Chapter VII: Part I (2)

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.

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]

_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]

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.

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.

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]

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]

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]

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.

Section of roadway in firm ground.]

Plan of roadway, showing repairs.]

Axe-head of Bone.]

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.”

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.]