Read Ebook: Ancient Scottish Lake-Dwellings or Crannogs With a supplementary chapter on remains of lake-dwellings in England by Munro Robert

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On revisiting this island in 1826, Mr. Mackinlay observed "an extension of the fort on the south-east corner, formed by small piles and a frame-work of timbers laid across each other, in the manner of a raft."

LOCH QUIEN, BUTESHIRE.

There was another insular fort in Loch Quien, which Mr. Mackinlay describes as a crannog; but not being able to get on the islet, his measurements are conjectural, and need not be further referred to. He then states that two rows of piles extended obliquely to the shore of the lake, between which the ground was covered with flat stones, "not raised like a causeway, but rather seeming to have been used as stepping-stones."

DR. ROBERTSON'S VIEWS ON SCOTTISH CRANNOGS.

Before resuming the chronological sequence of further discoveries, it becomes a matter of duty, on historical grounds, to refer more particularly to Mr. Robertson's views, notwithstanding that it is almost entirely to Dr. Stuart's elaborate paper, published some nine years later, that we are now indebted for any detailed record of his investigations. At the same time I shall take the opportunity of giving a few extracts of the incidental notices of artificial islands culled from other sources.

THE ISLE OF THE LOCH OF BANCHORY.

The following extracts regarding artificial islands incidentally observed in various parts of Scotland, brought to light chiefly in the course of drainage operations in search of marl or for the recovery of boggy land, may be now read with interest before resuming the narrative of more recent discoveries:--

LOCHRUTTON, KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE.

"This loch is about a mile in length, and half a mile broad. In the middle of it there is a small island, about half a rood in extent, of a circular form. It seems to have been, at least in part, artificial. Over its whole surface there is a collection of large stones which have been founded on a frame of oak planks."--

LOCH KINDER, KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE.

"In Loch Kinder there is an artificial mount of stones, rising 6 or 7 feet above the surface of the water, supposed to have been constructed for the purpose of securing the most valuable effects of the neighbouring families from the depredations of the borderers. The stones stand on a frame of large oaks, which is visible when the weather is clear and calm."--

CARLINGWARK LOCH, KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE.

LOCH SPINIE, MORAYSHIRE.

"Near it , where the water is deepest, a small artificial island emerged, upon clearing out the canal, of an oval form, about 60 by 16 paces, appearing to be composed of stones from the quarry, bound together by crooked branches of oak, and as if the earth, with which it was completed, had been wholly washed off during its submersion."--

LOCH OF BOGHALL, BEITH, AYRSHIRE.

PARISH OF CULTER, LANARKSHIRE.

"In the midst of a morass, half a mile north-east from the farm of Nisbet, may be seen a very singular remnant of antiquity. A mound of an oval shape, called the Green Knowe, measuring about 30 yards by 40, rises about two or three feet above the surface of the surrounding bog. On penetrating into the elevating mass, it is found to consist of stones of all different kinds and sizes, which seem to have been tumbled promiscuously together without the least attempt at arrangement. Driven quite through this superincumbent mass are a great number of piles, sharpened at the point, about three feet long, made of oak of the hardest kind, retaining the marks of the hatchet, and still wonderfully fresh. A causeway of large stones connects this mound with the firm ground."--

LOCH RANNOCH, PERTHSHIRE.

"There are two small islands situate in the upper end of the lake. The east and large one is wholly artificial, resting upon large beams of wood fixed to each other. This island was sometimes used as a place of safety in cases of emergency; at other times, as a place of confinement for such as rebelled against or offended the chief. To this retreat there is a road from a point on the south side--which road is always covered with 3 or 4 feet of water, is very narrow, and has a great depth on both sides of it."--

PARISH OF CROY, INVERNESS-SHIRE.

"In draining a lake at the east-end of the parish, an artificial mound appeared within a few yards of the shore, about 60 feet in circumference, and 5 feet in height. It was formed of alternate strata of stones, earth, and oak; piles of oak being driven in the ground were kept strongly fixed by transverse beams of smaller size. Over these were round stones, and on the surface some inches of fine black mould. Some fragments of brass rings, pieces of potteries, and the bolt of a lock, of no ordinary size, were found on the mound.

"At about 100 yards' distance there is a circle of large piles of oak, driven deep in the earth, apparently the commencement of a second mound; but for what purpose they were intended it is impossible to conjecture. They could not be places of defence, as the one finished was so near the edge of the lake, and completely commanded by the opposite rising bank. While draining the lake by cutting a deep canal, oaks of gigantic size were found more than 20 feet below the surface, as sound as the day they were overwhelmed by water, sand, and gravel. At the same time a canoe of most beautiful workmanship was found, which some modern Goth has since cut down for mean and servile purposes."--

LOCHS OF KINELLAN AND ACHILTY, CONTIN, ROSS-SHIRE.

LOCH COT, PARISH OF TORPHICHEN.

"The loch lies at the foot of the southern slope of Bowden Hill, and is now drained. An old man who belonged to Dr. Duns's congregation when he was at Torphichen, more than once described to him the appearance of the loch before it was drained--'its central island, and the big logs taken from it and burned.' Horns were also found in the loch, but were neglected, and have disappeared. Dr. Duns found part of a quern on an examination of the site; and on digging into a mound at a short distance eastward from the loch, he found an urn of rude type. To the south are the remains of a circular earthwork; and to the south-west, traces of what has been called a Roman camp; and to the south, a camp of peculiar form, noticed by Sibbald."--

CASTLE LOCH, LOCHMABEN.

In the Castle Loch of Lochmaben is a small artificial island now sunk several feet under the water, from which during dry weather on several occasions some of the oak mortised beams have been fished up.

LOCH LOCHY, INVERNESS-SHIRE.

Dr. Stuart quotes the following account of a crannog in Loch Lochy from Mr. Robertson's notes, extracted by the latter from a MS. in the Advocates' Library, written towards the end of the seventeenth century. "Ther was of ancient ane lord in Loquhaber, called my Lord Cumming, being a cruell and tyirrant superior to the inhabitants and ancient tenants of that countrie of Loquhaber. This lord builded ane iland or an house on the south-east head of Loghloghae; ... and when summer is, certain yeares or dayes, one of the bigge timber jests, the quantitie of an ell thereof will be sein above the water. And sundrie men of the countrie were wont to goe and se that jest of timber which stands there as yett; and they say that a man's finger will cast it too and fro in the water, but fortie men cannot pull it up, because it lyeth in another jest below the water."--

LOCH LOMOND.

LOCH OF THE CLANS, NAIRNSHIRE.

In 1863 a paper by Dr. Grigor of Nairn was read at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, in which the author describes a curious cairn with "oak beams and sticks cropping out in it," and surrounded by a ploughed field which was formerly part of the basin of the Loch of the Clans, from which I give the following extracts:--

"On getting down into the cairn, we found that all the wood in sight was chiefly the remains of rafters, and inclined upwards at about an angle of 25 degrees, so as to form an upright roof. These, however, had been broken across , no doubt by their own partial decay and the superincumbent weight of stones. On further clearing and digging, we came upon four sides or walls, each about 3 feet in height, and making an irregular square. These were formed of trees of oak, comparatively sound, and about thirty years' probable growth. On the west side, there were seven trees piled horizontally, one above the other; the third from the ground had another alongside it. Seven trees also formed the east side. The north side was made up of a foundation of small boulders, then two horizontal trees, over which projected a few rafters, and then another tree. At the east end of this wall there was a mortised opening, in which, in all probability, an upright support had been placed. The south side had been, to all appearance, partially removed when that end of the cairn was carted off by the tenant-farmer, and only one tree at the bottom was seen. These sides are correctly represented in the accompanying sketches, and the scale renders it unnecessary to particularise measurements. The floor was the mud bottom of the old loch, and there were two small trees stretching from east to west, with the appearance of decayed brushwood throughout, and a boulder stone here and there. Not exactly in the centre, but nearer the south-east corner, lay a few boulders bearing marks of fire, and having portions of charcoal around them. This was all that could be seen as a hearth.

"Nothing of any interest was found in the way of clearance. There were portions of decomposed bones, a bit of pottery , the mouth-piece of a horn spoon, and a cockle shell, and these probably had fallen through the cairn.

"To all appearance the rafters started from the ground in three tiers, having different angles of inclination, though those of the roof seemed to have run up pretty much together near the ground. These were bound down by beams crossing and recrossing in all directions, which imparted greater strength. Beyond two mortised openings no other mode of fastening could be seen."

The articles found in the course of the explorations of this cairn, or crannoge, were a portion of a small stone cup, two whetstones, and an iron axe-head, together with charcoal and burnt bones. In the vicinity there were found some flint arrow-heads and flakes, and, some years ago, a canoe.

"About 150 feet, in a south-easterly direction from this place, and in marshy ground, were found a great many pile-heads, covered with grass and vegetable matter; and after removing this covering they stood as shown in the accompanying plan and scale. This is no doubt the foundation of another crannoge or lake habitation. An area of 6 feet in the centre seemed, so far as I examined, to have been laid with large stones, and intersected with small trees and stakes. Beyond this space I observed no stones, only the mud of the lake, and a few bits of small trees. Three stones in the centre seemed marked by fire; and below those I turned over, and under water, there was a good deal of charcoal mixed with small bits of bone.

"In the neighbouring 'Loch of Flemington,' and covered with several feet of water, are to be seen, when the water is frozen over, similar remains of piles.

"In the east end of the small pond called 'Loch in Dunty,' about two miles in a westerly direction from that of Flemington, are to be observed three vestiges of piles about a foot above water; these, notwithstanding the evidence of a Highlander living close by, 'that the piles had been put into the loch in auld time, for the purpose of steeping the lint,' are, in my opinion, of the same description, day and generation, as those I have attempted to describe in the Loch of the Clans."--

LOCH OF SANQUHAR, DUMFRIES-SHIRE.

In June 1863, Dr. Grierson of Thornhill announced, at a meeting of the Dumfries-shire and Galloway Natural History Society, that an ancient stockade had been found in a small loch near Sanquhar. He observed, "that about five weeks ago, a man drowned himself in a tarn about two miles north of Sanquhar. In order to recover the body, the water was drained off, when it was found that a small island in the middle of the loch or tarn was artificial, and had been constructed of stakes with stones between, and had been approached by a zigzag line of stepping-stones. It was thought that the loch might be altogether artificial, forming, as it were, a moat or fosse to the little fort."--

During the summer of 1865, the members of the Society made an excursion to this loch for the purpose of examining the crannog, the result of which is described by the President in his annual address, and from which the following extracts are taken:--

"When first seen, after the bottom was laid dry, a few upright piles were observed, and the curving narrow passage from the mainland appeared somewhat raised, and was hard below the immediate mud deposit, as if a sort of rough causeway had been formed; and when the water was at its height, or nearly level with the surface of the island, persons acquainted with the turn or winding of the passage could wade to it. The base of the slope of the island was laid or strengthened with stones, some of considerable size, so placed as to protect the wooden structure. Round the island could be seen driven piles, to which were attached strong transverse beams, and upon making a cut 6 or 7 feet wide into the side of the island to ascertain its structure, we found a platform of about 4 feet in depth raised by transverse beams placed alternately across each other, and kept in position by driven piles. These last were generally self oak trees, but dressed and sharpened by a metal tool, some of them mortised at the heads where a transverse rail or beam could be fixed. The transverse beams, of various sizes, were chiefly of birch wood.... On the surface of the island there were some indications of buildings, but on examination these were found to be only the erection of curlers for fire, or the protection of their channel-stones when not in use. No remains of any kind were found on the island nor around it, but, except on the passage from the mainland, the mud was so deep and soft as to prevent effectual search. Neither have we any record of any other remains being found in or near the loch except the canoe already alluded to. It is formed out of a single oak tree, 16 feet in length by 3 feet broad at the widest part, at the prow only 1 foot 10 inches."

LOCH BAREAN, KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE.

The following facts were communicated to the author by John J. Reid, Esq., F.S.A. Scot., Edinburgh:--

Loch Barean, situated in a mountainous patch in the parish of Colvend, is about five miles from Dalbeattie, and not far from the main road leading from this town to Colvend Manse. It is a deep peaty sort of a loch, very irregularly shaped, measuring about 1950 feet in length, with a breadth varying from 600 to 1150 feet, and is bounded on the east by a barren ridge of rock which runs along its margin. In 1865 the level of this loch was lowered by drainage, when a few stones, which used to become visible in dry summers, turned out to be an artificial island constructed of wooden beams. Shortly after exposure, it was visited by the late Sir W. Jardine, Dr. Stuart, Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, and others, and found to be surrounded by a circle of oak piles enclosing a wooden flooring. "None of these piles were visible above the water. On this oak piling beams had been laid horizontally, some oak and some of fir still retaining the bark. The space within this piling was nearly circular in shape, and measured about 24 feet in diameter; but, outside the piling, and between it and the loch, there was an area, from 5 to 8 feet wide, filled with angular granite blocks to assist in protecting the wooden flooring."

Two metal "pots" were found on the island, of which only one now remains. It is of thin beaten bronze, flat-bottomed, with bulging sides and everted lip. Its dimensions are: height 5 inches, diameter of mouth 4-3/4 inches, do. of bottom 3-3/4 inches, and do. in middle 5-3/4 inches.

CRANNOGS IN LOCH DOWALTON.

A more important discovery, made about the same time, was a group of artificial islands in Lake Dowalton, Wigtownshire, which were first described by Lord Lovaine, in a paper read to the British Association in 1863. Mr. John Stuart, Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, then took up the subject, and, owing to a greater drainage of the loch having been made in the interval, was enabled to re-examine the Dowalton islands under more favourable circumstances. The result of his labours was an elaborate paper to the Society, in which he gave a detailed account of the structure and relics of these crannogs, and also took the opportunity of incorporating into his article all the facts he could glean, so as to afford a basis for comparing the Scottish examples with those in other countries. I have taken advantage of some of the contents of this paper on a previous occasion when discussing Mr. Robertson's investigations of Scottish crannogs. The following is the substance of Dr. Stuart's examination and report of the Dowalton group:--

The late Loch of Dowalton was of an irregular form, about 1-1/2 mile long, and about 3/4ths of a mile in greatest breadth, and without any marked outfall for drainage. Sir William Maxwell effected this by making a cut, 25 feet deep, through the wall of whinstone and slate which closed it in at its south-eastern extremity. Dr. Stuart, who availed himself of Lord Lovaine's previous description of the island abodes that became visible on the drainage of the loch, describes them in order of succession, beginning at the west end:--

"The first is called Miller's Cairn, from its having been a mark of the levels, when the loch was drained by cuts for feeding neighbouring mills. One of these cuts is known to have been made at a remote period. It was still surrounded by water when the place was visited by Lord Percy in 1863. On approaching the cairn, the numerous rows of piles which surrounded it first attracted notice. These piles were formed of young oak-trees. Lying on the north-east side were mortised frames of beams of oak, like hurdles, and, below these, round trees laid horizontally. In some cases the vertical piles were mortised into horizontal bars. Below them were layers of hazel and birch branches, and under these were masses of fern, the whole mixed with large boulders, and penetrated by piles. Above all was a surface of stones and soil, which was several feet under water till the recent drainage took place. The hurdle frames were neatly mortised together, and were secured by pegs in the mortise holes.

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