--distant respectively about three miles--was
anciently embosomed in a dense primæval forest. The roots and portions
of the stems of oak, pine, and alder, of immense size, remained _in
situ_, and were in such close proximity that their foliage must have
commingled and formed a canopy impervious to storm. The forest,
however, has been “pared to the stump,” as may be seen from the
sketch of the locality--taken from the south-east--which conveys a
fair idea of the _tout ensemble_ of the scene. In consequence of the
exceptional dryness of the summer of 1870, the level of the water was
greatly diminished, and the islands (six in number) became exposed to
view (plate XLIII., No. 1). Although the elevation of the remains above
the surface of the water was unequal, still the rows of piling by which
the lake dwellings had been protected and enclosed were on about the
same plane. The crannog that was situated in the deepest part of the
lake would appear to have sunk, but its subsidence may be attributed to
the perishable nature of its component parts--logs and branches. The
other habitations were constructed upon shoals--in one instance upon
a natural turf-bank artificially strengthened, and then raised to the
required height with layers of sticks, brambles, earth, and stones.
Plate XLIII., Nos. 2, 3, 4, give the ground-plan, section, and general
aspect of the most important crannog of the group; its greatest height
above summer level is ten feet, but it is never entirely submerged;
it measures two hundred and eight feet in circumference. A trench cut
across the island (plate XLIII., No. 3) demonstrated its artificial
strata to be as follows:--The surface consisted of a layer--averaging
a foot in depth--of stones deposited without any appearance of
regularity; these stones rested upon a layer of earth (A) of similar
thickness, from which broken bones and small particles of charcoal
were disinterred. Underneath was a stratum (B) that had been formed of
branches of oak, alder, pine, hazel, &c., roughly thrown together, and
with traces of the bark still distinctly discernible, intermixed also
with remains of brambles, decayed foliage, small stones or gravel, a
little earth and bog mould. Next followed about six feet of a seemingly
undisturbed stratum of peat (C), lying upon a deposit of sand and marl
(D and E), which probably at some very remote period had formed the
original lake bottom. The stockading that originally surrounded the
islet still existed. To the west and north the stakes were four deep,
driven in close together, and forming an almost solid whole; they
were nearly all of oak, roughly hewn, and sharply pointed by a metal
instrument (plate XLIII., No. 5). Half buried in the soil were several
pieces of oak--one a barrel-shaped block (plate XLIII., No. 8), one
foot four inches in length, by one foot ten inches in circumference;
the groove cut in one of its sides is two inches deep, by one and
a-half inches broad. The other block (plate XLIII., No. 6) measures one
foot seven inches, by six inches; another is slightly smaller; and a
fourth (No. 9) has all the appearance of having formed portion of the
bottom of a wooden vessel; it measures twelve inches across.
[Illustration: Plate XLIV.
LOUGH EYES.
Plate 2. W. F. Wakeman 1870.]
Subsequently, at a season when the water was exceptionally low, the
locality was again examined, and a shoal or ridge, evidently the
remains of a piled causeway by which the islands in Lough Eyes had
been connected together, was then discovered. In the neighbourhood a
tradition existed that in ancient times “a road passed through Lough
Eyes.” This lingering belief would be fully explained by the existence
of a _kesh_ or causeway--and upon this, as well as upon the main
crannog, was found a quantity of bones of the _Bos longifrons_, red
deer, ass, sheep, goat, and pig. Mixed with the animal remains was an
extraordinary collection of broken earthen vessels like those in the
Drumgay and Ballydoolough sites. The fragments were nearly all more or
less ornamented with indented patterns, sometimes arranged simply in
lines, in other cases presenting chevron designs. The illustrations
(_ante_, pp. 93, 94) represent two of these vessels restored. Fig. 71
is a flat disc, seemingly a cover or lid. Figs. 72, 73, 98, 99, and
100, were also found in this locality. Second in position from the
left side of the general view of Lough Eyes (plate XLIII.), a very
small island (No. 2 crannog) may be discerned in the distance: this is
a sunken crannog; its appearance is shown in the lowest sketch (plate
XLIV.). To the right, in the general view (plate XLIII.), is the most
northern crannog (No. 3) of the group; its general plan and details
form the three upper sketches of plate XLIV. The shape was circular,
the diameter about fifty feet, the piles stood almost as originally
driven, but the horizontal timbers of the interior had disappeared.
A cruciform section demonstrated that the island consisted of a low
mound formed of sand, earth, and stones, which had settled down into
their then position. A whetstone, and portion of a highly decorated
quern (_ante_, p. 88), rewarded the search. Bones lay scattered along
the beach, as well as over the surface of the islet, and pottery was
found in abundance (see _ante_, plate XVIII.). The fourth island (No.
4) from the left of the view is represented in the sketch second from
the bottom (plate XLIV.). It was similar to the last described: a
cruciform section of considerable depth threw little light on
the internal construction; there were only layers of earth, sand, and
sticks. The result of a search and digging along the shore brought
to light a portion of the upper stone of a quern, fractured bones,
and small fragments of pottery. The fifth crannog was of the sunken
class, although some of the stakes were still _in situ_. It was low and
narrow, seldom above water, therefore its exploration was practically
impossible. Some bones and fragments of pottery (_ante_, plate XIX.),
a whetstone, and pieces of a jet bracelet, were the sole mementoes
discovered. The sixth, and last crannog is to the extreme right of the
general view (plate XLIII.). In summer-time, during low water, it was
a peninsula. Many of the stakes retained their position, but a section
made into it presented nothing of importance. From about the group of
crannogs, fragmentary specimens of what had probably been bracelets
of jet were discovered, and the axe-head of deer’s horn figured and
described (_ante_, p. 59) was dug up in this locality. The bones,
pottery, and other debris, seemed to be distributed pretty equally all
around. Copper vessels had been found in connexion with these lake
dwellings, but attracted no attention as they were supposed to be part
of the “plant” of poteen distillers.[212] In the neighbourhood small
mounds--consisting chiefly of heaps of burnt sandstone--were very
common; these stones were easily pulverised.
[Illustration: Plate XLV.
General View of the half-drained Lake of Loughavilly.]
_Pad_, or _Boat Lough_, close to Lough Eyes, is a very small lake, in
which is the site of a crannog, not yet explored on account of the
depth of the water.
_Monea._--See _ante_, pp. 69-70.
_Wolf Loch._--There is said to have been formerly a crannog in this
lake.
_Loughavilly (the lake of the old tree)_, now nearly drained, is
represented (plate XLV.) as seen from the south, with Topped Mountain
in the background. The piled mound visible in the middle distance, to
the right, is the remains of a crannog that appeared to belong to an
age when stone implements were in use, judging from the character of
the few antiquities found within it. In the summer of 1871 there was
still observable a small portion of the original lake dwelling. “This
consisted of a roughly squared block of oak, measuring four feet
three inches in length, by one foot in breadth. It was nine inches in
thickness, and exhibited upon what appeared to have been its upper
surface two quadrangular mortise-holes, one of which was a square, six
inches by six inches, and four inches in depth; the other, an oblong,
six inches by five inches, and somewhat shallower than the former.
They were placed at a distance of one foot three inches apart, and
presented all the appearance of having been fashioned by a rude stone
instrument.” The mortise-holes were not deeply sunk in the two logs
remaining on this crannog; they are represented (plate XLVI., figs. 14
and 15). Fig. 16, a rudely-shaped stone axe-head or chisel, four and
a-half inches in length by two and a-half inches in extreme breadth,
was also discovered here.
_Kilnamaddo._--For description of this crannog, see _ante_, pp.
37-39. Amongst the “finds” were an ordinary whetstone, a couple of
hammer-stones, some flint-flakes, a large tray-like vessel composed
of oak, some fragments of rude pottery, and a pair of rubbing-stones.
Plate XLVI., figs. 5 and 9, are angle-posts of the second hut, they
measure respectively three feet eleven inches, and four feet nine
inches. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 (about one foot four inches in length), are
pegs used probably to secure the lower logs in position; these pegs
varied in size, and bore the marks of being cleanly cut by a sharp
metallic instrument.
[Illustration: Plate XLVI.
Remains, &c., found at Loughavilly, Kilnamaddo, and the Miracles.]
_The Miracles._--At a place bearing this singular name, and situated
near the village of Monea, turf-cutters in the year 1875 came upon
the remains of a hut occupying the centre of an artificial island
which stood in the middle of what had formerly been a small lake.
Unfortunately the timbers and beams with which it was constructed were
carried off before anyone skilled in archæological matters had seen
them _in situ_; but the posts represented (plate XLVI., figs. 11, 12,
and 13) were evidently angle-posts, resembling those in Kilnamaddo,
and, like them, not exhibiting the bruised appearance produced by
stone hatchets. There were pieces of iron slag, quantities of burnt
wood, a well-formed crucible, sharpening and grinding stones, a stone
or pounding instrument (_ante_, p. 74), and a beautifully-formed,
highly-polished, axe-head, and a chisel of stone. Amongst the “finds”
were numerous articles of bronze, which are now dispersed, and cannot
be traced; but from the description given of them by the workmen
they were probably fibulæ. There were also several oaken paddles,
of which one is now in the Museum, R. I. A.; the dimensions of
another were seven and a-quarter inches in length, the breadth of the
blade being three inches; the handle terminated in an oval expansion
measuring two and a-half inches across. Single-piece canoes have, from
time to time, been discovered in the neighbourhood.[213]
_Rossole Lake._--In the neighbourhood of this sheet of water (_ante_,
p. 49) there lingers a tradition of a “buried city” lying in its
depths; therefore, in the event of drainage, it is more than probable a
crannog site might be disclosed to view.
COUNTY MONAGHAN.
During the working of the Commission for the Arterial Drainage of
Ireland, six crannogs were disclosed in this county; four of these
sites have not been identified.
_Lough Fea._--A stockaded island in this lake (discovered in 1843) is
described in Shirley’s _Dominion of Farney_.
_Aghnamullen._--_Ante_, p. 135.
_Lough Ooney._--_Ante_, p. 156.
_Ballyhoe_ Lake, distant about five miles from Carrickmacross, was
described by G. Morant as situated on the southern verge of the
county Monaghan, the greater part of it being in Meath. The lake, of
horse-shoe form, is of tolerable extent; the river Glyde, or Lagan,
runs through it, and by this stream it is connected with several
lakelets lying more northward in the county Monaghan; at the toe of
the horse-shoe, owing to the large deposit of mud brought down by the
river, the water is very shallow. In this lake were two artificial
islands, one of great extent, the other much smaller. In the larger
island, to which a causeway led from the mainland, were numerous
mounds which had been partially excavated, and here were found two
fine specimens of bronze pins, other articles of lesser interest in
lead and iron; also a flint spear-head. The shores of the lake were
for the most part boggy and full of large timber, stumps and stems
appearing in great quantities, both above and below the level of the
water, which was reduced several feet by the drainage of the river. The
centre of the horse-shoe was occupied by a peninsula of bog-land with
a coating of grass: this tract also abounded with timber, the stumps
in many places projecting above the soil. In August, 1864, on the east
shore of this peninsula, were observed two chert spear-heads lying just
beneath the water at its lowest summer level, and a few yards further
along the beach was a rude stone hatchet, about six inches long and two
inches deep in its broadest part. The following spring, when the winter
floods had subsided, measures were taken to search very carefully,
and the result was the collection of a great many flint implements
of various types, the greater number of which were lying only a few
inches below the surface of the soil, and generally ashes were found
with them. In one place a dark-coloured glass bead of barrel-shape was
with the flint-flakes, and close to the stump of a large tree was a
very fine polished stone hatchet with squared sides, the edge sharp
and quite uninjured. In one of the holes made in the bog by the feet
of cattle lay a beautiful little arrow-head of dark flint, triangular
in shape, chipped to an exquisite sharpness, and curved inwards at
the base to form the barbs. With the flakes, knives, scrapers, arrow
and spear-heads of flint, were also many specimens in chert or Lydian
stone. Near the exit of the river from the lake two different types of
light-coloured flint arrow-heads were discovered, the one barbed, and
about one and three-quarter inches, the other two inches in length, and
of peculiar form; the latter lay where a deep cutting had been made
during the drainage works, and near this spot was anciently a ford, the
scene of several encounters between the Danes and Irish, and where in
later times the forces of Elizabeth, and the Irish under Tyrone, met in
battle array. In a field on the Meath side of the river, stood a castle
of which no vestige now remains above the ground: the foundation may,
however, still be traced, and many articles have, from time to time,
been ploughed and dug up about the site of this old fortalice of the
Pale. A fine silver coin of Mary, and a good specimen of a pin-brooch
in bronze, with red enamel setting, were found there.
The larger crannog, separated from the mainland by a shallow
channel, was in summer accessible by a narrow causeway. In one of
its mounds--principally composed of ashes--were leaden bullets,
sharpening-stones, and implements of iron; on its shores a flint
spear-head and bronze pins; on the edges of the lake close by, flint
arrow-heads, hatchets, &c., all of which, found at about the same
level, were certainly submerged until the drainage works permanently
reduced the height of the lake by several feet. Bullets discovered in
these crannogs prove that they were occupied up to a comparatively late
date.[214]
_Cargaghoge._--_Ante_, p. 42.
_Glaslough_, or _Erny Lough_.--_Ante_, p. 151.
_Lisanisk._--_Ante_, p. 151.
_Lough-na-glack._--_Ante_, p. 81. Two bronze instruments, supposed to
have been used for piscatory purposes, were found in connexion with
this crannog, also several beads of amber and blue glass; a comb and
three pins made of bone; an iron dagger fifteen inches in length;
several primitive iron plough-coulters; fragments of iron instruments
(use unknown); a long gun-barrel, or caliver; part of the lock of a
pistol, and many bullets of lead.[215]
_Lough Mucknoe._--_Ante_, p. 151.
_Lough Monnachin._--_Ante_, p. 151.
_Lough Rouskey._--_Ante_, p. 151.
_Monalty_ (near Lisanisk).--The first mention of the discovery of
various ancient relics in a small artificial island in this lake was
made by Mr. Shirley. There was a canoe (hollowed out of a single
piece of oak), measuring twenty-four feet in length, also stone and
bronze celts, spear-heads, needles, pins, &c., from all which it would
seem that here had been one of the strongholds of the chiefs of the
district. This crannog--afterwards explored by G. Morant--is situated
close to the shore, and during the low state of the water in the year
1863, it became accessible by wading over a few yards of mud. When
searching on the exposed side of the island a jewelled ornament was
perceived, slightly projecting above the gravel, stones, and mud of
which the beach was composed. This proved to be a rock crystal, oval
in shape, and set transparently; the crystal, with its silver setting,
measured two and a-half inches in length, by one and three-quarter
inches across, and was much corroded on the front; the little points
were surrounded with a cable-twist, as was also the setting. It was
pronounced by a competent authority to be a work of the fourteenth or
fifteenth century. Lying on the surface of the boggy soil was another
antique, considered to be a harp-pin; it was of highly-finished work
in bronze, the barrel having within it indications of rust.[216] The
crannog had been searched long previously by a man who made a trade
of selling antiquities, so that the good fortune of discovering these
curiosities must be attributed to the fact of the water-level having
been so exceptionally low in the year 1863.
_Rahan’s Lake_ is situated near Carrickmacross, and here in 1863 the
hearth of a crannog was uncovered; on it were found a quantity of
ashes, together with five Queen Mary shillings, fused into a mass,
probably by the conflagration which had consumed the dwelling. A bronze
pin, a flat spear-head, and stone celt, were also brought to light.[217]
_Leesborough Lake._--An iron skean, seventeen inches long including the
tang, the blade thirteen inches, one and a-quarter inches wide at the
handle, and one-quarter inch thick, tapering to the point, was found
here.
_Kilmore Lake._--Two crannogs are known to have existed in this sheet
of water.[218]
[Illustration: Plate XLVII.
Fig. 202.--General Plan of the Bed of the Drained Lake of Cloneygonnel,
_alias_ Tonymore.
Fig. 203.--General View of the exposed Lake Bed.
Fig. 204.--Section of Large Crannog.]
COUNTY CAVAN.
_Cloneygonnell_ (otherwise Tonymore)--a townland in the parish of
Kilmore, barony of Lower Loughtee--contained three crannogs that became
exposed when the waters of Tonymore Lough had been run off by arterial
drainage. Although the tops of the outer row of piles could be seen
projecting above the surface, yet the real nature of the largest of
these islands--a green oblong mound--was not suspected until after the
railway had passed through a portion of it. The land was described as
rising, in a succession of low hills, from what had been the ancient
margin of the lake; on the north and south sides were the raths of
Shancloon and Cloneygonnell, as shown (plate XLVII., fig. 202), and
there were several raths of minor importance. In 1862, Dr. Malcomson
of Cavan, carefully examined the locality, and made a sketch of the
general appearance of the ancient lake bed and neighbourhood (fig.
203), as well as a representation of the section of the larger crannog
where cut by the railway (fig. 204). The piles or stakes were arranged
in two circles, one within the other, the diameter of the greater one
being one hundred and twenty feet, and that of the other ninety feet.
The piles in the outer circle were very numerous, and in some instances
driven in close proximity to each other; a few appeared about three
feet above the surface, and upon being withdrawn and examined were
found to have been carefully pointed. The stakes in the inner row were
not so numerous; some of them were of oak, others being of sallow or
other soft wood. Within the stockade were observed two small mounds,
one at the north, the other at the south. Corresponding with the
depression between these, and three feet under the soil, was discovered
during the excavation a flat stone four feet square and three inches
thick, resting on a number of upright blocks of oak; this, no doubt,
was a hearthstone. The most elevated point of the mound, towards
the south of the island, had a crater-like appearance. Besides the
wooden stakes which entered into the formation of the circles, others
appear to have been laid horizontally, their beam-like ends showing at
that part of the enclosure which was disturbed by the passage of the
railway. On exploring the crannog, and when the excavations had been
carried to the centre, the cut surface presented from above, downwards--
1st. _Clay._
2nd. _Black and grey ashes, with small stones and sand._
3rd. _Bones and ashes, with lumps of blue and yellow clay._
4th. _A quantity of grey ashes_, and
5th. _The horizontal sleepers, or stretchers, and hazel branches
resting on the peat bottom._ (Plate XLVII., fig. 204.)
[Illustration: Fig. 205.--Plan of Crannog, showing the radial
arrangement of the timbers.]
The superficial soil was gradually removed in order to expose the
original flooring and examine its peculiar arrangement. During the
removal of this stratum the workmen turned up a few antique specimens,
amongst them portion of a glazed crucible, and a large mass of
brownish metallic dross, quite convex on one surface. The principal
stretchers--about forty in number--which composed the flooring were of
black oak, in a tolerable state of preservation; each plank was from
six to twelve feet in length, and from six to twelve inches square.
They were laid down so as to extend lengthways from the circumference
towards the centre, forming a number of radiæ somewhat like the spokes
of a wheel; their outer ends were kept in position by slender crooked
trunks of oak-trees forming a kind of circle, these again being fixed
into their places by the outer row of stockades. The planks were not
in close apposition, and the spaces so left were filled with thick
branches of sallow, deal, and hazel, with the bark on; many of the
branches extended underneath the sleepers, thus separating them from
the peat bottom. The branches were for the most part rotten, and
easily broken down. Hazel nuts were found here hard and brown, as if
but just fallen from the tree. When the peat was removed to a depth
of two feet near the outer part of the enclosure, the space so left
was immediately filled up with bog water. A similar examination made
near the centre exposed a hard foundation of blue clay. The timbers
composing the crannog appeared to have been roughly hewn, and were not
joined together by nails or mortises; two of the stretchers, however,
had mortises. This site was most thoroughly examined. In the same
marsh, but nearer to the ruin of Tonymore Castle, there were traces of
two other stockaded dwellings (plate XLVII., fig. 202), an elevated
causeway leading from them to what had been formerly the mainland.[219]
_Cornagall._--_Ante_, p. 67.
[Illustration: Plate XLVIII.
Fig. 206.--General Plan of Drumkeery Lake. A--Island with Crannog.
Scale 6 inches to one mile.
Fig. 207.--Plan of Promontory with Crannog. Scale, 1 inch to 60 feet.]
_Drumkeery Lough_ is situated two and a-half miles north of
Bailieborough. In 1863 the level of this lake having been lowered,
the fact became apparent that it had been, in olden times, the abode
of a lacustrine population. Plate XLVIII., fig. 206, shows the former
extent and shape of the lake. Near its southern margin there was
an oval-shaped island, converted into a peninsula by the change in
the water-level. The aspect of the locality is described, and also
represented in an outline sketch, by Professor Harkness, the original
island being shown (plate XLVIII., fig. 207) by the portion marked
A, including the area B, while the present peninsula is indicated
by the letters CCC. The crannog was situated on the peninsula, and
the approach to it had been from the south, as indicated by remains
of a stockade of birch piles, DD, extending from both sides of the
entrance, whilst at the eastern corner of the latter was a large
oak pile with a four-sided hole cut through it. Large vertical oak
slabs, with interspaces of three feet between each pile, formed the
sides of the entrance EE, the interspaces filled in with smaller
slabs of oak inclined outwards; the strong vertical piles had been
well secured; on examination it was found that about nine feet of
their length lay below the then surface. The floor of the entrance F
was formed of large flat stones, and underlying this rude pavement
were pieces of cleft oak. The area occupied by the crannog was an
Irish acre--the longer axis being nearly north and south--and it was
enclosed by piling composed principally of birch, retaining the bark.
These birch poles, on the end inserted into the ground, had usually
a wedge-shaped outline; some of the smaller trees seem to have been
cut down by a single blow, and driven into the ground without further
sharpening. Piles of oak which also occurred in the crannog were much
better pointed, tapering regularly in some cases from their extremity
for four feet upwards. Round oak piles were found in several parts of
the stockade; whilst cleft oak was observed only at the entrance
in one or two parts of the stockade, and in single piles here and
there in the crannog. It has been computed that the number of piles
used in forming and strengthening the construction must have exceeded
30,000. The stockade was composed of piles placed in close contiguity,
without interspaces; and in the interior, near the piling, there was
a layer of gravelly clay and large stones, varying from two inches to
two feet in thickness, its object being to give a uniform level; and
this comparatively narrow space was the only artificially elevated
portion of surface in the crannog, which differed from most others
previously met with in Ireland, in apparently not having required to
be raised above the water; but there is evidence of the level having
risen five and a-half feet since the period of its occupation. At the
northern extremity of what had been the crannog was a space about a
rood and a-half in size, B, occupied by fragments of burnt bones and
charcoal--the kitchen midden of the place. This deposit, nine inches
in thickness, rested upon the natural surface of the island, of which
the entire area AB was flat, and before the lake was lowered stood
two and a-half feet above the ordinary level. On the north side the
supports for a landing-stage, H, were composed of two rows of piles
that ran obliquely _outwards_ from the girdle of piling G; and on the
east side was another series of double piling, I, the piles about three
and a-half feet apart, and they differed from the formation on the N.W.
in extending _inwards_ from the main stockade. Opposite to this, and
firmly embedded in the oozy bottom of the lake, was seen a single-piece
canoe, J, formed out of an oak trunk; the double row of piling
extending inwards doubtless enclosed a “dock” destined to receive and
secure the canoe when not in use.[220]
On the north side of the lough, nearly opposite this crannog, there
were traces of another of smaller size. Birch and round piles of oak
were distinctly recognizable; these occurred also at various intervals
along the margin of the water, indicating the former existence of
several lake dwellings. Along the shore have been discovered traces of
many ancient fireplaces[221] more than six inches above the present
surface of the lake, but five and a-half feet below its level previous
to drainage; the largest of these consisted of a heap, thirteen feet
in diameter, of small flattish, angular-shaped stones resting on peat;
the small stones had a reddish colour, and consisted of fragments of
greywacke shale. Immediately contiguous to this heap of small stones
was another, about four feet in diameter, made up of large stones, some
a foot and a-half in breadth. These larger blocks exhibited no trace of
the action of fire which had given to the smaller fragments their red
colour.[222]
_Lough Ramor._--There are numerous islands on this lake, which is five
miles in length, and from a mile to a mile and a-half in breadth. In
the _Irish Annals_ this sheet of water is said to have burst forth A.M.
2859, and in A.D. 845, King Malachy is reputed to have here attacked
and destroyed an island on which rebels had fortified themselves after
joining with the Danes, and from whence they continued to commit
depredations on the neighbouring districts. On its shores was found
the curious stone mould figured _ante_, p. 73; a bronze vessel like
a modern pot, eleven and a-half inches high, and the same wide, with
small handles attached below the rim, and one foot wanting; another
bronze vessel in a perfect state, with three transverse raised lines
on sides, trident-shaped ornaments spring from the base of each leg,
angular handles attached between junction of rim and conical pot,
fifteen and three-quarter inches high, twelve across mouth. These
latter articles were both found in Lough Ramor, and in Museum, R. I. A.
they appear as Nos. 40 and 43.
_Lough Crannog._--Judging from the name, there was formerly an
artificial island in this lake.
_Lough Aconnick_ and _Derreskit Lough_.[223]
At a meeting of the Royal Historical and Archæological Association of
Ireland, held at Portrush, July, 1885, a paper on the crannogs of the
county Cavan was read by Mr. Seaton Milligan of Belfast, who stated
that he had at various times visited several of those structures, which
he considered to be more numerous in Cavan than in any other county in
Ireland, owing perhaps to the great number of lakes scattered over its
surface. He described some eleven sites that lay within a radius of
seven or eight miles from the town of Cavan; and was of opinion that
their outer row of piling was generally formed of oak, and the inner
circles of smaller stakes of hazel and sallow. A looped spear-head of
bronze was shown by him, and he minutely described two canoes dug out
of a bog on the shores of a lake containing a crannog, and situated
near Heath Lodge. A bronze rapier found near a crannog in Lough Oughter
was also exhibited by him, and a description given of the castle of the
same name, where Bishop Bedell was protected by the Irish during the
troublous times of 1641. This castle stands on an island surrounded
by piling, and bearing the impress of having been an ancient crannog
whereon the more modern structure was erected (_ante_, p. 155).
The exact locality of two sites in the province of Ulster still remains
undefined, i.e. _Loch-da-damh_ (_ante_, p. 158), and the crannog
attacked by Sir Henry Sidney in 1566 (_ante_, pp. 146-8).
PROVINCE OF LEINSTER.
COUNTY MEATH.
[Illustration: Fig. 208.--Fusus antiquus.]
_Lagore_, otherwise _Dunshaughlin_. (See _ante_, pp. 23-5, 157, for the
discovery and historical account of this celebrated crannog.)--In the
kitchen midden were bones of the _Bos longifrons_, _Bos frontosus_,
four-horned goat, wolf, dog, bear,[224] red deer, wild boar, sheep,
fox, horse, &c.; also a sea-shell (_Fusus antiquus_), here figured
one-third its real size. This relic is preserved in the Petrie
Collection, R. I. A. It is curious to find a shell of any marine
species within the bounds of a crannog situated many miles inland;
and with it were shells of limpets and baccinums, together with
numerous portions of fictile ware.[225] Around the crannog were several
single-tree canoes, and near the centre there were two human skeletons
lying at full length; the country people would not allow them to be
removed; one specimen was, however, secured, and deposited in the
Museum, R. I. A.[226]
_Bohermeen._--_Ante_, pp. 82 and 171.
COUNTY WESTMEATH.
During the working of the Commission for the Arterial Drainage of
Ireland a crannog was discovered in this county, but its site is
unidentified.
_Joristown._--In this townland, parish of Killucan, there would seem
to have been formerly a crannog in the river Deel, for when deepening
the bed of the stream a bronze spear-head was found five feet below the
surface, and in the immediate neighbourhood of an artificial island,
which is described upon the label attached to this weapon in the R. I.
A. as “a little mound, formerly an island, which contained a quantity
of bones and some iron spears.”[227]
_Ballinderry_, in the parish of Kilcumreragh, barony of Clonlonan, is
situated not far from Moate. When, as the result of drainage, the water
of this lake fell, it was discovered that it had formerly contained
a large crannog surrounded by a stockade of oak piles, around and on
which was an immense quantity of the antlers of red deer, and fractured
bones of deer, oxen, sheep, and other mammalia, all afterwards sold
as manure. Many objects of archæological interest found here were
obtained by various collectors--some are in the Museum, R. I. A.,
and others have been figured in the _Journal of the Royal Historical
and Archæological Association of Ireland_. The first notice of the
crannog occurred in 1844, when Mr. Hayes forwarded to Sir W. Wilde a
description of it, together with a plan and map of the locality. Two
single-piece canoes were disinterred from this site, and portion of an
ancient harp of wood. The pendent amulet of stone, figured p. 115, was
found here.[228]
_Ballinacarriga._--_Ante_, p. 136.
_Lough Owel._--A canoe was here found, and a crannog is said to exist
beneath the waters of this lake, opposite Portlenon. It is situated on
a shallow, still called by the fishermen “the Old Crannog.”
COUNTY LONGFORD.
_Castle Forbes._--_Ante_, p. 33.
_Aughamore_, near Granard.--At this place was said to have been
discovered a curious wooden hut, constructed of black bog-oak, which
lay under water in an exhausted bog at considerable depth beneath the
surface. It measured twenty-three feet by ten, and had eight very
strong beams supported by cross-beams firmly jointed; the side-beams
mortised, as if intended for uprights. It was taken asunder in the
process of raising, and as far as can be ascertained it has never been
viewed by any person competent to form an opinion on the matter, so
that no conjecture can be hazarded regarding the age or purpose of this
so-called hut.
COUNTY LOUTH.
_Iniskeen._--_Ante_, p. 158.
_Ballyhoe Lake._--A stone pestle, an amulet made of black stone, and
a flat circular stone, were here found,[229] and from the bed of the
river _Glyde_ were obtained a portion of a double comb and two beads of
bone, the one seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, the other one-half
inch wide.
KING’S COUNTY.
During the working of the Commission for the Arterial Drainage of
Ireland, a crannog was discovered in this county, locality not
mentioned.[230] “Just above the Pass Bridge, at the east end of
Droughtville demesne, is a marsh, called the ‘Muddy Lake’ on the
Ordnance Map, but by the people, the ‘Island Lough.’ On the north
side of this marsh there is a small island, on which are the remains
of _Kiltubrid Castle_. Between the castle and mainland, on the north
side, there is an ancient causeway about one hundred yards in length.”
A new channel made by the Drainage Commissioners in 1852, crossed
this causeway within thirty yards of the castle. In the excavation
several large pieces of oak were found, having evidently formed portion
of a framework, as the mortises were tolerably perfect. Here also
were discovered an article formed of wood, a pan of white bronze or
_findruin_, three coins of the reign of Charles I., two of Elizabeth,
and numerous others worn and defaced.[231]
QUEEN’S COUNTY.
_Grantstown._--About the year 1860, the permanent water-level of
this lake being lowered six feet, disclosed an artificial island;
the stakes forming the enclosure were very sharply pointed; those
laid horizontally in the centre were grooved and nailed together.
R. Langrishe--who had visited Grantstown, and was often on the
lake--states that the country people spoke of these remains as “the
castle”: they said “it had sunk.” No canoe was found, the water in
the immediate vicinity of the crannog being upwards of eighty feet in
depth. The only relics discovered were an iron hasp, two nails with
large heads, an arrow or spear of charred wood, a polished piece of
bone resembling a pin for the hair, having grooved circles all round it
at top, an enormous quantity of animal bones and charred timber, a lump
of gypsum, also a rude box, about four and a-half feet in length, which
contained two small bones.[232]
_Lough Annagh_, situated in the barony of Tinnehinch, separates the
King’s from the Queen’s County; it is three miles in circumference,
and the waters abound with pike, roach, and perch. In the middle of
this lake, where most shallow, oak framing was visible, and a tradition
existed that “in the war of 1641 a party of insurgents had a wooden
house erected on this platform, whence they went out at night in a boat
and plundered the surrounding country.” The site was suitable for such
a retreat, the lake having formerly been embowered in forest. Queen
Elizabeth thanked one of her commanders for conducting a detachment
of horse in safety through the surrounding woods of the district. T.
Stanley, who visited the place in 1868, observed an island-like patch
rising a little above the water-level; of piles then visible he counted
upwards of one hundred and twenty, arranged in lines, with spaces of
two feet between the alignments, the average diameter being about
five inches. The island sloped down gradually in every direction, and
the piles--apparent only on one side--accommodated themselves to the
slope, and were in general only a few inches above the surface of the
water. Four piles had been uprooted, and thus showed that originally
they were pointed with a sharp instrument, possibly with small iron
hatchets similar to those found on the spot a few days previous to
T. Stanley’s visit. Between the island and the shore there was a
half-submerged space, about thirty feet in diameter, strewn with stones
and broken querns; a few piles appeared among this debris. There was
a lesser tract closely adjoining, where well-burnt brick, both whole
and broken, were mingled with the stones. On the mainland, near the
crannog were traces of a curious bog-pass, made like an American
corduroy road, and there can be little doubt of this being “the tougher
of Malahone,” mentioned by Major Edward Wood in his despatch, giving
an account of an action fought by him on the 4th May, 1691,[233] when
he defeated a portion of the Irish army on a hill above the lough. It
is more than probable that the crannogs in question had either been
the head-quarters of the Irish force, or that after their defeat the
fugitives took refuge on the islands, for in the year 1868, the Rev. J.
Graves saw at Tullamore articles purchased from the men who had picked
them up near the crannog. The items first named seem to tell their own
story.[234]
[Illustration: Fig. 209.--Part of Lough Annagh, enlarged from the
Ordnance Survey six-inch Map, showing Sites of 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.
COUNTY TIPPERARY.
_Annagh_, in the parish of Kilbarron.--There is here (as stated by the
Rev. James Graves) a piled crannog, situated at the extremity of a
shallow spit--submerged except when the river Shannon is very low--and
at the outlet of a great circular spring or small lake, six or seven
hundred yards in diameter, which runs into Lough Derg. This site has
not yet been examined, but a map of the locality is here given.
[Illustration: Fig. 210.--General Plan of the neighbourhood of
the Crannog of Annagh. A. Piled Crannog. B. Shallow Spit, usually
submerged. C. Spring, or Lough. D. Outlet into Lough Derg.]
_Monaincha_ (the island of the bog) is--as stated by W. F. Wakeman--an
artificial construction, on which had been subsequently erected a
church in the Hiberno-Romanesque style. It is to the present day
surrounded by bog.
_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]
[Illustration: Fig. 211.--Map showing former and present summer and
winter level of Lough Nahinch.]
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.
ft. in.
6. Bog, (about) 0 6
5. Bog, ashes, bones, and nuts, 1 6
4. Stones and large oak sticks irregularly laid, 0 6
3. Peat, bones, and ashes, in which were oak beams
lying in different directions, 1 6
2. Oak beams, about four feet apart, and laid nearly
E. and W., 0 6
1. Peat, wood chips, and bones, (over) 1 0
------
5 6
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 212.--Plan of Submarine Crannog at Ardmore.
One-half the scale of fig. 213.]
_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.
ft. in.
8. Peat, } 1 0
7. Thin stratum of bluish clay with worn pebbles, }
6. Peat, } 1 0
5. Thin stratum of bluish clay and an angular }
piece of limestone, }
4. Thin stratum of charcoal, }
3. Peat, 2 0
2. Clayey peat, 3 0
1. Very clayey peat full of small oak roots, 0 6
------
7 6
[Illustration: Fig. 213.--Section of Submarine Crannog at Ardmore.[238]]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 214.--Spear-head of Bronze from Lough Gur. One-half
real size.
Fig. 215. Ferrule, showing Gold Ornamentation. Full size.]
_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, [Illustration]. The cross-like form
does not necessarily denote that the weapon belongs to the Christian
era, for an almost similar symbol [Illustration] appears in an ancient
Mexican MS. now in the Belfast Museum.[242]
[Illustration: Fig. 216.--Stone Mould for casting weapons, from Lough
Gur.]
COUNTY CLARE.
_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.
COUNTY GALWAY.
[Illustration: Fig. 217.--Plan of Ballinlough.]
_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:--
ft. in.
Bog and clay, with a few bones, 2 0
Wood ashes, full of charred bones, over 1 6
------
3 6
[Illustration: Fig. 218.--General View of Ballinlough.]
_Middle Island_ (3) lies nearly eighty-four yards from _West Island_
(2); it was almost circular, its diameter being thirty-two yards;
and outside, for a width of nearly twelve feet, it was lined with
regularly-placed flat stones. When the water was low, piles could be
distinctly observed around it; but the porous nature of the materials,
joined to the height of the water at the time, precluded a systematic
examination. A small excavation near the western extremity gave the
following section:--
ft. in.
6. Peat and clay, about 0 9
5. Peat and stones, with a few bones, 0 9
4. Wood ashes and peat, quantities of unbroken cherry
stones, broken hazel nuts, broken animal bones
and teeth, also a ball of red colouring matter, 2 6
3. Basket flooring, one and a-half inch thick, 0 1½
2. Oak beams, 0 6
1. Peat, over 0 6
------
5 1½
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:--
ft. in.
Bog, with a few bones, sticks, and stones, 3 6
A bed of regularly laid fern-stalks and leaves (_Pteris }
aquilina_, or brake fern), on a flooring of }
wicker-work, made of hazel rods, about an inch in }
diameter; over the ferns were a few bones and a }
quantity of nutshells, } 0 6
Bog-stuff, mixed with branches, and containing a few }
stones and logs of timber, (over) } 5 0
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 219.--Plan and Section of Reed Island. Scale, 20
feet to 1 inch.]
_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]
[Illustration: Plate XLIX.
Fig. 220.--View of Loughrea, showing Shore and Ash Island.
Fig. 221.--Plan of Shore Island. Scale, 80 feet to 1 inch.
Fig. 222.--Section of Shore Island.
Fig. 223.--Section of Shore Island.]
_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]
[Illustration: Fig. 224.--Plan of Ash Island. Scale 20 feet to 1 inch.]
_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.
[Illustration: Fig. 225.--View of Loughrea, Island M’Coo in the
distance.]
_Island M’Coo_ is one hundred and eighty yards from the nearest
shore. It seemed to be surrounded by a circle of piles thirty-five
feet in diameter, and in a season of low water _gun-barrels_ and
_bronze spear-heads_ were said to have been brought up in the prongs
of eel-spears. The incongruity of the juxta-position of gun-barrels
and bronze spear-heads can easily be explained. In the year 1798 all
the guns seized throughout the surrounding country were brought into
the town of Loughrea, and the magistrate in charge, having orders to
destroy them, caused them to be carried out and sunk in the lake.
At the east side of the island were observed traces of four canoes
with their prows turned towards the shore. An attempt to raise one of
them--a single-piece canoe of oak--failed, it being so decomposed that
it broke across in the middle.
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 226.--General view of the Crannog of
Loughannaderriga, Achill Island.]
_Loughannaderriga._--There are, doubtless, many persons who, if
asked to point out the exact position of Achill, would be unable to
do so, yet it contains an area of about thirty-six thousand acres,
and a population which may be reckoned by thousands. Here, two miles
from the village of Doogort, is an “imperium in imperio,” an island
within an island, and this is believed to be, at present, the only
authenticated crannog in Mayo, to which county Achill Island belongs.
Loughannaderriga (_the lakelet of the oaks_) is about two hundred yards
in diameter, and in shape somewhat inclined to an oval; it is environed
by abrupt banks of peat, which, in recent years, have considerably
encroached on the water-area. The bottom consists of deep, treacherous
mud, so that an exploration could only be attempted by aid of planks,
and even then a cursory examination was alone found practicable, the
water not having been withdrawn by drainage.
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 [Gaelic: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 227.--Miscellaneous wooden Objects. 2, 3, 5
one-eighth real size; 6 one-fourteenth real size; 1, 4 one-sixteenth
real size.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 228.--Whetstone. One-ninth real size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 229. Golden-bronze Pin. Full size.]
The most interesting “find” was a bronze pin (fig. 229), very sharp
at point, the superior portion of the acus ornamented with a row of
circular indentations, and the flattened head pierced with a round
hole, through which passed a thin golden-bronze loop, of material so
fragile that it crumbled away when touched. The pin itself was covered
with a thick coating of “patina” and boggy sediment, which at once
scaled off; it is composed of early and pure bronze called “golden,”
from its resemblance to the precious metal, and it is of the type of
those found in the ancient _Emania_ destroyed in the third century.
There were no traces of either bones or pottery; as the probable level,
on which they might be expected to rest, was not reached.
COUNTY ROSCOMMON.
Twelve crannogs were discovered in this county during the working of
the Commission for the Arterial Drainage of Ireland: these sites have
all been identified.
_Loughlea._--A flint mass, a piece of a circular grindstone, a fragment
of a bone spike, two portions of the blades of iron swords, and an
antique-shaped iron key, were here brought to light. There were three
crannog sites in this lake.[249]
_Muckenagh._--Ante, p. 154.
_Derreen Lake._--There were here found an iron hatchet and a pair of
stirrup irons.[250]
_Kilglass._[251]--Of this site the name alone is given.
_Cloonfree_, _Cloonfinlough._--In the year 1852, by the operation
of drainage works in the vicinity of Strokestown, the level of the
three lakes of Cloonfree,[252] Cloonfinlough, and Ardakillen was
greatly lowered, and one artificial islet in the first-named sheet
of water, and two in Cloonfinlough were laid bare. Of the latter,
one island was one hundred and thirty feet in diameter, constructed
on oak piles driven into the soft marl at regular distances, bound
together by horizontal oak stretchers forming a triple stockade, with
an interval of five feet between each. To the N. W. were a number of
irregularly-placed piles, stretching a short distance from the islet.
The centre of the stockades was laid with trunks of small oak-trees,
placed flat on the marl; they all pointed to a common centre, thus
forming a platform whereon the island itself was constructed. When
first observed, there was jutting out from the island, towards the
west, a kind of jetty or pier, formed of a double row of piles and
stretchers running parallel, and about eight feet asunder, on which
logs of timber were laid closely and horizontally.
In a short time very little of either the gangway or stockades
remained, so much had been broken up and removed by the peasantry.
A trench--twenty feet long by five wide--having been cut as near
the centre of the island as possible, there was found, at about
eight inches under the surface, a very closely-laid pavement of
irregular-sized boulder stones; then a stratum of black earth, with
occasional fragments of bones through it, became exposed, and about
six inches beneath this was a considerable layer of burnt earth, with
several inches of unburnt clay under it. It is evident that the height
of the island had been raised and a new surface pavement laid, for then
came a second very closely-laid floor of large-sized, flat-surfaced
stones, beneath which were alternate layers of black earth, burnt
clay, and marl, reaching down to the log flooring, and interspersed,
like the one above it, with occasional bones and fragments of bones.
A human skull, and portions of others, were got on the exterior edge.
Between the island and the ruined church were found two single-piece
oak canoes, little more than two feet wide, the stern of one being
perforated with numerous auger holes about an inch in diameter.[253]
Close to the island were numerous articles of a miscellaneous
description, some of great antiquity, others of more modern date;
also a deposit of bones of _Bos longifrons_, _Cervus elaphus_, _Equus
caballus_, _Sus scrofa_, _Capra hircus_, fallow deer, sheep, fowl,
dogs, &c. One or two osseous fragments, said to be human, were found
in the lowest stratum, together with splintered bones and horns of
the _Megaceros hibernicus_. Traces of this great “Bighorn” have (as
already noticed) been found also in the crannog of Breagho, in the
lacustrine settlement in Loughrea, and in Ballinlough, _i.e._ in
connection with four crannog sites, whilst the exploration of the cave
of Ballynamintra,[254] situated near Cappagh, county Waterford, has
proved the contemporaneity of man with the _Megaceros_. In that cave,
and lying but a little over the stratum which contained the bones of
the _Megaceros_, was found the bone handle of what, judging from its
ferruginous colour, appeared to have been an iron blade.[255]
[Illustration: Fig. 230. Bronze Lamp, from Cloonfinlough.]
Amongst the bronze relics, not the least remarkable was a lamp,
of which the accompanying illustration affords a correct idea. It
measures in extreme length four inches and five-eighths. The bottom
was perforated, evidently for the admission of a support or stand, up
or down which the lamp could have been slid to suit the convenience of
anyone using it. Lamps fashioned in this way are still in common use
in Italy. The aperture to admit a stand has been covered by a small
plate of iron about the thickness of a shilling. A similar lamp in the
collection of Celtic antiquities formed by the late Dean Dawson, as
well as the Cloonfinlough specimen, are now in the Museum of the Royal
Irish Academy. The design is graceful and classic, so much so, indeed,
as to suggest the idea that the little object may have formed portion
of a spoil taken from Britain at a time while yet Roman influence
there prevailed. Raids by the Irish on the coasts of Britain were very
frequent, from whence they generally returned laden with spoil: this
may account for traces of Roman civilization discovered in Ireland, for
hoards of Roman coin have been unearthed in various localities.
_Ardakillen._--In this lake one of the four crannogs discovered was
constructed of both stones and oak piling. Fig. 231 represents a
section of this island. The upper line (_a_) shows the former high
water-level before the drainage operations; (_b_) the ordinary winter
flood; and (_c_) the average summer level.
[Illustration: Fig. 231.--Section of one of the Ardakillen Crannogs.]
[Illustration: Fig. 232.
Skull and Iron Fetters from the Crannog of Ardakillen. One-eighth real
size.
Fig. 233.
Iron Fetters from one of the Strokestown Crannogs. One-third real size.]
Under a slight earthy deposit there was a deep layer of loose stones,
bounded by an enclosing wall, the foundation supported by piling.
The lower portion of the island consisted of clay, peat, and stones,
mingled with strata of ashes, bones, and logs of timber. The various
rows of oak-piling are shown in the section; the sheet-piling, driven
in obliquely, formed an unbroken circle round the island. When the
level of the lake was lowered, four islands became visible, and on the
largest upwards of fifty tons of bones were found: this is probably
the crannog mentioned in the _Irish Annals_, under dates 1368 and
1388 (_ante_, p. 154). The scene which this site presented shortly
after the lowering of the water-level was very remarkable; scores of
persons visited it, at first in search of bones, for which they found
a ready sale as manure, and afterwards with the view of picking up
antiques, with which the bog-matter around the sheet-piling or stockade
was plentifully studded. Large numbers of these were disposed of to
an English collector, and amongst the objects known to have been
obtained by him was a beautifully-formed vessel of wood, bound round
with plates of thin golden bronze, upon which a variety of designs
were displayed.[256] What appears to have been a very similar article
was found many years ago in deepening the bed of the Kinnegad river,
and is figured (p. 67) in Wilde’s _Boyne and Blackwater_. A “dug
out,” eighteen feet in length, discovered lying on the bottom of the
lake, was wantonly destroyed, and ultimately utilised for firewood.
Near the crannog was a canoe, forty feet in length, and four feet
across the bow; it was hollowed out of a single trunk of oak, and
in it were a skull, a spear-head, and a bronze pin. The skull bears
the mark of no less than twenty sword-cuts, showing the murderous
conflict in which its owner must have been engaged. Near it was found
a neck-piece of iron with twenty feet of rude chain attached[257]
(fig. 232). Another set of “irons” (fig. 233) came from a crannog in
the immediate neighbourhood, and from the size it is likely they were
intended for ankle-fetters; it is stated that similar instruments have
elsewhere occurred in Irish lacustrine sites, and, strange to say, in
one instance there were traces of gilding. In Irish MSS. allusions
frequently occur to the practice of putting captives in fetters; they
were sometimes so severely manacled as to produce almost unbearable
torture. Prisoners were often slain when fettered. One instance, though
a comparatively modern one, will suffice:--According to the _Annals of
Loch Cé_, in the year 1585, a son of Teige O’Rorke, and a son of Magnus
Oge O’Currin, were captured, “placed in irons on _Loch-na-cula_,” in
the county Leitrim, and slain.
The skull found lying in the bottom of the canoe was of the oval or
elliptical (_Dolicho cephalic_) type, characteristic of the natives of
western or southern Europe. There is a theory that in primeval times
in Erin there were two races, each distinctly marked both by features
and the form of the cranium. The one possessed thick elliptical skulls,
low foreheads, deep orbits, high cheek-bones, prominent mouths, and
narrow chins; the other had round, or globular (_Brachi cephalic_)
skulls, possessed more intellect, and less marked features. Wilde
observes that the two fragments of human skulls discovered in the
crannog of Lagore[258] (_ante_, p. 204) partook of the character of the
long-headed race, whilst the antiquities found with them would lead to
the belief that the persons to whom the skulls had belonged did not
live later than the tenth century. Good examples of both races may
still be seen amongst the modern Irish.
“There are reasons for considering that the Ardakillen skull belonged
to a young adult, or to a man in the prime of life. This opinion
is based upon the fact that the coronal and sagittal sutures were
not obliterated. (The coronal suture is the name given to the line
of articulation between the frontal and parietal bones; it forms a
_vertical transverse_ line over the top of the front of the skull. The
sagittal, or interparietal suture, occupies a _median longitudinal_
position between the two parietal bones.) The coalescence into one
plate of bone (calvarium, or skull-cap) of the frontal and the two
parietal bones, and the consequent obliteration of the sutures (coronal
and sagittal), generally occurs between thirty and forty years of age;
however, the period at which this union commences, and the order in
which it proceeds, is subject to so much variation, that no more than
an approximation to the age of the skull is attainable thereby.
“Examination of the teeth remaining in one side of the upper jaw--the
opposite side of the jaw was broken away--showed that the third molar
tooth (_dens sapientiæ_) had been erupted.
“The many marks of cutting instruments upon the skull were found
chiefly over the vertex and the frontal and occipital regions. In many
the force had been applied at right angles to the cranium, resulting in
nicks or linear marks; in several horizontally, so as to slice or shave
off a portion of the outer table of the bone. In no case was there a
perforation of the inner table apparent, nor a fracture or fissure of
the entire thickness of the skull, whence it might be inferred that the
weapons were not of any great weight; the force of the blows might have
been broken by protecting headgear, thick coils of matted hair, or by
defensive movements of the arms. There were no appearances to negative
the idea that all, or the majority of, the cuts were received about
the same date. They have all the characters of _ante mortem_ injuries,
as contrasted with such injuries as the skull is liable to from rough
usage, or from its being knocked about. From the distribution of the
marks it may be assumed that the man was in an upright or semi-upright
position. In the hacking of a dead and prostrate enemy the wounds would
be on the part of the head which was uppermost.
“Though there is no single wound which must have proved fatal _ex
necessitate rei_, death might have ensued from the accumulation of
injuries, from concussion, erysipelas, or secondary inflammation of the
brain or its membranes.”[259]
COUNTY LEITRIM.
Twenty crannogs were discovered in this county during the working of
the Commission for the arterial drainage of Ireland: these sites have
all been identified.
_Drumaleague_ may be cited as a good example of a lacustrine dwelling:
the form circular, and, with the exception of the hearth-stones, it was
composed wholly of wood, principally alder. Drumaleague lake, situated
in the vicinity of Lough Scur, was originally about a mile in length.
The level of the water having been lowered thirteen feet, two crannogs
became visible, as also a canoe--hollowed out of a single trunk of
oak--eighteen feet long, twenty-two inches broad, square at stem and
stern, and having apertures or row-locks cut in the sides.
[Illustration: Fig. 234.--Plan of Crannog in Drumaleague Lake. Scale,
twenty feet to one inch.]
The annexed plan of one of the islands conveys a good idea of the
general arrangement of this class of structure. The outer line of
stakes enclosed a circle sixty feet in diameter, and within the
enclosure there were groups of stakes--in some parts two or three
deep--driven into the ground, seemingly for purposes connected with
some internal arrangement. A, the central oblong portion, consists
of a platform of round logs cut in lengths of from four to six feet,
possibly the floor of the hut; B, a collection of stones with marks
of fire on them; C, a heap of stiff clay; D, the root of a large tree
nearly buried in the peat, the surface of the wood bevelled off, so as
to form a sort of table, under which was found a considerable quantity
of bones, apparently those of deer and swine.
[Illustration: Fig. 235.--Section of second Crannog in Drumaleague
Lake.]
Fig. 235 is a section of the second crannog, which was surrounded by
a tolerably regular circular enclosure formed of a single row of oak
stakes F, F; it was seventy-two feet in diameter. The upper stratum
B, consisted of horizontal logs of alder, reposing upon a black
peaty surface; the logs were from three to eight inches in diameter,
completely water soaked and rotten: this stratum of timber was three
feet six inches deep. A, a heap of stones with marks of fire on them.
Other hearths were found in different parts of the island. C, the
lower stratum of decayed and blackened sticks and branches of all
descriptions lying in every direction: this layer extended as far as
it was pierced in the examination, viz., about four feet, but was
evidently of greater depth. D, D, two heaps of stones found in the
lower stratum. E, the kitchen midden, in which was a large quantity of
bones of deer, swine, oxen, &c., that lay four feet below the surface.
There was here found also the thin topstone of a quern, formed of
micaceous quartzite, smooth upon the grinding surface, but otherwise
rude and unfinished: the hole for the handle passes quite through; the
grain-hole, two and a-half inches in diameter, is not directly in the
centre.[260]
_Lough Scur._--This crannog is alluded to in the _Annals of Loch Cé_,
under the following dates:--1345, four sons of _Cathal Mac-in-caich
Mac Raghnaill_ were taken prisoners on _Loch-an-Scuir_, and put to
death; 1390, O’Rorke, who had been in confinement, escaped to the
castle of _Loch-an-Scuir_, but was overtaken and slain “when coming
out of his cott”; 1580, _Loch-an-Scuir_ was taken, and _Maelsechlainn
Mac Raghnaill_ slain. On this site was found the largest quern in
the Museum, R.I.A., the nether-stone being twenty and three-quarter
inches long by three and three-quarter inches thick; the aperture for
the pivot one and three-quarter inches deep, the same across; it is
surrounded by a raised lip to retain in position the upper stone, which
is nineteen and a-half inches in diameter by two and three-quarter
inches in thickness: the grain aperture is three and a-half inches
wide; upon the upper surface is the mark of the cross-bar of the pivot,
its upper surface left in a rude state; it has one handle-hole. The
stone mould, figured _ante_, p. 72, was found here, and a model of a
portion of the oak framework of the crannog--one-quarter real size--was
deposited in the Museum, R.I.A.
_Lough Rinn_ (_the lake of the promontory_) lies in the barony of
Mohill. It is mentioned in the _Annals of Loch Cé_, under date 1345,
when O’Conor, “king” of Connaught, was killed by an arrow at _Loch
Airinn_ whilst assisting _Mac Raghnaill_, to whom the crannog on the
lake belonged; for the sept of the Mac Rannals formerly possessed
the neighbouring district, then called _Conmaicue Moyrein_. In the
year 1847, the waters of Lough Rinn having being lowered, two canoes
were found imbedded in the mud near an old castle at the promontory
from whence the locality derives its name; there was also a chain, or
manacle, composed of iron rods, looped at their ends, like one found
in the Strokestown crannogs. One of these canoes was a “single-piece,”
hollowed out of oak, and flat-bottomed, the length thirteen feet and
the breadth nearly two feet throughout; the sides were only four
inches high; but the original depth must have been greater. In front
of the old castle stands an island covered with self-sown ash and
thorn, and constructed with wooden piles, of slight scantling, but
perfectly sound; “the paling was interlaced and pegged down in a very
rude manner: the island appeared to have been formed inside of it, and
raised upon a similar description of work.” A small bronze arrow and
a spear-head were found two feet deep in a gravel shoal close to Rinn
Castle, between Loughs Rinn and Sallagh.
_St. John’s Lough_ contained four crannogs, in which three silver coins
of Edward I., II., and III. were found.
_Loughtown_ crannog measured one hundred and twenty feet from east to
west by one hundred feet from north to south, and was surrounded by a
mass of stakes upwards of fifteen feet wide, inclining in towards the
centre of the island.
_Aghakilconnel Lough._--Three iron pots, one of them triangular in
form, were found on this site.
_Lough MacHugh_ contained two crannogs; one measured seventy-four feet
by one hundred and eighteen feet.
_Cloonbo_ and _Cloonturk Loughs_ had each two sites.
_Cloonfinnan_, _Cloonboniagh_, _Castlefore_, and _Funshinagh Loughs_,
each contained a crannog.
_Crannog Island._--No account is given of this site.
_Manorhamilton._--A crannog, a canoe paddle, and other articles were
discovered not far from this village.[261]
_Muinter Eolius._--A crannog in this district is mentioned in the Irish
Annals (_ante_, p. 152).
COUNTY SLIGO.
_Glencar_ lake, situated between the counties of Sligo and Leitrim, is
embosomed in mountains; to the north lies the Ben-Bulben range, and to
the south the Castlegal range with bold precipitous sides, its grey
limestone cliffs resembling ancient weather-beaten fortifications, and
its slopes in parts clothed with plantations of fir. The rain that
falls on the summits of the Ben-Bulben range descends to the vale
in numerous streamlets, which, after a continuance of wet weather,
appear when viewed from a distance like streaks of silver. Some form
waterfalls of more or less magnitude, of which one is called in Irish
_Sruth-an-ail-an-ard_, or the stream against the height; because in
this instance, when the wind blows from a certain point, the ordinary
laws of hydrology seem to be reversed, and the water, instead of
falling, is either driven upwards and back against the mountain, or
it is blown outwards in a sheet of spray, like a pennant. Ben-Bulben,
or Ben-Gulban, _Gulban’s Peak_, is said to be so named from Gulban,
son of Nial of the Nine Hostages, who was fostered near it. Gulban
was ancestor of the O’Donnells, who, through this mountain gorge,
frequently poured their forces into Sligo. In the year 1595 O’Donnell,
when pursued by Bingham, retired to this valley, in full confidence
that the wary Saxon would not attempt to follow him through the
narrow and difficult defile, and in 1597, the same chief encamped in
the immediate vicinity of the eastern crannog. So late as 1609, in a
curious old map of the county, the valley of Glencar and the slopes
of Ben-Bulben are delineated as covered with wood, and the following
quaintly-worded information is appended:--“Ye high hills of Ben-Bulben,
where yearly timbereth a falcon esteemed the hardiest in Ireland.” The
locality is still the _habitat_ of the peregrine falcon.
Although, in the present day, lovers of the picturesque resort to
Glencar, yet, probably, few are aware that the locality was anciently
the home of a considerable lacustrine population. In the early part of
this century, when the level of the lake had been lowered by drainage
operations, several crannogs became visible; and the one situated at
the eastern extremity, where the stream enters the lake, had seemingly
been the largest. Broken bones, antlers of deer, a quantity of old
timber, and some articles of bronze (amongst them a tweezers) were
said to have been obtained. In the _Annals of the Four Masters_, under
date 1541, this site is noticed as the scene of strife between two
branches of the O’Rourkes.--“The eastern crannog, on the lake of _Glen
Dallain_,[262] was taken by the sons of Donal, son of Donogh O’Rourke,
from Donogh, the son of Donogh O’Rourke. In some time after, the sons
of Donogh O’Rourke, namely, Donal and Ferganainm, made an attack on the
crannog, and privately set fire to the fortress; that act was perceived
and detected, and they were pursued on the lake and were overtaken
by the sons of Donal; Ferganainm, the son of Donogh, was slain, and
drowned by them; and Donal having been taken prisoner, was hanged
by the sons of Donal, the son of Donogh O’Rourke.” At the western
end of the lake--on the subsidence of the water after drainage--four
crannogs became visible; but, owing to the subsequent silting up of
the cutting in the bed of the Drumcliff river, they have all again
disappeared, with the exception of the largest, which, at the time of
the drainage, was accessible from the land dryshod, though now the
water reaches to a wader’s knees. To the east of this crannog there
is still a considerable depth of water: the beach descends rapidly,
and layers of large beams, from six to seven inches in diameter, can
be seen radiating from a common centre; in some instances, three or
even four layers can be traced. Cross-beams are noticeable, also
piles driven in at intervals; these are only three or four inches in
diameter, and sharply pointed at the ends; this side of the crannog
presents the appearance of having been denuded of stones. The height
of the water prevents exploration; but it has been roughly computed
that, including the wooden substructure now submerged, the diameter
had formerly averaged seventy feet, or possibly more. Careful search
amongst the stones merely led to the discovery of fractured bones of
_Bos longifrons_, _Cervus elaphus_, _Sus scrofa_, &c., and numerous
teeth of mammalia, together with a fossil, possibly a selected specimen
used as an ornament or charm, and pronounced to be a _Zaphrentis_--a
coral of the carboniferous formation.
“… in that rock are shapes of shells and forms
Of creatures in old worlds, of nameless worms
Whose generations lived and died ere man,
A worm of other class, to crawl began.”
Opposite the crannog, the beach on the mainland is strewn with
fractured bones similar to those on the island. The antlers of a
_Cervus elaphus_ were found close to the shore, and a wooden peg
(_ante_, p. 104, fig. 108) was seen lying on the bottom near a beam. In
one of the mythical legends of the “Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne,”
mention is made of the Glencar lake-dwellings as one of their places of
refuge.
_Lough Arrow._--Not far from the old Abbey of Ballindoon is an
artificial island formed almost entirely of stones; the earth--in
which a few young firs are now growing--was brought to it by the late
proprietor, J. Gethin. This crannog, the largest of a group, still
stands well above the surface of the lake. To the north--but separated
from it by a deep and narrow channel--is a shoal called “Sunken
Island,” which is in summer weather almost dry, and around both these
sites were numerous fractured bones of the _Bos longifrons_, _Cervus
elaphus_, and _Sus scrofa_. Still further to the north, and close to
the shore of Ballindoon demesne, is plainly discernible the summit of
a large pile of stones, evidently deposited by human agency, but the
depth of water effectually precluded any hope of obtaining handicraft
“finds.” The island at _Annaghcloy Point_ is said to be artificial,
and around _Oilean-na-prechaun_ (_Crow Island_)--seemingly formed of
small stones, and situated near the exit of the river Unshin from Lough
Arrow, at Bellarush bridge--were found lying on the beach numerous
fractured bones of the usual crannog type.
_Lochanacrannog_ is the name of a small townland in the barony of
Tireragh, near the residence of Sir Malby Crofton, Bart. The small pond
in which the crannog is situated becomes almost dry in summer, yet,
despite this favourable circumstance, no relics have been discovered.
A trench cut through the island showed that it was composed of clay
mingled with some few stones, and these, around the exterior edge, were
arranged in a systematic manner.
[Illustration: Fig. 236.--General view of Lochanacrannog.]
[Illustration: Fig. 237.--General view of Ballygawley Lake and Crannog.]
[Illustration: Fig. 238.--Beam, or Stretcher, binding tops of Piles, 10
ft. 6 in. long by 9 in. broad.]
_Ballygawley._--This lake, picturesquely situated at the foot of the
Slieve Dæane range of mountains, is embosomed in wood, which may be
viewed as now representing the primeval mantle that had formerly
covered the neighbouring slopes, when
“The wolf, the wild-cat, and the bear,
Prowled in these woods, or made their lair.”
The crannog lies about one hundred and eighty yards from the eastern
shore, and the diameter of the area covered with stones is eighty-five
feet, but the wooden substructure extends to a considerable distance
under water. The beams, protruding from under the superincumbent
stones, appeared--as is usual--to radiate from a common centre, but two
beams on the west shore, and one that was raised from a depth of one
foot under the present water surface on the south shore, seemed to lie
at a tangent to the circle of the crannog. In fig. 238 the mortises
_a_, _b_ secured the heads of piles, and _c_, _d_ (of larger size) may
have held some of the radial beams. The highest point of the crannog
now stands about five feet above the level of the lake, which has been
reduced three feet in height, as the result of drainage operations
carried out by the proprietor, Colonel Cooper. Some of the encircling
piles remain in position; three were noticed on the north, and one on
the south-east shore. To the west and south the water is shallow, and
this shoal would seem to have been the “kitchen midden,” or refuse
heap, for numerous teeth of the _Bos longifrons_ were here dredged up,
and close to the encircling piles lay a quantity of fractured hazel
nuts and some pieces of charcoal. On the east and west there were, in
the fine sand on the crannog beach, small portions of calcined bones,
resembling those found in the cromlech interments at Carrowmore. A. W.
Foot, M.D., to whom they were submitted, states that these fragments
were “undoubtedly bone, several of them unmistakably calcined (from
carbonaceous residue). Some of the fragments are entirely composed of
carbonate of lime, others are a mixture of carbonate and phosphate of
lime. It could not be determined whether they are animal or human; this
should be conjectured from surrounding or collateral circumstances.”
_Lough Gill_ is one of the numerous localities in Ireland to which is
attached the legend of a buried city. Amongst the peasantry there long
lingered a tradition that these waters had overspread a plain whereon
stood the ancient town of Sligo, the numerous islands being supposed to
represent former knolls on its green expanse. As the result of recent
extensive drainage operations in the county Leitrim, a large additional
amount of water has, through the river Bonnett, been directed into
Lough Gill at its eastern extremity. The consequent greatly increased
height of surface would, of itself, present an insuperable bar to
exploration, so that no means remain of ascertaining if an extensive
lacustrine settlement had ever really existed here of old. Within
the actual bounds of the lake, which is seven miles in length, the
islands, highly picturesque, and of some extent--one of them contains
twenty-five acres--are of undoubted natural formation; there is,
however, near the site of the ancient Castle of Annagh--noticed in the
_Annals of the Four Masters_, under date 1533--one small islet, bearing
a crannog-like appearance, but, as far as can now be ascertained, no
traces of occupation have been found around it. The short stretch of
the Garvogue, or Sligo river, which forms the outlet from the lake
to the sea, seems to present the peculiar features characteristic
of sites the most favoured by a lacustrine population, viz., good
fishing-ground, and wide borders of marsh on the adjoining mainland.
The ancient name of the demesne of Hazlewood was Annagh (_a swamp_),
and a portion of the grounds which skirt the river, and now remarkable
for its peculiarly ornamental planting, was so late as sixty years
since a mere spongy bog, on which no firm footing was obtainable. The
opposite shore, called Cleveragh, was of still softer and more watery
nature, and its name implies that either hurdles or rude wicker-work
bridges had been formerly used for crossing the river or the marshy
spots near it.[263] Along this side, and but a short distance from
the shore, there were, at varying intervals of space from each other,
three shoals, about the size of ordinary crannogs, and nearly circular
in form. They were occasionally so little perceptible as to prove
an obstruction for boats, and in the early part of this century the
proprietor, after surrounding each shoal with a low wall of masonry,
caused a sufficient quantity of soil to be conveyed to them for the
growth of a few trees. At that period nothing was known respecting
former lacustrine populations in any part of Europe, so that no special
examination was made of the nature of the shoals in question. In
the present day, however, with the aid of the light thrown upon the
construction of lake dwellings by modern discoveries, the position and
aspect of the three islets becomes striking, and cannot fail to call to
the mind of an observer the old tradition of a “buried city” in Lough
Gill.
* * * * *
The number of lacustrine sites in each county in Ireland is marked
within a small circle on the map (plate L.), and the lake dwelling
area, as at present known, is shown by a shading, light or dark,
according to the number of sites. The province of Ulster (including
historical notices of crannogs) contains one hundred and twenty-four;
Leinster, nineteen; Munster, nine; and Connaught, sixty-nine. This
makes for all Ireland a total of two hundred and twenty-one. The
ascertained sites are, however, in all probability, but a mere fraction
of the multitude that had formerly existed. Further explorations
amongst the remains of Irish and Scottish lake dwellings would,
doubtless, tend to strengthen the evidence of these structures having
been the work of a people who, at that remote period, formed most
probably a homogeneous community.
In the opinion of some theorists, these dwellings seem characteristic
of an early wave of immigration from the East--then throwing off its
superabundant population as does now the West--and in this manner it
is supposed that the lakes of Central Europe and Great Britain became
studded with water-laved homes. However, as before stated, they, with
a greater degree of probability, sprang up independently by reason
of the natural laws which govern man’s actions in a semi-civilized
state--in Erin, their first founders being rude flint-armed hunters of
the _Megaceros_, the bear, the wolf, and their descendants wielders
of the pike and matchlock. Recent investigation traces “island homes”
back to a period so remote, that the evidences of man’s formation and
occupation of these retreats prove in their way as interesting as the
remains of the buried cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, for lacustrine
dwellings, also, show traces of a species of civilization long passed
away (evidences of which were observable on the sites of Venice,
Mexico, and London), and the purposes of their primitive founders were
alike, whether situated on the lagoons of the Adriatic, the flats of
Central America, or the reaches of the Thames.
[Illustration: Plate L.
MAP OF IRELAND SHEWING APPROXIMATE DISTRIBUTION OF ALL KNOWN LACUSTRINE
SITES]
FOOTNOTES
[1] _Prehistoric Times_, Sir John Lubbock, 2nd ed., p. 214.
[2] Some Irish scholars give a different interpretation.
[3] Hull, in his _Physical Geology of Ireland_, cites the “Four
Masters” as alluding to man and the _Megaceros_ being contemporaneous,
p. 270.
[4] Sir John Lubbock, writing of extinct mammalia, states that remains
of the _Megaceros Hibernicus_ never occur in the ‘Kjökken-moddings,’
lake habitations, or sepulchral remains; nor are there any traditions
in Western Europe which can be regarded as indicating even obscurely a
memory of this gigantic mammal.--_Prehistoric Times_, 2nd ed., 1869, p.
291.
[5] _Proceedings, R. I. A._, vol. viii., p. 424.
[6] _Journal of the Royal Geological Society of Ireland_, vol. v. p.
170. New Series.
[7] “As far as we can judge from the present evidence, the first
appearance of the reindeer in Europe coincided with that of the
mammoth, and took place at a later period than that of the cave bear or
Irish elk.”--Sir John Lubbock, _Prehistoric Times_, 2nd ed., 1869, p.
293.
[8] _Geology of Ireland_: G. H. Kinahan, p. 262.
[9] Hippocrates, vol. i., p. 209. _De Aeribus_, xxxvii.
[10] ὲν μέση ἒστηκε τῇλίμνῃ. These dwellings in the middle of the
lake were out of bow-shot, out of reach of fiery projectiles against
thatched roofs and wooden walls--a description of attack to which some
of the Helvetian settlements probably succumbed.
[11] _Herodotus_, Book v., chap. xvi.
[12] _Prehistoric Times_, Sir John Lubbock, 2nd ed., p. 169.
[13] _Lake Dwellings of Switzerland_, Keller, 2nd ed., p. 73.
[14] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. vii., p. 151.
[15] _Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings._
[16] (1) bronze dish with handle of Roman work; (2) two bronze dishes
hammered out of the solid; (3) a small bronze dish of separate pieces
rivetted together; (4) a bronze ring having attached to it a portion
of the vessel of which it had been the handle; (5) fragment of leather
with a stamped pattern on it; (6) a large blue glass bead; (7) two
glass beads with streaks and spots; (8) a bead of amber; (9) a bead
of vitreous paste; (10) a small brooch of bronze; (11) a small ring
of bronze; (12) _a copper coin_; (13) five querns; (14) a fragment
of bronze; (15) a piece of iron slag; (16) a small earthen crucible;
(17) whetstone; (18) three iron hammers; (19) portions of armlets of
enamelled glass; (20) five canoes.--_Notices of Scottish Crannogs_,
John Stewart, p. 8.
[17] “A description of certain piles, found near London-wall and
Southwark, possibly the remains of Pile-Buildings.” A Paper read before
the Anthropological Society, December 18, 1866.
[18] _Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society_, vol. xii. p. 255.
[19] _Early Man in Britain_, p. 352.
[20] _Nature_, vol. xvii. p. 424.
[21] _Lake Dwellings of Switzerland_, Keller, 2nd ed., p. 660.
[22] _De Bello Gallico_, lib. v. xviii: “ripa autem erat acutis sudibus
præfixis munita; eiusdemque generis sub aqua defixæ sudes flumine,
tegebantur.” The _oppidum_ of Cassivellaunus is described as being,
“Sylvis paludibusque munitum,” and by Orosius, “inter duas paludes
situm, obtentu insuper sylvarum munitum.” Cæsar also states, lib. v.
xxi., “oppidum autem Britanni vocant, quum silvas impeditas vallo atque
fossa munierunt, quo incursionis hostium vitandæ caussa convenire
consuerunt.”
[23] Supplementa tabulæ Syriæ, cap. ii., as quoted in Keller’s _Lake
Dwellings of Switzerland_, 2nd ed., vol. i. p. 497.
[24] Prescott’s _Conquest of Mexico_.
[25] _New Guinea_, vol. i. pp. 47, 145, 216, 218, 401.
[26] “Jadis toute la ville de Tondano était construite sur le lac, et
l’on ne communiquait d’une maison à une autre qu’en bâteau. Forts de
cette disposition, en 1810, les habitants eurent de démèlés avec les
Hollandais, et voulurent secouer leur joug, ils s’ármèrent et furent
battus. Ce ne fut pas sans peine qu’on en vint à bout; il fallait y
porter de l’artillerie et constuire des bateaux canoniers. Depuis ce
temps, et pour éviter cet inconvénient on a défendu aux indigènes
de construire leurs habitations sur le lac.”--_Histoire_, Dumont
D’Urville, vol iv. p. 607; vol. v. p. 635.
[27] _Transactions of the Ethnol. Soc._ (new series), vol. ii. p. 28.
[28] _Illustrated Travels_, vol. ii. pp. 19-21. An account of a Visit
to the Guajiro Indians of Maracaibo, by A. Goering, Esq.
[29] _The Crew of the Falcon_, vol. i. p. 132.
[30] _Memoirs of the Anthropological Society_, vol. i. p. 311.
[31] _Across Africa._
[32] _The Lakes and Mountains of Eastern and Central Africa_: Elton,
pp. 156 and 243.
[33] In Lewis’s _Topographical Dictionary_, published 1837, mention is
made of a “wooden house” which formerly existed in Lough Annagh, vol.
ii. p. 175.
[34] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (4th
Series), pp. 325-26.
[35] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. (3rd
Series), pp. 220, 21, Rev. W. Kilbride.
[36] Joyce, _Irish Names of Places_, 4th ed. p. 299.
[37] _Geology of Ireland_, p. 278.
[38] The peasantry of the neighbourhood say that “crannog” signifies
the hopper of a mill, and that in all probability there was formerly a
mill there. This is the popular explanation given of every crannog in
the kingdom.--_MS. Letters, Ordnance Survey._
[39] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. vii. p. 157.
[40] _Old Statistical Account_, vol. viii. p. 304.
[41] John Stuart, _Notices of Scottish Crannogs_, p. 33.
[42] _Edinburgh Review_, No. 275, p. 207.
[43] In the year 1508, it is of record that a Scottish monastery
granted a lease of a crannog, one of the covenants being that the
occupant was to place a certain quantity of stones outside the piling
in each year, to protect the structure from the destructive influence
of the waters of the lake.
[44] _Wightown_: Barhapple, Barlockhart, Barneallzie, Castleloch,
Dowalton, (5,) Eldrig (3), Loch-Inch-Crindel, Machermore (2), Merton,
Sunonness.
[45] _Kircudbright_: Barean, Carlingwark (2), Loch-Kinder, Loch-Lotus,
Loch-Rutton.
[46] _Dumfries_: Black Loch, Corncockle, Friar’s-Carse, Lochmaben.
[47] _Ayr_: Buston, Loch of Kilbirnie, Lochlee, Lochspouts.
[48] _Bute_: Dhu Loch, Loch Quien. The remainder of the Scottish sites
are situated as follows:--
_Aberdeen_: Banchory, Loch Canmore. _Argyll_: Kielziebar, Ledaig,
Loch-na-Mial (Mull), Lochnell. _Forfar_: Loch of Forfar. _Inverness_:
Loch-in-Croy, Loch Lochy. _Lanark_: Greenknowe. _Linlithgow_: Loch Cot.
_Moray_, _Nairn and Elgin_: Loch Flemington, Lochindorb, Loch-in-Dunty,
Loch of the Clans, Loch Spinie. _Perth_: Loch Rannoch. _Ross_: Loch
Achilty, Loch of Kinellan. _Stirling_: Loch Lomond.
[49] Namely at Loughrea, county Galway; at Ballinlough, near Marble
Hill, same county; at Lough Nahinch, on the borders of Tipperary and
King’s County, and Lough Naneevin, West Galway.
[50] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. vii. p. 150. This crannog may be said
to form portion of the Strokestown group; excavations were made, and
several bronze pins found.
[51] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. ii. pp.
11-13 (4th Series)--G. H. Kinahan.
[52] Toome Bar, county Antrim; Rahans, county Monaghan; Drumkeery and
Cornagall, county Cavan; Lagore, near Dunshaughlin, county Meath;
Nahinch, county Tipperary; Cloonfinlough, county Roscommon; are
examples of crannogs which show visible traces of having been consumed
by fire, and some of them of having been rebuilt.
[53] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (4th
Series), pp. 327-336.--W. F. Wakeman.
[54] “The framework was composed of oak logs, as shown in the sketch
(fig. 1. side elevation); the main sleepers, one on each side, were
principal pieces, and rested on the sand. These logs were made from
a large oak-tree, split in two, with the round part upwards; they
measured, when put together, twenty-three inches in diameter and
twenty-four feet in length; into these the upright pieces, or posts _B_
of the frame, were mortised, _p_; and the end of the post protruding
through the mortise in the sleeper _A_, was forelocked by a large
block of wood below, as shown, fig. 1. The mortises were roughly cut,
as if they had been made by a kind of blunt instrument.… The planks
which formed the sides _D_ were laid edgewise, one upon another, the
lower one resting in a groove cut in the sleeper _A_, as shown in fig.
2, and the but-ends on a log of wood mortised into the framework, as
in fig. 1. The planks butting home against the supports, … were more
firmly fixed by the two uprights, which passed through a hole in the
cross-beam _c_, fig. 1, and slipped into the mortise in the sleeper.”
[55] A somewhat similar “find” was dug up in one of the crannogs in
Loch Dowalton, Wigtownshire.--_Ancient Lake Dwellings of Scotland_, p.
49.
[56] “These jambs, of which there were six at each extremity, stood
on well-wrought foundation stones, but of course in a calcined
state.”--Schlieman, _Troja_, p. 80.
[57] _Archæologia_, vol. xxvi. p. 361. _Dublin Journal_, p. 381-83,
1836.
[58] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. p. 269.
[59] _Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish_, pp. 31-2.
[60] Mr. Mackinlay, describing a crannog in Loch Quien in Bute, states
that two rows of piles extended obliquely from it to the shore of the
lake, between which the ground was covered with flat stones, “_not
raised like a causeway_.”
[61] _Dublin Quarterly Journal of Science_, vol. vi. p. 69.
[62] _Mem. Geol. Sur. Ireland._
[63] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. ii. (4th
Series), p. 435.
[64] _Geology of Ireland_, G. H. Kinahan, p. 276.
[65] _Proceedings R. I. A._ vol. vii. p. 154.
[66] _Cat. Mus. R. I. A._ p. 251.
[67] A writer states that around the Crannog of Lough Ravel were found
“a whole fleet of boats,” each cut out of a single trunk of oak; one
was made fast to a stake of the crannog by a rude chain.
[68] _Journal of a Cruise on the Tanganyika Lake, Central Africa._
[69] _Arch. Journal_, vol. iii. p. 46.
[70] _Ulster Journal of Archæology_, vol. vii. p. 194.
[71] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. ii. p. 247; vol. viii. p. 293.
[72] It may be observed that a canoe found at Cudrelin, on the Lake
of Neufchatel, had a similar kind of handle.--_Lake Dwellings of
Switzerland_, Keller, 2nd ed., p. 282.
[73] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. ii. (4th
Series), pp. 16-18.--W. F. Wakeman.
[74] The following list of single-tree canoes, though necessarily
incomplete, yet enables an approximate estimate to be made of the
number already discovered:--Ardagh, 1; Ardakillen, 1; Ballinderry,
2; Boyne, 1; Cahore, 1; Cloonfinlough, 1; Cornagall, 1; Derryhollagh
(_several_), 1; Drumaleague, 1; Drumdarragh, 1; Drumgay, 1; Drumkeery,
1; Erne, 2; Lough Eyes, 3; Kilnock, 1; Lough Annagh, 5; Lough Faughan,
1; Lough Owel, 1; Loughrea, 4; Lough Rinn, 2; Loughtamand, 1; Miracles
(_several_), 1; Moinalty, 1; Moinenoe, 1; Mourne, 2; Randalstown
(_several_), 1; Sligo (_Ballydoogan_), 1; Toome, 3.
[75] The above illustration represents No. 3 in the Museum, R. I. A.
No. 4 in the same collection is two feet two inches long, by five
inches across the blade.
[76] _De. Bel. Civil._ 1-54.
[77] The coracles used still in Caermarthenshire are of oval form, five
feet and a-half long, by four feet and a-half broad; the hides forming
the skin of the skiff are pitched.
[78] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. ii. (4th
Series), pp. 74-5.
[79] _Ulster Journal of Archæology_, vol. i. p. 32.
[80] _Cat. Mus. R. I. A._ pp. 276-7.
[81] Æs erat in pretio, chalybeia massa latebat.
[82] Utuntur aut aere, aut taleis ferreis, ad certum pondus examinatis,
pro nummo. Nascitur ibi plumbum album in mediterraneis regionibus,
in maritimis ferrum; sed eius exigua est copia; aere utuntur
importato.--Cæsar, _De Bel. Gal._ Lib 5. cap. xii.
[83] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. (4th
Series), pp. 461-465.--W. F. Wakeman.
[84] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (4th
Series), p. 119, vol. vi. p. 392.
[85] Plate VI.--Nos. 1 and 9 are from Ballinderry; 2, 3, and 4 from
Drumdarragh; 6 from Drumsloe; 7 from Kilnamaddo; 8 and 10 from Lagore;
11 and 12 from Ardakillen.
[86] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. (4th
Series), p. 558.
[87] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. ii. (4th
Series), p. 197.
[88] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), p. 374.--W. F. Wakeman.
[89] Quite recently a bronze axe-head, now in the writer’s possession,
was supposed by its peasant discoverer to be “_rale goold_”--and it was
not till after repeated failures to effect sale of his “find” as gold
that he could be convinced of the real nature of the metal.
[90] See Ardakillen Crannog.
[91] Plate IX., Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14 are from Lagore; Nos.
3, 8, 10 from Ballinderry; No. 15 from Lough Gur.
[92] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), pp 381-3.--W.F. Wakeman.
[93] _Cat. Mus. R.I.A._, pp. 261, 463, 466.
[94] pp. 222-3, figs. 224-30.
[95] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), pp. 373-379.--W. F. Wakeman.
[96] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. (4th
Series), pp. 463-5.--W. F. Wakeman.
[97] “There is a tradition that this lough contains a brazen cauldron
full of treasure and guarded by a _piast_ in the form of a serpent. Old
people say that some years since a farmer actually saw the vessel, and
with the aid of plough harness endeavoured to get it out of the water.
The demon guardian, however, was too strong, the tackle broke, and with
a horrible hiss the serpent regained his lair, taking the cauldron
along with him.”--_Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_,
vol. ii. (4th Series), p. 319.
[98] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. i., s. s. 1870-8, p. 155; _Journal
Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. ii. (4th Series), pp.
118, 122.
[99] _Journal, Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), p. 384.--W. F. Wakeman.
[100] _Cat. Mus. R. I. A._, p. 91, No. 83.
[101] _Ibid._, p. 93.
[102] In Swiss lacustrine sites, stones of the cherry and of the sloe
are found together in heaps, mixed with plentiful remains of the seeds
of the blackberry and raspberry.
[103] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (New
Series), p. 119.
[104] _Proceedings, R.I.A._, vol. vii., pp. 192, 211.--W. Wilde.
[105] _Journal Royal. Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (4th
Series), pp. 507-8.
[106] A fine example of a utensil of this kind was discovered at Navan
Rath (the ancient _Eamhain_), the seat of the sovereigns of Ulster
down to the year A.D. 332; and a curious account of the value in which
bronze cauldrons of this description were held in Ireland in the middle
of the fifth century is given by Dr. Reeves in his translation of a
portion of the “Book of Armagh,” written in the eighth century.
[107] See _Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings_, p. 213, fig. 195.
[108] _Cat. Mus. R. I. A._, p. 533.
[109] _Archæological Journal_, vol. vi., p. 103.
[110] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. ii. (4th
Series), p. 322.
[111] It is No. 19 in the collection of querns in the Museum R.I.A.
Roughan Crannog is said to be the last retreat of Sir Phelin O’Neill in
1641: it held out until boats were brought to the lake from Charlemont
to aid in the attack.
[112] _Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings_, p. 55.
[113] Plate LVII., fig. 13, vol. ii., 2nd ed.
[114] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. iii. (4th
Series), p. 318.
[115] _Ibid._, vol. ii. (4th Series), pp. 308-9.
[116] _Cat. Mus. R.I.A._, p. 158.
[117] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. (4th
Series), p. 556.
[118] Vol. i. (4th Series), plate II., p. 583.
[119] _Cat. Mus. R.I.A._, p. 265.
[120] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), p. 391.--W. F. Wakeman.
[121] _Proceedings, R.I.A._, vol. viii., p. 329.
[122] Several soft lumps of what appeared to be a blue and a red
pigment were discovered in the crannog of Lochlee, in Ayrshire, though
the latter specimen shortly after turned blue; whilst at Lochspouts
were found two pieces of colouring matter, the one red and the other
black; and at Holderness, in Yorkshire, “red ochre” was picked up on
the site of a lake dwelling.--_Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings_, pp.
139, 160, 300.
[123] _Cat. Mus., R.I.A._, p. 303.
[124] _Cat. Mus., R.I.A._, p. 333.
[125] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), pp. 198-202.--Rev. James Graves.
[126] _Ibid._, pp. 198-202.--Rev. James Graves.
[127] W. F. Wakeman states that fig. 127 came from Ballinderry Crannog;
and, fig. 128 from Lagore; in the _Cat. Mus., R.I.A._, they appear as
Nos. 302 and 326.
[128] Now in the British Museum.
[129] _Cat. Mus. R.I.A._, p. 560.
[130] _Ibid._, p. 559.
[131] _Ibid._, p. 556.
[132] Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are from Lagore; the remainder were
discovered in crannogs, but the exact sites not now known. Wilde
alludes to Nos. 10 and 11 “as conical bits of carved wood, like
chessmen. The former, however, is hollowed at the base, as if for the
insertion of a stamp, and the latter is carved upon the face of the
base, with a device not unlike a seal: each is 2½ inches high.”
[133] _The Origin of Civilization_, p. 38.
[134] _Cat. Mus., R.I.A._, pp. 271-2.
[135] _Cat. Mus., R.I.A._, p. 549.
[136] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), pp. 197-8.--Rev. James Graves.
[137] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), pp. 389-391.--W. F. Wakeman.
[138] _Cat. Mus., R.I.A._, p. 568.
[139] Petrie Collection, _Mus., R.I.A._, No. 157.
[140] Petrie Collection, _Mus., R.I.A._, No. 156.
[141] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), p. 386.--W. F. Wakeman.
[142] _Proceedings, R.I.A._, vol. vii., pp. 155-6.--Reeves.
[143] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. ii. (4th
Series), p. 74.--W. H. Patterson.
[144] Nos. 1, 3, 20, 21, are from Ardakillen. Nos. 2, 11, 12, 13, 15,
18, from Lagore. Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16, from Ballinderry. No.
17, from Drumdarragh. No. 22, from Cloonfinlough. Nos. 23, 24, from
Lough Eyes.
[145] _Journal Royal. Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi (New
Series), p. 391.--W. F. Wakeman.
[146] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (4th
Series), p. 534.--W. J. Knowles.
[147] _Cat. Mus., R.I.A._, pp. 531-2.
[148] Sir Denham Jephson Norreys, in a Paper contributed to the R.
Hist, and Arch. Asso. Ireland (_Journal_, vol. iv., pp. 278-79), thus
explains the original process of riveting:--
“1st. Prepare a wooden core, or mandril, of the size and form of the
inside of the trumpet.
“2ndly. Place the strap of bronze to hold the rivets in the centre of
its inner surface.
“3rdly. Cut the plate of bronze which is to form the trumpet to such a
size that, when folded on the core, the edges may meet accurately on
the centre of the bronze strap: hold all together by solder, or by any
other means--perhaps coils of wire may have been used.
“4thly. Drill the holes for the rivets, countersinking them on the
outside. See Plate XXIX., fig. 1.
“5thly. Remove the wooden core.
“6thly. By means of a cleft stick (or other contrivance) insert the
rivets from the inside, outwards.
“7thly. As each rivet passes through to the surface it is to be drawn
up as tightly as possible; the shank is to be bent back, or held up by
any other means, so that the head of the rivet shall not be allowed to
fall.
“8thly. Having inserted all the rivets, insert a metal core, or
mandril, fitting the interior with great exactness.
“9thly. Complete the riveting from the outside, the metal core
preventing the rivet-heads from being disturbed, and allowing the
countersunk portion of the hole to be securely filled by a portion of
the shank.
“10thly. Remove the metal core. The trumpet is now ready to be
burnished off.
“After writing the above, it occurred to me that I had neglected
to inquire how the inner strap was to be held in its place for the
insertion of the rivets. Ordinary solder could not have been used,
as none appears between the strap and the plates. It might, perhaps,
have been effected by a slow removal of the wooden core, and by the
insertion, from the smaller end of temporary rivets or fastenings, as
the core was being pushed forward; by such means at least half of the
length of the strap could be firmly held in its place.”
[149] The MSS. from which it was extracted by O’Curry is the
“Leabhar-na-h-Uidhre,” written about A.D. 1106, but the tale, as
therein recounted, was extracted from the “Book of Dromsneachta,” a
work undoubtedly written before, or about the year 430.
[150] W. F. Wakeman states that at one time this slab was in the
possession of Petrie, the well-known antiquary. An engraving of a
chess-board of the fourteenth century shows but 42 squares, 7 × 6.
[151] British Museum.
[152] _Ulster Journal of Archæology_, vol. iii., p. 11.
[153] _Book of Leinster_, p. 206, as quoted by O’Curry, Lectures, p.
469.
[154] _Ulster Journal of Archæology_, vol. vii., p. 73.
[155] W. F. Wakeman offers a suggestion in connection with the name
Balhu; he states that Joyce in his _Irish Names of Places_ translates
the name of the Fermanagh town of Lisbellaw, _Lis-bel-atha, the lis
of the ford mouth_. Now, there was no river ever there, consequently
there could be no “ford mouth.” There is certainly a _lis_ or ford in
the neighbourhood, but the little stream which now drives the woollen
mill of Lisbellaw flows through a deep cutting communicating with Loch
Eyes, and which was made only in recent times. The _natural_ outlet
from the loch ran, and still runs, in a northerly direction, and cannot
have influenced the naming of Lisbellaw, as its course commences at
a distance of some miles from the village. “The name Lisbellaw seems
to invite investigation. Could it be translated ‘the fort or lis of
Balhu,’ even as Dunleary is ‘the fort or dun of Laighaire’”?
[156] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (New
Series), p. 229.
[157] _Cat. Mus. R.I.A._, p. 267.
[158] _Ibid._, p. 343.
[159] Plates XXXIII. and XXXIV. are reproduced from a paper by the late
Edward Benn, which appeared in the _Journal of the Royal Hist. and
Arch. Asso. of Ireland_. Some of the articles represented may now be
seen in the “Benn Collection,” Belfast Museum.
[160] When not otherwise notified, the extracts are from the _Annals of
the Four Masters_, or from O’Donovan’s annotations to same.
[161] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (New
Series), p. 139.
[162] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. vii., pp. 157-8.
[163] “_Mac Cnaimhain_,” now anglicised Mac Nevin, and among the
peasantry shortened to Neavin and Nevin. This family was originally
settled at Crannog-Meg-Cnaimhain, now Crannagh-Mac-Nevin, in the
south-east extremity of the parish of Tynagh, barony of Leitrim, county
Galway, and the name is still general in that and the adjoining barony
of Loughrea. The first notice of this family to be found in Irish
history occurs in the _Annals of the Four Masters_, at the year 1159,
where it is recorded that “Athius Mac Nevin was slain at Ardee.” The
crannog is mentioned in an inquisition taken at Galway on the 10th
of October, 1605:--“Quod Hugo Mac Knavin, alius dictus Mac Kellie
intravit in actionem Rebellionis et captus et suspensus fuit 4 Junii,
1602; et fuit seisitus in Ballilie Cranach Mac Knavin,” &c. “In a
grant to the Earl of Clanrickarde, dated 19th July, 1610, mention is
made--among various other lands granted to him--of part of the lands of
Crannach-Mac Knavin, parcel of the estate of Hugh Mac Knavin, otherwise
O’Kelly of Cranagh-Mac Knavin, executed in rebellion”(_a_).
(_a_) _The Tribes and Customs of Hy-Many._ Note by O’Donovan, pp. 68-9.
[164] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. ix., p. 176.
[165] _Ibid._, vol. i. (2nd Series), p. 223.
[166] _Researches in the South of Ireland._ Crofton-Croker.
[167] _Stories of Lough Gur._
[168] Maps of the escheated counties in Ireland, 1609. Ordnance Survey
Office, 1861.
[169] Shirley’s _Dominion of Farney_, pp. 93-4.
[170] [Gaelic: Crannoig Muighi gaiblín], Magh-gaibhlin. _Annals of Lough
Cé._ Note by the editor, W. M. Hennessy.
[171] _Annals of Loch Cé._
[172] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. vii.
[173] _Ulster Journal of Archæology_, vol. vii., pp. 192-3.
[174] The townland of Cargin is situated in the parish of Ogulla. The
lake is mentioned in the _Annals of Loch Cé_, A.D. 1092.
[175] _Annals of Loch Cé._
[176] _Annals of Loch Cé._ Note by W. M. Hennessy. This is doubtless
the place (then in possession of Cathal O’Raighilligh) against which
O’Donnell led a great hosting in 1281; “and they brought vessels with
them upon Loch Uachtair and plundered Eo-innis.” Again, in 1369, a
naval expedition was made by Philip Mac Udhir to Loch Uachtair, and
Cloch Ui Raighilligh was taken by him, and Philip O’Raighilligh, “King”
of Brefne, who was imprisoned therein, was taken out of it.
[177] _Ibid._, vol. i., p. 143.
[178] Could it be Inis-Sgeillend?
[179] [Gaelic: da ronad dna … ocus inis locha Cend, ocus inis locha
Gair … ocus inis locha Saiglend, ocus inis in gaill duib.]
[180] _Irish Names of Places_, p. 475. P. W. Joyce.
[181] _Chronicon Scotorum._
[182] [Gaelic: Aois Criost, sé chéd triocha asch … Maolduin, mac Aodha
do lorcadh i ninis caoin.] In the _Annals of Ulster_ this chieftain’s
death is under date 640. “Combustes Maelduin in insula Caini.”
[183] _Irish Names of Places_ (1st Series), p. 258. P. W. Joyce.
[184] _Miscellany of the Irish Arch. Society._ Translation and notes by
O’Donovan.
[185] _Museum, R.I.A._, No. 259.
[186] Also the following articles: a circular stone not unlike the
upper stone of a pot-quern; it was perforated in the centre, and
decorated at the top. A small whorl of red grit, and a water-worn
pebble that may have been used as a net weight or sinkstone (_a_). A
whetstone, four inches long (_a_). A curved stone, five inches long,
bearing on it some rudely carved devices (_a_). A celt-shaped, smooth,
flat stone, about six inches in length, evidently a natural formation
(_a_), and much resembling the modern polished stone used by linen
weavers as a “rubbing-stone.” Two fragments of pottery, exceedingly
rude, one of them unglazed (_a_): the first is portion of a small
pipkin, between three and four inches wide, and two and three-quarter
inches high, with an indented band round the top; it bears marks of
the long-continued action of fire, and is in composition very like a
cinerary urn.
The articles marked (_a_), appear in Museum, R. I. A., as Nos. 36, 67,
128, 84, 30, 31, 10 and 11.
[187] Et est in eodem le tuogh quidam lacus alias stagnum vocatus
Loughinchefeaghny in quo est insula similiter fortificata.
[188] _Proceedings R.I.A._, vol. vii., pp. 156-7.
[189] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. vii., p. 155.
[190] _Proceedings R.I.A._, vol. vii., p. 154.
[191] There were also shears of various sizes; two well-formed needles
of bronze; a shoemaker’s awl with blade of bronze and handle of stone;
several axes or hatchets; a light spade of wood tipped with iron;
an iron sword; a horse-shoe of ordinary size, thicker at the outer
edge and without raised heels, but drawn out at the extremities to a
great length; many whetstones; knives, very narrow and sharp at the
point, but thick on the back; a bronze dish much scored, its diameter
fifteen inches, including the rim; a wooden scoop; a large bead and
small crescent-shaped piece of glass, which bore marks of having been
set as a jewel; several pins of bronze, iron, bone, and wood, varying
greatly in shape; the fragments of pottery were evidently the remains
of strong, well-shaped vessels; the bones and horns of mammalia were
principally those of oxen (of short-horn species), sheep, goat, deer,
and dog; there were tusks of the boar, and in one instance the skull
of a _Cervus Elephas_ showed that the horns had been sawn off. In the
museum of the College of Surgeons, London, is preserved the skull of
an Irish deer from which the horns had been similarly cut, and it is
said to have been found in that state in the west of Ireland.--_Journal
Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. iii., pp. 86, 90; vol.
iv., pp. 36, 38.--E. Benn.
[192] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i., pp.
20-2.--E. Benn.
[193] _Celtic Scotland_, vol. i., p. 83.
The remaining bronze weapons from Toome Bar, now in the Museum, R.
I. A., are therein numbered as follows:--No. 1, a long and perfect
leaf-shaped sword-blade, narrow above the handle, and with a central
mid-rib; no side bevel, broad edges to handle-plate, which had been
probably covered with gold; there is a longitudinal perforation instead
of rivet-holes; length 26½ inches, by 1⅝ broad in the widest part of
the blade. No. 2 is also in a perfect state. No. 3 has a plain, smooth
blade, with a slight rib within margin, hilt cleft, nine holes in
handle-plate; 24⅝ inches long, by 1⅝ broad. No. 4 is composed of bright
Dowris-coloured metal, smooth and narrow above handle-plate, which has
four perforations; the length is 23¾ inches, by 1¾ broad. No. 10 has
an imperfect handle, notched for hilt, bevel edge, six rivet-holes;
length 20 inches, by 1¾. No. 122 is a small sword, rapier blade, narrow
handle-plate; 16 inches by 1⅞. No. 147 is a rapier-shaped dagger-blade;
wants point, has two rivet-holes, one rivet still in position; 8⅝
inches in length.
[194] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), pp. 177, 194-5.--W. T. Lockwood.
[195] _Journal Royal. Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi. (4th
Series), pp. 406-8.--Rev. James Graves.
“Solinus relates that the Irish formed the handles of their swords from
the teeth of large sea-monsters which they polished to a most beautiful
whiteness.” “That the handles were very much smaller than those of
modern swords with guards, and used for cutting as well as thrusting,
there can be no doubt, yet some of them are large enough to receive a
moderate-sized hand. Without discussing the generally received opinion
that the men who used such swords had very small hands--like some of
the Asiatics of the present day--the mode of using these weapons must
not be forgotten. They were employed for stabbing and fencing, in
which the middle, ring, and little fingers alone grasped the handle
completely, while the thumb and fore-finger passed upwards on each side
of the blade, fitting into the curved hollows of the hilt--and not like
the method of the cavalry soldier of the present day, who, when about
to deal a heavy blow, grasps his weapon with the closed hand, which
must occupy a space of about four and a-half inches.”--_Cat. Mus.,
R.I.A._, p. 456.
[196] In the kitchen-midden was the ordinary complement of bones,
principally those of the ox, boar, sheep, goat, dog, and deer. Seven
short scythes of bronze, a plough-sock of iron, a plough-share of
flint, several iron spear-heads, and some pins, were also brought to
light.
[197] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. iii. (New
Series), pp. 86-7.
[198] _Ibid._, vol. vi. (4th Series), p. 432.--H. W. Lett.
[199] _Proceedings R.I.A._, vol. v., p. 215.
[200] _Lake Dwellings of Switzerland._--Keller. 2nd ed.
[201] _Proceedings R.I.A._, vol. v., p. 417.
[202] _Ireland: its Scenery_, &c., &c., by Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Hall,
vol. iii., p. 259.
[203] A considerable portion of the timbers of this dwelling was
presented by the Earl of Enniskillen to the Museum of the Royal Hist.
and Arch. Association of Ireland.
[204] The following is a list of antiquities of minor interest:--A
crucible of the usual crannog kind, in a perfect state. A brooch, or
fibula, composed of iron, bronze, and a white metal--perhaps silver;
it had evidently been prepared for enamel--the pin was eaten away by
corrosion. An iron knife, with bronze mounting to the handle, which
was pierced for rivets. An ordinary crannog knife-blade, like those
found in Anglo-Saxon interments. Portion of a small iron shoe for
horse or ass. Piece of an iron band. A thin bronze fillet that might
have been used for securing the staves of a small wooden vessel, or
intended for a hair-band: a lady who tried it on, pronounced it to
be decidedly an article of feminine adornment--let that decide the
point! A small article of late bronze, apparently belonging to horse
trappings. A whetstone. A worked stone or disc. A lump of iron dross
or “slag.” The under stone of a quern. From time to time no fewer than
three single-piece canoes have been discovered beneath the waters
of the lough; one was for years used as a trough for cattle, and
afterwards cut up for firewood; the others were utilized in the roofs
of out-offices.--_Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol.
i. (4th Series), pp. 360, 371.
[205] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. iii. (4th
Series), pp. 314-15.
[206] The following is a list of the articles found on “Bone
Island”:--Nine pieces of deer’s horn, four of them curiously fashioned
(_ante_, p. 80). Several fragments of quern-stones; it was stated by
the older inhabitants of the surrounding district that many years
previously the entire surface of the island was covered with querns in
a more or less perfect condition; two of those obtained (_ante_, p.
89) were inscribed with a cross-like ornamentation. Four whetstones of
the usual four-sided crannog type; they vary in size from six inches
to four inches in length. Portions of rims of vessels of fictile ware
(_ante_, p. 98); a large fragment had been discovered on the island
some time previously. There were also articles both of bronze and iron,
but so greatly fractured and corroded that their character could not
well be defined. When excavating near the centre of the island, at a
distance of about two and a-half feet from the surface, a large stone
was found with a punched cross-like pattern upon one of its sides
(plate XLII., No. 6). Bones of animals, principally of the cow, goat,
sheep, and pig, were found in such immense numbers, that the crannog
became known as “Bone Island.”
[207] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. (4th
Series), pp. 232-235, 305-314.
[208] _Ibid._, vol. v. (4th Series), p. 336.
[209] _Ibid._, vol. i. (4th Series), p. 583.
[210] _Holly Island_, in Lough Erne, had evidently been fortified; it
is situated within a mile of Enniskillen, and in summer-time distinct
traces become visible of the stockade by which it had been defended
on the side facing the mainland; the island itself is, however, of
entirely natural formation.
[211] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. ii. (4th
Series), pp. 323-4.
[212] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. (4th
Series), pp. 553-564.--W. F. Wakeman.
[213] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (4th
Series), p. 332.--W. F. Wakeman.
[214] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. vi., pp.
8-10.
[215] _Archæological Journal_, vol. iii., p. 48.
[216] There were also found here a pair of quern-stones; burnt corn;
numerous fragments of coarse earthenware vessels; fragments of thick
dark glass; an earthen pot; a “grey-beard,” with the representation of
a man’s head beneath the spout; worked oval stones; “spindle-whorls”;
hones of different shapes and sizes; a brass token, almost defaced.
[217] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. iv., p.
379.
[218] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. v., Appendix.
The following antiquities were found on crannog sites in the county
Monaghan, but the exact localities not mentioned:--Three bronze celts,
with loops on their side--in one instance traces of the handle still
remained; a bronze dagger, twelve inches in length; two double-pointed
bronze arrow-heads; a bronze gouge or chisel; the head of a bronze
hunting-spear; part of a bronze sword; a bronze cap, seemingly the
termination of the butt of some weapon; the bronze handle of a javelin
or spear, with loop attached; the boss of a shield of bronze; a bronze
knife, with traces of gilding; two bronze daggers, the one ten and
a-half inches, the other seven inches in length; several bronze rings
of different sizes, two of them with transverse spring openings, others
hollow, being probably parts of armour or horse-trappings; two bronze
needles; a bronze pin, the head hollowed like a cup; several bronze
pins, of which some were ornamented, and two were of large size and
common type; parts of bronze fibulae; fragments of several bronze
instruments and numerous rivets; a small circular bell and three bronze
hair-pins of various sizes.--_Archæological Journal_, vol. iii., pp.
47-8.
[219] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. viii., pp. 275-6, 290-2, 301.
The following articles, discovered in the large crannog, were presented
to the Museum, R. I. A.:--The upper stone of a grain-rubber; a
perfect quern, seventeen inches in diameter, its upper surface highly
decorated; a flat circular stone disc or quoit, like some found
in connexion with cinerary urns; three do., one-half inch thick,
and three and a-quarter inches in diameter; a portion of the stone
coulter of a plough, thirteen inches long, with an artificial hole
near the broad end for attaching it to the beam; a mortar, eight
inches high, by seventeen and a-half inches wide, decorated at the
corners with grotesque figures; a stone mould, with the casting groove
in the long axis; two weapon-sharpeners of a remarkably hard stone
resembling quartz; eleven fragments of sharpening-stones, averaging
from two and a-half inches to six inches in length, two of them
perforated; a four-sided whetstone, twenty inches by three inches; a
large oval stone, artificially smoothed on all its surfaces--like a
web-polisher--it measures ten and a-half inches, by three and a-half
inches; several smaller-sized do.; a curved, water-worn, dark-coloured
stone, highly polished, probably a burnisher; a flat red touchstone,
three and a-half inches long, formed of jasper, and used for testing
gold; a portion of slate with three circular cavities; a stone half
perforated; a small perforated stone like a “whorl”; five globular
stones like sink-stones for nets; a stone bullet, three inches in
diameter; three oval-shaped, artificially worked stones; a bone
spoon (p. 140, fig. 194); four portions of combs; two large beads; a
ferrule, solid at one end, and two and a-half inches long; a small,
highly-polished pin, and a very perfect piercer of bone; two horns
of red deer, both imperfect; ten large boar-tusks, and some teeth
of ruminants; a ring of bronze, that had been probably part of a
fibula--it was in an imperfect state; a ring, three and a-quarter
inches in diameter; a large decorated bronze pin, seven and a-half
inches long, and a smaller one that measured three inches; the head
of a battle-axe of iron; a knife-blade, with perforated haft, eight
and a-half inches, and a smaller blade, two and three-quarter inches
in length; a globular piece of iron, two and three-quarter inches
in diameter; the head of a small hammer; three fragments of rings,
and eleven other fragments of iron, the former uses of which could
not be determined; several pieces of slag; fourteen pieces of broken
pottery--amongst them was part of a bowl or urn, unglazed, decorated
on the outside with deeply-grooved lines, and with slight indentations
on the inverted lip--it was formed of very dark-coloured clay, mixed
with particles of white quartz or felspar; four small earthen crucibles
of the usual shape, three of them very small; a pipe-clay vessel,
manifestly intended for refining purposes; the bowls of two small
pipes, commonly, but erroneously, denominated “Danish tobacco-pipes”;
a flat, highly-coloured bead of amber, and a larger one of irregular
shape; a small bead of enamel paste, showing a mixture of the colours
red, yellow, and blue; also fragments of Kimmage coal-rings; parts of
a bracelet, which seems to have been pointed at one end. Great numbers
of hazel nuts were found throughout the crannog, and there was a
barrel-shaped piece of wood, three and a-quarter inches long, hollow,
and perforated with six holes; it had been used either in weaving, or
as a net float.
[220] In addition to the usual collection of bones, the articles
obtained from the crannog were as follows:--A large stone, hollowed in
its upper surface, used evidently for crushing corn, the rock forming
this crusher, being coarse basalt, is foreign to the district; it
appears to be portion of a block of columnar basalt, brought to the
spot probably from the N. E. of Ireland. There was another large stone
of a carboniferous grit foreign to the locality, evidently the upper
stone of a grain-rubber; it was slightly convex on one side, and had
an artificially-polished surface. Two round stones--the one of quartz,
the other of carboniferous grit. Three pieces of spoon-shaped flint.
A stone ring, made from the ordinary greywacke shale of the district;
it was too small for the finger. Part of another ring, somewhat larger
in size. A bead of glass, and one of amber. Portion of a jet bracelet.
Some articles of brass, comparatively modern. Fragments of pottery
(undescribed). A crucible. An article formed of baked clay, two inches
in length by one in breadth, having one of its surfaces convex, and the
other concave; it bore the mark of a cross near one of its extremities.
Several pieces of iron ore; and a bronze axe that was discovered in
1843 on the shores of the lake in the immediate vicinity of the crannog.
[221] Fireplaces on shore of lake--see _ante_, pp. 90 and 191.
[222] _Archæologia_, vol. xxxix., pp. 433-440.
[223] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. v., Appendix.
[224] _Journal Royal. Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. (New
Series), p. 230.
[225] _Collectianea Antigua_, vol. iii., pp. 35-44.
[226] _Cat. Mus., R. I. A._, p. 223.
The following are a few of the articles found on this site, and nearly
all are now in Museum, R. I. A.:--Two double-edged swords of iron. A
curved blade. A peculiar single-edged weapon. An iron ring and chain,
supposed to have formed portion of a manacle (plate VIII., p. 61). Two
spear-heads in fine preservation (p. 63). An axe-head (p. 68). A bowl
and a ladle (p. 85). A small single-edged knife. An iron pipe, with
hook attached. A bronze object of unknown use (p. 143). Three armillæ
of rude fashion; one of them formed of a thin plate measuring rather
more than half an inch in diameter; the extremities slightly recurved.
An ornament of mixed metal, and an enamelled plate of iron (p. 138).
Portions of a small ring fibula, with cavities in the metal in which
enamel appears to have been encrusted. Numerous bronze pins of various
sizes and fashion. A skean or dagger (p. 65). A thin triangular blade,
corroded at edges; the lower portion prolonged into a tang; the bevel
on the edge, continued round the flat handle-plate, shows that the
article was cast and not subsequently hammered out. A very rude piece
of bronze somewhat resembling a broad arrow. A sling stone of quartz
rock. An oblong or natural kidney-shaped stone, five inches long, and
rounded at the extremities. Several whetstones. Two bone needles or
bodkins, perforated at the extremity. A double-toothed comb, rudely
ornamented with lines and concentric circles; and other combs, or
fragments of same, one of them being a small perfect specimen, four
inches long. A horn tine, polished at top. A very small four-sided
drinking vessel of horn, two and a-half inches high. A polished
leg-bone of a deer, curiously carved. A wooden spike, broad in the
middle, and sharpened at each end; it is supposed to belong to the
weapon class. There were also amber, jet, glass, and enamelled beads,
now in the Museum, R. I. A.
[227] _Proceedings R.I.A._, vol. v., p. 55.
[228] And also the following antiquities:--A small stone, on which
was carved a headless naked human figure. A sandstone ring. Several
whetstones. A dark-coloured piece of shale and sandstone, three inches
across, marked on the surface like the “game stones” in the Museum, R.
I. A. A mould, formed of agalmatolite or potstone; on one side it had a
circular cast for a harness stud. A decorated bone comb, and portions
of eight others. Many curious bone pins (described _ante_ “Articles of
the Toilet,” &c.). A spatula-shaped bone (_ante_, p. 140). Flat pieces
of ornamental bone (p. 139). A bone knife or skean, highly decorated
on the handle and along a portion of the blade. A knife and fork of
bone, colour dark brown; the handles are square, and decorated with
the domino pattern. Several miscellaneous bone articles, consisting
of pins, handles, knives, &c. Bronze tweezers, and several ornamented
bronze pins. An admirably-designed brooch, or brooch-pin, of _findruin_
or white bronze; its ring, two inches in diameter, was a mass of spiral
ornamentation, pointing to an extremely early age. A very perfect
short-bladed bolt-head, with narrow loops. A narrow dagger-blade,
with high mid-rib and ridge on handle-plate. Amongst the iron remains
there occurred, swords, varying in length from six to eighteen inches,
axe-heads, spear-heads, shears, bodkins, and many small articles of
domestic use.
[229] _Proceedings R.I.A._, vol. v., p. 417.
[230] Not far from Tullamore, on the direct route from the crannog of
Lough Annagh to Killeigh, and under a considerable depth of bog, was
found a very fine bronze pin, eleven inches long; it tapered to a sharp
point at the end, and was headed with a disc, one and a-half inches in
diameter, having an obtusely pointed boss in the centre.
[231] _Proceedings R.I.A._, vol. v., p. xxxvii.
[232] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (New
Series), pp. 228-9.
[233] “A Letter from Major Wood,” &c.; also, Story’s _History_, part,
ii., p. 73.
[234] The “finds” were as follows:--An iron cuirass, ornamented
with sunk lines and projecting pigeon-breast medial line; it was
furnished with hook and staple to fasten the “back-piece” to the
“breast.” This piece of armour was undoubtedly of the seventeenth
century; a matchlock, barrel thirty-six inches long; a gun-barrel
of small calibre; three pistol-barrels; an iron halbert--a fine
sixteenth century specimen; an iron spade, trowel, chisel, axe, and
door-bolt; an iron skean or dagger, thirteen inches long, and another,
four and a-half inches long; a small iron knife; two sword-blades,
twenty-six inches in length; a nondescript article of iron; three
curiously-wrought iron keys; a fragment of a bronze ornament; two iron
spurs of antique shape; a “spindle-whorl” of stone; a bronze ladle; a
bronze spear-head, and a very curiously-shaped brick.
[235] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. i. (3rd
Series), p. 157. _Ibid_, vol. ii. (New Series), pp. 71-5.
[236] Wakefield’s _Account of Ireland_, vol. i., p. 94.
[237] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. ix., pp. 176-9.--H. B. Trench and G.
H. Kinahan.
[238] Omitting the ideal restoration, fig. 213 is reproduced from a
Paper by R. J. Ussher and G. H. Kinahan, as is also fig. 212.
[239] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, October, 1879.
_Proceedings R. I. A._ (2nd Series), vol. ii., December, 1880.--R. J.
Ussher and G. H. Kinahan.
[240] Lyell’s _Principles of Geology_, vol. ii., p. 164.
[241] _Ancient Bronze Implements of Great Britain and Ireland_, p. 436.
[242] In the Museum, R. I. A., Nos. 297 to 302, are stone celts from
this crannog, and amongst the miscellaneous bone articles Nos. 1 to
4, and 18, are bone hafts or handles, one of them stained black, and
ornamented by spiral and interrupted grooves. There are two horn tines,
artificially shaped, and No. 40 is a shank-bone of a sheep or goat,
stained black, highly polished, and perforated at one end. Besides
the celebrated bronze shield described (_ante_, p. 71), the following
antiquities are recorded as having been discovered in this site:--“A
long, narrow, spear-head of bronze, in excellent preservation, the
socket--circular in form--measuring nearly twenty-three inches in
length, and two one-eighth inches in breadth at base of blade,
along which there is a ridge with a feather edge running into flat
compressed loops at the junction of blade and socket. A bronze
spear-head, slightly defective in socket, but blade perfect; it was
found with a portion of the charred handle remaining in it. A very
small dagger-blade of bronze, with wide notches in the handle-plate.
A bronze tube, probably the ferrule-end of a spear, and having a
rivet-hole.”--_Cat. Mus., R. I. A._, pp. 487, 507-517.
[243] _Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Asso. of Ireland_, vol. v. (4th
series), pp. 336-9.--W. F. Wakeman.
[244] _Proceedings, R. I. A._, vol. ix., pp. 172-176.--G. H. Kinahan.
[245] The “finds” here were unimportant, they consisted of a
polishing-stone; a dart or arrow-head formed of the carboniferous
sandstone of the district; a few sea-shells; some charred bones,
principally those of the cow, sheep, pig, and goose--the latter
very numerous; hazel nutshells; pieces of chert, off some of which
chips seemed to have been struck; small round pebbles of white
quartz.--_Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. x., pp. 31, 33.--G. H. Kinahan.
[246] The “finds” on Reed Island were, a whetstone, and fragments of
another; a slab of sandstone (probably the hearth); a piece of iron,
seemingly portion of some cutting instrument; a quantity of wood-ashes;
a circular wooden _noggin_, with a small round handle; the handle of
another vessel; some bright-red colouring matter, rolled up in a piece
of birch bark. Near the outside piles were bones of the ox, sheep, and
pig, all very much broken and gnawed.
[247] Other “finds” on Shore Island were, numerous flat stones, bearing
marks of fire--evidently ancient hearths; fragments of upper and
lower stones of a two-handled quern; a small arrow-head (chert); a
small celt; eighteen hones of various sizes; a rubbing-stone; several
sling-stones; two pieces of Silurian grit (artificially worked); a
large Silurian nodule; part of a clay crucible; a bronze pin with a
swivel head; a crozier of bronze inlaid with silver; iron shears, like
sheep-shears of the present day, but some of them small and fine; a
battle-axe, hatchet-edged on the one side, and spiked on the other; a
vessel of hammered iron, that had been used for smelting purposes; a
knife set in a rude bone handle; a semicircular knife; a piercer of
bone; a cut piece of deer’s horn; a bone handle of an iron instrument;
part of a deer’s horn; many heaps of ashes, and hazel nuts.
[248] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. viii., pp. 412-427.--G. H. Kinahan.
[249] _Cat. Mus. R. I. A._, p. 29. _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. v.,
Appendix lxi.
[250] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. v., Appendix lxii.
[251] _Ibid._
[252] No special description of the Cloonfree crannogs (2) has been
furnished; but the following antiquities, found in or around them,
were presented to the Museum R. I. A.:--A small bone spear-head, four
inches long; a rude pin, formed apparently of the long bone of a fowl;
a boar’s tusk; bronze tweezers; a pin, with ornamental head, carved
on two sides; a long pin, with ornamental spike-head; a ring; a (?)
buckle; an iron horse-shoe; a fragment, like part of the hilt of a
sword; a spike, for butt-end of spear; a pair of tweezers; a small pin,
the head bound with bronze wire; two amber beads, one of them flat in
shape.--_Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. v., p. 219.
[253] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. v., p. 208, &c.--Appendix, D. H.
Kelly.
[254] _Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society_, vol. i.,
series ii., p. 222.
[255] In the crannogs of Cloonfinlough (2) there were found several
bronze spear-heads; pins of great variety of form; a bowl hammered out
of the solid (_ante_, p. 84); a fragment of another (_ante_, plate
XVII., No. 3); two vessels composed of small pieces curiously rivetted
together; a brooch of handsome workmanship (_ante_, p. 117); numerous
bone pins and implements; combs of great artistic merit (_ante_, p.
113); discs and deer’s horns; knives, sickles, hatchets, swords,
and spear-heads of iron; an implement made of sheet iron rivetted
together, having in the centre a circular ornament with a cross,
that evidently once had borne an arabesque pattern; many diminutive
frying-pans; small whetstones; single and double bronze rings; a
coin of the Emperor Hadrian; a Bulla of Pope Paul V.; several silver
coins of the Edwards--one so late as James II.; also a silver coin,
unfigured, it is stated, in any collection. From the same locality the
following articles, purchased from Mrs. E. Devenish, Clonfinla House,
Strokestown, are now in the British Museum:--A bronze dagger and brooch
(_ante_, plate XXXV., Nos. 1 and 2); a plain brooch pin, 5¾ inches in
length; fourteen bronze pins of varying size and shape; a cruciform
object for attachment, diameter, 1⅞ inches; a harp pin, quatre-foil
at one end, round at the other, which is pierced with a hole for the
string, length, 2¾ inches; an iron bill-hook, penannular socket, one
rivet-hole; a double axe (plate XXXV., No. 6); a spear-head much
corroded, no rivet-hole, length, 7⅝ inches; an arrow-head (plate XXXV.,
No. 4); a knife with long handle, all of iron, length, 7¼ inches; a
gouge and chisel combined, length, 9 inches; a gouge, 7⅛ inches; a
pair of shears, length, 7¼ inches; a piece of iron with remains of
loop handle, length, 4½ inches; a circular pan with straight handles,
remains of a loop at the end, length, 7 inches; diameter, 3½ inches;
a key, openwork handle, length, 2⅛ inches; a stone chessman (_ante_,
p. 132); a sharpener, grey in colour, square in section, decreasing
to each end, length, 4¾ inches; a flat bead of dark-grey shale,
diameter, ½ inch; a bone scoop resembling No. 8, on plate VI., and
having two rivet-holes at butt, ornamented with group of four dots,
length, 5⅞ inches; a curved pin of bone, with flattened head, length,
4⅜ inches; a second pin about half that size; two needles of bone,
varying in length from 3⅝ to 2⅞ inches; a ring of stag’s horn (plate
XXXV., No. 5); draughtsmen of stag’s horn (p. 131, figs. 176, 177); a
wooden peg, roughly cut, length, 2½ inches; a bucket stave, with marks
of two bands on outside surface, and furrow for bottom on inside,
length, 7⅝ inches; a single-piece leather shoe (plate XXXV., No. 7);
a silver Scottish 20 shilling piece, _obv., crowned head of king_, to
left in field XX--legend, CAR·D·G·MAG·BR·FR·ET·HIB·REX.--_R. crowned
thistle_--legend, IVST·THRONVM·FIRMAT.
[256] The following “finds” from Ardakillen are deposited in the
Museum, R. I. A.:--Numerous bone pins of various sizes and designs;
twenty-two combs or fragments of same; a bone dart, six and a-half
inches long; do., five and a-half inches long; do., four and
three-quarter inches long; do., five inches long; a curved piece
of deer’s horn, hollowed at the base, and another piece slightly
longer; a tine of deer’s horn, hollowed at base; numerous harp-pins
of bone (one is figured, _ante_, p. 125); a curious ovoid piece of
bone, polished (_ante_, p. 105); the leg-bone of a deer, covered with
carvings (plate XXXII.); a bronze brooch (_ante_, p. 117); a small
slender torque-pattern ring (_ante_, p. 118); a bridle-bit (_ante_, p.
137); several whetstones; a very perfect, thin, narrow rapier-blade,
double notches in handle-plate; beads of stone, bone, wood, porcelain,
glass, and amber; numerous bronze pins; an oaken water-scoop, with
a hollowed-out handle; a wooden mallet; some ogham-inscribed wooden
objects.--_Journal Royal Hist. and Arch. Assoc. of Ireland_, vol. iii.
(4th Series), p. 206.
[257] _Proceedings R. I. A._, vol. v., p. 214. _Cat. Mus., R. I. A._,
p. 219.
[258] Unfortunately these remains in the Museum, R.I.A., cannot now be
identified.
[259] The report on the skull has been most kindly furnished by A. W.
Foot, M.D., Member, Royal Hist. and Arch. Association of Ireland.
[260] _Cat. Mus., R.I.A._, p. 110.
[261] _Proceedings, R.I.A._, vol. v., Appendix, lix. _Cat. Mus.,
R.I.A._, p. 552.
[262] Another name for Glencar lake. This crannog lies within the
bounds of the Co. Leitrim. The more ancient name of Glencar, as
used by the _Four Masters_, was _Cairthe Mulchean_, i.e. Mulchan’s
Pillar-stone. _Gleann-a-Chairthe_, pronounced Glencarna, and _Glen
Dallain_, signify the Glen of the Pillar-stone.
[263] _Irish Names of Places_ (2nd Series), p. 7. P. W. Joyce.
INDEX.
Aberdeenshire, crannogs in, 15, 32.
Achill Island, crannog in, 230-32.
Adze, iron, 67, 69, 176.
African tribes, pile dwellings of, 22-23.
Aghakilconnel Lough, crannog in, 243.
Aghaloughan Bog, crannog in, 163.
Aghnamullen, crannog of, 135, 193.
Ahoghill, crannog near, 165.
Amazon, pile dwellings on the, 22.
Amber beads, 118, 122, 195, 200 n., 201 n., 205 n., 233 n., 237 n.
Amulets, 116, 117, 177, 206, 207.
Amusements, 36: _see_ chess, counters, discs, games.
Anchors, canoe, 51.
Ancient forests cut down, 4, 189.
Ancient Scottish Lake Dwellings: _see_ Munro.
Anderson, Professor, 174.
Ankle fetters, 238: _see_ fetters.
Annagh, crannog of, 212.
Annagh (Sligo), 248.
Annaghclone, 126.
Annaghcloy Point, crannog at, 246.
Antlers: _see_ deer.
Antrim, barony of, 173.
Antrim, county, 33, 35, 37, 44, 45, 48, 58, 110, 120, 121, 124,
141, 170.
Antrim, county, crannogs in, 152-3, 163-177.
Anvil, 166, 168.
Apamæan lake, pile dwellings on the, 18-19.
Arabesque pattern, 235 n.
_Archæologia_, VIII., 41 n.
Ardakillen, crannog of, 59, 60, 62, 90, 105, 118, 135, 137, 142,
154, 233, 236-39.
Ardbrin, crannog of, 126, 177.
Ardbrin, crannog of, trumpet from, 126.
Ardmach: _see_ Armagh.
Ardmore, crannog at, 29, 216-17.
Ardnahue, kitchen midden at, 74.
Argyleshire, crannogs in, 32, 89.
Armagh, county, crannogs in, 178.
Armagh, crannog near, 147.
Armagh, crannog near, attack on, 147-8.
Armillæ, 204 n.
Armour, 69, 72, 177, 196 n., 209 n.
Arran, Isles of, 36.
Arrow-heads, bone, 80, 237 n.
Arrow-heads, bronze, 196 n., 205 n., 242.
Arrow-heads, iron, 144, 179, 186, 235 n.
Arrow-heads, stone, 40, 45, 225 n., 227 n.
Arrow-heads, wooden, 200.
Arterial Drainage Commission, crannogs discovered by the, 77, 179,
193, 205, 207, 218, 233, 240.
Articles, miscellaneous, 163, 185 n., 204 n., 206 n.
Ash island, 227.
Ash spear-shafts, 174.
Ashes, 42, 43, 194, 196, 198, 214, 222, 223, 225, 226, 227 n.,
228, 236.
Attacks on crannogs, 36, 88 n., 147, 148-9, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154,
155, 156, 157, 229, 244.
Aughamore, crannog of, 206.
Auglish, crannog of, 187.
Austria, lake dwellings in, resemble Irish, 11, 12-13.
Auvernier, 89.
Axe-heads, bone, 45, 59, 60, 191.
Axe-heads, bronze, 202 n.
Axe-heads, iron, 141, 144, 164, 168 n., 199 n., 204 n., 206 n.,
209, 210 n., 227 n., 233, 235 n.
Axe-heads, stone, 59, 167, 192.
Axis, stone, 142.
Ayrshire, crannogs in, 32, 104.
Aztecs, pile dwellings of the, 19.
Baccinums, 204.
Baiæ, bay of, 217.
Baile-an-locha, crannog of, 152.
Baked clay pot-cover, 94.
Balhu, ogham name of, 134-5.
Ballaghmore, crannog of, 186.
Ballinacarriga, crannog of, 136, 206.
Ballinafad, crannog of, 34, 229.
Ballinahinch, crannog of, 28, 34, 229.
Ballinakill, parish of, 221.
Ballinamallard, crannog near, 81, 87.
Ballinderry, crannog of, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 75, 108, 109, 114, 133,
139, 142, 146, 207.
Ballinderry crannog, unique pins from, 106-8, 109, 110, 111.
Ballindoon, crannogs near, 245-6.
Ballinlough, crannogs in, 32, 73, 150, 221-4, 234.
Ballintlea, glass beads from, 124.
Ballintoy, crannog in, 153.
Ballintoy, sand-hills of, 177.
Ballyalbanagh, wooden roadway in, 44.
Ballybetagh, 6.
Ballybollen, crannog near, 167.
Ballydoolough, crannog of, 37, 92, 95, 96, 132, 133, 181, 183,
188, 190.
Ballydoolough crannog, pottery at, 89, 95, 96, 97.
Ballydoolough crannog, pottery resembling a sepulchral urn, 102.
Ballydoolough crannog, wooden vessels from, 102.
Ballygawley, crannog of, 246-8.
Ballyhoe Lake, crannogs in, 193, 195, 207.
Ballykeine Bog, 102.
Ballykillen Bog, 45, 60.
Ballykinler, crannog of, 177-178.
Ballylough, crannog of, 152.
Ballymena, crannog near, 142, 169.
Ballymote, the Book of, 104.
Ballynamintra, cave of, 234.
Ballywillen Lough, crannog in, 154.
Ballywoolen, crannog of, 178.
Balls of stone, 183.
Banagh, barony of, 180.
Band, iron, 183 n.
Bann, river, 135, 155, 165, 170.
Barnes, pile-dwellings at, 18.
Barton, 169.
Barton Mere, pile-dwellings at, 18.
Basket-work: _see_ wicker-work.
Bavaria, lake dwellings in, 11.
Bead, lead, 123.
Beads, amber, 118, 122-3, 195, 200 n., 201 n., 205 n., 233 n., 237 n.
Beads, bone, 122, 199 n., 207, 237 n.
Beads, earthenware, 122-3.
Beads, glass, 124, 164, 168 n., 195, 201 n., 205 n., 237 n.
Beads, jet, 122, 205 n.
Beads of various materials, 122-4, 168 n.
Beads, porcelain, 205 n., 237 n.
Beads, stone, 122, 235 n., 237 n.
Beads, wood, 122, 237 n.
Beams, mortised, radial, stretcher, etc., 163, 166, 178, 181, 183,
184, 187, 192, 198, 207, 208, 214, 223, 224, 226, 231, 233, 241,
245, 247.
Bede, 36.
Bedell, bishop, 203.
Belfast Field-club, 173.
Belfast Museum, 142, 164, 173, 219.
Bell, circular, 196 n.
Ben-Bulben, 243-4.
Bench, stone, 225.
Benn Collection, 142.
Benn, E., 142, 168.
Begerin, 44.
Belcoo, crannog near, 188.
Bellarush, 246.
Bighorn: _see Megaceros_.
Bilberry, 231.
Billy, parish of, 152.
Bird-headed ornamentation, 67, 118.
Bits, bridle, 136-7, 181, 237 n.
Bittern, 8.
Blackberries, 73 n.
Black Sea, 10.
Blake Island, 225.
Boar, 4, 73, 74, 168 n., 178 n., 182, 185 n., 190, 199 n., 204,
225 n., 226, 233 n., 241, 245, 246.
Boat lough: _see_ Pad-lough.
Bodkins, 164, 205 n., 206 n.
Bogs of Ireland, 4.
Bohermeen, crannog of, 81, 171, 204.
Boho, 187.
Bolts, bronze, 81, 206 n.
Bone implements, 59, 60, 80, 188, 219, 337 n.
Bone Island, 89, 184, 185 n.
Bone, spatula-shaped, 206 n.
Bone spoon, 140.
Bones, 88, 172, 182, 184, 187, 188, 190, 199, 205, 208, 214, 222,
223, 224, 225 n., 228, 232, 234, 236, 241, 244, 245, 248.
Bones, broken for the marrow, 46, 187.
Bones, calcined, 201, 225, 248.
Bones, immense quantities of sold as manure, 46, 205, 236.
Borris-in-Ossory, 70, 77.
_Bos frontosus_, 204.
_Bos longifrons_, 70, 66, 182, 190, 204, 234, 245, 246, 248:
_see_ Oxen.
Bosphorus, pile-dwellings on the, 19.
Boss-like objects, 177, 196 n.
Bowl, bronze, 85, 204 n., 234 n., 235 n.
Bowl, wooden, 168.
Box, rude, 208.
Bracelets, 121, 123, 191, 200 n., 201 n.
_Brachi cephalic_ crania, 238.
Brandenburg, lake dwellings in, 11.
Breagho, crannog of, 4, 82, 187, 234.
Brian Borumha, 27, 156-7.
Brick, 218 n.
Britain, lake dwellings in, 15.
British Museum, crannog objects in, 143-4, 218, 235 n.
British Museum, register of, 177.
Brittas, crannog near, 210.
_Bro_: _see_ Querns.
_Brochs_ of Scotland, 174.
Bronze age, 30, 55-6, 160.
Bronze age, animal ornamentation rare in, 113.
Bronze age, chronology undetermined, 30.
Bronze age, overlapping of the, 160.
Bronze and iron age, 174.
Bronze objects, 116, 119, 142, 177, 183, 196 n., 201 n.
Brooch, bronze, shape unchanged for ages, 143.
Brooch, of mixed metal, 183.
Brooch, silver, 121, 164.
Brooches, bronze, 117, 118, 143, 206 n., 235 n., 237 n.
Broughderg, 87.
Broughshane, Canon Grainger’s Museum at, 82, 173.
Brute force, sway of, 3.
Buckets, 231, 232, 235 n.
Buckle, bronze, 233 n.
Bulla, 235 n.
Buried cities, legends of, 28-9, 193, 225, 248, 249.
Burnisher: _see_ Polishing-stone.
Burt, crannog near, 181.
Buteshire, crannogs in, 32, 44.
Butter, bog, 79.
Button, bronze, 141.
Butts of spear-shafts, 63-4, 173, 196 n., 233 n.
Cable pattern, 121, 195.
Cæsar, 18, 57.
_Caislen-na-caillighe_, 33, 34, 229.
Caledonian forests, 9.
Caledonians and Romans, wars of the, 3, 171.
Camlough, crannog in, 178.
Cangort Park, crannog near, 213.
Canoes, 46, 67, 126, 163, 166, 167, 168, 172, 173, 178, 183, 183 n.,
186, 193, 203, 204, 206, 228, 234, 237, 240, 242.
Canoes at Ardagh, 49.
Canoes at Ardakillen, 43, 50 n., 237.
Canoes at Ballinderry, 50 n., 206.
Canoes at Ballydoolough, 183 n.
Canoes at Cahore, 48-49.
Canoes at Cornagall, 48, 50 n., 76.
Canoes at Derryhollagh, 48, 50 n., 163.
Canoes at Drumdarragh, 50 n., 183.
Canoes at Drumgay, 50 n., 183.
Canoes at Drumkeery, 50 n., 201.
Canoes at Drumaleague, 50 n., 240.
Canoes at Kilnock, 50 n., 167.
Canoes at Lough Annagh, 50, 210.
Canoes at Lough Erne, 49, 50.
Canoes at Lough Eyes, 50 n.
Canoes at Lough Faughan, 50 n., 178.
Canoes at Lough Mourne, 50, 172-3.
Canoes at Lough Owel, 47, 48, 50 n.
Canoes at Loughrea, 50 n., 228.
Canoes at Lough Rinn, 50 n., 242.
Canoes at Lough Rossole, 49.
Canoes at Loughtamand, 50 n., 193.
Canoes at Miracles, 50 n., 193.
Canoes at Moinenoe, 50 n., 193.
Canoes at Moynalty, 48, 50 n., 195.
Canoes at Randalstown, 50, 168.
Canoes at Sligo, 50 n.
Canoes at Toomebar, 48, 50 n., 172-173.
Canoes, dock for, 201.
Canoes, fleet of, 46 n., 218.
Canoes, perforated with holes, 48, 173.
Canoes, portable, 49 n., 50.
Canoes, various form of, 47.
Canoes, wanton destruction of, 50, 183 n., 237.
Cappagh, cave of, 5.
_Capra hircus_: _see_ Goat.
Carbonate of lime, 248.
Cargaghoge, crannog of, 36, 42, 43, 195.
Cargin’s Lough, crannog in, 154.
Carlingwark Loch, 29.
Carlow, county, 74.
Caroline Islands, pile-dwellings in the, 20.
Carrickfergus, 171.
Carrickmacross, 42, 193, 196.
Carved bones, 205 n., 237 n.
Castleblakeney, 54.
Castleconnell, 44.
Castleforbes, crannog near, 33, 206.
Castlefore Lough, crannog in, 243.
Castles, antipathy of the Irish to, 146.
Castles, erected on crannogs, 33-4, 203.
Cattle kept in crannogs, 79.
Cauldrons, 82, 166, 187.
Causeways to crannogs, 166, 167, 172, 190, 193, 194, 199, 207,
224, 226.
Cavan, 203.
Cavan, county, 35, 48, 67, 69, 73, 154, 155, 157, 197, 203.
Cavancarragh, 100.
Celebes, pile-dwellings in the, 20.
Celtic, trumpet pattern, 117.
Celts, bronze, 181, 195, 106 n.
Celts, iron, 163.
Celts, stone, 59, 164, 169, 181, 192, 195, 196, 219 n., 227.
_Cervus alces_, 6.
_Cervus elaphus_: _see_ Deer, red.
_Cervus tarandus_, 6.
Chanter Hill: _see_ Moinenoe.
Charcoal, 172, 184, 187, 188, 201, 216, 207, 248.
Charms, 172, 245.
Cherry Island, 184.
Cherry stones, 73, 223.
Chert spear-heads, 194, 225 n.
Chess, 128-132.
Chess, a favourite amusement, 128.
Chess, anecdotes of, 129.
Chess-board of human bones, 130.
Chess, fight at, 128.
Chess in the Pagan age, 129.
Chessman, stone, 132, 235 n.
Chips of wood, 214, 232.
Chisel, bronze, 196 n.
Chisel, iron, 210 n., 235 n.
Chisel, stone, 192.
Circlets, bronze, 119, 177.
Civilization, crannog, progressive, 160.
Clare co., crannogs in, 43, 219-220.
Cleveragh, 249.
Climatic changes, 6.
Cloch-Oughter Castle, 155, 203.
Clogher, barony of, 155.
Clogherny, crannog of, 179-80.
Cloneygonnel, crannog of, 104, 140, 197-199.
Cloonbo Lough, crannog in, 243.
Cloonboniagh Lough, 243.
Cloonfinnan Lough, crannog in, 243.
Cloonfree, crannog of, 82, 233.
Cloonfinlough, crannog of, 5, 82, 84, 89, 90, 113, 135, 143, 144,
233, 236.
Cloonloch, crannog of, 154.
Cloonturk Lough, crannog in, 243.
Clothing of lake dwellers, 53.
Cloughwater, 169.
Coffee-pot shaped utensil, 33.
Coins, 135, 167, 194, 196, 207, 235 n., 236, 243.
Cold Ash Common, 18.
Coleraine, barony of, 178.
Colkitto, birthplace of, 153.
Colouring matter in Irish lake dwellings, 104, 223, 226 n.
Colouring matter in Scottish and Yorkshire lake dwellings, 104, 223,
226 n.
Combs, 113, 114, 179, 195, 199 n., 205 n., 206 n., 207 n., 235 n.
Combs, Irish, Swiss, and Roman, with dot and circle pattern, 113.
_Conmaicue Moyrein_, crannog in, 242.
Connaught, province of, great numbers of crannogs in, 145, 221-249.
Connaught, islands of, 157.
Coolcranoge, 28, 218.
Coolistown, barony of, 45.
Coolyermer, crannog of, 183.
Corcreevy, crannog of, 155-6, 179: _see_ Loch Laighaire.
Corduroy road, 44, 209.
Cornagall, crannog of, 67-8, 200.
Corn, burnt, 196 n.
Corn-crusher: _see_ querns.
Coulter, stone, 199 n.
Counters: _see_ Discs.
Craigs, parish of, 164-5.
Craigywarren, crannog of, 110, 177.
Coral, 245.
Crania: _see_ human remains.
Crannog, a modern term, 26.
Crannog, a townland name, 27.
Crannog, attempt to flood a, 149, 223-4.
Crannog-boy, crannog of, 28, 179, 180.
Crannog builders bound by no conventional engineering rule, 30.
Crannog, derivation of, 26.
Crannog fictilia, resemble mortuary, 99.
Crannog, first discovery of an Irish, 23.
Crannog Island, 28, 188, 243.
Crannog-na-n-Duini: _see_ Mevagh.
Crannog of Lough Leisi, 154.
Crannog of Mac Clancy, 154.
Crannog of Mac Gauran, 154.
Crannog of Mac Navin, 149-50, 229.
Crannog of O’Raighilligh, 155, 342.
Crannog sites unidentified, 177, 179, 193, 205, 207, 218.
Crannog, townland of, 28.
Crannoge, townland of, 150.
Crannogs, a list of, but of temporary value, 145.
Crannogs are of all ages, 30.
Crannogs, buoyant tendency of, 178, 180.
Crannogs, burnt, list of, 35.
Crannogs connected by causeways: _see_ causeways.
Crannogs damaged by tempests, 36, 154.
Crannogs, favourite sites for, 30.
Crannogs, greatest number in Ulster, 32.
Crannogs, highest development of, 145.
Crannogs, historical occupancy of, traced, 145-160.
Crannogs, numbers discovered in 1857, 26.
Crannogs, numbers discovered in 1885, 249.
Crannogs, mode of construction of, 30-31.
Crannogs occur in groups, 35, 172, 190.
Crannogs preferred to castles, 146.
Crannogs, submarine, 29, 215-217.
Crannogs, subsidence of, 31, 215-217, 224.
Crannogs, Wilde on the age of, 26.
Cranny, townland of, 179.
Creidné, the bronze worker, 174.
Cremorne, barony of, 151.
Croker, Crofton, 130, 150.
Cross, figure of the, 87, 89, 90, 126, 185, 202 n., 235 n.
Cross, wooden, 112.
Crossmaglen, crannog near, 178.
Crow Island, 246.
Crozier, bronze, 227 n.
Crucibles, 120, 141, 168, 172, 183, 192, 198, 200 n., 202 n., 227.
Crystal ornament, 195.
Cullina, crannog at, 110-111.
Curach, description of a, 51-53.
Dabaybe, tribe of, 19.
Daggers, bone, 65, 188.
Daggers, bronze, 65, 143, 163, 171, 196 n., 205, 206 n., 219 n., 235 n.
Daggers, iron, 65, 195, 210 n.
Dalaradia, 165.
Dalrieda, 165.
Danes and Irish, encounters between, 194.
Danes destroy crannogs, 57, 155-57.
Danish tobacco pipes, 200 n.
Dartry, barony of, 156.
Dawson’s, Dean, collection, 235.
Day, Alderman, 136.
Day, Robert, 169.
Deal forest age, 7.
De Boot, 120.
Deel river, crannog in, 205.
Deer, fallow, 234.
Deer, red, 74-75, 168 n., 178 n., 182, 185 n., 190, 199, 204, 205,
205 n., 219, 221, 226, 227 n., 235 n., 234, 237, 241, 244, 245,
246.
Denmark, lake dwellings in, 11.
Denudation of a crannog, 216.
Derreen Lake, crannog in, 233.
Derreskit Lough, crannog in, 203.
Derry, co., 103, 152, 169, 178, 181.
Derrygonnelly, crannogs near, 186.
Derryhollagh: _see_ Lough Ravel.
Desertmartin, 148.
Designs on bones, 138-140.
Designs on bones, their purpose problematical, 138-140.
Devenish, 90.
Discs, bone, 130-132, 235 n.
Discs, bronze, 71, 177.
Discs, flat earthenware, 190.
Discs, stone, 183 n., 199 n.
Discs, with dot and circle pattern, 130-131.
Dish, bronze, 166, 168 n.
Dish, wooden, 102, 163.
Distillation, crannogs used for illicit, 191, 224.
Divergent spiral ornamentation, 111.
Dixon, Rev. R. V., 179.
Dock for canoe, 201.
Dog, bones of, 168 n., 178 n., 204, 227, 234.
_Dolicho cephalic_ crania, 238.
Donagh, parish of, 151.
Donegal, co., 33, 39, 150, 151, 154, 80.
Doogort, crannog near, 230-232.
Door-bolt, iron, 210 n.
Dorei, pile-dwellings in, 20.
Dot and circle pattern, 106-7, 113-4, 115, 130-1, 206 n.
Dowalton, settlement of, 15-16.
Down, co., 92, 97, 126, 177, 178, 140, 141.
Dowris metal, 171 n.
Dowth, 87.
Draughtsmen: _see_ discs, chess.
Drinking-cup, 205 n.
_Drom-adharach_: _see_ oxen.
Dross, metallic, 198.
Droughtville, crannog near, 207.
Drowned, chief going to a crannog, 152.
Drowned, guards, 154.
Drowned island, 28.
Drumaleague Lake, crannogs in, 36, 240-1.
Drumdarragh, crannog of, 59, 100, 183.
Drumgay, crannog of, 80, 87, 89, 90, 93, 184-186, 188, 190.
Drumkeelin, crannog at, 39, 180.
Drumkeery Lough, crannogs in, 35, 91, 200-202.
Drummaul, 167.
Drumskimley, crannogs at, 100, 186.
Drumsloe, crannogs of, 59, 82, 87, 186.
Dug-outs: _see_ canoes.
Dumfries, crannogs in, 32.
Dun Ængus, 36.
Dunboe, parish of, 178.
Duncan’s flow bog, 44.
Dungannon, 6, 88.
Dunn, Right Hon. General, 210.
Dunshaughlin: _see_ Lagore.
Dwellings: _see_ huts.
Dyaks, pile-dwellings of the, 21.
Dyeing, the art of, 104.
_Eamhain_, 81, 232.
Early allusion to crannogs, 157-9.
Earthenware: _see_ pottery.
East Omagh, barony of, 179.
Eel spears, 144-45.
Effernan, crannog near, 43, 219-220.
_Elephas primigenius_, 6, 54-55.
Elizabeth, Queen, repulse of her troops from a crannog, 36, 147-8.
Elk, Irish: _see_ Megaceros.
Elk hole, 5.
_Emania_: _see_ Eamhain.
Enamel, 66, 119, 137-8.
Enamel, Irish resembles British, 138.
Enamel, Philostratus on, 138.
Enamelled iron, 138, 205.
Enniskillen, 69, 183, 184, 186, 187, 187 n., 188.
Enniskillen Castle, remains of a crannog near, 151.
Enniskillen, Earl of, 182 n., 183.
_Eo_: _see_ brooch.
_Equus asinus_: _see_ ass.
_Equus cabalus_: _see_ horse.
Erin, first dwellers in, 3, 250.
Erny Lough: _see_ Glaslough.
Esker of Goig, 44.
Euphrates, pile dwellings on the, 11.
Fæces of cattle, 78.
Fairy mill-stones: _see_ whorls.
Fastening, dress, 141-142.
Feenagh, townland of, 164.
Fermanagh, county, 37, 70, 73, 81, 82, 87, 88, 94, 100, 146, 181, 194.
Ferrule, 199 n., 218, 219 n.
Fettered captives, 238.
Fetters, gilt, 238.
Fetters, iron and bronze, 61, 179, 204 n., 237, 238, 242.
Fibulæ, 118, 164, 181, 193, 196, 199 n., 205.
Fictile ware: _see_ pottery.
_Fidh-inis_, 4.
Fillet, bronze, 183.
_Findruin_, 206 n., 207.
Fireplaces: _see_ hearths.
Fireplaces on shores of lakes, 90, 191, 202.
Fir platter, 102.
Fishing implements, 80-81, 144-145, 195.
Flax, 105.
Fleet of canoes, 46, 228.
Flesh-fork, iron, 83.
Flint arrow-heads, 40, 45, 100, 194, 195.
Flint cores, 58, 170, 233.
Flint flakes, 42, 172, 192.
Flint implements, 58-9, 101, 194, 195.
Flooding crannogs, 149, 223-4.
Flooring, 32, 198, 223-4, 234, 241.
Foote, A. W., M.D., 238-9, 248.
Forests, 6-7, 188, 189, 244, 247.
Forests, submerged, 194, 220.
Forfar, crannogs in, 32.
Fork, bone, 206 n.
Fomorians, 173, 174.
Fort Lough, crannog of, XXII., 181.
Fossils, 172, 245.
Fowl, bones of, 233 n.
Fox, 75, 204.
France, lake dwellings in, 11.
Funshinagh Lough, crannog in, 243.
_Fusus antiquus_, 204.
Galbally, crannog of, 60-61, 180.
Gallagh, 54.
Galway, barony of, 217.
Galway, county, 33, 36, 54, 103, 122, 150, 221.
Games: _see_ chess, discs.
Gangways to crannogs, 43-45, 190, 220, 234.
Gangways, various forms of, 44-45.
Garvogue river, 248.
_Gearr-adharach_: _see_ oxen.
Gocktscha lake, pile-dwellings in the, 11.
Geometrical decoration, 89.
Geographical distribution of Irish lake-dwellings, 161, 250.
Gilding, 196 n., 238.
Gillespie, Dr., 83.
Gillistown, 167.
Glaslough, crannog in, 151, 195.
Glass beads, 122, 124, 125, 164, 177, 194, 195, 201 n., 205 n.
Glass beads of all colours, 122.
Glass beads of native manufacture, 125.
Glass, lumps of, found, 125.
Glass, ornamental, 168 n.
Glencar, crannogs of, 104, 153-4, 243-245.
Glyde river, 193, 207.
Goat, 75, 168 n., 178 n., 185 n., 190, 204, 219 n., 234.
Goibniu the smith, 173-4.
Gold, bronze spear ornamented with, 218.
Gold in crannogs, 157.
Gold ornaments, 120, 166.
Golden age, 55.
Golden bronze, 117, 232, 237.
Goose, bones of, 225 n.
Goromna Island, 33.
Gortacarnam, townland of, 224.
Gortalough, crannog of, 37, 186.
Gouges, 196 n., 235 n.
Grain, 73, 196 n.: _see_ Corn.
Grainger, Canon, Museum of, 64, 173.
Granite, object of, 141.
Granard, crannog near, 206.
Grantstown, crannog at, 208.
Graves, Rev. James, 71, 108, 116, 173, 174, 209, 212.
Greybeard, 196 n.
Grinding stones: _see_ whetstones.
Green Lough, crannog in, 152.
Grosses Island, 106.
Gun-barrels, 195, 228.
Gypsum, 208.
Hadrian, coin of, the Emperor, 135, 235 n.
Hafts, sword, 60, 61, 62, 174-5 n.
Hag’s Castle, 33-34.
Hair-pins, bronze, 196 n.
Hair-pins, wooden, 111-112.
Halbert, iron, 210 n.
Hall, Mr. and Mrs. J. C., 181 n.
Hammer-headed pins, 110-111.
Hammer stones, 58, 73, 179, 192, 194.
Hammers, iron, 67, 166, 199 n.
Handles, bone, 206 n., 219 n.
Handles, stone, 168 n.
Handles, wooden, 50, 196 n., 219 n.
Handmills: _see_ querns.
Harkness, Professor, 200.
Harp-pins, 125, 126, 196, 235 n., 237 n.
Harps, 125-6, 206.
Hatchets: _see_ axes.
Hazel nuts, 73, 214, 223, 224, 225 n., 227 n., 228, 248.
Hazel rods, 214, 223, 224, 248.
Hearths, 31, 163, 172, 178, 186, 187, 196, 197, 220, 225, 226 n.,
227 n., 240, 241.
Heath Lodge, crannog near, 203.
Herodotus, on lake dwellings, 10-11.
Hippocrates, on lake dwellings, 10.
Historical notices of crannogs, 23, 27, 145-160, 202, 236, 238, 241,
242, 244, 248.
Holderness, lake dwellings in, 17.
Holland, lake dwellings in, 159.
Holly Island, 187 n.
Hones, 69, 196 n., 227 n., 228.
_Horæ Ferales_, 174.
Horse, bones of the, 75, 204, 234.
Horse furniture, 136-8, 183 n., 196 n., 233.
Horse-shoes, 168 n., 183 n., 233 n.
Household economy, 81-105.
Houses, stone, on crannogs, 36, 165.
Human race, duration of, 1.
Human remains, 90, 204, 234, 237-239.
Hungary, lake dwellings in, 11.
Huts, crannog, 23, 36-37, 167, 172, 181-182, 186, 192, 210-11,
223, 231.
Iar Connaught, 122.
Implements, bone and iron, 169, 226 n., 227 n., 235 n.
Implements, bronze, 169.
Implements, stone, 214.
Implements, stone and iron, found together, 169.
Importance of crannogs, 157.
_Inis-an-Lochain_, crannog of, 152.
Inis Floinn burnt, 152.
Inish, 28.
Inishee, 188.
Inishrush, crannog of, 181.
Iniskeel, parish of, 180.
Iniskeen, 158, 207.
_Inis-Lachain_, crannog of, 155.
_Inis-Laodhachain_, crannog of, 155.
_Inis-locha-Burrann_, crannog of, 153.
_Inis-locha-Leithinnsi_, crannog of, 153.
_Inis-Mic-David_, 152.
_Inis-Muinremhar_, crannog of, 157.
_Inis-na-ghaill-dubh_, 156.
_Inis-o-Lynn_: _see_ Lough Shillen.
_Inis-ua-Fhloinne_: _see_ Lough Shillen.
Inscribed stone, 183.
_Insula fortificata_, 30, 163, 164 n., 165, 167.
Interlacing tracery, not antecedent to Christianity, 116.
Inver, parish of, 39, 180.
Irish beads resemble Scottish, 124.
Irish lake dwellings, continuous use of, 145.
Irish prefer crannogs to castles, 146.
Iron age, 144, 174.
Iron age, articles of the, 83, 112, 141, 142, 193, 195, 199 n.
Iron age, form of brooches in the, 144.
Iron, cross on, 89.
Iron lamp, 142.
Iron ore, pieces of, 202 n.
Iron pins, 105, 111, 141, 233 n.
Iron shears: _see_ shears.
Iron vessels, 81, 166.
Island Lough, 207.
Island M’Coo, 228.
Japan, pile-dwellings in, 21.
Jasper, 120, 199 n.
Javelins: _see_ spears.
Jet, articles of, 121, 122, 123, 142, 169, 177, 191, 201 n., 205 n.
Jetties on crannogs, 46, 201, 233.
Jewelled ornament, 195.
Joristown, crannog at, 205.
Joyce, Irish names of places, 27, 134, 135 n., 157, 158, 249.
Jupiter Serapis, Temple of, 217.
Kamtschatka, pile-dwellings in, 21.
Keller, Dr. F., 13, 18, 49 n., 81, 124.
Kemble, 174.
Kew, pile-dwellings at, 18.
Keys, iron, 210 n., 233, 235 n.
Kilbride, Rev. W., 26, 217.
Kilcumreragh, parish of, 205.
Kilglass, crannog of, 233.
Killeevan, parish of, 83, 151.
Killeigh, 207 n.
Killucan, parish of, 205.
Killukin, parish of, 154.
Killynure, crannog of, 187.
Kilmean, parish of, 154.
Kilmore Lake, crannogs in, 169.
Kilmore, parish of, 197.
Kilnamaddo, crannog of, 37-39, 192.
Kilnock, crannog of, 37, 45, 166-167.
Kiltubrid Castle, 207.
Kimmage-coal rings, 200 n.
Kinmay lough, crannog of, 229.
Kinahan, G. H., 7, 27, 150, 215, 216, 217, 221, 224, 225, 229.
King’s Co., 45, 207, 208, 212.
Kinnegad river, 237.
Kircudbright, crannogs in, 32.
Kitchen middens, 38, 45, 46, 71, 178 n., 182, 201, 204, 217, 225,
241, 248.
Kitchen middens, mines of antiquities, 46.
Knives, bone, 59, 206 n., 235 n.
Knives, bronze, 65, 142, 169, 196 n.
Knives, iron, 83, 141, 168 n., 183 n., 199 n., 204 n., 227, 234, 235.
Knockany, crannog of, 156, 218.
Knockmore, 87.
Knowles, W. J., 125.
Lacustrine period? was there a purely, 159.
Ladle, bronze, 82, 210 n.
Ladle, iron, 84, 85, 204 n.
Lagan river, 193.
Lagore, crannog of, 23-5, 35, 46, 56-7, 59, 63, 65, 68, 75, 78, 83,
84, 85, 90, 110, 204, 205 n., 238.
Lagore, crannog of, derivation of name, 157.
Lagore, crannog of, destroyed by fire, 25, 35, 157.
Lagore, crannog of, first discovery of, 23-25.
Lagore, crannog of, mass of bones from, 24.
Lagore, crannog of, objects, use unknown, 143.
Lagore, crannog of, undiscovered sites at, 157.
Lagore, crannog of, weapons from, 24, 61, 63, 112.
Lake country: _see_ Fermanagh.
Lake dwellings, age of, VII., 9, 250.
Lake dwellings, area of, 145-146, 249-250.
Lake dwellings, classical writers on, 11.
Lake dwellings, of all countries, 10-23.
Lake dwellings, Swiss, Scottish, and Irish, identity of, 11-15, 73 n.
Lake Moyhrga, pile dwellings in, 22-23.
Lake Prasias, pile dwellings in, 10-11.
Lake Rossole, crannog in, 193.
Lakes, contraction and expansion of, 7-9.
Lamps, 142, 168, 235.
Lanark, crannogs in, 32.
Landing stages: _see_ jetties.
Langrishe, R., 208.
Lankhill, crannog of, 187-88.
_Lapis Hibernicus_, 120.
_Lapis Lydius_, 120.
Lead, articles of, 123, 193, 194, 195.
Leather cloaks, 54, 129.
Lecale, barony of, 178.
Leesborough Lake, crannog in, 196.
Leinster, crannogs in, 204-211, 249.
Leitrim, county, crannogs in, 36, 48, 72, 150, 152, 153, 134,
238, 240-2.
Leitrim, barony of, 221.
Lenaghan, crannog of, 188.
Lestar, 100.
Lett, H. W., 178 n.
Letters, ancient, on crannogs, 146-8, 152.
Letterbreen, 183.
Lettered cave, 87.
Leucophibia, 16.
Limerick, county, 44, 71, 74, 83, 156, 218-219.
Limpets, 204.
Lindisfarn, bishop of, 36.
Linen, 105.
Linlithgow, crannogs in, 32.
Lisanisk, crannog of, 151, 195.
Lisbellaw, crannog near, 134-135, 188-191.
Lisnacroghera, crannog of, 33, 58, 60, 63, 65, 68, 71, 84, 104,
109, 116, 119, 173-177.
Llangorse Lake, pile-dwelling in, 18.
Loch-an-Scuir: _see_ Lough Scur.
Loch Cairgin, 154.
Loch Crannoige, 154.
Loch-da-Damh, 158, 203.
Loch Dowalton, 15-16.
Loch Kinord, 15.
Loch Laodhachain, 155.
Loch Laighaire, 155-156.
Loch-n-Uaithne: _see_ Lough Ooney.
Loch-na-Cloyduff, 87.
Loch-na-Cula, 238.
Loch of Forfar, 130.
Loch Quien, 44 n.
Loch Ruidhe, 155.
Loch Saiglend, 156.
Lochan Eilean, 15.
Lochanacrannog, 27-28, 246.
Lochinadorb, 15.
Lochlea, 104, 155-156.
Lockwood, W. T., 172.
Log houses: _see_ huts.
London, pile dwellings in, 17, 250.
Londonderry, 148.
Longford, co., 33, 206.
Loops, bronze, 177, 232.
Lorony, pile dwellings at, 20.
Lough Aconnick, crannog in, 203.
Lough Acrussil, crannog in, 187.
Lough Annagh, crannogs in, 23, 69, 208-210.
Lough Arrow, crannogs in, 245-246.
Lough Betha: _see_ Lough Veagh.
Lough Bola, 34, 229.
Lough Cam, 35, 229.
Lough Cend, 156.
Lough Cimbe, 36, 157, 229.
Lough Crannagh, 28, 177.
Lough Crannog, 203.
Lough Derg, 212.
Lough Erne, 184, 187 n.
Lough Eyes, crannogs in, 59, 87, 88, 90, 91, 93, 94, 99, 100, 123,
135, 188-191.
Lough Falcon, or Faughan, crannog in, 92, 137, 178.
Lough Fea, crannog in, 193.
Lough Foyle, 151.
Lough Gill, 248-249.
Lough Guile, crannog in, 141-2, 169.
Lough Gur, crannog in, 6, 25, 27, 63, 69, 74, 78, 150, 156.
Lough Gur, crannog in, repaired, 27.
Lough Gur, crannog in, siege of, 150.
Lough Gur, discovery in, 25.
Lough Hackett, crannog in, 36, 157, 229.
Lough Hilbert, 33.
Lough-inis-olyn: _see_ Lough Shillen.
Lough Leisi, crannog in, 154.
Lough Lynch, crannog in, 152, 177.
Lough Lynch, birthplace of Colkitto, 153.
Lough Mac Hugh, crannogs in, 243.
Lough Macnean, crannogs in, 28, 188.
Lough Mask, 33.
Lough Melvin, crannog in, 154.
Lough Monnachin, crannog in, 151, 195.
Lough Mourne, crannogs in, 171, 173.
Lough Mucknoe, crannog in, 151, 195.
Lough-na-Glack, crannog in, 81, 195.
Lough Nahinch, crannog in, 32, 35, 44, 73, 212, 215.
Lough Naneevin, crannog in, 32, 224-225.
Lough Neagh, 28, 169.
Lough Neagh, islands of, 157.
Lough Ooney, crannog in, 156, 193.
Lough Oughter, crannogs in, 155, 203.
Lough Owel, crannog in, 47-8, 206.
Lough Ramor, crannogs in, 73, 157, 202.
Lough Ravel, crannog in, 46, 58, 118, 124, 163-4, 177.
Lough Rinn, crannog of, 242.
Lough Ronel, crannog of, 177.
Lough Ross, crannog of, 178.
Lough Rouskey, crannog of, 151.
Lough Sallagh, 242.
Lough Scur, crannog of, 72, 240, 241-2.
Lough Shillen, crannog of, 148-9, 181.
Lough Shillen, crannog of, attack on the, 148-9.
Lough Swilly, 181.
Lough Veagh, crannog in, 154, 180.
Lough Yoan, crannog in, 187.
Loughan Island, 67, 136-7, 152, 155, 181.
Loughannaderriga, crannog in, 230-232.
Loughavarra, crannog in, 153, 177.
Loughavilly, crannog in, 37, 191-2.
Loughernegilly, crannog in, 167.
Loughinchefeaghny, crannog in, 164.
Loughinsholin, crannog in, 148, 152.
Loughlea, crannog in, 233.
Loughmagarry, crannog in, 164-5.
Loughran: _see_ Loughan.
Loughrea, crannogs in, 32-3, 157,
225-229.
Loughrea, town of, 228, 229.
Loughspouts, 104.
Loughtamand, Loughtarmin, or Loughtoman, crannog of, 33, 120, 142,
165, 166.
Loughtee, lower, 195.
Loughtown crannog, 243.
Louth, co., 158.
Lubbock, Sir T., 3, 5, 6, 11, 113.
Luchtiné, 174.
Lydian stone, 120, 194.
Lyell, Sir C., 217.
MacClancy, crannog of, 154.
MacGauran, crannog of, 154.
MacHenry, Alexander, grant to, for crannog exploration, 177.
MacNavin, crannog of, 149-150, 229.
MacQuillan, crannog of, 33, 153, 165.
MacRaighnaill, crannog of, 242.
Madder: _see_ mether.
Madagascar, pile dwellings in, 23.
Mafar, pile dwellings of, 20.
Magh-gabhlin: _see_ Mongavlin.
Magh Ross, parish of, 50.
Malachy, King, destroys a crannog, 202.
Malahone, tougher of, 209.
Malcomson, Dr., 197.
Mallets, 104, 237 n.
Mammalia, crannog, 74-79.
Mammoth: see _Elephas primigenius_.
Manacles: _see_ fetters.
Manorhamilton, crannog near, 243.
_Maol_: _see_ oxen, various breeds of.
Maori pah, 36.
Maricaibo, pile dwellings of, 19-22.
Marlacoo Lough, crannog of, 178.
Maryborough, crannog near, 220.
Mausniam, pile dwellings of, 20.
Mayo, co., 33, 230-232.
Meader: _see_ mether.
Meath, co., 56, 82, 90, 171, 193, 194, 204.
Mecklenberg, pile dwellings in, 11.
_Megaceros Hibernicus_, contemporaneity of with man, 4, 5, 6, 71,
75, 187, 217, 222, 227, 234.
_Megaceros Hibernicus_, worked bones of, 187.
Melon-shaped beads, 123.
Mether, 103, 226 n.
Mevagh, crannog in, 150.
Mexican MS., 219.
Mexico, pile dwellings of, 19, 250.
Milligan, Seaton, on crannogs, 203.
Millstones: _see_ querns.
Mineral tallow, 79.
Miscellaneous articles, 138-145, 176-177, 231-232, 234, 243, 244.
Moate, crannog near, 136, 205.
Model of a crannog, 40, 242.
Modern period, crannogs inhabited to a, 149-150.
Moinenoe, crannog of, 186.
Monaghan, co., 35, 36, 42, 79, 81, 83, 135, 151, 156, 193-196.
Monaincha, crannog of, 212.
Monalty, crannog of, 195-6.
Monea, crannog of, 69-70, 191.
Money: _see_ coins.
Mongavlin, crannog of, 151.
Morant, G., 39, 42, 193, 195.
Moray, crannogs in, 15, 32.
Mortar, stone, 199 n.
Mortise: _see_ beams.
Moulds, stone, 72-3, 199 n., 202, 206, 218, 219, 242.
Moycullen, barony of, 224.
Moytirra, 99, 173.
Muckenagh Lough, crannog in, 154, 233.
Muddy Lake, crannog in, 207.
Mudge, Capt. W. S., R. N., crannog hut discovered by, 37, 39, 40-41.
Muinter Eolius, crannog in, 152, 243.
Mummy, Irish, 54.
Munro, Dr. R., 15, 100, 104, 113, 123, 130.
Munster, crannogs in, 146, 212-220, 249.
Murders in crannogs, 151, 154, 155, 237, 239, 242.
Museum, R. H. A. A. I., 182 n., 183.
Music, 125-128.
Nails, iron, 25, 208.
Navan Rath: _see_ Eamhain.
Needles, bone, 142, 195, 205 n., 235 n.
Needles, bronze, 142, 164, 168 n., 196.
Needles, iron, 141, 142, 168.
Neolithic period, 160.
Net floats, 53, 200 n.
Net weights, 50, 164 n., 199 n.
Nets, fishing, 80, 81.
New Guinea, pile dwellings in, 20.
Newry Magazine, 126.
New Zealand, 36.
_Niello_, 66.
Nodule, ornamented, 115-16.
Noggin: _see_ mether.
Nore, river, 70.
Norman Baron, crannog erected by a, 155.
Norrys, Sir D. J., 127-8 n.
Northmen, crannog erected by, 155.
Nuts: _see_ hazel.
Oak, block of, 189, 190, 192.
Oak bowl, 82.
Oak forest age, 7.
Oak trough, 211.
Oak vessel, 187, 192.
Ober Meilen, pile dwellings at, 11-12.
Ocean, inbreak of the, 217.
O’Curry, Eugene, 129, 134.
O’Flaherty, 34, 122.
Ogham, 132-5, 237 n.
Ogham, definition of, 133.
Ogham found in crannogs, 133-135.
Ogham, how used, 134.
Ogham-like inscriptions undecipherable, 107-8.
Ogham stone, 134.
_Oilean-na-prechaun_, 246.
O’Lynn’s Island, 148-9.
O’Neill, Sir Phelim, takes refuge in a crannog, 88 n., 148.
_Opus Hibernicum_, 137.
O’Raighilligh, crannog of, 155.
Oriel, crannog in, 158.
Orinoco, pile dwellings on the, 22.
Ornament, 205 n., 210 n.
Ornamentation, bird-headed, 121.
Ornamentation, cross-like, 89, 219.
Ornamentation, difference in, may imply difference in race, 113.
Ornamentation on sword, 219.
_Osmunda regalis_, 231.
Oval stone, 196 n., 199 n.
Overlapping of stone, bronze, and iron ages, 160, 174.
Ovoid bone, 237 n.
Owen, Professor Richard, 5, 182.
Oxen, bones of, 168 n., 178 n., 185 n., 205, 225, 226, 245, 246, 248.
Oxen, various breeds of, 75-79.
Paddles, canoe, 50-51, 126, 141, 144, 168, 183, 186, 193, 231, 243.
Pad Lough, crannog of, 191.
Pagan age, scenes laid in the, 129.
Palæolithic period, overlapping of the, 160.
Palisades: _see_ stockades.
Pan, iron, 84, 85, 235 n.
Partitions: _see_ wicker-work.
Pass Bridge, 207.
Patch on dish, 183.
Patina, 232.
Patterson, W. H., 121.
Paul V., Pope, Bulla of, 235 n.
Pavements, superincumbent, 32, 234.
Peat, preservative, property of, 54.
Peat, time required for formation of, 6-7, 46, 101.
Peg holes, 231, 247.
Pegs, wooden, 104, 182, 235 n.
Penannular bracelets, 118.
Penannular rings, 118, 177.
Pendant, stone, 115.
Peninsula, crannog situated on a, 200-1.
Perforated stones, 142.
Personal adornment, articles of, 36, 105-125.
Perth, crannogs in, 32 n.
Pestle, stone, 207.
Petrie, Dr., 23, 24, 56, 82, 117, 129.
Petrie collection, 111, 117, 118, 122-3, 132, 137, 204.
Phasis, pile-dwellings in, 10.
Pictish axe, 62.
Picts’ houses, 82.
Piercer, bone, 199 n., 227 n.
Pig: _see_ boar.
Pile-dwellings of all countries, 10-23.
Piles, 163, 166, 167, 172, 177-8, 182, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191,
197, 200, 201, 205, 208, 209, 214, 216, 220, 222, 223, 224, 226,
227, 228, 231, 233, 236, 240, 243, 248.
Pins, bone, 105, 106, 109, 141, 168 n., 195, 199 n., 205, 206 n.,
208, 233 n., 235 n., 237 n.
Pins, bone, leading varieties of, 111-114.
Pins, bone, manner pendants were inserted, 108.
Pins, bronze, 88, 105, 141, 144, 168 n., 193, 195, 196, 196 n.,
199 n., 206 n., 207 n., 227 n., 232, 233, 234 n., 235 n., 237.
Pins, iron, 105, 111, 141, 233 n.
Pins, numerous in crannogs, 105.
Pins, wooden, 141, 168.
Pipe-clay, crucible, 120, 200 n.
Pipe, iron, 143, 204 n.
Pipes, bowls of, 200 n.
Piscatory implements, 80-1, 144-5, 195.
Pistols, 195, 210 n.
Planks: _see_ beams.
Platters, wooden, 102.
Plough coulters, iron, 195.
Ploughshare, flint, 178 n.
Plough sock, 168, 141, 178 n.
Polishing stones, 199 n., 235 n.
Polynesia, pile dwellings in, 20.
Pomerania, lake dwellings in, 11.
Pommel, sword, 66-7.
Portlenon, crannog near, 206.
Poteen: _see_ distillation.
Pottery, 42, 88, 89, 91, 96-9, 141, 164 n., 168 n., 169, 178, 181,
182, 185, 186, 188, 190, 191, 192, 196, 199 n., 202 n., 204 n.
Pottery, characteristic in style, 91.
Pottery, colour of, 102.
Pottery, hand-made, 102.
Pottery, Indian resembles Irish, 91.
Pottery, Irish, superior to British, 91.
Pottery, lids found with, 94-5.
Pottery, material of, 102.
Pottery not suggestive of Christian times, 98.
Pottery, resembles mortuary fictilia, 91, 99.
Pottery, well baked, 102.
Pounding instrument, 74, 192.
Prehistoric archæology, 2.
Prisoners kept in crannogs, 154.
Proverbs, Irish, 37, 46.
_Pteris aquilina_, 224.
Puzzuoli, 217.
Quarry island, 185.
Queen’s Co., crannogs in, 70, 124, 208-211.
“Queen’s people,” crannog taken from the, 150.
Querns, 42, 85, 86, 88, 90, 163, 178, 183, 183 n., 185 n., 186, 187,
190, 191, 196 n., 199 n., 209, 227 n., 241, 242.
Quern, cross inscribed, 88.
Querns, how worked, 86.
Querns, mentioned in scripture, 86.
Quern, pot, 86.
Quoit stone, 199 n.
Raghan, crannog of, 88 n., 148, 180.
Rahans lake, crannog in, 196.
Ramoi river, pile-dwellings in the, 20.
Randalstown, crannog of, 141, 163, 167-8.
Rangoon river, pile-dwellings on the, 19-20.
Raphoe, barony of, 180.
Rapier blade, bronze, 60, 61, 171 n., 203, 237 n.
Rapier dagger, bronze, 171 n.
Realgar, 104.
Red-deer: _see_ deer.
Redhaven, crannog near, 150.
Reed island, 225-226.
Reeves, Dr., 120, 152, 164, 165, 167.
Refining: _see_ crucibles.
Refuse-heaps: _see_ kitchen middens.
Rein-deer: _see_ _Cervus tarandus_.
Repulse of Sir Henry Sidney from a crannog, 36, 147-8.
Rhind lectures, 174.
Rings, bronze, 72, 109, 118, 196 n., 199 n., 233 n., 235 n., 237 n.
Rings, iron, 199 n.
Rings, stag’s horn, 235.
Rings, stone, 121, 201 n., 206 n.
Rinn Castle, 242.
Rise of the waters of lakes, 3, 214, 226, 229.
Rivers, General A. P., collection of, 218.
Rivets, bronze, 119, 173, 174, 177, 196.
Robenhausen, settlement of, 79.
Robe, river, 34.
Roman coins, 235 n., 236.
Roman origin of ladle, 83.
Roman origin of lamp, 235-6.
Rosario, pile-dwellings at, 22.
Roscavey, townland of, 179.
Roscommon co., 35, 82, 90, 113, 152, 154, 233-239.
Roscrea, crannog near, 212.
Ross, crannogs in, 32.
Ross-Guill: _see_ Mevagh.
Roughan: _see_ Raghan.
Rouskey, crannog of, 83, 151, 195.
Rubbing-stone, 192, 227 n.
Saddle, 136.
Saint Columbkille alludes to a crannog, 158.
Saint John’s Lough, crannog in, 243.
Saint Johnstown, crannog near, 181.
Saint Lasser’s Cell, 38.
Saint Patrick, advent of, 56.
Saint Patrick, crannog mentioned in Life of, 158.
Salwatee, pile dwellings at, 20.
Sanas Cormaic, 174.
Sandals, leather, 40, 144, 235 n.
Savoy, lake dwellings in, 11.
Saws, iron, 84.
Scales, 142, 166.
Scenes of strife in crannogs, 147-159, 244.
Schlieman, discoveries of, 41 n., 90.
Scoop, bone, 59, 235 n.
Scoop, wooden water, 141, 168 n., 237 n.
Scoring on pins, 106-9.
Scotland, crannogs of, 32.
Scottish crannog, lease given of, 31 n.
Scottish crannogs, 15, 16, 27, 31, 83, 104.
Scottish crannogs, colouring matter found in, 104.
Scottish crannogs, identical with the Irish, 31, 249-250.
Scottish crannogs, number discovered, 31.
Sculptured stone, 186.
Scythes, bronze, 178.
Seal-like articles, 112.
Sea pebbles, 228, 232.
Sea shells, 204, 225 n.
Shancloon, rath of, 197.
Shannon, river, 81, 106, 159, 212.
Sharpeners: _see_ whetstones.
Shears, iron, 112, 168 n., 206 n., 227 n.,235 n.
Sheep, bones of, 75, 168 n., 178 n., 185 n., 190, 204, 205, 219,
225-26, 234.
Sheephaven, 150.
Shell marl, deposit of, over crannogs, 223, 224.
Shell mounds, 73.
Shield, bronze, 69, 71, 219 n.
Shield, bronze boss of, 196 n.
Shoe: _see_ sandal.
Shore Island, 226.
Siberia, 54.
Sickles, iron, 176, 235 n.
Siculus, Diodorus, 128.
Sidney, Lord Deputy, 36, 147-8.
Silver, bronze inlaid with, 227 n.
Silver brooch, 164.
Silver coins: _see_ coins.
Silver ornaments, 120, 121.
Silurian grit, artificially worked, 214, 227.
Similarity of “finds” in Irish and Scottish lake dwellings, 83, 249-50.
Singapore, pile dwellings at, 21.
Sink-stones: _see_ net weights.
Skeans: _see_ knives.
Skeletons: _see_ human remains.
Skerry, parish of, 110, 173.
Slag, iron, 70, 183 n., 184, 187, 188, 192, 199.
Slate, article of, 199.
Slieve Dæane, 246.
Sligo, co., 104, 131, 152, 153, 243, 249.
Sligo river, 248-9.
Sling-stones, 73, 179, 205 n., 227 n., 232.
Society, disturbed state of, 159.
Solinus on the Irish, 174 n.
Southwark, remains of pile dwellings at, 17.
Spades, 168, 210 n.
Spatula-shaped bone, 140.
Spear butts, bronze, 63-5, 174, 177.
Spear handle, bronze, 171.
Spear heads, bone, 233 n., 235 n.
Spear heads, bronze, 88, 163, 171, 179, 196 n., 203, 205, 210 n.,
218, 219 n., 228, 234 n., 237, 242.
Spear heads, iron, 62, 63, 174, 176, 178, 179, 186, 204 n.
Spear heads, stone, 194, 225 n.
Spear shafts, 63-64.
Speke, Captain, 47.
Spike, bone, 233.
Spike, iron, 181, 233 n.
Spike, wooden, 205 n.
Spindle whorls: _see_ whorls.
Spiral ornamentation, 206 n.
Spoon, bone, 140, 199 n.
Stag’s horn ring, 144.
Stakes: _see_ piles.
Stanley, T., 208, 209.
Staves, 183, 232, 235.
Steel age, 55.
Stirling, crannogs in, 32.
Stirrup: _see_ horse furniture.
Stockades, 30, 36, 200, 233, 234, 241.
Stone age, antiquities of, 170.
Stone age, late, animal ornamentation rare in, 113.
Stone age, late, geometrical pattern characteristic of, 113.
Stone, bronze, and iron ages, 55-6.
Stone, carved, 164 n., 206 n., 207.
Stone, perforated, 172, 199 n.
Stone implements no proof of barbarous society, 160.
Stone lake dwellings, 33-4, 155, 203.
Stones, worked, 169, 199 n., 201 n., 205 n.
Story’s history, 209 n.
Strange medley, antiquities found in, 56.
Strathspey, crannog in, 15.
Street cuttings, antiquities found in, 111.
Stretcher: _see_ beams.
Strife, crannogs scenes of, 147-159.
Strokestown, crannogs near, 33, 113, 132, 133, 144-5, 237.
Stud, bronze, 119, 177.
Submarine crannogs, 29-30, 215-217.
Subsidence of crannogs, 189, 215, 217.
Sulphuret, yellow, 104.
Sunken island, 245.
Supposed origin of Scottish crannogs, 18.
_Sus scrofa_: _see_ boar.
Swastica, 89, 116.
Swine: _see_ boar.
Swiss fascine dwellings resemble Irish, 12-13.
Switzerland, lake dwellings in, 11-15.
Swords, bronze, 60-61, 170-171, 203, 237 n.
Swords, hafts of, 60, 66-7, 174-5, 233 n.
Swords, iron, 60, 65, 166, 173, 174, 175, 204 n., 206, 210 n., 211,
218-19, 225.
Swords, sheaths of, 65, 66, 173, 175.
Taughboyne, parish of, 151, 180.
Tchakash, city of, built on piles, 19.
Teeth of ruminants: _see_ bones.
Tempest, crannogs damaged by a, 154, 157.
Tempo, crannogs near, 187.
Thames, ancient pile dwellings on the, 17-18, 250.
The Island, 163.
The Miracles, crannog of, 37, 73, 192-193.
“The old crannog,” 206.
Tigearnmas, the monarch, 104.
Tinnehinch, barony of, 208.
Timahoe, glass bead from, 124.
Tines: _see_ deer.
Tipperary, co., 35, 44, 212-215.
Tireragh, barony of, 246.
Tobernasoul, 188.
Toilet, articles of the, 105-125.
Tonymore: _see_ Cloneygonnel.
Tondano, pile dwellings at, 20.
Tongs, 168.
Tools, iron, 67-68.
Tools, transition from to weapons, 57.
Toomebar, crannog settlement of, 35, 169-171.
Toomebridge, 169.
Toome Castle, 170.
Toome, Lower, barony of, 164, 165.
Topped Mountain, 191.
Torque pattern, 118, 237.
Touchstones: _see_ jasper.
Trappings, horse, 136-138.
Trap rock, celts of, 170.
Traps for catching game, 90-91.
Triangular iron pot, 243.
Trillick: _see_ Drumdarragh.
Tripod, iron, 25, 83.
Trowel, iron, 210 n.
Troy, 41.
Trumpets, bronze, 126.
Tuatha de Danann, 173, 174.
Tullamore, 207 n., 209.
Tulsk, 154.
Tweezers, bronze, 115, 206 n., 233 n., 244.
Tyrone, county, 60, 87, 88, 100, 179, 180.
Ulster, circumstances favoured lake dwellings in, 33, 145, 146.
Ulster inquisitions, 30, 163, 164, 165, 166.
_Ulster Journal of Archæology_, 118, 133-134.
Ulster, lake dwellings in, 163-203, 229.
Ulster, scientific frontier of, 146.
Ulster, staple industry of, traced back to crannogs, 105.
Ulster, the chosen home of the lake dweller, 146.
Umbo, bronze, 72.
Unshin, River, 246.
Usher, R. J., 216-217.
Utensils, culinary, 25, 81, 83, 84, 191, 202.
Vegetable remains, 73: _see_ corn, grain, hazel.
Venezuela, pile dwellings in, 19, 21-22.
Venice, a pile settlement, 19, 250.
Vessels, bronze, 183, 184, 187, 191, 202.
Vessels, iron, 85, 166, 243.
Vessels, wooden, 100, 141, 183, 187, 190, 192, 232, 236, 237.
Vikings, strange customs of the, 130.
Wakefield’s _Ireland_, 213.
Wakeman, W. F., 23, 24, 25, 33, 52, 82, 97, 104, 116, 119, 123,
124, 129, 134, 183, 187, 191 n., 193 n., 212, 220.
Walnuts, 73.
Water, districts covered by, 8.
Water levels, variety of, 8, 165, 167, 169, 171, 181, 192, 195,
202, 205, 216, 219-20, 236, 245, 248.
Waterford, co., 29-30, 215-217, 234.
Weapons, ancient account of fabrication of, 173-174.
Weapons: _see_ swords, spears, daggers, knives, axes.
Weaving, bone utilized in, 105.
Weaving, block utilized in, or as net float, 200 n.
Weaving in crannogs, 105.
Web polishers, 199 n.
Westmeath, co., 47, 126, 136.
Wexford, co., 40, 44.
Wheel-shaped objects, 112, 142.
Whet-stones, 69, 164 n., 168 n., 183 n., 185 n., 187 n., 190, 191,
192, 194 n., 195, 199, 205 n., 226 n., 232 n., 233, 235 n., 237.
White bronze: _see_ findruin.
Whorls, 130-132, 142, 164 n., 169, 196 n., 199 n., 210 n.
Whorls, cross-marked, 90.
Whorls, great numbers of, 104.
Whorls, in classic sculptures, 105.
Wicker-work, 32, 33, 214, 223, 224, 225-226, 228.
Wigtonshire, crannogs in, 32, 40 n.
Wild animals, 4-6, 250.
Wild fruit, 73.
Wilde, Sir W., 23, 126, 139, 140, 206, 237.
Willow platter, 102, 227.
Wilson’s _Prehistoric Annals of Scotland_, 124.
Wolf-hound, 75.
Wolf Loch, crannog in, 191.
Wolves, 4, 75, 250.
Wood, enduring properties of, 41.
Wooded country, 3-4.
Wooden articles from Lagore, 205 n.
Wooden buildings, earliest form of, 43.
Wooden cross, 112.
Wooden hair-pins, 111-112.
Wooden handle of celt, 59.
Wooden objects, 104, 192, 231-232.
Wooden sword, 40-41.
Wooden vessels, 82, 100-102, 112, 183.
Wray, Albert, 87, 97.
Wurtemberg, lake dwellings in, 11.
Yellow glass, 125.
Yellow sulphuret, 104.
Yew case, 117.
Yokes, oxen, 79.
Yorkshire, lake dwellings in, 15.
Yorkshire lake-dwellings, colouring-matter found in, 104.
Zaphrentis, 245.
Zurich, pile dwellings near, 11.
THE END.
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