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A crannóg (pronounced /krəˈno:g/ or /ˈkrɑno:g/ or /ˈkranag/) is an ancient Artificial Island or Natural Island in Scotland and Ireland , used for a settlement. The name may also refer to a wooden platform erected on shallow Loch floors, but understandably few remains of this sort have been found. The name crannóg derives from crannoge, from Middle Irish crannóc, from Old Irish , from ''crann'', tree. The choice of an island as a home is thought to have been for defence and for the availability of food in the form of Fish nearby. The crannog could be reached from the nearest shore by means of a Causeway built up with stones, or a wooden gangway built atop raised piles. An example of a reconstructed crannóg is located at the ''Scottish Crannóg Centre'' at Loch Tay , Tayside. The islet of Eilean Domhnuill , Loch Olabhat on North Uist may be the earliest crannóg, dated to 3200-2800 BC in the Neolithic period. Most crannógs were in use from the Iron Age through to the early Medieval period, at about the same time as the Broch s, the wags, Dun s and the larger Roundhouses . The highest concentrations of crannógs (in Scotland) are found in several lochs within Dumfries And Galloway region, although many have been found in the Highlands as well. In the Grampian Highlands a well known crannóg was built by the Burnetts Of Leys , whose family thence moved nearby to the present 16th century Crathes Castle . Reconstructed crannógs are located in in Scotland . A variant of the crannóg was the island Roundhouse . Built on a small, rocky island in a Lochan and usually reached by means of a causeway, these are extremely common in the Western Isles . The visible remains are most often those of a Dún , although there are examples of full Broch towers occupying some sites. Not many have been excavated, but the majority of those that have been show earlier occupation underneath the visible remains. Dún is the Gaelic word for fort, and a number of Scottish castles use 'Dun-' as a prefix. CONSTRUCTION The construction of the Prehistoric crannóg began on a small island or shoal that was located within a loch or Marsh . This rise was surrounded by a circle of Oak Pile s with axe-sharpened bases that were driven into the bottom, forming a circular enclosure of about 200 ft. in diameter. The piles were then joined together by interlaced branches and Wattle . The interior surface was then built up, first with wooden logs, then with branches and rocks, Clay , Peat , and other earthen materials. At the center a large stone hearth was built with large flat stones, and a wooden home was constructed around it. Sometimes multiple homes were built on a single crannóg. This prehistoric Fortification was occupied by a family or Tribe , and access was often achieved by means of dugout canoe. However, many were connected to shore by timber or stone Causeway s, sometimes lying just beneath the surface of the water concealing them from potentially hostile intruders. The bones of Cattle , Deer , and Swine have been found in excavated crannógs. SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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