Amongst the more recently discovered lake-dwellings were one at
Lisnacroghera, near Broughshane, and two in Lough Mourne, both
localities being in county Antrim. The former came into notice some
six years ago in consequence of the discovery in a peat bog of some
remarkable iron swords, with bronze sheaths, together with other
military weapons. The bog in which these objects were found occupies
the site of a former lake, which, till recently, retained so much
water as to prevent the working of the peat for fuel. To remedy this
the outlet was deepened, and so new or undisturbed portions of the
bog were brought within reach of the peat-cutters. The antiquities
were found from time to time in a circumscribed area, within a small
plot belonging to one of the neighbouring farmers. When attention was
first directed to the locality, and the workers questioned as to the
circumstances in which the relics came to light, it appears that
some kind of wooden structure was encountered, which, however, had
been entirely removed before being seen by anyone competent to form
an opinion as to its nature. In August, 1866, I visited the locality,
and closely questioned the farmer about this woodwork, but failed to
elicit any definite information. He was quite clear, however, about
the existence of stakes and irregularly disposed beams and brushwood,
which at the time he thought little about. From his description,
and some remnants of oak beams, some showing the usual mortises,
there can, I think, be little doubt that it was a crannog, but of no
great dimensions. Close to where the peat had been cut there is an
undisturbed structure of stones just cropping through the turf, which
may yet turn out to have some relationship with the crannog. As to
the relics, there is no record of their association with the crannog
beyond the fact of their being found in its vicinity. Canon Grainger,
who has taken much interest in this find, has secured for his private
museum a large number of the relics from Lisnacroghera, but he fears
that, since the crannog has become famous, he has occasionally been
imposed upon by having presented to him, as coming from it, objects
which in reality had been found elsewhere. This, in my opinion,
partly explains the presence of such incongruous objects as are now
to be seen in the Canon's collection. Among these are especially some
arrow-heads and scrapers of flint which cannot be distinguished from
analogous objects picked up on the neighbouring fields. Besides the
weapons with bronze mountings, there is in short an assortment of
remains which might be classed as belonging to all ages--a stone celt,
rubbers, flint arrow-heads and scrapers, down to an iron reaping-hook,
a hedge-cutter's knife, and a portion of an old gunlock.
But the special interest of the Lisnacroghera crannog lies in the
remarkable series of military weapons which it has yielded, consisting
of iron swords and ornamented sheaths of bronze, iron spears with long
wooden handles and bronze mountings, together with a variety of other
bronze objects, probably the mountings of shields. These I shall now
proceed to describe.
[Illustration: =Fig. 123.=--LISNACROGHERA. Sword Sheaths of Bronze.
All ½ real size.]
_Sword-sheaths._--Up to the present time four sheaths (=Fig. 123=,
Nos. 1 to 4) have been recovered, but only one is entire, the rest
being more or less in a fragmentary condition. They are all made of
thin bronze riveted together at the margins, and over this there
is a bead which, towards the lower third, develops into an elegant
ornamentation very similar to that which we have already seen on the
sword-sheaths of La Tène (See =Fig. 87.=) The perfect sheath (No. 1)
is devoid of ornamentation, except that formed by the marginal bead;
but the other three (of which only one side of each remains) are
decorated with highly artistic designs formed by incised lines, the
details of which will be readily seen from the illustrations. No. 1,
which still retains the blade of an iron sword firmly adhered to it,
is 17½ inches long. No. 2 is defective at the tip, besides having
lost its surrounding bead; it measures, in its present condition, 19
inches in length. The illustration here is a reproduction of a rubbing
reduced half size and shows only the upper half. The design which
comes out in white lines is in reality incised lines and corresponds
to the dark lines in the other two. No. 3, the largest of the group,
measures 22 inches in length. Both ends are here represented. No. 4 is
the smallest, being only 16½ inches in length. It is supposed that
the incised lines, which are sharply defined and deeply cut, contained
a black enamel, but no traces of it now remain. The circular cavities
in the surrounding bead at the tips were also intended for the
reception of enamel, probably of some brilliant colour. These designs,
which belong to the so-called "late Celtic" style of ornamentation,
when so treated must have had a striking effect on the bright bronze
surface.
In Nos. 1 and 4 it will be observed that there is a transverse raised
band, the purpose of which was, no doubt, to strengthen the sheath.
Such bands were a feature in the La Tène sheaths, which in some
instances were repeated several times at intervals on the body of the
sheath. In Canon Grainger's collection I saw one or two broad rings
compressed in the middle, which I took to be the cross-bands of other
sheaths.
[Illustration: =Fig. 124.=--LISNACROGHERA. Iron Weapons, etc. Nos. 4,
5, and 10 = ¼, the rest = ½ real size.]
_Swords._--The swords which belonged to these sheaths were all of
iron, a fact which probably accounts for their being in a more
dilapidated condition. Of four recovered up to this date only one
is in a good and perfect condition (=Fig. 124=, No. 1). Its total
length is 19½ inches, of which the handle takes up five inches,
measuring from the extremity of the tang to the nearest part of the
curved ridge which separates it from the blade. The blade has a
sharply defined ridge and tapers gracefully to a point. The other
swords are all fragmentary. One, as already mentioned, is still in
its sheath; another, portion of a blade 14 inches long, has a sharp
central ridge and otherwise corresponds exactly with the entire
weapon. Of the fourth there remains merely the handle (No. 2), the
blade having apparently disappeared by oxidation. So far it also
closely corresponds with the entire weapon. Both handles have bronze
mountings, which, though differing in some details, are so peculiar
in their plan and method of execution, that we have no hesitation
in recognising them as belonging to one and the same group--a group
which, so far as my knowledge goes, finds its parallel only in a
few examples from La Tène. (See =Fig. 87=, Nos. 7 and 8.) As to the
material of which the grip was made there is no evidence. The bronze
circlets and flanges on the tangs, if in their original position,
involve the necessity of having the handles, whether of bone or
horn, divided in several pieces. That these bronze sheaths and iron
swords were counterparts of each other there can be no reasonable
doubt. Their points of agreement, besides general dimensions and
style of manufacture, are too remarkable to be accidental. Thus
the peculiar curve at the opening of the sheaths fits that of the
band of separation between the handle and blade of the swords. Also
the prominent midribs in the two sword-blades have corresponding
prominences in two of the sheaths (Nos. 3 and 4).
_Lances._--Though there is only one spear-head in the Lisnacroghera
collection, there is ample evidence to show that it was not an
isolated example of this kind of weapon. Certain objects, like the
brass knob of a door (Nos. 28, 29, and 30), amounting in all to seven
or eight, are now known to have adorned the butt end of the wooden
handles of so many spears. One of these handles, 8 feet in length,
though now greatly shrunk and contorted, is still preserved by Canon
Grainger and conclusively proved their use as well as that of some
other objects which previously seemed equally mysterious. At the other
end of the spear-shaft, close to where it entered the socket, was a
ferrule of the same style of art as the sword-sheaths (Nos. 23, 24,
and 25). Several of these ferrules have been found which, like the
ornaments on the butt end, differ considerably in regard to size. They
are all ornamented with elegant designs in incised lines which also,
it is supposed, contained enamel. One is here represented with a piece
of the handle and a bronze rivet (No. 23), probably that which fixed
the spear more firmly in its shaft; but of the spear itself nothing
remains. The only spear-head that has been found is of iron. It is a
magnificent blade 16½ inches in length, with a slim socket containing
two rivets (No. 3).
A curious object here represented as No. 27 consists of an oval ring,
"richly decorated with bands, in which are remains of white and red
enamelled designs in a chevron or wavy pattern." On one edge there
are two forms like that of a bird. Mr. Wakeman considers it to be the
terminal ornament or pommel to a sword or dagger. (B. 411, p. 391.)
_Various Bronze Mountings._--Among the other objects which from
their character and style of art belonged to the same group as we
have just described are the following:--(_a_) Two ornaments of thin
bronze in repoussé. One is a disc (No. 22), slightly impaired at the
margin, bearing in the centre a triquetrum of symmetrical spirals,
and surrounded by a slightly raised border. The other (No. 20) is
in a more fragmentary condition, but sufficient remains to show the
design to be a _swastika_ or _croix gammée_, worked after the same
fashion as the former and probably serving as the central ornament of
a disc. (_b_) Three cup-shaped ornaments each having a small aperture
in the centre. One (No. 18) is surrounded by a broad margin like a
wide-awake hat, which is copiously ornamented with incised lines. On
the supposition that this was intended to adorn the face of a wooden
shield the cup must have been embedded in the wood, as it is clear
that its concave side is the front, there being no ornamentation on
the other. Another of the same kind is represented by No. 19, and
differs from the former only by having a smaller and less decorated
border. In a third specimen the ornamented border entirely disappears,
and its place is taken by a marginal bead. (_d_) A variety of annular
and penannular rings, some hollow (Nos. 6 and 7) and others solid
(No. 17). Some, as Nos. 8 and 9, are ornamented with designs (one of
which still retains an enamel of a vermilion tint) and were probably
attached to pins and used as ring-brooches. A curious object like
a doubly coiled bangle with the coils adherent and ornamented with
zig-zag lines is supposed to have been the rim of an oval brooch (No.
15). (_e_) A plain but elegantly shaped drinking-cup of thin bronze
(No. 10) has neither handle nor any marks of rivets. (_f_) Among minor
things are a couple of bronze pins, one with a round top and the other
with a small ring; also a rude finger ring (No. 16), an ornamental
stud (No. 21), and a rivet with one side deeply serrated like a
cog-wheel (No. 26).
In addition to the above list of objects, all of which may be
considered as part of one special and indeed unique group which by
some chance found their way into the Lisnacroghera crannog, there are
others similar to the usual class of crannog relics; and among these I
have noted the following:--
_Iron._--Two large iron cauldrons in a fragmentary state; a large
curved knife, like that of a hedge-cutter, still retaining its wooden
handle; an axe (No. 4), also containing a portion of the handle; an
adze (No. 5); a reaping hook; portion of a gunlock, together with
various bits of an undefined character.
_Beads._--Several coloured and variegated beads (blue, red, and white)
(Nos. 11, 12, and 14). One bead is of stone, another large one is of
jet, and another of amber (No. 13).
_Stone._--One small stone axe of a dark colour and wedge-shaped, some
elongated four-sided hones, hammer-stones, etc.; a few flint flakes,
and rude arrow-points.
_Pottery._--A few fragments of coarse earthenware, indicating large
wide-mouthed vessels.
_Miscellaneous._--A portion of "bog-butter" bearing the impression of
a coarse cloth. Several pieces of wood with round and square-cut holes.