1996:031 - KNOCKNALAPPA, Clare

The Knocknalappa Bronze Age lake-site platform (hereafter Knocknalappa Site 1) lies on the east bank of Rosroe Lough. The site was excavated by Joseph Raftery in 1937, producing a range of Late Bronze Age material, including a bronze sword and socketed gouge, amber and lignite jewellery, animal bone and coarseware pottery. The North Munster Project has been carrying out research and fieldwork on the site and its environs, in particular revealing the existence of two Middle Bronze Age fuachta fiadh on the lake marshes adjacent to the site. The post palisade was re-identified in 1994 and sampled for radiocarbon dating. This produced a surprising Early Bronze Age date of 1887–1701 cal. BC (3470±30 BP; GrN21263). This new evidence suggests that there was settlement activity on this lake shore throughout the Bronze Age.

It was decided to carry out a rapid, one-day underwater archaeological survey on the lake bed to the west and south of the Knocknalappa lake-site. The survey was carried out by Aidan O'Sullivan, Donal Boland (the dive leader) and Claire O'Callaghan on 9 June 1996. A number of significant archaeological discoveries were made.

Site 1
Knocknalappa Site 1 is the original Bronze Age lake-site excavated by Dr Raftery. Underwater survey indicated a spread of oak timbers at the jetty end of the structure. It also indicated that the Knocknalappa site was placed at the edge of a deep channel (at least 15m deep) which runs north-south down the lake. The surveys indicate that at a slightly lower water-level the lake would become a series of channels separated by natural shallows.

Site 2
Knocknalappa Site 2 is a circular, flat-topped mound, c. 20m in diameter and 1.5m in height, situated on the lake-edge to the south-east of Site 1. A possible ruined stone jetty structure runs out into the lake shallows for a distance of 4–5m. A large proportion of this mound appears to be natural bedrock outcrop, but it is possible that the mound was enhanced for use as a crannog.

Site 3
Knocknalappa Site 3 is a small circular platform of stone slabs, 5–6m in diameter and 0.5m high. A number of vertical oak and ash posts, 0.06–0.1m in diameter, were recorded on the west side. It is situated out in the lake shallows c. 40–50m south-west of Site 1 and separated from it by a dense reed-bed.

Site 4
Knocknalappa Site 4 is a large stone and wooden structure in the middle of the lake, situated on a narrow area of shallows. It comprises a central stone feature, a wooden palisade and an outer scatter of posts. It appears to be a crannog or lake-platform measuring 30m in diameter. The core of the site is a series of stone slabs, boulders and small stones creating a platform c. 5–6m in diameter. A wooden palisade of vertical roundwood and cleft oak and ash posts is found c. 10m to the south. The palisade posts survive to a height of 0.6–0.8m and are 0.1–0.15m in diameter. The level clays to the south have an extensive spread of ash roundwood posts scattered over an area measuring 10m x 20m. These would need to be planned to reveal structural patterns, but there appear to be quite a large number of them, approaching 5–6 posts per sq.

There is also a possible timber jetty to the east, opposing the timber jetty found at the south-west corner of Site 1.

Conclusions
Sites 3 and 4 may be Bronze Age lake-platforms, indicating some measure of control over this narrow part of the lake. Alternatively, Site 4 may be the denuded remains of an Early Christian crannog. In any case, a rapidly conducted preliminary underwater archaeological survey at Knocknalappa has confirmed the existence of definite archaeological features in shallow water in the vicinity of the main Bronze Age site. It is intended to carry out further underwater surveys in 1997 and to extract radiocarbon dating samples.

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