Celtic Connections and Crannogs: A new Study of Lake Settlements Across the Irish Sea

大约3000年前，苏格兰和爱尔兰的社区开始在湖泊和沼泽中建造称为“crannogs”的岛屿，这种做法在一些地方一直持续到中世纪。为什么以及如何这些网站融入新兴的凯尔特景观，我们仍然看到今天？克兰诺格斯在英格兰没有明显的西风分布，威尔士有一个，但在苏格兰（400）和爱尔兰（1500）很常见。在水下，这些遗址可能对易腐文物有显着的保护作用，但由于它们很少处于开发的道路上，很少有人被挖掘出来，然而，许多遗址受到侵蚀，污染和自然腐烂的威胁。最近在恩尼斯基伦（Drumclay）和另一个保存完好的湿地村庄Dumfreis和Galloway（Murton的Black洛赫）发现了一个近乎完美的文物保存crannog，这为该项目提供了难得的考古潜力，并为该项目提供了一个独特的机会。虽然从苏格兰群岛到爱尔兰西南部都可以找到crannogs，但分布的中心点是爱尔兰海的北海峡，将Dumfreis & Galloway与Antrim & Down分开。这些地区之间有许多文化联系，特别是在铁器时代和中世纪早期。中世纪的基督教和/或贵族联系是建立在早期铁器时代的文化联系上的吗？这反映在包括crannog建筑在内的乡土传统中吗？为了回答这些问题并探索共同的湖泊定居遗产，我们需要更多地了解这些神秘遗址的年代，寿命，使用强度和环境背景。事实上，在这两个领域，他们的建设跨越两千年表明，没有单一的刺激建设，然而，平行年表的迹象可能会对文化，政治，象征和环境刺激的影响。该项目将申请人先前的研究提升到了一个新的水平，通过对湖泊沉积物岩心的分析，开发了一种新的“遥感”裂隙建造和居住的方法。这涉及利用花粉、硅藻和昆虫的多代理方法，这些方法依赖于crannog建设/使用对小湖泊生物学造成的不可避免的干扰。该项目将进一步应用这些技术以及新一代的生物考古方法，特别是地球化学，脂质生物标志物和DNA元编码，结合考古发掘，景观调查和社区参与。以前的工作的一个主要局限是没有一个遥感的裂隙被挖掘出来。克兰诺格考古学中最具变化性的方面之一是使用寿命。最近在Cults洛赫（苏格兰西南部）的挖掘表明，它可能已经使用了不超过半个世纪的脉冲建设。而来自德拉姆克莱的迹象表明，它可能已经被占领了几个世纪。一个相关的问题是使用强度--它们是住宅吗？如果是季节性、间歇性或永久性使用的话？很明显，寿命和强度是关键变量，但由于只有少数crannogs将被挖掘，我们需要额外的估计，从未挖掘的crannogs。遗址年龄将使用14 C AMS测年法从湖芯、火山灰和树木年轮计数中确定。改进crannog测年每一方的爱尔兰海将有重要的影响，了解刺激crannog建设，因为相关性可能涉及到共同的环境条件下，特别是在不稳定的气候条件下的史前晚期和公元世纪。虽然主要是一个调查和环境项目，但物质文化将作为调查元素的一部分进行比较，并与挖掘合作。从建筑物到便携式手工艺品的物质文化对于理解从农具到宗教物品的crannog使用的文化背景是非常宝贵的。

Around 3000 years ago communities in Scotland & Ireland started building islands called 'crannogs' in lakes & mires, a practise that in places continued into the Medieval Period. Why & how did these sites fit into the emerging Celtic landscapes we still see today? Crannogs show a distinctly westerly distribution being absent in England, with one in Wales, but common in Scotland (400) & Ireland (1500). Being under water these sites can have remarkable preservation of perishable artifacts, but because they are rarely in the path of development few have been excavated, however, many are under threat from erosion, pollution & natural decay. The recent discovery of a crannog with near-perfect preservation of artefacts due to road construction at Enniskillen (Drumclay) & another superbly preserved wetland village in Dumfreis & Galloway (Black Loch of Murton) offer rare glimpses of their archaeological potential & provides a unique opportunity for this project. Although crannogs can be found from the Scottish Islands to the SW of Ireland the central point in the distribution is the North Channel of the Irish Sea, separating Dumfreis & Galloway from Antrim & Down. There are many cultural links between these regions particularly in the Iron Age & early Medieval Periods. Was Medieval Christian and/or noble connection founded upon earlier Iron Age cultural links & is this reflected in vernacular traditions including crannog construction? In order to answer these questions & explore the common lake-settlement heritage we need to know more about the chronology, longevity, intensity of use & environmental context of these enigmatic sites. The fact that in both areas their construction spanned over two millennia suggests there is no single stimuli for construction, however, indications of parallel chronologies may have implications for cultural, political, symbolic & environmental stimuli. This project takes to a new level previous research by the applicants which developed a new methodology for 'remote sensing' crannog construction & inhabitation through the analysis of lake sediment cores. This involved a multi-proxy approach utilising pollen, diatoms & insects which relied on the inevitable disturbance to the biology of small lakes caused by crannog construction/use. This project will go far further by applying these techniques alongside a new generation of bioarchaeological methods, particularly geochemistry, lipid biomarkers & DNA metabarcoding in conjunction with archaeological excavation, landscape survey & community involvement. A major limitation of previous work was that none of the crannogs remote sensed were excavated. One of the most variable aspects of crannog archaeology is longevity of use. Recent excavation at Cults Loch (SW Scotland) suggests it may have been in use for no more than half a century with construction in pulses. Whereas indications from Drumclay suggests it may have been occupied for several centuries. An allied question is the intensity of use - were they dwellings & if so used seasonally, episodically or permanently? It is clear that longevity & intensity are key variables but since only a few crannogs will ever be excavated we need additional estimates from unexcavated crannogs. Site ages will be established using 14C AMS dating from lake cores, volcanic ash & tree-ring counts. Improvements in crannog dating each side of the Irish Sea will have important implications for understanding the stimuli for crannog construction since correlation may relate to common environmental conditions, especially under the unstable climatic conditions of the later prehistory & the sixth century AD. Although primarily a survey & environmental project, material culture will be compared as part of the survey element & partnership with excavations. Material culture from structures to portable artefacts are invaluable for understanding the cultural context of crannog use from agricultural implements to religious items.