EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Down
spreads of gravel and some fire-reddened clay. The gravel covered an expanse of black, burnt
material of charcoal, burnt straw, carbonised oats and barley.
The upper most occupation surface was enclosed within a stone revetment or wall, of three courses
of stone with a straight outer face. This wall may only have been constructed on the north side of the
crannog, perhaps to alleviate slumping. Within this enclosing feature was a dark soil of humus and
occupation material, 0.3m thick at the centre of the site. There were some early medieval objects
within this occupation material (as well as some sherds of medieval pottery probably dated to the
thirteenth century). An early thirteenth-century coin was also found on the crannog.
The early medieval crannog at Lough Faughaun appears to have been a settlement site whose
inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, domestic crafts and both bronze working and iron working.
Like Clea Lakes, a midden from another settlement site was used to build the crannog. It is probable
that at least one hearth (i.e. Hearth 4) was actually a circular house floor, potentially re-laid on
several occasions. The various objects and finds recovered suggest domestic habitation, but the
crannog was also clearly used for ironworking and bronze working, with several hearths devoted to
this activity. The site economy was based on mixed farming in the surrounding landscape, with the
slaughtering of cattle at a young age probably indicating a preponderance of dairying. The site was
also briefly re-activated in the later middle ages, like many other crannog sites, with a stone wall or
revetment built around its edges.
Fig. 99: Plan of Lough Faughan crannog, Co. Down (after Collins 1955).
Reference:
Collins, A. E. P. 1955. Excavations at Lough Faughan crannog, Co. Down, 1950-51. Ulster Journal of
Archaeology Third Series, 18, 45–82.
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