crannog

dwelling

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crannog, in Scotland and Ireland, artificially constructed sites for houses or settlements; they were made of timber, sometimes of stone, and were usually constructed on islets or in the shallows of a lake. They were usually fortified by single or double stockaded defenses. Crannogs ranged in time from the Late Bronze Age into the European Middle Ages; their distinctive substructures of brushwood and logs built up from the bottom set them apart from the pile constructions of earlier periods in Switzerland. Crannogs are among the latest prehistoric strongholds and seem to have reached their greatest development in early historic times. Important sites include present Glastonbury and Holderness.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.