<< News >> Crannog is 10 years old
Submitted by coldrum on Friday, 13 July 2007 Page Views: 2727
EventsCountry: Scotland County: Perth and Kinross Type: CrannogInternal Links:
Kenmore's award-winning Scottish Crannog Centre is going native in the countdown to its 10th anniversary celebrations.
The occasion will be marked with a four-day extravaganza from July 19 to 22, featuring ancient technology, survival skills, and prehistoric and wild food cooking.
Reflecting the themes of fire, food, shelter, water, clothing and implements, the ‘Go Native: Ancient Technology Fair’ will have stalls including demonstrations by wilderness and bushcraft specialists lured from across Scotland.
The recreated Iron Age crannog was built by the Scottish Trust for Underwater Archaeology as an experimental project based directly on the results of their excavations of the 2,600-year-old site of Oakbank Crannog in Loch Tay.
Following a steep learning curve to acquire skills like tree felling, hauling and manoeuvring 12 metre long tree trunks, the small band of volunteer builders also had to rediscover the ancient arts of pile-driving by hand, round wood joinery techniques, thatching, and making cordage from natural fibres.
The Crannog replica was completed and opened to the public in the summer of 1997 after two and a half years of intermittent building.
The modern day Crannog crew decided the anniversary celebrations should also serve as a tribute to the skills of their ancestors.
A ‘wild’ food festival will launch the event on Thursday, July 19, featuring stone pit and open fire cooking along with Iron Age ovens, showcasing some of Perthshire’s finest organic meat, drink, and seasonal produce.
An official reception will be held that evening to thank the many supporters of the project and those who have helped to develop it into the multi-award-winning Centre it is today.
Following the reception there will be music in the crannog, featuring Perthshire musicians as part of the Scottish Crannog Centre’s summer concert series.
The specialist skills demonstrations will run all weekend from Friday, July 20 and include ancient technology and backwoods crafts such as how to make cordage, glues, bone and antler tools, fishing hooks, baskets and bark containers, weapons and many other items of great use in wilderness living, using only natural raw materials.
Several of the instructors run their own skills schools, and short mini-taster sessions may be booked during the weekend. Other demonstrations will include metal-working, flint-knapping, and dying, spinning and weaving wool using ancient techniques.
More than just a blast from the past, the “Go Native: Ancient Technology Fair” promises something for all ages and interest levels. Booking is required for some of the events and taster sessions.
The Summer Music Sessions series continues every Thursday evening through the end of August. For further details contact the Scottish Crannog Centre on 01887 830583 or visit
crannog.
CRANNOG TIMELINE
1994-7: Harvesting of trees, hazel rods and intermittent building as an experimental archaeology project, based on the excavation of the 2,600-year-old Oakbank Crannog by Fearnan. During construction, an 11-metre logboat dated to 1500BC was uncovered.
1997: Officially open to the public, luring 12,500 visitors. Awards included Scottish Thistle Award for Small Business Marketing, Civic Trust Award and Most Enjoyable Visitor Attraction in Perthshire.
1999: Celebrity visitors included Elaine C. Smith and Magnus Magnusson. Visitor numbers up to 16,500 despite no formal exhibition area.
2000: New visitor centre funded by primarily by Scottish Enterprise Tayside, Perth and Kinross Council and Leader II. Opened by John Swinney. Visitor numbers up to 20,000.
2001: Prince of Wales visit and numbers up to 26,500. Awards included Investors in People and VisitScotland 4 stars.
2003-04: Directors Nicholas Dixon and Barrie Andrian represent Crannog and Scottish Trust for Underwater Archaeology in a Channel 4 50-minute documentary for TimeTeam fronted by presenter Tony Robinson.
2003-05: Work with the National Trust for Scotland on the Ben Lawers Historic Landscape Project.
2004: Awards included Gold Award for the Green Tourism Business Scheme, VIBES (Vision in Business for the Environment Scotland) and Maintaining the Standard (Investors in People).
2005: Discovery of drowned Neolithic Woodland in Loch Tay.
2006: Awarded five star grading from Visit Scotland. Visitor numbers stable at 26,500.
2007: Partner in Culture 2000 Project as one of eight European open air museums focusing on archaeological reconstruction and living history.
Underwater research, surveys and excavation has continued throughout and continues to feed the Scottish Crannog Centre with new displays and information. The story of the Oakbank Crannog continues.
icperthshire.
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.