Crannogs on the Clyde

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Crannogs on the Clyde

Postby jock78 » Sun Nov 02, 2014 9:07 am

The presence of crannogs on the Clyde between Langbank and Dumbuck have been known for over 100 years but I understand that the more recent sites have been added. In Particular, that at Old Kilpatrick must have had a close relationship with the terminal fort of the Anthonine Wall there.

I have compared these findings with with what has been found of the Thames over the past 30 years and can see many parallels which could point to scope for future discoveries.

For instance, it is known that sea levels, and therefore tidal levels have been both higher, and lower over the past 10,000 years leading to wetlands which have supported habitation in 'crannogs' linked by extensive sunken trackways similar to that of the Somerset levels. Also evident on both sides of the river are what the Victorians called 'Noah's Forrest'- 6,000 year old tree stumps which are present in many places around the UK which I have seen on the Solway Firth at low tide.

Many of these findings have been the result of Archaeological digs now required by legislation prior to new developments in several cases for Tesco where large car parks require extensive land coverage.

John
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Re: Crannogs on the Clyde

Postby jock78 » Fri Dec 19, 2014 2:29 pm

old forrest.docx
Attached is the typical ancient tree stumps found on either side of the Thames and at many locations around the UK .
Does anyone know of such old trees such as this on the Clyde?
Many years ago when setting out a new layout at General Terminus in Govan, We found old timbers at about 2-3m down in the alluvium when digging a trench. Did not have a chance to explore further but could have been anything from a crannog to an old dug out boat.
For some reason the term 'crannog is reserved for Scottish structures but they occur anywhere in the world under wetlands condition- I have seen them present day in Borneo!

John
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Re: Crannogs on the Clyde

Postby HollowHorn » Tue Dec 23, 2014 9:38 pm

Yes Bridie, you do.
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Re: Crannogs on the Clyde

Postby jock78 » Mon Jan 12, 2015 7:23 pm

Hi HollowHorn,
Yes there were causeways on the Clyde- Tidal Causeways obviously, but these may have been much older than the Romans who would have no doubt used them. The one I know of was Langbank to Dumbuck which, conveniently seems to have had a crannog at each end!

The statistical accounts for Scotland describes 500 men trying in vain to dig this out to improve navigation.

There is a web site by a guy who has lists and detailed about 1000 of such causeways around the UK. My interest is in the antiquity of them and whether they have been surfaced. Of interest also, is when they were built in relation to sea level chances since the Ice Age. studied on the Thames have identified four or five successive rises and falls over the past 10,000 years and it is now known that we were connected to Europe via 'Doggerland'. The changes may have been different in Scotland as the removal of the weight of ice could have caused the land to rise.

Given the previous islands on the Clyde, it is a fair assumption that there would have been extensive 'wetlands ' Similar to those found on the Thames which could have been occupied in the bronze and neolithic periods
John
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Re: Crannogs on the Clyde

Postby jock78 » Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:24 pm

I have often wondered why people lived in 'wetland' conditions.
This seems to be inconvenient, the supply of drinking water and building a hearth for heating and cooking quite hazardous!
One possibility could have been for defense, and the ones in the middle of lochs such as Loch Lomond and Lake of Menteith seem to bear this out.
The ones on the Clyde would of course be tidal so may relate to communication by river- much easier than by land in the iron age and convenient for fishing.
Some indication of this I have witnessed in Kalimantan ( Borneo) where 'crannogs' line the great rivers for hundreds of miles and trade is on floating markets such as in Banjarmasin. Some even live out to sea in shallow water as in the second picture.

John
Indonesia Crannog.docx
Crannog Kalimantan.docx
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