Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - Stonehenge in England is world famous and a major tourist attraction. It is widely believed that the stone circle was constructed in the late Neolithic period, about 2500 B.C.
Everyone has heard about Stonehenge, but few are aware of that people in Scotland constructed artificial islands long before England’s stone circles came to existence.
One of the crannogs in the Western Isles has a stone causeway. Credit: Fraser Sturt
There is no lack of interesting Neolithic sites in Scotland. The Knap of Howar for example, a Neolithic standing farmhouse, located on one of Orkney’s smaller isles, Papa Westray is believed to be one of the oldest in northern Europe.
One of the most interesting sites in Scotland is prehistoric Skara Brae, which is older than Stonehenge and Great Pyramids of Egypt, and was once home to very “little people”.
People in ancient Scotland were active and constructed many buildings, monuments, and ritual sites. So, it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that researchers discovered that some Scottish crannogs are thousands of years older than previously thought.
Crannogs were fortified settlements constructed on artificial islands in lochs. These artificial islands have been used for about 2,500 years. There are hundreds of small crannogs scattered across Scotland. Most of them are in the islands of the Outer Hebrides off the north-west coast of the mainland.
Four crannogs in the Western Isles were found to date to the Neolithic period. Credit: Fraser Sturt
Before this latest study, archaeologists thought the oldest crannog dated to around 800 B.C, in the Iron Age, but this assumption was wrong. According to BBC, “archaeologists Dr Duncan Garrow, of University of Reading, and Dr Fraser Sturt, from the University of Southampton, investigated four crannog artificial islands in the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles.
See also:
Brochs: Ingeniously Engineered Windowless Iron Age Structures Of North And West Scotland
17 Mysterious Miniature Coffins In Scotland Remain An Unsolved Enigma
Callanish Stone Complex: Sacred Place On The Isle Of Lewis In Scotland
At one of the sites well-preserved Neolithic pottery had previously been found on the loch bed by Chris Murray, a former Royal Navy diver who lives in Lewis.
The archaeologists' investigation included making underwater surveys and carrying out excavations at the sites to obtain "conclusive evidence of artificial islet construction during the Neolithic".
The archaeologists, whose research has been published in the journal Antiquity, said the crannogs represented "a monumental effort" through the piling up of boulders on the loch bed, and in the case of a site in Loch Bhorgastail the building of a stone causeway.”
Neolithic pottery was previously found near crannogs in the Western Isles. Credit: Chris Murray
“Radiocarbon dating of structural timbers and pot residues put the age of four sites at between 3640 to 3360 B.C. While it is unclear what these sites were used for, scholars have suggested they might have been special places for social gatherings, ritualized feasting or funeral sites,” New Scientist reports.
So far scientists have found hundreds of Neolithic pots and many of them are very well-preserved. Several of these artifacts were intentionally placed underwater and they have remained there on the same spot for over 5,000 years.
Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
