Ballymore Lake
Ballymore lake is a beautiful freshwater lake situated not far from Attymass village. A small unpolluted lake
boasting an ancient Crannóg in the center. Crannógs meaning wood, tree or timber in Gaelic are a type of ancient
lake dwelling built with brushwood and branches weighted down with stones. They were built as defensive homesteads
secure from potential invaders. During unsettled times cattle were also kept there in corrals. They were small
and usually held one family and their cattle. They were used up until the late medieval period.
Crannogs were artificial islands in the middle of the lake or in bogs. These islands were built up with different materials,
usually peat and brushwood, but logs, stones, straw, rushes and animal bones were also used. The crannog would
then have be fenced around with timbers. Two hundred crannogs have been found in Ireland.
Each crannog seems to have been the home of one family rather than a group of families.
The inhabitants were probably farmers. Their lands would be on the shores of the lakes on which
the crannog was built. Pathways were sometimes built from the land out to the crannog, but canoes
made from hollowed-out tree trunks were the chief means of transport. The crannogs were damp and the
moisture of the ground has preserved many objects. Archaeologists have found wood and leather objects
and even the remains of fabric. Objects that were used in the smelting of bronze and iron have also
been discovered and it seems that the inhabitants of the crannog made all their weapons and tools.
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