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Loch Tay, Fearnan Hotel
Crannog (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Loch Tay, Fearnan Hotel
Classification Crannog (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Tigh-an-loan Hotel
Canmore ID 25035
Site Number NN74SW 3
NGR NN 7207 4430
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/25035
- Council Perth And Kinross
- Parish Kenmore (Perth And Kinross)
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Perth And Kinross
- Former County Perthshire
NN74SW 3 7207 4430.
There is an artificial island in Fernan Bay (NN 7244) which can be seen in low water and which is marked by a pole.
F O Blundell 1913
There are two great cairns in shallow water, close to the shore below Fearnan. One is exactly opposite the Hotel, and the other lies about 300 yds S.
W A Gillies 1938
The "two great cairns" noted by Gillies are distinguishable as submerged stone platforms some 30m offshore at N 7207 4430 and NN 7230 4429. The former is said to be exposed in a dry summer and composed of a mass of large stones with a level top; the size of neither is determinable. Their age and purpose is unknown, but as they are by a village and near old piers they may be of no great antiquity (text from "The Scotsman" Magazine,vol.2, no.4, July 1981).
Visited by OS (JB) 2 October 1975 and (JRL) 5 December 1978
This crannog is situated 50m from the N shore and 'just off' the pier at Tigh-an-Loan Hotel, Fearnan. It measures between 28m and 33m in diameter, and the highest point (which has probably been built up to hold a marker-post) is about 0.9m below the normal level of the loch; at its base it measures about 2m in depth towards the shore and about 4.5m on the opposite side. In 1979 examination revealed structural timberwork (including a 'beam with a mortice slot') on and around the crannog; one of the piles was dated by radiocarbon assay to 525 +/- 55 BC (GU-1322).
This crannog is probably the 'great' cairn noted by Gillies 'exactly opposite the Hotel'; it may also be the 'Island in Fernan Bay' seen by Mitchell and said to be 'marked with a pole to prevent the steamer or boats striking it'. It is probably also the crannog noted by Oakley at NN c.715 442.
G E Oakley 1973; T N Dixon 1983; I Morrison 1985.
A summary of the work carried out by the Scottish Trust for Underwater Archaeology in 2004 is included in The University of Edinburgh's 50th Annual Report, 2004.
N Dixon 2004.
Underwater Archaeology (2 July 2018 - 12 July 2018)
NN 72072 44294 A programme of work was undertaken, 2–12
July 2018, as part of the Living on Water investigation of Early
Iron Age (EIA) crannog-dwellers in Loch Tay. The project
is excavating a range of crannogs with known EIA phases
to collect structural timber samples for dendrochronology
and wiggle-match 14C dating. A survey was undertaken of
the Fearnan Hotel Crannog in 1979 and a single 14C sample
returned a date calibrating to the EIA.
Three trenches were opened on the crannog. Two on top
of the crannog mound and one at the base of the crannog
where it met natural loch sediments. The trenches were
drawn by hand, photogrammetrically recorded and surveyed
by RTK-GPS.
Trench 1 (2 x 2m) located on top of the crannog was
abandoned after the removal of the first 0.6m of stones
from the rubble capping of the crannog, as very large
stones below impeded progress. At this level a small patch
of organic debris was found. This contained a wood chip,
clearly the offcut of an axe/adze cut, a hazel nut shell, and
two ovicaprid teeth.
Trench 2 (2 x 2m) was also located on the top of the
crannog mound. The initial stratigraphy matched that of
Trench 1; however, no exceptionally large stones halted
progress. Various contexts of angular boulders and stones,
1.2m deep from the top of the trench edge, were found
over a context of small diameter (
and bracken. Twenty timber samples were taken from this
context, the largest of which had a diameter of c0.1m. The
exceptionally deep inorganic profile is unusual for crannogs
in Loch Tay, but might be paralleled by Milton Morenish
Crannog, where in 2017 a trench in the top of the crannog
revealed a deep (c0.5m) inorganic stratigraphic sequence,
but there large horizontal timbers were found within the
otherwise inorganic contexts.
Trench 3 (3 x 1.5m) was located on the N side of the
crannog, nearest to the shore, where the crannog mound met
the natural loch sediments. These natural sediments, which
were uniformly sand, contained seven horizontal timbers.
One of the seven had clear evidence of mortise holes, although
only part of timber was exposed in excavation. There were
no organic deposits encountered around these timbers.
A further three horizontal timbers, including a further
mortised timber, were found emerging from the natural loch
sediments around the base of the crannog mound outside of
Trench 3, these were not sampled.
Timber sampling was carried out by sawing the top off
vertical timbers, and slices requiring two cuts were used on
horizontal timbers where necessary. These samples will be
subject to dendrochronological analysis and wiggle-match
14C dating over the course of the project.
Archive: ADS and NRHE (intended)
Funder: Historic Environment Scotland
Michael J Stratigos – Scottish Universities Environmental
Research Centre (SUERC)
(Source: DES, Volume 19)
