PROVINCE OF ULSTER.
COUNTY ANTRIM.
Lough Ravel (otherwise Derryhollagh).—This name is but a modern corruption of the ancient form, found in the Inquisition of 1605 to be in the district of the “Feenagh”:—“Est in eodem tuogh quidam lacus vocatus Loughdireare in quo est insula fortificata.” The site of this crannog, lying between Toomebridge and Randalstown, is known to the country people as “the island” in Aghaloughan bog; it seems to have been entirely artificial, constructed on oak piles driven into the bed of the lough, and bound together by horizontal beams of the same timber mortised to the piles. The interior was filled up with wood and earth, thus forming an island of about twenty-eight yards in diameter; and beyond this, at the distance of some six or eight yards, there still remain several oaken piles, probably traces of an outer stockade. On the crannog were stone hearths with marks of fire on them, and partially within the enclosure was a very perfect single-piece canoe of oak, twenty feet nine inches long, by four feet seven inches broad, the sides twenty inches deep. In the island and its immediate vicinity were querns, several wooden and copper dishes, daggers and spear-heads of bronze, iron celts, and stones with holes perforated in them; also some articles seemingly intended for ornamental purposes, and others of strange shape, regarding the use of which no conjecture can be formed. These “finds” have been sold from time to time to various collectors. At a short distance from the island, and twelve feet below the surface of the bog, was brought to light in the summer of 1856, a pan-shaped circular vessel of thin hammered copper, twenty-two inches in diameter, and eight inches in depth; it is now in the Belfast Museum, and a label attached to it states that a few years previously a similar one had been found nearer to the island; and in 1859 another vessel of small size, made of hammered copper, was discovered in the same locality. A bronze needle or bodkin, three inches long, with the eye quite perfect; a narrow iron hatchet, eight inches in length, and one and a-half inches wide at its cutting edge;[185] a bronze pin of unusual form, ornamented with two human heads (ante, p. [109], [fig. 126]); two bronze fibulæ (ante, p. [118], figs. [147] and [148]); undressed flint flakes (ante, p. [58], figs. [12] and [13]); the glass beads figured (ante, p. [124], figs. [168] and [169]); and a beautifully designed silver brooch (ante, p. [121], fig. [157]), were found in this crannog.[186]
Loughmagarry.—The townland of this name is in the parish of Craigs, barony of Toome lower; it contains within it a low-lying piece of land, the former bed of a lake that was drained towards the close of the last century. The present name bears no resemblance to its designation in the Inquisition of 1605,[187] but it has been identified as the same by Dr. Reeves; the large townland which adjoins it on the west, and of which it appears to have been formerly a sub-denomination, is called Feenagh. The Loughinchefeaghny of the deed of 1605 is a compound word, signifying—according to the above authority—“the lake of the island of Feenagh,” but perhaps may be interpreted the island of Fiodhnach, i. e. the wooded place. The crannog stood close to the shore of the lake near its western margin, where the bank rises abruptly from the hollow; it is now a mere gravelly knoll, but the country people recollected seeing it surrounded with an external framing of oak posts, the interior filled in with gravel and clay. Several curiosities (now dispersed) are said to have been found in it.[188]
Loughtamand, or Loughtarmin.—In the townland of Lisnahunshin, parish of Craigs, barony of Toome lower, and four miles N. W. of the village of Ahoghill, a crannog became apparent about 1849, when the lake was drained. According to the description given by labourers employed in the operations, a kind of framework, consisting of oaken beams in a good state of preservation, was discovered, entirely surrounding an island. Local tradition assigns this stronghold to the sept of the Mac Quillans, and being situated on the boundary of the districts of Dalaradia and Dalrieda, it afforded great security as a place of retreat, after marauding expeditions—a recommendation that in ancient times would render it a position of considerable importance. Its site was identified by Dr. Reeves as the “Loughtoman” mentioned in the Inquisition of 1605: “Est in eodem le tuogh quidam lacus sive stagnum vocatum Loughtoman in quo est insula fortificata.” The lough is bordered on the east and south by traces of bog, and enclosed on the north and west by hills three in number, from two of which the country slopes down with a regular fall to the river Bann. Between the hills on the north and north-west there is a considerable depression, and at this point a small stream flowed, carrying off the surface water, and which stream, being deepened, served as a drain for the lough. Before the withdrawal of its contents, about fifty acres were submerged, the water varying in depth from seven to ten feet. In the year 1820 the lough was drained by Lord O’Neil, but from after neglect the water once more accumulated in the hollow; it was, however, again drained, and is now under pasture. On the east side the banks of the bog which formed the margin were from twenty to thirty feet in perpendicular height, the outline of the basin being thus well defined; it was of irregular oval shape, and about a mile in circumference. The island itself, of circular form, and seventy yards in diameter, was situated almost in the centre, though somewhat nearer to the north and east sides; it was visible even before the drainage, and on it was a stone house. In the draining operations the main cut was carried across the long diameter of the lough from south-east to north-west, passing through the middle of the island, where the workmen came upon oak piles. These piles—from seventeen to twenty feet long, and from six to eight inches thick—were driven into the bed of the lough, and projected five or six feet above it; they were bound together at the top by horizontal oak beams, into which they were mortised and secured by stout wooden pegs. Above the top of these piles there was a depth of three or four feet of earth, and it was only when the earth had been removed from time to time that the wooden structure became apparent in its integrity. The piles—twenty-six in number—were arranged in a circle of about fifteen yards in diameter in the centre of the island, and just under where the stone house stood. It was stated that a few feet below the present surface of the bed of the lough a paved causeway of stone, about five feet broad, led from its western margin across to the island, which is now reduced to the level of the surrounding ground from the effects of cattle tramping over it, and persons digging down in search of treasure. The horizontal beams were removed and used for various purposes; the drain formed a tangent to the circle of piles touching it on the east, where some of them were dragged up on being laid bare. A single-piece oak canoe, in tolerable preservation, was discovered about thirty yards from the island on the north-west side, and from time to time the following articles were found in it: metal dishes; small axe-heads; two iron swords; a small anvil; a pair of scale; many small hammers; “several gold pins;” an iron cauldron of low dilated shape, and a stone yellowish-white in colour, beautifully polished, about twelve inches long, three and a-half inches broad, and two inches thick, accurately squared at the sides, having at each end a round hole one and a-quarter inches deep, and a-half inch in diameter, the top surface and one of the sides being covered with carved devices. Lord O’Neil obtained the swords; the anvil, scales, and hammers, were sold for trifling sums to an itinerant dealer; the iron cauldron was in use as a potato pot, and the polished stone was given by the finder to a friend as a “rubbing-stone” for his web.[189]
Kilknock.—In the Ulster Inquisition sped at Antrim on the 12th July, 1605, which still remains of record, it was found, amongst other things, by the jury, “Et quod est infra metas et bundas ejusdem le tuogh quoddam stagnum vocatum Loughernegilly in quo est insula fortificata.” Although that name is now obsolete, yet Dr. Reeves, after careful research, succeeded in identifying it with Kilknock lough situated in the north-west corner of Drummaul, in the townlands of Kilknock, Ballybollen, and Gillistown. In former times this lake covered fifty acres, but it was drained about the close of the last century: by this means the crannog was brought to light, and the oak piles on which it was constructed were exposed to view. It is described as of nearly circular shape, sixty feet in diameter, and on it were the remains of a wooden hut, constructed of oak beams; these timbers were removed, and some of them utilized as roofing material for a neighbouring barn. A canoe was found (at the same time) in the lough. Owing to a dispute, which afterwards arose, as to the ownership of the drained land, the outlets of the water were allowed to close up, and in consequence a considerable portion of the former lake had become again submerged. The island could be reached by wading, but was distinguishable from the rest of the marsh only by its greater firmness. Over the tops of the oak piles—said to be about two feet in diameter—was a considerable depth of soft boggy matter, and a paved causeway, covered eight or nine feet deep, led down to what used to be the edge of the water. The bog around the lake, thickly studded with trunks of oak, varying from one to three feet in diameter, prove it to have been at some remote period the site of an extensive wood.[190]
Randalstown.—The large crannog in this locality appears to have been formed with very heavy beams laid horizontally, but its condition when discovered must render any account of the original construction quite conjectural. The island is said to have been formerly occupied by a sub-chief of the O’Neils; the lake in which it stood was long since drained, and a peat-moss now occupies the place. Many articles discovered in this crannog are now dispersed; they would seem to have been of all ages, and to have been deposited at varying intervals of time: a stone hatchet of rather diminutive size, but in shape neither remarkable nor uncommon, was probably the most ancient relic, and the most modern was a base coin of Philip and Mary. The surrounding bog has yielded up not merely several fragments of canoes, but also some in an entire state. One of large size, and quite perfect, was (in 1860) exhumed from a depth of sixteen feet of peat: when first raised it retained its original shape, but from drying and atmospheric exposure it soon warped and became shapeless. The length of this canoe was about twenty feet by four feet wide at the stern, and three feet at the stem; from thence for about two-thirds of its length it was formed out of a single log, the stern end being composed of thick short planks well fastened with strong wooden pegs. In the bottom was a neatly made paddle of oak, three and a-half feet long ([plate XXXIII., No. 3]); beside it lay a wooden bowl that would contain about a quart; it had been hollowed out of a single piece of wood, and its sides were thick and rough ([plate XXXIII., No. 5]). Later on another canoe paddle of oak was discovered measuring three feet in length ([plate XXXIV., No. 3]). A good idea of the importance of this stronghold may be formed from the number of tools and appliances found in it for carrying on the ordinary business of every-day life, such as the tongs and supposed anvil of the smith—the latter a rough lump of iron somewhat smoothed on one side, and weighing fifty or sixty pounds—many crucibles, one unused, but several greatly worn and burnt, the most perfect specimen being about the size of a hen’s egg; a netting-needle of iron; a battle-axe, such as was borne by the ancient gallowglasses; a very small sock of a plough ([plate XXXIII., Nos. 25, 6, 7, 8]), and an iron lamp ([plate XXXIV., No. 2]).[191]
Ballymena.—At a distance of about four miles from this town, and near Cloughwater, the site of a crannog was discovered in the middle of a bog, formerly the basin of a lake, that had been filled up by peat, which had grown to such an extent as to entirely bury the island dwelling until laid bare by turf-cutters. Seemingly the crannog was not of great size, neither did it contain objects of special interest in themselves, their peculiarity being that instruments of iron and stone were found in company, also a bronze pin and several fragments of crucibles, together with remains of the fuel used. A pointed and socketed iron instrument ([plate XXXIV., No. 1]); two small flint knives; a stone celt; a round flat stone, two inches in diameter, having an oblong indentation on either side; and several pieces of rude pottery, bearing marks of fire, were amongst the articles brought to light.
Lough Guile.—In the parish of same name, and on the site of a crannog situated in a bog, are said to have been discovered two bronze knives, and with them a bronze instrument, six inches long and very sharp in the point ([plate XXXIV., figs. 8 and 7]); and on the same plate, [fig. 6], is a flint knife, the form rather unusual: there were several of the articles commonly called “spindle-whorls,” some of lozenge shape, but most of them round; one was composed of jet, having indentations on it as for a thong or string. No description of the special formation of this crannog is recorded.[192]