Part 39

Morton, co. Dumfries. N. S. A., vol. iv. p. 96. Moulin L., drained, co. Perth. O. S. A., vol. v. p. 69. Mountblairy, co. Moray. O. S. A., vol. iv. p. 399. †Moy L., Ellan-na-Glack, co. Inverness. N. S. A., vol. xiv. p. 100; B. 94, p. 129. [118]†Oban (Lochavoullin), co. Argyll. Orr L., co. Dumfries. O. S. A., vol. ii. p. 342. Peel Bog, co. Aberdeen. N. S. A., vol. xii. p. 1089. †Quien Loch, co. Bute. B. 21, p. 45. †Rannoch L., co. Perth. N. S. A., vol. x. p. 539; B. 94, p. 129. †Ravenstone L., co. Wigtown. B. 426, p. 121. Rescobie L., co. Forfar. B. 94, p. 176. †Rothiemurchus, Loch-an-Eilan, co. Moray. N. S. A., vol. xiii. p. 137; B. 94, p. 145.

[119]†Sanquhar, Black Loch of, co. Dumfries. _Proc. Dumf. and Gal. N. H. Soc._, 1863-4, p. 12, and B. 373, p. 36. Shin L., co. Sutherland. B. 94, pp. 172-7. †Spinie L., co. Moray. O. S. A., vol. x. p. 625. Stravithy, co. Fife. N. S. A., vol. ix. p. 365. †Sunonness L., co. Wigtown. B. 192, p. 738. Tay L., co. Perth. B. 94, p. 173; O. S. A., vol. xvii. p. 465; N. S. A., vol. x. p. 465. †Tolsta, Lewis, co. Ross. _Proc. S. A. S._, vol. x. p. 741. Torlundie, drained loch at, co. Inverness. _Proc. S. A. Scot._, vol. vii. p. 519. †Tullah L., co. Perth. B. 94, p. 172. Tummell L., co. Perth. O. S. A., vol. ii. p. 475; B. 94, p. 129. Urr L., co. Dumfries. B. 94, p. 160. Vennachar L., co. Dumfries. B. 94, p. 177. Weyoch L., co. Wigtown. B. 192. Yetholm L., co. Rosburgh. N. S. A., vol. iii. p. 164.

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RELICS.

The great value, however, of the investigations of the lake-dwellings, especially in the south-west of Scotland, depends on the quantity and variety of the remains of human industry discovered in and around their sites. It is from such fragmentary remains as food refuse, stray ornaments, broken weapons, useless and worn-out implements, and such-like waifs and strays of human occupancy, that archæologists attempt to reconstruct the outlines of the social life and organisation of the prehistoric past. To those who may wish to occupy themselves with this problem these explorations have furnished, as we have just seen, a vast collection of objects made of stone, bone, horn, wood, bronze, iron, and gold.

Among the stone objects are--querns, hammer-stones, whetstones, so-called sling-stones, a few cup-marked stones (one surrounded by concentric circles), spindle-whorls, flint flakes, and scrapers, a polished celt, a perforated axe-hammer head, portions of two polished circular discs, and some oval implements with a wrought hollowed surface on each side.

Bones and horns of deer were utilised in various ways and manufactured into pins, needles, bodkins, awls, picks, toilet-combs, knife-handles, etc. The combs are neatly formed of three or four flat pieces kept in position by two transverse slips, one on each side, and riveted together by iron rivets. They are frequently ornamented by a series of incised circles, which are sometimes connected by a running scroll, as in =Fig. 174=.

The wooden articles consist of bowls, ladles, mallets, hoes, clubs, etc., together with a variety of other objects apparently intended for agricultural purposes.

Implements and weapons of iron are numerous. Amongst the former are gouges, chisels, knives, shears, saws, hatchets, awls, hammers, a bridle-bit, the bolt of a padlock, and other objects of unknown use. The weapons consist of leaf-shaped spear-heads, both socketed and tanged, daggers, and arrow-heads resembling those of the crossbow bolt.

The objects made of bronze are mostly of an ornamental character, comprising:--harp-shaped fibulæ, circular and penannular brooches, finger-rings, a spiral ornament, ornamented pins, one with a ring top and another with a glass setting, a small key, and some other articles of an indeterminate character. From Dowalton there are basins or cauldrons of beaten bronze, some clouted and riveted; one, presumably a Roman saucepan, has the name of the maker on the handle.

On the Buston crannog were found two handsome and massive spiral finger-rings made of gold. One is plain with five and a half twists; the other, besides an additional twist, has both ends ornamented by a series of circular grooves. From the same place there is a curious gold coin, of Saxon origin, and a forgery of the sixth or seventh century.

Pottery is represented by numerous fragments, some of which are of so-called Samian ware, but the most of them are of vessels of a glazed ware, while a few are of an archaic type. Several neatly formed crucibles, containing traces of gold and slag, are also in the collection.

Among miscellaneous objects are bracelets and beads made of coloured and of variegated glass or vitreous paste; also some jet ornaments, one of which is a handsome pendant in the form of an equal-armed cross, inscribed in a circle and having one surface ornamented by a series of incised circles which contained the remains of a yellow enamel. Dr. Joseph Anderson considers this a Christian relic of a very early type. A smooth and flat piece of ashwood, with peculiar spiral carvings on both sides, and a fringe-like apparatus made of the long stems of a moss, are among the objects which have excited the greatest curiosity. Regarding a finely polished conical object made of rock-crystal found at Lochspouts, a reviewer in the _Academy_, October 14th, writes:--"Is it a charm or can it have formed the centre knob or boss in the binding of some richly decorated breviary or gospel book? Crystals very similar, but oblong in form--like a Brazil nut--may be seen in some of the rich covers of books of early date, and a few that have been detached are preserved in collections. One such object forms part of a crystal necklace in the Ashmolean Museum, and another in private hands was employed, not so very many years ago, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, for the purpose of seeing spirits. If this relic be, indeed, a book-boss, it makes it probable that the crannog was at one time inhabited, or at least visited, by Christian missionaries." Dr. Joseph Anderson has also pointed out that this object is extremely like a "large circular rock crystal which forms the central ornament on the inferior surface of the foot of the famous silver chalice, dug up at the Rath of Reerasta, near Ardagh, county Limerick, Ireland, in 1868, and now in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. According to the Earl of Dunraven, this most beautiful example of our ancient art was executed either in the ninth or tenth century." (See _Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot._, December 4th, 1882.)

From the respective reports of Professors Owen, Rolleston, and Cleland, on a selection of osseous remains taken from the lake-dwellings at Dowalton, Lochlee, and Buston, we can form a fair idea of the food of the occupiers. The Celtic shorthorn ox, the so-called goat-horned sheep, and a domestic breed of pigs were largely consumed. The horse was only scantily used. The number of bones and horns of the red-deer and roebuck showed that venison was by no means a rare addition to the list of their dietary. Among birds, only the goose has been identified, but this is no criterion of the extent of their encroachment on the feathered tribe, as only the larger bones were collected and reported on. To this bill of fare the occupiers of Lochspouts crannog, being comparatively near the sea, added several kinds of shell-fish. In all the lake-dwellings that have come under my own observation the broken shells of hazel-nuts were in profuse abundance.

From the number of querns, and the great preponderance of the bones of domestic over those of wild animals, it may be inferred that, for subsistence, they depended more on the cultivation of the soil and the rearing of cattle, sheep, and pigs, than on the ordinary produce of the chase.

Proofs of a prolonged but occasionally interrupted occupancy are also manifested by the great accumulation of _débris_ over the wooden pavements, the size and contents of the kitchen-middens, and the superimposed hearths.

Let us now look at the remarkable series of implements, weapons, ornaments, and nondescript objects here presented to us, with the view of abstracting from them some scraps of information regarding their original owners. The fragments of Samian ware, bronze dishes, harp-shaped fibulæ, and the large assortment of beads, bronze and bone pins, bone combs, jet ornaments, etc., are so similar to the class of remains found on the excavated sites of Romano-British towns, that there can hardly be any doubt that Roman civilisation had come in contact with the lake-dwellers. The Celtic element is, however, strongly developed, not only in the general character of many of the industrial implements of stone, bone, and iron, but also in the style of art manifested in some of the ornamental objects included in the collection. Thus the piece of ashwood with its carved spiral patterns (=Figs. 144= and =145=), the combs, especially the one showing a series of concentric circles connected by a running scroll design (=Fig. 174=), and some of the bronze brooches and ornaments (=Fig. 130=) present a style of ornamentation which is considered peculiar to Celtic art. The spiral finger-rings seem also to have been of native origin, and the probability is that they were manufactured where they were found, as several crucibles are amongst the relics from the same lake-dwelling, one of which, from the fact that it still contains particles of gold, proves that it had been used in melting this metal. (B. 373, p. 236.)

On the other hand, the forged gold coin is the only relic that can with certainty be said to have emanated from a Saxon source--at least, that cannot otherwise be accounted for.

But if from internal evidence a presumptive case is made out in favour of the Celtic origin and occupation of these lake-dwellings, it is greatly strengthened when we consider that the neighbouring Celtic races, especially in Ireland, were in the habit of erecting similar island abodes, while there is not a particle of evidence in favour of the idea that such structures originated with the Roman conquerors of Britain or its Saxon invaders.

The resemblance between the remains found in the Scottish and Irish lake-dwellings, as well as other antiquarian finds of Celtic character, must also not be overlooked. Combs, similar in structure and ornamentation to those from Buston, have been found in several of the Irish crannogs, in the brochs and other antiquities of the north of Scotland, and in many of the ruins of the Romano-British towns in England. (See =Figs. 105=, =108=, and =176=.) Iron knives and shears, variegated beads of impure glass with grooves and spiral marks, ornaments of jet and bronze, implements of stone, bone, and horn, besides querns, whetstones, etc., are all common to Celtic antiquities, wherever found.

That many of these relics were the products of a refined civilisation is not more remarkable than the unexpected and strangely discordant circumstances in which they have been found. For this reason it might be supposed that the crannogs were the headquarters of thieves and robbers, where the proceeds of their marauding excursions among the surrounding Roman provincials were stored up. The inferences derived from a careful consideration of all the facts do not appear to me to support this view, nor do they uphold another view, sometimes propounded, viz. that they were fortified islands occupied by the guardian soldiers of the people. Indeed, amongst the relics military remains are only feebly represented by a few iron daggers and spear-heads, one or two doubtful arrow-points, and a quantity of round pebbles and so-called sling-stones. On the other hand, a very large percentage of the articles consists of querns, implements and tools, crucibles, various domestic utensils, etc., from which, not to mention the great variety of ornaments, there can be no ambiguity as to the testimony they afford of the peaceful prosecution of various arts and industries by the lake-dwellers.

There is, in my opinion, only one hypothesis that can satisfactorily account for all the facts and phenomena here adduced, viz. that the lake-dwellings in the south-west of Scotland were resorted to by the Celtic inhabitants as a means of protecting their lives and movable property when, upon the frequent withdrawal of the Roman soldiers from the district, they were left, single-handed, to contend against the Angles on the east and the Picts and Scots on the north. It is not likely that these provincials, so long accustomed to the luxury and comforts of Roman civilisation, or their descendants in the subsequent kingdom of Strathclyde, would become the assailants of such fierce and lawless enemies, from whom, even if conquered, they could derive no benefit. Hence their military tactics and operations would assume more the character of defence than aggression, and in order to defeat the object of the frequent and sudden inroads of the northern tribes, which was to plunder the inhabitants rather than to conquer the country, experience taught them the necessity of being prepared for emergencies by having certain places of more than ordinary security where they could deposit their wealth, or to which they could retire as a last resource when hard pressed. These retreats might be caves, fortified camps, or inaccessible islands, but in localities where no such natural strongholds existed the military genius of the Celtic inhabitants, prompted perhaps by inherited notions, led them to construct these wooden islands. From the final departure of the Romans to the conquest of the kingdom of Strathclyde by the Northumbrian Angles, a period of several centuries, this unfortunate people had few intervals of peace, and with their complete subjugation ended the special functions of the lake-dwellings as a national system of protection. No doubt some of them, as well as caves and such hiding-places, would continue to afford refuge to straggling remnants of natives, rendered desperate by the relentless persecution of their enemies; but ultimately all of them would fall into the hands of their Saxon conquerors, when henceforth they would be allowed to subside into mud or crumble into decay.

III.--ENGLISH LAKE-DWELLINGS.

The discovery of lacustrine abodes south of the Scottish border, though the examples are by no means so numerous or so prolific in industrial remains as those of Scotland and Ireland, is, nevertheless, of special interest on account of the intermediary position in which England stands geographically to the areas of their earliest and latest development in Europe. It will be noticed that some of the recorded observations here reproduced were actually made before antiquaries realised the importance of the subject; otherwise it is impossible to conceive how such highly suggestive facts did not at once lead to more definite information.

THE MERES OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK.

WRETHAM MERE.--Sir Charles F. Bunbury, as early as 1856, noticed some appearances in a drained _mere_ near Wretham Hall which clearly point to being the remains of a lake-dwelling. In a communication on the subject to the Geological Society he says:--

"Wretham Hall, the seat of W. Birch, Esq., is situated about six miles north of Thetford, in that extensive tract of open sandy plains which may be called upland in comparison with the fens, but of very moderate elevation above the sea-level as is shown by the slow course of the streams flowing from it. About Wretham there are several _meres_ or small natural sheets of water without any outlet. The one to which my attention was particularly directed by Mr. Birch occupied about forty-eight acres, and was situated in a slight natural depression, the ground sloping gently to it from all sides. The water has been drawn off by machinery, for the purpose of making use, as manure, of the black peaty mud which formed the bottom. This black mud, which is in parts above twenty feet deep, is nothing else than a soft, rotten, unconsolidated peat; or perhaps it should be described as vegetable matter in a more complete state of decomposition than ordinary peat, showing no distinct trace of vegetable structure. Numerous horns of red deer have been found in this peaty mud, generally (as I was informed) at 5 or 6 feet below the surface, seldom deeper; many attached to the skull, others separate, and with the appearance of having been shed naturally. What is most remarkable, several of those which were found with the skulls attached had been _sawn off_ just above the brow antlers--not broken, but cut off clean and smoothly, evidently by human agency. Some of the horns are of large size, measuring 9 inches round immediately below the brow antler....

"Numerous posts of oak-wood, shaped and pointed by human art, were found standing erect, entirely buried in the peat."

It appears that in 1851 a more remarkable "find" became visible on draining another _mere_ on this same estate, though the events remained unrecorded till the years 1858 and 1862. The following notice is compiled mainly and almost verbatim from Mr. Newton's observations, which he states were directly obtained from Mr. Birch, the proprietor:--

In this mere (West Mere) there was ordinarily about four feet of water, and beneath it, about eight feet of soft black mud, partly held in suspension and requiring to be removed in scoops. Near the centre of the _mere_, lying below the black mud, was found a ring or circular bank of fine white earth, sufficiently solid to allow Mr. Birch to ride upon it without yielding to the weight of his pony. Outside this ring the bottom of the _mere_ was so soft and deep as to be almost impassable until the mud was cleared away. The ring was some twenty or thirty feet across, a foot wide at the top, and about four feet in height. Not far from its inner circumference was a circular hole, about four feet and a half in diameter and some six feet deeper than the bottom of the _mere_. It was marked out by a circle of stout stakes or small piles, apparently of alder, and it bore traces of having been wattled. Between these two circles were the remains of a wall, about two feet high and consequently lower than the top of the ring, composed of flints packed together with marl or soft chalk. In the same place was some earth of a bright blue colour, which, when dried, crumbled to powder, and was not preserved, though traces were still to be seen on the bones. In this interspace a still greater number of bones was found, and also the remains of a much decayed ladder, the sides and rounds of which were 15 inches apart. The stakes were about four inches in diameter, very hard, as heavy as stone, and of a dark grey colour. The fragments of the ladder, on the contrary, were very rotten and light, but the remains of both, after being kept some time, exfoliated and crumbled entirely to dust. In and around this ring there lay a vast number of bones, of which no small portion were the upper parts of the skulls of _Bos longifrons_, with the horn cores attached, and many antlers of the red deer, either entire or in fragments. All the former, excepting one unusually large example, had a fracture the size of half-a-crown in the forehead (Babington). Of the deer's antlers, some have certainly been shed in the due course of nature; but others, on the contrary, have been separated from the head by sawing. Of the other bones found in West Mere, and I am told there were hundreds of them, most of the larger ones have been fractured at one or other extremity, doubtless in order to extract the marrow they contained. Another bone, and, as far as I can make out, the only one found which presents this peculiarity, has been polished on one side; but the reason why is not very obvious, unless it has served, as I before suggested in the case of a similar specimen, for a skate. I must add that no weapons or implements of metal which can be referred to a period at all remote were brought to light in this or any of the adjoining _meres_, but a great number of flint discs were found, which, according to the description I have received (for unfortunately none of them seem to have been preserved), must have closely resembled those known to the Danish antiquaries as "Sling-Stones," from the probable use made of them. (B. 46, p. 17.)

BARTON MERE.--In 1869 the Rev. Harry Jones communicated a paper to the Suffolk Institute of Archæology and Natural History "on the discovery of some supposed vestiges of a pile-dwelling in Barton Mere, near Bury St. Edmund's," of which the following is an abstract:--

Barton Mere is situated in a natural depression, about four miles east of Bury St. Edmund's, and is mainly supplied by springs, but at some seasons water flows into it from the high land on the south, west, and north. When full it consists of about ten acres, and averages 7 feet in depth. On the north side of the _mere_ there is a marly chalk, which, indeed, forms the main bottom of the _mere_, being overlaid with a dark clay deposit from 1 to 5 feet deep. The bottom layer of this deposit consists of a peaty coloured clay, so tenacious as to keep its shape upon the potter's wheel. Most of the bones and some fragments of pottery were found in this lower layer, which varies in thickness from a few inches to about a foot and a half. The _mere_ is subject to occasional droughts. It has been dry at least four times in the last forty years. About thirty-eight years ago (1830), the _mere_ being then dry, his grandfather, Mr. Quayle, who lived at Barton Mere, dug out a quantity of stuff for the purpose of laying it on the land. His digging resulted in a hole, which on two succeeding occasions when the water was low, saved enough to keep some of the fish alive, and provide a pond for the cattle. Bones and horns of deer, and several spear-heads and rings of bronze, were reported to have been found amidst six or seven stakes of wood _sticking up out of the bottom and about as thick as the thin part of a man's leg_.