Stone.—One small stone axe of a dark colour and wedge-shaped, some elongated four-sided hones, hammer-stones, etc.; a few flint flakes, and rude arrow-points.
Pottery.—A few fragments of coarse earthenware, indicating large wide-mouthed vessels.
Miscellaneous.—A portion of "bog-butter" bearing the impression of a coarse cloth. Several pieces of wood with round and square-cut holes.
LOUGH MOURNE.
In consequence of the partial drainage of Lough Mourne during the summer of 1882, while its basin was being converted into a reservoir for the supply of water to the town of Belfast, two artificial islands became exposed which were at once recognised to be the remains of submerged lake-dwellings. Shortly after exposure I visited them in company with Mr. Robinson, the assistant engineer to the Belfast waterworks, and subsequently recorded my observations in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (B. 439), of which the following is a short abstract.
The first, which was easily accessible on foot, was very much disturbed by the repeated "howkings" of visitors. Its form, as determined by the area containing the stumps of piles, was irregularly circular, but nowhere exceeding 60 feet in diameter. Included within this area were four small separate elevations, composed of a few stones, clay, and ashes interspersed with burnt twigs and bits of charcoal. None of these elevations had as large a diameter as 10 feet, and it only required one turn over of the spade to reach the undisturbed bed of the lake. Digging on these so-called islets, and in the spaces around them, I found stumps of upright piles and fragments of burnt faggots, the latter forming a thin layer over the true lake-sediment. The piles were closely set, about one or one and a half foot apart, and uniformly occupied the whole area of the dwelling without any appearance of circular stockades; nor was there any semblance of a fascine-structure indicating an artificially constructed island. From the margin or outskirts of the area occupied by these piles a double row of stumps extended towards the shore, which, on being traced, were found to have stopped half way to the ordinary water-level mark. The conclusion which I came to was that this lacustrine dwelling was a true palafitte, over whose wooden platform two or three hearths were constructed of incombustible materials, as stone and clay. Probably these hearths would have been surrounded by some kind of huts. During the conflagration which had destroyed the entire wooden structures (of which final catastrophe there appeared little doubt from the amount of burnt faggots and beams that lay scattered over the lake bed all over the area containing piles), the materials of these hearths would ultimately drop down to the bottom of the lake, still, however, retaining their relative position, and so present the appearance of low mounds over the bed of the lake with the stumps of their supporting piles penetrating them.
Fig. 125.—Lough Mourne. No. 1 = 1⁄4, and 2 = 1⁄2 real size.
Among the relics recorded from this lake-dwelling are "two small stone crucibles" (B. 320), an iron hatchet, part of a canoe, a hammer-stone, a rubbing-stone, two small urns (?), part of a large crucible, charred bones, teeth, shells of hazel-nuts. (B. 439, p. 324.) Flint flakes, scrapers, and arrow-points have been found in the vicinity along the shore, but on the crannog itself only a quantity of fine chips was discovered. Some of these relics I saw in the possession of a young man of the name of Macdonald, who lived in the neighbourhood and took an active part in searching for relics. The iron hatchet turned out to be of exceptional interest. It is a socketed celt, with a loop at one side for fixing the handle, part of which was still remaining in the socket. ([Fig. 125], No. 1.) Bronze celts of this description are, of course, very common, but specimens made of iron are extremely rare, especially in the British Isles, and only exceptionally to be seen in the museums of Europe. This is the only one hitherto recorded from a British lake-dwelling, and, moreover, it is, as regards size and form, quite unique. It measures 6¾ inches long and 3¼ inches broad immediately above the cutting edge. The longest diameter of the socket is 2½ inches, and this breadth is continued for about two-thirds of its length, except where the loophole causes it to bulge outwards.