Fig. 249.—Basin of thin bronze found in the Loch of Dowalton (height, 4 inches).
In the Black Loch, in the parish of Inch, Wigtonshire, an island explored in 1872 by Mr. C. E. Dalrymple was found to have been a Crannog formed upon a shoal in the lake. In the centre of the island there was a circular mound, 45 feet in diameter, and rising to about 5 feet above the level of the loch and 3½ feet above the general surface of the island. At a depth of about 5 feet in the centre of the mound there was a flooring of trunks of trees, chiefly oak and alder, crossing each other at right angles. This log flooring covered a circular space of about 50 feet in diameter. At different levels above it and over the whole of its area there were found many fireplaces or hearths, formed of two long narrow slabs set on edge and parallel to each other with a paved space between, and filled and surrounded by ashes and bones of animals broken and split. In one of these accumulations of ashes and food refuse there were found a fragment of bronze and a portion of an iron knife; and in another a broken armlet of glass. A broken double-edged bone comb, ornamented with dots and circles, and a portion of a stone disc with a bevelled edge, were also found. The island seemed to have been surrounded with piles, and a small canoe, dug out of a single tree, was discovered in the loch, near the narrow channel which separates the island from the shore.
The general character of the group of relics obtained from these structures is that of the Iron Age, with indications of a period subsequent to the Roman conquest. The same character and the same indications are presented by the group of relics obtained from the Crannogs of Ayrshire, which have been so carefully investigated by Dr. Munro.[[96]] The Lochlee Crannog, near Tarbolton, yielded a very large collection of objects in the various materials of stone, bone, wood, bronze or brass, iron, glass, and jet or cannel coal. But with the single exception of a polished stone celt, the types of the Stone and Bronze Ages are entirely absent from the group. The same thing is true of the collections obtained from the Crannog at Lochspouts near Maybole, and the Buston Crannog near Kilmaurs. But in these Crannog collections there are certain groups of objects which are closely akin to those found in Brochs. These are the hammer-stones, oblong water-worn pebbles wasted at the ends by use, spindle-whorls and querns, the round polished discs of stone, the peculiarly-shaped bone pins, needles, and borers, the double-edged bone combs, the deer-horn implements, the bronze brooches, rings, and pins, and the spiral finger-rings. There are also certain objects in these collections which present features of form and ornamentation clearly of the early Celtic types, such as a bridle-bit from Lochlee (of the same form as that shown in Fig. [101]), a block of ash-wood from the same Crannog with Celtic patterns cut in both sides, and a bronze mounting from Lochspouts, which is characteristically Celtic in style. On the other hand, there are certain objects which, like the harp-shaped fibulæ and the lustrous red ware (commonly called Samian), are indicative of post-Roman times. The bulk of the relics from the Crannogs being thus of Iron Age types with indications of post-Roman time, and with a striking general affinity to the group of relics obtained from the Brochs, the place of these lake-Dwellings in the general series may be considered as sufficiently established.[[97]]
There is no class of ancient remains within our country of which we have less precise knowledge than the Hill-Forts. The reason of this is not their rarity, because they form perhaps the most numerous and widely-distributed class of ancient structures now existing. But the ordinary methods of obtaining precise knowledge of their form, structure, and contents have not been applied to them, and the ordinary agencies of destruction, incident to a high condition of social and agricultural progress, have long been busy amongst them.
They differ essentially from all other constructions, because they are adaptations of naturally elevated sites for defensive purposes. The natural site is the defensive position, and the fort itself derives its form and in many cases also its character of construction from the form and nature of the eminence or promontory on which it is built. It would, therefore, be contrary to the nature of the circumstances to expect that they should exhibit any such uniformity of plan or structure as is so conspicuous in the case of the Brochs. Yet it is clear, from the little we do know of them, that there are certain groups possessing certain features of construction in common which differ from other groups possessing other features of construction in common; and it is evident that if a sufficient body of available materials existed on record regarding the different members of these groups their typical characteristics might be readily deduced. But before this can be done with that precision and certainty which are requisite for scientific work, it is necessary (1) that a series of plans and sections to scale of a sufficient number of examples from each of the various groups should be obtained; (2) that a series of observations as to the methods of construction employed in different circumstances and situations should be made; and (3) that a series of examinations of the enclosed areas and surrounding ground should be undertaken, with the view of ascertaining the character of the relics that are associated with the structures. In the meantime it is only possible to indicate some of their general characteristics as exhibited by a few of the better known examples.
They naturally divide themselves into two great classes by their construction—(1) those that are earth-works; and (2) those that are constructed of stone.
In most cases the earth-works are so low and slight that they could not have been of much service unless crowned with palisades. They are usually on sites that are more susceptible of cultivation than the hill-tops which are the common positions of the stone-works, and hence they have suffered more generally from agricultural operations than the forts of stone. They are usually irregularly circular or oval in plan, consisting of a varying number of low embankments drawn round the summit of a natural eminence. The only one of which a scale-plan has been made is a very characteristic example (Fig. [250]), on the Midhill Head, on the estate of Borthwick Hall, Midlothian.[[98]] The space enclosed by the embankments is 410 feet in length from east to west, and 284 feet in breadth from north to south. The embankments are four in number, occupying a space round the enclosure, varying from 130 feet to about 80 feet in breadth. They are nowhere more than from 4 to 5 feet in height. There are two entrances to the enclosed space at the ends of the oval, and a third on the south side. This example represents in a general way the class of earthworks of most frequent occurrence, consisting of a series of circumvallations enclosing the highest part of an eminence of no great elevation.
Fig. 250.—Ground plan of Earthwork on Midhill Head, Midlothian.