Iron Age artefact
Deposits of dung and droppings tell us that the Oakbank farmers kept cattle, sheep and goats, while the grain, a quern stone, and the discovery of an ard (or plough), point to cultivation. The shore and hills opposite Oakbank proved to be good arable land.
Further analysis has revealed that the crannog farmers were fairly well off, growing not only a staple crop of barley, but also two different kinds of wheat. Rare in the record of Iron Age Scotland, the wheat finds also are an indicator of status.
'... the plentiful evidence about the diet of these crannog farmers is exciting.'
The crannog farmers grew emmer wheat and spelt wheat, but the latter was not thought to have been introduced to Scotland before the Romans. The discovery in Loch Tay pushed this theory back at least 500 years. Triticum Spelta is still cultivated today providing a sense of continuity with the past.
In our modern age of heightened food consciousness, the plentiful evidence about the diet of these crannog farmers is exciting. Finds of jawbones and long bone remains indicate not only that the animals were valued for their fleece, but also they were butchered when necessary.
The butter residue in the wooden vessel indicates the crannog farmers also knew how to exploit their animals for dairy products, and we can surmise that they made cheese as well as butter. The farmers may also have fished, though no fish bones have been discovered so far. Several perforated stones have been discovered, however, and these may have served as net or fishing weights.
Published: 2005-01-25
