ELEVATION, PLAN, SECTION and DETAILS of the BALLYDOOLOUGH CRANNOG, Co. FERMANAGH.
W.F. Wakeman, 1870.
Ballydoolough (the place of the dark lake) is five miles distant from the town of Enniskillen; the expanse of water covers not more than twenty-four acres, and even during times of flood never exceeds twenty feet in depth; at the bottom could be discerned remains of a primæval forest. In June, 1870, from the effect either of drainage or of long-continued drought, a small island became apparent, on which were found fragments of fictile ware, and this led to a careful examination being made. Near the centre was an oaken beam, fifteen feet seven inches long, having evidently formed portion of one side of the lower framework of a dwelling. It was grooved throughout its entire length ([plate XLI., No. 7]), and had two holes—measuring nine inches by six—that were plainly intended for the reception of upright posts, to which the sheeting or side-boards of the structure were attached. Several oaken slabs, grooved at the sides ([plate XLI., No. 9]), were discovered in close proximity buried in the sand and mud. Upon clearing the foundation, the framework of the house was shown to be composed of well-squared beams of oak, grooved for the reception of planks, and mortised for the insertion of uprights, the angles dovetailed together, and fastened with wooden pins. The beam forming the eastern foundation of the house rested upon two blocks of dressed oak that projected from it at a right-angle to a distance of seven feet ([plate XLI., No. 2]), and this foundation may perhaps have supported a landing-stage. The lowest timbers of house and projecting beams were secured in position externally and internally by a row of wooden pegs, or small stakes, which enclosed the entire foundation, and rested against it on the exterior (on the plan these are indicated by a dotted line); the south-western angle of the house was strengthened by a flat block ([No. 6]). Of the upper work of the edifice no description can be attempted, though several dressed boards ([Nos. 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13], on a scale of ⅛ inch to a foot), that had evidently formed part of the structure, were found scattered about.[203] On the western side of the island, being the one most exposed to the action of the water, the stakes were in greatest number, placed four, and at one point even five, feet deep. In some instances their upper extremities had been inserted in holes cut for their reception in beams of oak laid horizontally, and although only one such beam was found still in situ, yet an inhabitant of the locality stated that within his memory many of the horizontal timbers could be seen actually resting upon the stakes or piles, just below the surface of the water. The kitchen-midden of the dwelling contained a considerable quantity of bones, intermixed with numerous fragments of pottery. A selection of the bones having been forwarded to Professor Richard Owen for analysis, he pronounced them to be parts of Bos longifrons, Cervus elephas, Sus scrofa, and Equus asinus. In a more or less restored form, characteristic specimens of the pottery are figured (ante, pp. [92], [95], [96], [97]). There were not many articles of bronze, but mention may be made of a plate of that metal, oblong in form, about as thick as a sixpenny-piece, and measuring five and a-half inches in length, by four and a-half inches in breadth; it retained a number of rivets, and appeared like a patch off some pan or dish. In Ireland the majority of cauldrons or dishes composed of thin golden bronze are usually found to have been carefully mended. Of wood, a vessel was discovered in an entire state, but from long saturation reduced almost to a pulp (ante, p. [102], [fig. 103]); and there was a small oaken vessel formed with staves. There were also balls of stone, varying in size from that of an orange to a walnut; several querns, and the inscribed stone described and figured (ante, p. [134]).[204]
Coolyermer is the name of a lake four miles from Enniskillen, in the direction of Letterbreen; it contains an island which seemed to be composed entirely of oaken beams; the water, however, was too high to admit of an examination being made.
Drumdarragh, otherwise Trillick, has been recently thoroughly examined by W. F. Wakeman, whose report, accompanied by numerous drawings of remains discovered within the crannog, is prepared for publication in the Journal of the Royal Hist. and Arch. Association of Ireland. To the Museum of that Society the Earl of Enniskillen, in 1875, presented an oak paddle found at Drumdarragh crannog, in company with a single-tree canoe that had been unfortunately destroyed.[205]
Plate XLII.
DRUMGAY CRANNOGS