Crannogs

Crannogs are artificial islands built in lakes as home sites, from the Neolithic period right up into the 17th century AD. They were built up by laying down layers of logs, stones, peat, brush, and whatever else came to hand — including, sometimes, animal bones — to raise a mound out of the water.

A fine example survives at Lough-na-Cranagh, on Fair Head, with a dry-stone facing rising up to 7 feet above the water. Remnants of wooden palisades found at crannog sites suggest a defensive purpose, though it’s equally possible they were simply a practical way to build on marshy ground, with the surrounding lake developing later.

They’re also a genuinely rich source of archaeological finds — the damp, low-oxygen conditions preserve organic material like wood and leather that would otherwise rot away.