Crannog, Dysart, Co. Kildare

Co. Kildare |

Settlement Sites

Crannog, Dysart, Co. Kildare

Where a small stream meets the River Blackwater in County Kildare, there sits something that looks, on first inspection, like an unremarkable rise of ground in improved pasture. It is, in fact, the remains of one of Ireland's more unusual crannog sites, an artificial or semi-artificial island built up from hazel brush, stone, and worked timbers. Crannogs were typically constructed in lakes or wetlands throughout early medieval Ireland, used as defended settlements or high-status residences. What makes this one notable is its sheer scale, roughly a hundred metres north to south and eighty metres east to west, and its position at the confluence of two waterways rather than in an open lake.

Much of what is known about the site comes from a drainage operation carried out in 1973, when both the river and the stream were drained and the dredged material was piled onto part of the crannog itself. That spoil heap, around sixty metres long and two metres high, turned out to be archaeologically significant. Among the deposited material were human and animal bones, a perforated antler tine, iron slag, and worked timbers. These objects were recovered and deposited in the National Museum of Ireland. O'Neill, writing in 1973 to 1974, recorded the site's composition and dimensions, and a possible ancient trackway approaching from the west suggests the crannog was once reached by a deliberate route across the surrounding wetland. Today the River Blackwater runs through a deep, narrow, V-shaped channel cut during drainage works, and nothing archaeological is visible along its banks. The embankment built to manage the water runs along the eastern side of the river, reshaping the landscape in ways that have largely obscured the original setting.

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