Last Updated on May 5, 2026 by Jaspreet Kaur
Scientists found something cool on one of Scotland’s old artificial islands called a crannog. Under what looks like a pile of stones they discovered a complicated wooden platform that is more than 5,000 years old. This is a deal because it helps us understand how people built things a long time ago and it shows how important these mysterious islands were to people back then.
A hidden structure
The crannog is in a place called Loch Bhorgastail on the Isle of Lewis. Some researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Reading studied it. What they found out is that this crannog is not a simple stone island. It has a lot of history.
Under the stones they found wood and brushwood that people used to build the island a long time ago. This wood was preserved underwater which’s really lucky because it gives us a chance to see how people built things back then.
The scientists found out that the island is not one solid piece of stone but it has many layers that were built over thousands of years.
Older than expected
People used to think that crannogs were built during the Iron Age or later. Now we know that they are much older than that.
The crannog in Loch Bhorgastail was first built during the period, which is between 3800 and 3300 BC. That makes it even older than Stonehenge.
At first the island was a big circle of wood about 23 meters wide with some brushwood on top. Over time people added layers to it which shows that they kept using it and changing it over the years.
Layers of history
The crannog was built in different stages. 2,000 Years after it was first built people added more brushwood and stones to it. Then 1,000 years later they did it again.
Each time they built something it shows how peoples needs and technologies were changing. It shows that the island was still really important to them.
There used to be a stone path that connected the island to the shore. Now it is underwater. This means that the island was not just sitting there all alone. People were actually using it and visiting it.
Clues from pottery
The scientists found a lot of pottery pieces in the water around the island. Some of these pieces still have food on them which is really cool.
This pottery shows that people were using the island a time ago even before they built the later parts of it. It gives us some ideas about what people’s daily lives were like back then.
The researchers think that the island might have been used for gatherings like cooking or feasting. It must have been really important to the people who built it because it would have taken a lot of work to build and maintain.
A new way to see
The scientists used a technique to study the crannog, called stereophotogrammetry. This involves taking a lot of pictures from angles and putting them together to make a 3D model.
What is really cool about this study is that they used this technique both above and below the water so they could see the island in detail.
This approach allowed them to see the crannog in a way that would not have been possible before.
Challenges underwater
It is not easy to take pictures underwater because the water can be murky and there can be a lot of stuff floating around. The researchers came up with a special system to deal with these problems.
They used two cameras that they could move around underwater to take pictures. This allowed them to get detailed images of the island.
Innovation in archaeology
The way the scientists used stereophotogrammetry, drones and computer processing is a step forward for archaeology. It is an effective and affordable way to study old sites.
This technique could be used to study crannogs in Scotland and it could help us learn more about these mysterious islands.
By using this technique researchers can get an understanding of how these islands were built and used over time.
Unlocking the past
Even though we have learned a lot about the crannog there is still a lot we do not know. We are not really sure what the purpose of these islands was. It is clear that they were important to the people who built them.
The study of the Loch Bhorgastail crannog shows that the people who lived in Scotland a time ago were really skilled engineers and builders. They were able to work to build big projects like this island.
The discovery of the wooden platform under the Scottish crannog is really exciting. By using technology and careful excavation scientists are learning more about these ancient islands.
As new methods are developed we will likely learn more about the people who built and used these islands and we will get a better understanding of what life was, like a long time ago.