Amazing discovery in Fermanagh - aerial shot of the crannog settlement
In an article by Antoinette Kelly on IrishCentral, dated 5 December 2012, she writes the following:
Find is of international historic significance but
may soon be a motor way bypass.
Another Irish site with major international
archaeological significance will shortly have a motor way link road paved
through it. The site, located in County Fermanagh, has been called one of the
most important and interesting archaeological digs in Northern Ireland.
Known as a crannog - an artificial island in a
lake - archeologists at the site have been making startling discoveries almost
weekly since the dig began in June.
Now however, according to the BBC, the Institute
for Archaeologists (IFA) has become concerned about 'the apparently imminent
destruction' of the historical site. To date they have regarded the crannog as
too fragile to preserve rather than excavate after the nearby engineering works
for the road scheme drained water from the site.
The new A32 Cherrymount link road near Enniskillen
will eventually be built on top of the archeological wonder.
But as the dig went on it became clear it was of
international significance, revealing a wealth of information about living
conditions there.
Although at the time inhabitants would have had
little private space in the cramped conditions that are little bigger than a
large modern living room, the house walls were insulated with heather and other
native plants and living conditions were reportedly reasonably comfortable for
the times.
Humans probably shared their homes with occasional
unwelcome guests like bugs and parasites, and the surrounding lake could have
occasionally flooded the floors from time to time.
But the objects found to date show that people
living there were very sophisticated, skilled at metal working, woodworking and
carpentry, from constructing their houses to decorating wooden containers of
all sizes.
It has been
revealed that the crannog was occupied from at least AD 900 to AD 1600, and was
probably the home of a noble Irish family, perhaps with four or five houses
lived in at any time, occupied by an extended family of parents, grandparents,
children, servants and retinue.
Some of the most striking finds to date include a
wooden bowl with a cross carved into its base, a unique find from an excavation
in Ireland, and exquisite combs made from antler and bone, ornate status
symbols that date to between 1000 and 1100 AD.
Other finds include what is believed to be the
largest collection of pottery from a crannog in Northern Ireland, as well as
ornaments of iron, bronze and bone.
A huge
number of wooden remains have been found, from gaming chess-like pieces, to
drinking cups right through to the timber foundations of dozens of houses.
Archaeologists have also discovered leather shoes, agricultural equipment,
knives and decorated dress pins.
Environment Minister Alex Attwood told the BBC the
dig had changed his view of history and Irish life.
'This is
the first substantial, scientific excavation of a crannog in Northern Ireland.
What has been found has the potential not only to be internationally important
but ultimately to lead to a reassessment of life in Ulster in early Christian
and medieval times,' he said.
It was important therefore that we took both time
and the effort to unearth this rich seam of history. That is why in August I
placed an exclusion zone around the site and ensured that the time was given to
allow archaeological excavation to proceed.'
Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Major-historical-find-in-Fermanagh---1000-year-old-Crannog-at-the-center-of-archaeological-dig-182055251.html#ixzz2EEmxV3AS
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