132 Excavations of Lochrutton Crannog. 



the inmates some sort of dwelling--hous8. The superstructure, 

 however, being particularly exposed to destruction through 

 natural decay and in other ways, has. as might be expected, 

 disappeared, leaving hardly a certain trace of its existence. 

 Whether built mainly of stones or of wood cannot certainly be 

 known. The large collection of stones heaped on the floor of the 

 Crannog is possibly debris of a stone-built house. Of wood debris 

 there was found embedded among the stones several pieces of 

 oak, one morticed, one squared and holed for the reception of a 

 stout pin. Another lay on the log floor apparently in situ. It 

 is squared, or nearly so, clean cut across the ends, and rebated as 

 if intended for the reception of uprights, one of the rebates being- 

 pierced with a pin-liole, and the upper face shews a long groove 

 4 inches wide, 4 inches deep, and 26|^ inches in length. The piece 

 measures 10^ niches by 8 inches across, 4 feet 2 inches in length, 

 and 3 feet 4 inches between the rebates. Evidently it belongs to 

 the superstructure, and probably served as the threshold of the 

 door. That the wood vestiges are meagre is not surprising, as 

 whatever of this material the building contained was liable to be 

 carried away. Judging from analogous structures elsewhere in 

 Scotland, the probability is that the original house was con- 

 structed of wood. 



The relics recovered during the excavation of the Crannog 

 shew less variety of objects and a more limited range of occupa- 

 tion than those from some of the other structures of the kind ; on 

 the other hand, the character and period of the occupation are, 

 perhaps, better defined than is usually the case. 



The loch has been and is resorted to by anglers, curlers, and 

 others, who would doubtless often use the Crannog as a retreat 

 and rest, and so it has happened that the upper stratum of earth 

 yielded articles of recent date. On the top of the centre plat 

 some stones formed a hearth, over which lay peat ash and a 

 quantity of peats, and in the surface mould was found a small 

 leaden bullet, two penny pieces of the reign of Queen Victoria 

 bearing date 1861-66, fragments of g-lass bottles, pottery, and 

 tobacco pipes. One of the " finds " consisted of the base of the 

 bowl and shank of a curious example of the last-mentioned class 

 of objects, which probably belongs, Dr Anderson suggests, to the 

 17th century. 



The relics and evidences relating to the occupation were 



