Fig. 169.—A Ring,
Cannel Coal (1⁄1).
Barhapple ("horse hill") Loch is a small lake some 500 yards long and 300 broad. Here, in 1880, in consequence of drainage operations, a crannog became visible; but, owing to the sponginess of its surface, no effective examination could be carried out. The Earl of Stair, finding that during the summer of 1884 the island had become much drier and harder, made arrangements to have it thoroughly investigated. That the increased firmness and consolidation of the island was due to shrinkage was manifest from the fact that the upright piles, which, when discovered, barely showed above the mud, now projected 2 or 3 feet, and presented the appearance of a decayed forest, with its stunted trunks still standing. It was also observed that this shrinkage extended to all parts of the mossy lake-bed; and, as a consequence of this, two double lines of piles became visible in the long grass, one commencing at the north and the other at the east shore of the lake. Both lines were directed to the crannog, but stopped short of it by some 20 or 30 yards. As to the structure of the crannog, it was remarked that not only the uprights, but the horizontal beams were more methodically arranged, and of a stronger character towards the margin. Here the uprights, many of which were made of young trees of oak and ash, were firmly supported, especially in the outer circle, by the intertwining among them of horizontal timbers. On the north side, in a line with the piles of one of the gangways, a distinct roadway, made of round beams, was traced, running from the margin of the island to the dwelling-house, which was situated on the east side, directly facing the other gangway. In this building two fire-places were recognised, one a little north of the other, and around them was a layer of charcoal from 5 to 12 inches thick, containing the fag-ends of burnt beams, heather, and brushwood. From among these embers some large prepared beams, also partially burnt, were disinterred, two of which terminated in round tenons, having at a little distance from their extremities a raised head or flange. From these and other appearances it was inferred that the crannog had been destroyed by a conflagration during a strong north-west gale, and as there was no evidence of much accumulated débris, it was supposed that this catastrophe occurred shortly after its erection. On making a trench through the island it was found that below the burnt layer there were beds of brushwood, ferns, etc., to a depth of 2 or 3 feet. Beneath this lay the peaty substance of the lake-bottom, through which an iron rod could be readily plunged to the extent of 4 feet, when it struck some hard material, probably rock or silt of the original glacial bottom.
Although this was the largest crannog hitherto found in Scotland, being 157 yards in circumference, it was extremely poor in relics, a fact which may be accounted for by the shortness of its duration. The list of relics includes three shale rings ([Fig. 169]), two of which were only fragments; half a canoe; a broken paddle, and some worked pieces of wood.
WHITE LOCH OF RAVENSTONE.
This small loch, which is within a few minutes' walk of Ravenstone Castle, is surrounded by a broad fringe of marsh and tall reeds. Within this marshy area, and just skirting the water's edge on its western side, there is a flat mound, some 80 feet square and 6 or 7 feet high, having on its surface the ruins of dry stone buildings. These ruins consist of the foundations of walls, a foot or so high, which clearly define the outline of a superstructure divided into five rectangular compartments. This building did not occupy the whole surface of the island, measuring only 55 feet by 47. The mound was composed of large flags and boulders, on the top of which a few trees found a suitable habitat, and no less than four of the compartments were occupied each by the trunk of a venerable looking ash. Upon investigating the base of the mound, piles and the projecting ends of transverse beams were discovered in several places, and the conjectured opinion that the entire mound was built over a substratum of woodwork was conclusively proved by digging a central pit through the only vacant compartment in the stone building. The result of this was to reveal, at a depth of eight feet, a network of beams lying transversely to each other, but to an undetermined depth.
The north or land side of the island showed signs of having been roughly built up with large undressed flags, but the rest of its stony perimeter was quite dilapidated. That the wooden island was inhabited as a crannog, before its level was raised to its present height by the addition of the enormous mass of stones and earth underlying its final buildings, an idea suggested by the discovery of charcoal and the shells of hazel-nuts over the woodwork, is a hypothesis that requires further proofs before it can be accepted as well founded in fact. (B. 426, p. 121.)
FRIAR'S CARSE.
The site of the crannog at Friar's Carse was a small pear-shaped basin situated behind a wooded knoll, close to the Parliamentary road to Dumfries, and in the midst of a well-cultivated but singularly undulating district. By deepening the outlet of this lake to the extent of two feet, a partial drainage was effected, which reduced its area from 10 to 3 acres. It was only then (1878) that it became generally known that a small bushy island near the middle of the loch had been artificially constructed of oak-planks and trunks of trees. As the weather was dry for some weeks previous to our visit, and the water particularly low, we readily stepped on to the island, over what appeared to have been the old bed of the lake, then presenting a hard, crisp, and dried-up surface of aquatic plants. The island was nearly circular in shape, measuring 80 by 70 feet, strongly built, and surrounded by piles, some of which, however, were only visible through the water. The log-pavement, which by this time had been completely bared, was composed of parallel beams of oak, arranged in groups, lying in various directions, and firmly united together by the overlapping and sometimes mortising of their ends. At the margin of the island there was a large quantity of stones, especially on its north side—i.e. the side towards the deepest portion of the lake.
Through these stones, which shelved under the water, a few heads of the surrounding piles projected, some above and some below the water. Mortised holes were here and there to be seen in the horizontal beams, but there was no appearance of a breastwork surrounding the wooden pavement—thus differing from the Lochlee crannog. In the centre were a few ends of uprights, in rectangular rows, seemingly the remains of partitions, one of which I traced for 40 feet in a straight line.
Upon inquiring where the rubbish removed from the island was located, we were informed that it had been wheeled to the west side of the crannog, and heaped up close to where we had stepped on to the island. Here it lay for some days; but one morning, to the great astonishment of the workmen, it was nowhere to be seen. Upon examination, it turned out that the apparently dry bed of the lake was a matted crust of mud and the roots of aquatic plants, which, virtually floating over the water, suddenly gave way under the accumulated weight and so the entire mass of the crannog rubbish disappeared in the water beneath. With this singular, but unfortunate, catastrophe terminated all prospects of finding any more relics. It appears that there was not a great depth of débris on the island, its maximum thickness being only 2 to 3 feet in the centre, where it formed a heap of ashes, charcoal, and some broken bones. Here a few fragments of pottery were found.