Chapter XIV: Part II (3)

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

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.

_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

_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.

_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]

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]

_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.

_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.

_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.

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.

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]

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.

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.

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.

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.

_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.

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.