Celts who lived at Hyndford Crannog

Though the replica Crannog was burnt in a fire a number of years ago, a new one is in the process of construction.

However, this article is about life on a Crannog and all the activities of daily life which are demonstrated by the knowledgeable staff.

Hyndford Crannog was excavated in 1898 by Andrew Smith, a member of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries. A report of this excavation was written by the Secretary Robert Munro.

The article is of great interest but does not deal with the way people lived then. Although there is no carbon dating evidence, it is thought that the Crannog dates to the late Iron Age approximately 150 BC to 150 AD.

The building in which the extended family lived was built on a clay platform in the middle of a marsh. This marsh has been drained over the years.

The building would be a typical Celtic roundhouse made of wood with a thatched roof. The platform on which it was constructed was strengthened by clay piles which were found during the excavations.

The people who lived there spoke a Celtic language which was similar to Welsh and that survived into the Middle Ages as a language around the Lanark area.

The people were slightly smaller than ourselves partially due to their diet and their life expectancy was much shorter, roughly 34 for a woman and about 40 for a man, the first years of life being fraught with hazard and threats from disease.

The Celts knew a lot about the medicinal properties of plants. For example, wild garlic was used for bladder problems, tansy for tape worm, tormentil for stomach ailments and poppy seeds as a sedative.

The Celts were well dressed and had a variety of materials for clothing. Underwear could be made of poor man’s linen which was made out of woven nettles.

They used leather to make their shoes which could be laced up. Leather was sometimes used for trousers as well. Wool was used for a wide variety of clothing including cloaks. Wool was dyed in a variety of ways using plants and berries to create a range of colours from purple to green.

There is no evidence, however, that woad was used in Scotland as it would have been too expensive as it did not grow here.

Much of the description of the Celts going into battle tattooed and naked is derived from Roman propaganda. It was too cold to fight naked in Scotland and also too dangerous.

The late Iron Age Celts probably had chain mail and used wooden shields to protect themselves.

They also had effective swords which were sharpened by whet stones. An example of a whet stone was found at Hyndford.

There is evidence at Hyndford for metal working plus a variety of smith’s tools were found including hammers.They would also ride the equivalent of Welsh ponies both for travel and for fighting.

More of the story of life at Hyndford Crannog will be revealed in next week’s article...so make sure you don’t miss the second installment!