(c.) Article made of Iron and Bronze.—A bridle bit. This consists of two large rings and a centre-piece. Its extreme length is 101⁄2 inches, the outer diameter of the rings is rather less than 3 inches, and the centre-piece, which is entirely made of iron, is 33⁄4 inches long. The rings are partly iron and partly bronze, the circular portion being iron and the rest bronze. The bronze portion is 21⁄2 inches long, and has two eyes or loops, one of which is attached to the centre-piece and the other free. This interesting relic was turned up by two visitors poking with a stick at the south-east corner of the refuse-heap (Fig. 148).
A round knob of lead, as if intended for the hilt of a hand weapon, was found very near the surface of the mound.
VI. Miscellaneous Objects.
1. Carved Wood.—Perhaps the most interesting of all the relics discovered on the crannog is a small piece of ash wood, about 5 inches square, having curious diagrams carved on both sides. On one side (Fig. 149), three equidistant spiral grooves, with corresponding ridges between, start from near a common centre and radiate outwards till they join, at uniform distances, a common circle which surrounds the diagram. On the other side (Fig. 150) is a similar diagram, with this difference, that between the points of commencement of the spiral grooves there is a space left which is occupied by a small circular groove surrounding the central depression or point. This figure is surmounted and overlapped by two convoluted and symmetrical grooves meeting each other in an elevated arch, with a small depression in its centre. The relic was found on the west side of the crannog, about 4 feet deep, and near the line of the horizontal raised beams.
Fig. 149.—Carved Wood (1⁄1).
2. Fringe-like Objects.—Another object which has excited considerable curiosity is an apparatus made like a fringe by simply plaiting together at one end the long stems of a kind of moss (Fig. 151). Portions of similar articles were found in three different parts of the crannog, and all deeply buried. The one figured here, and the most neatly formed, was found in the relic-bed; another about a couple of yards north of the fireplace, and others at the south-west side, a little external to the area of the log pavement. In this latter place a large quantity was found, but although the evidence of having been plaited at one end was quite distinct, the stems of the moss were not prepared with the same care as in the one figured overleaf, as the leaflets were still adhering to them. The cue or pigtail, described at page 95, seems to have been formed of the same material as the so-called girdles or fringes.
Fig. 150.—Carved Wood—other side of Fig. 149 (1⁄1).