Derreen Lake.—There were here found an iron hatchet and a pair of stirrup irons.[250]
Kilglass.[251]—Of this site the name alone is given.
Cloonfree, Cloonfinlough.—In the year 1852, by the operation of drainage works in the vicinity of Strokestown, the level of the three lakes of Cloonfree,[252] Cloonfinlough, and Ardakillen was greatly lowered, and one artificial islet in the first-named sheet of water, and two in Cloonfinlough were laid bare. Of the latter, one island was one hundred and thirty feet in diameter, constructed on oak piles driven into the soft marl at regular distances, bound together by horizontal oak stretchers forming a triple stockade, with an interval of five feet between each. To the N. W. were a number of irregularly-placed piles, stretching a short distance from the islet. The centre of the stockades was laid with trunks of small oak-trees, placed flat on the marl; they all pointed to a common centre, thus forming a platform whereon the island itself was constructed. When first observed, there was jutting out from the island, towards the west, a kind of jetty or pier, formed of a double row of piles and stretchers running parallel, and about eight feet asunder, on which logs of timber were laid closely and horizontally.
In a short time very little of either the gangway or stockades remained, so much had been broken up and removed by the peasantry. A trench—twenty feet long by five wide—having been cut as near the centre of the island as possible, there was found, at about eight inches under the surface, a very closely-laid pavement of irregular-sized boulder stones; then a stratum of black earth, with occasional fragments of bones through it, became exposed, and about six inches beneath this was a considerable layer of burnt earth, with several inches of unburnt clay under it. It is evident that the height of the island had been raised and a new surface pavement laid, for then came a second very closely-laid floor of large-sized, flat-surfaced stones, beneath which were alternate layers of black earth, burnt clay, and marl, reaching down to the log flooring, and interspersed, like the one above it, with occasional bones and fragments of bones. A human skull, and portions of others, were got on the exterior edge. Between the island and the ruined church were found two single-piece oak canoes, little more than two feet wide, the stern of one being perforated with numerous auger holes about an inch in diameter.[253]
Close to the island were numerous articles of a miscellaneous description, some of great antiquity, others of more modern date; also a deposit of bones of Bos longifrons, Cervus elaphus, Equus caballus, Sus scrofa, Capra hircus, fallow deer, sheep, fowl, dogs, &c. One or two osseous fragments, said to be human, were found in the lowest stratum, together with splintered bones and horns of the Megaceros hibernicus. Traces of this great “Bighorn” have (as already noticed) been found also in the crannog of Breagho, in the lacustrine settlement in Loughrea, and in Ballinlough, i.e. in connection with four crannog sites, whilst the exploration of the cave of Ballynamintra,[254] situated near Cappagh, county Waterford, has proved the contemporaneity of man with the Megaceros. In that cave, and lying but a little over the stratum which contained the bones of the Megaceros, was found the bone handle of what, judging from its ferruginous colour, appeared to have been an iron blade.[255]
Fig. 230. Bronze Lamp, from Cloonfinlough.
Amongst the bronze relics, not the least remarkable was a lamp, of which the accompanying illustration affords a correct idea. It measures in extreme length four inches and five-eighths. The bottom was perforated, evidently for the admission of a support or stand, up or down which the lamp could have been slid to suit the convenience of anyone using it. Lamps fashioned in this way are still in common use in Italy. The aperture to admit a stand has been covered by a small plate of iron about the thickness of a shilling. A similar lamp in the collection of Celtic antiquities formed by the late Dean Dawson, as well as the Cloonfinlough specimen, are now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. The design is graceful and classic, so much so, indeed, as to suggest the idea that the little object may have formed portion of a spoil taken from Britain at a time while yet Roman influence there prevailed. Raids by the Irish on the coasts of Britain were very frequent, from whence they generally returned laden with spoil: this may account for traces of Roman civilization discovered in Ireland, for hoards of Roman coin have been unearthed in various localities.
Ardakillen.—In this lake one of the four crannogs discovered was constructed of both stones and oak piling. [Fig. 231] represents a section of this island. The upper line ([a]) shows the former high water-level before the drainage operations; ([b]) the ordinary winter flood; and ([c]) the average summer level.