The site of the crannog at Friar's Carse was a small pear-shaped
basin situated behind a wooded knoll, close to the Parliamentary road
to Dumfries, and in the midst of a well-cultivated but singularly
undulating district. By deepening the outlet of this lake to the
extent of two feet, a partial drainage was effected, which reduced
its area from 10 to 3 acres. It was only then (1878) that it became
generally known that a small bushy island near the middle of the loch
had been artificially constructed of oak-planks and trunks of trees.
As the weather was dry for some weeks previous to our visit, and the
water particularly low, we readily stepped on to the island, over
what appeared to have been the old bed of the lake, then presenting a
hard, crisp, and dried-up surface of aquatic plants. The island was
nearly circular in shape, measuring 80 by 70 feet, strongly built,
and surrounded by piles, some of which, however, were only visible
through the water. The log-pavement, which by this time had been
completely bared, was composed of parallel beams of oak, arranged in
groups, lying in various directions, and firmly united together by
the overlapping and sometimes mortising of their ends. At the margin
of the island there was a large quantity of stones, especially on its
north side--_i.e._ the side towards the deepest portion of the lake.
Through these stones, which shelved under the water, a few heads of
the surrounding piles projected, some above and some below the water.
Mortised holes were here and there to be seen in the horizontal beams,
but there was no appearance of a breastwork surrounding the wooden
pavement--thus differing from the Lochlee crannog. In the centre were
a few ends of uprights, in rectangular rows, seemingly the remains of
partitions, one of which I traced for 40 feet in a straight line.
Upon inquiring where the rubbish removed from the island was located,
we were informed that it had been wheeled to the west side of the
crannog, and heaped up close to where we had stepped on to the island.
Here it lay for some days; but one morning, to the great astonishment
of the workmen, it was nowhere to be seen. Upon examination, it
turned out that the apparently dry bed of the lake was a matted crust
of mud and the roots of aquatic plants, which, virtually floating
over the water, suddenly gave way under the accumulated weight and
so the entire mass of the crannog rubbish disappeared in the water
beneath. With this singular, but unfortunate, catastrophe terminated
all prospects of finding any more relics. It appears that there was
not a great depth of _débris_ on the island, its maximum thickness
being only 2 to 3 feet in the centre, where it formed a heap of ashes,
charcoal, and some broken bones. Here a few fragments of pottery were
found.
A circular portion of the log-pavement, near its centre, was covered
with small stones, as if to protect it from fire; some remains of
clay-flooring were observed in other parts of the island.
Regarding the deeper structures little can be said. Mr. Nelson
attempted to cut a hole through the timber, and, as far as the water
allowed the men to penetrate, he saw nothing but layer upon layer of
oak-beams lying transversely to each other. Judging, however, from the
solidity and firmness of the island, the great size of some of the
logs, and the depth of the surrounding water (still about twelve feet
a little to the west of the island), the total thickness of this mass
of timber cannot be less than 12 or 16 feet.
In Grose's "Antiquities of Scotland"[101] the following reference to
this island occurs:--
"Here was a cell dependent on the rich abbey of Melrose, which, at
the Reformation, was granted by the Commendator to the Laird of
Elliesland, a cadet of the Kirkpatricks of Closeburne. From whom it
passed to the Maxwells of Tinwald, and from them to the Barncleugh
family, also cadets of the Lords of Maxwell. From whom it went to the
Riddells, of Glenriddell, the present possessors. The old refectory,
or dining-room, had walls 8 feet thick, and the chimney was 12 feet
wide. This old building having become ruinous, was pulled down in
1773, to make way for the present house.
"Near the house was the Lough, which was the fishpond of the friary.
In the middle of which is a very curious artificial island, founded
upon large piles and planks of oak, where the monks lodged their
valuable effects when the English made an inroad into Strathnith."
[Illustration: =Fig. 170.=--Perforated Stone Axe (⅓).]
The relics collected during the operations above recorded are very
few. A canoe 22 feet long, and a ponderous axe-hammer head of
whinstone (=Fig. 170=) were found at some distance from the crannog.
Two handles of jars with traces of a yellowish glaze, some fragments
of pottery ornamented with rows of pitted impressions (=Fig. 171=), a
circular stone polisher, and an oval-shaped mass of vitreous paste,
are all that were found on the crannog itself.
[Illustration: =Fig. 171.=--Fragments of Pottery (⅔).]