This concludes a brief historical and descriptive sketch of ancient lake-dwellings, as known in Scotland previous to the excavation of the Lochlee Crannog in 1878-9, a full report of which will be found in the next chapter. From this sketch it will be seen that, during the interval between the publication of Dr. Stuart's paper in 1866 and the above date, if we except the occasional notice of the discovery of a new site, comparatively little has been done by way of furthering the systematic exploration of their widely-scattered remains. With the formation, however, of the Ayrshire and Wigtownshire Archæological Association, a new epoch in antiquarian research may be said to have dawned on the south-west of Scotland. One of the features of this Association is the prominence given to practical explorations as a means of investigating the prehistoric remains of the district, the beneficial result of which may be estimated by the fact, that, with a trifling exception, all the discoveries recorded and illustrated in the following pages are due to its inspiration, and have actually appeared, in the first instance, in its publications. These, however, constitute but a small part of the investigations conducted under the guidance and auspices of this most active Association.
CHAPTER III.
REPORT OF THE DISCOVERY AND EXAMINATION OF A CRANNOG AT LOCHLEE, TARBOLTON, AYRSHIRE (1878-9).
Discovery of the Crannog.—The site of the Lochlee Crannog was a small lake, now entirely dried up, which formerly occupied portions of a few fields on the farm of Lochlee near Tarbolton. The lake was surrounded by a gently undulating country, and lay in a hollow, scooped out of the glacial drift, at an elevation of about 400 feet above the sea-level. Taking a fair estimate of its former extent by a careful examination of sedimentary deposits near its shore, it was ascertained, from accurate measurements and levelling, that its area was about 19 acres; but, owing probably to the accumulation of moss and silt, it is known, in modern times, to have been much greater, especially during winter. Before it was artificially drained, some forty years ago, no one appears to have surmised that a small island, which became visible in the summer-time, and formed a safe habitation for gulls and other sea-birds during the breeding season, was formerly the residence of man; nor am I aware of any historical notices or traditions that such was the case; nor does it appear to have attracted the attention of the poet Burns, though he lived for four years on this farm in the capacity of ploughman to his father, then tenant of the place. The crannog was near the outlet of the lake, and the nearest land, its southern bank, was about 75 yards distant. When the first drainage of the place was carried out, the wrought wood-work exposed in the drains passing through the island, and especially the discovery of two canoes buried in the moss, attracted the attention of the workmen. The shop of a provision merchant at Tarbolton happened to be much frequented by the drainers, and in this way the shopkeeper, Mr. James Brown, came to hear of the finding of the canoes, and the conjectures of the men as to the artificial nature of the island. Mr. Brown, who seems to combine the true spirit of the antiquary with his business habits, never lost sight of the little island at Lochlee and the information he had ascertained regarding it, and on various occasions since, mentioned the subject to gentlemen who, he thought, were likely to take an interest in it. The recent re-drainage of the same locality revived Mr. Brown's curiosity about the structure of this island, now a slight mound in a field, and being himself unable, owing to the infirmities of age, to take any active part in inspecting it, he wrote a letter about the beginning of September to a gentleman at Ayr suggesting an inquiry into the matter; but as the latter did not seem inclined to take it up, a week afterwards he wrote a note to Mr. Anderson, of the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh. This gentleman, recognising the importance of his information, immediately communicated with R. W. Cochran-Patrick, Esq. of Woodside, Hon. Secretary of the Ayr and Wigtown Archæological Association, who lost no time in visiting the locality, and at once discovered the true nature of the mound. Mr. Cochran-Patrick then sent a note to Mr. Turner, factor to the Duke of Portland, under whose supervision the drainage was being conducted, informing him of the discovery, and suggesting, in the interests of Archæological Science, that an examination of the crannog should be made. Meantime these facts were communicated to me by Mr. J. H. Turner, and having had my attention already directed to Lake Dwellings in consequence of a recent opportunity I had of inspecting some of their relics preserved at Zürich, I also became interested in ascertaining the exact nature of the find at Lochlee. Next day Mr. J. H. Turner and I visited the locality, and in the course of a few more visits found ample evidence that the mound was really artificial, and had been at some former period the site of a human habitation. At the same time, as if to deepen our curiosity, a small canoe, hollowed out of a single trunk of oak, was dug up by the workmen out of the moss which formed the bottom of the lake. It was then kindly arranged by Mr. Turner, senior, that some excavations would be made so as to ascertain more accurately the structure of this mound. The general appearance which it presented after these excavations were commenced, as seen in Fig. 33, was that of a grassy knoll, drier, firmer, and slightly more elevated, than the surrounding field. Unfortunately, the large deep main drain which happened to pass through and cut off a segment of this mound, was filled up before attention was directed to its archæological importance, so that we lost the opportunity of inspecting the section which it presented to view. Upon careful inspection, however, we noticed towards the circumference of the mound the tops of a few wooden piles barely projecting above the grass, which at once suggested the idea that they might be portions of a circular stockaded island. Guided by these, I completed what we supposed to be the circumference of the original island, by inserting pins of wood where the piles were deficient. Following the line thus indicated, the workmen were ordered to dig a deep trench round the mound, but to leave whatever wood-work would be exposed as much as possible in situ. Accordingly, this trench was completed, and on the following day, 15th October 1878, systematic explorations were begun in presence of Messrs. Turner, J. H. Turner, Cochran-Patrick, Anderson, Dr. Macdonald (Ayr), and myself.
Fig. 33.—The Crannog after the Excavations were commenced.
The Excavations.—The space enclosed by this trench was of a somewhat circular shape, and about 25 yards in diameter. The trench was from 5 to 6 feet deep, and in many parts quite studded with wooden piles, mostly upright, but some slanting. Some of those slanting outwards were forked at the upper end, as if intended to counteract outward pressure. At the bottom of the trench, particularly on the north side, were found various kinds of brushwood, chiefly hazel and birch, here and there trunks of trees, thick slabs of wood, and large stones. The most remarkable objects, however, were thick planks of oak about 6 feet long, with a large square-cut hole at each end. These were visible at various portions of the trench, and lying half-way down, some right across and others with one end sticking out from its inner side. At the north-east side there were two rows of these beams exposed, four in each row, and about 5 feet apart, measuring from the central line of each beam. One row was a little farther out than the other, and had upright piles, somewhat squarely cut, projecting through the holes. These horizontal beams pointed towards the centre of the crannog, and appeared to keep the upper ends of the upright piles in position (see Figs. 34, 35, and 36). Lying underneath these beams, and at right angles to them, were round logs of wood varying in length from 6 to 15 feet, which being caught as it were by the upright piles, were prevented from falling outwards into the trench. Conterminous with the mortised beams, which were scarcely a foot under the surface, there was a rude and much decayed platform of rough planks and saplings resting on transverse beams of split oak-trees. One of these transverse beams which I measured was 141⁄2 feet long and 8 inches broad, and for a few inches at each extremity was not split, so that the portion thus left acted as a catch (for the planks above it), like the flange on the wheel of a railway wagon. Digging underneath this platform, we passed through a compact mass of clay, stones, beams of soft wood, and ultimately brushwood, underneath which, being on a level with the drain, we could not farther explore, owing to the oozing up of water.
