The Crannog at Croft Na Caber at the east end of Loch Tay near Kenmore Perthshire
A crannóg is an ancient island used for a settlement. The name may also refer to a wooden platform erected on shallow floors, but understandably few remains of this sort have been found. The name crannóg derives from crannoge, from the names crannóc, from Old Irish, from crann, tree. The choice of an island as a home is thought to have been for defence and for the availability of food in the form of fish nearby. The crannog could be reached from the nearest shore by means of a causeway built up with stones, or a wooden gangway built atop raised piles. An example of a reconstructed crannóg is located at the Scottish Crannóg Centre at Loch Tay, Tayside. The islet of Eilean Domhnuill, Loch Olabhat on North Uist may be the earliest crannóg, dated to 3200-2800 BC in the Neolithic period. Most crannógs were in use from the Iron Age through to the early Medieval period, at about the same time as the brochs, the wags, duns and the larger roundhouses. The highest concentrations of crannógs (in Scotland) are found in several lochs within Dumfries and Galloway region, although many have been found in the highlands as well. In the Grampian Highlands a well known crannóg was built by the Burnetts of Leys, whose family thence moved nearby to the present 16th century Crathes Castle. The construction of the prehistoric crannóg began on a small island or shoal that was located within a loch or marsh. This rise was surrounded by a circle of oak piles with axe-sharpened bases that were driven into the bottom, forming a circular enclosure of about 200 ft. in diameter. The piles were then joined together by interlaced branches and wattle. The interior surface was then built up, first with wooden logs, then with branches and rocks, clay, peat, and other earthen materials. At the center a large stone hearth was built with large flat stones, and a wooden home was constructed around it. Sometimes multiple homes were built on a single crannóg.
Size: 5196px × 3364px
Location: Loch Tay Kenmore Perthshire Tayside Region Scotland British Isles UK
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 2, 18, 600, age, bronze, crannog, crannogs, defensive, dwellings, early, evidence, excavation, house, iron, kayak, located, loch, neolithic, oakbank, preserved, scotland, site, tay, year
