Crannog

A crannog is usually a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters of Ireland. Crannogs were built in the water, as artificial islands for security and protection.   They were used as dwellings over 5000 years, from the Neolithic Period to as late as the 17th or early 18th century. Crannogs have been constructed as free-standing wooden structures, or more commonly as brush, stone or timber mounds reinforced with timber piles. They often had an hidden underwater path to access them. In Connemara completely stone crannogs supporting drystone architecture are common. Crannogs can be seen as small, circular islets, often 10 to 30 metres (30 to 100 ft) in diameter, covered in dense vegetation and trees.

Corrib Prehistoric Boat

A 4500 year old dug out boat was found at the bottom of Lough Corrib in 2012. The boat is made from a 16m section of oak and is 1.5m wide. It is the longest boat and one of the oldest of its type ever found in Europe. Dug out boats of this type got shorter over the centuries as the larger trees were cut down.   The interior of the boat is carved and sanded smooth.  It lies, well preserved, under 5 cm of silt and was examined by the Underwater Archaeology Unit in the late summer 2013. Other boats of a similar type have also been found in Lough Corrib.

Clochan

A Clochan is a dry-stone hut with a corbelled roof, commonly associated with the south-western Irish seaboard. The precise construction date of most of these structures is unknown with any degree of certainty.   The clochan has been described in the 7th to 8th century law Crith Gablach. (The text goes into details on the grades of commoners and nobility: what property should they own, how large should their house be, how should their client ship be arranged.   Clochans are most commonly round beehive huts, but rectangular plans are known as well. It has been suggested that the rectangular footprints date to a later era.    Some Clochans are not completely built of stone, and may have possessed a thatched roof. The walls are very thick, up to 1.5 metres. Sometimes several clochans are joined together by their walls.  

Bog Oak / Bog wood

Bog-wood represents the early stages in the fossilisation of wood.   Bog oak is from a variety of tree types (oak, pine & yew) that have been buried in peat bogs and preserved from decay by the acidic and anaerobic bog conditions, sometimes for hundreds or even thousands of years. The wood is usually stained brown by tannins dissolved in the acidic water.   Bog oak can remain undecayed for thousands of years it is of use in dendrochronology, often providing records much older than living trees. Wooden artefacts lost or buried in bogs become preserved as bog-wood, and are important in archaeology.   It is a rare form of timber that is comparable to some of the world s most expensive tropical hardwoods. For many years  Irish Bog Oak was used as a substitute for other black woods such as Ebony.  Semi dry bog oak is exceptionally hard, sometimes of the golden or copper colour, or with a tint of some other hue. Older wood can be completely black.    Finding Bog Oak: (from the Topographical Dictionary of Ireland 1837)    The most valuable timber is that found in the bogs; it consists of fir, oak, and yew, but chiefly the two former: in red bogs, fir is generally found; in black bogs, oak.  The fir is frequently of very large dimensions, and most of the farmers  houses near places where it can be procured are roofed with it.  The manner of finding these trees is somewhat curious: very early in the morning, before the dew evaporates, a man takes with him to the bog a long, slender, sharp spear, and as the dew never lies on the part over the trees, he can ascertain their situation and length, and thrusting down his spear, can easily discover whether they are sound or decayed: if sound, he marks with a spade the spot where they lie, and at his leisure proceeds to extricate them from their bed.