Page "Crannog" Paragraph 7

The majority of crannog excavations were poorly conducted ( by modern standards ) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by early antiquarians, or were indeed purely accidental finds as lochs were drained during the improvements to increase usable farmland or pasture.

Some early digs merely saw labourers haul away tons of materials with little regard to anything that was not of immediate economic value.

Conversely, the vast majority of early attempts at proper excavation techniques failed to accurately measure or record stratigraphy, thereby failing to provide a secure context for artefact finds making interpretations extremely limited in scope.

Preservation and conservation techniques for waterlogged materials such as logboats or structural material were all but non-existent and a number of extremely important finds perished as a result, in some instances dried out for firewood.

The years from approximately 1900 to the late 1940s saw very little in the way of crannog excavation in Scotland, while Ireland did witness some important and highly influential contributions.

In contrast, relatively few crannogs have been excavated since the Second World War, although this number has steadily grown, especially since the early 1980s and may soon surpass pre-war totals.

The overwhelming majority of crannogs show multiple phases of occupation and re-use, often extending over centuries.

This has direct implications for the way in which the re-occupiers perhaps viewed crannogs as a legacy that remained alive in local tradition and memory.

The importance of crannog reoccupation is therefore evident and full of meaning, especially when many instances see crannogs built near natural islets that were often completely unused.