"Proceeding southward, we come to the island first examined by Lord
Percy. It proved to be nearly circular, and to be about 13 yards in
diameter. Its surface was raised about 5-1/2 feet above the mud, and
on each side of it were two patches of stone nearly touching it. On
the north side lay a canoe of oak, between the two patches, and
surrounded by piles, the heads just appearing above the surface of the
mud. It was 24 feet long, 4 feet 2 inches broad in the middle, and 7
inches deep, the thickness of the bottom being 2 inches. Under the
stones which covered the surface, teeth of swine and oxen were found. A
trench was cut round the islet, and at the south end a small quantity
of ashes was turned up, in which were teeth and burned bones, part of
an armlet of glass covered with a yellow enamel, and a large broken
bead of glass, together with a small metal ornament; two other pieces
of a glass armlet, one striped blue and white, were also found on the
surface. These objects were found on the outside of the islet, about 2
feet from the surface. On cutting into the islet itself, it proved to
be wholly artificial, resting on the soft bottom of the loch, and in
its composition exactly the same as the large island already described.
The whole mass was pinned together by piles of oak and willow, some
of them driven 2-1/2 feet into the bottom of the loch. The islet was
surrounded by an immense number of piles, extending to a distance of
20 yards around it; and masses of stone, which apparently were meant
to act as breakwaters, were laid amongst them. On the sinking of the
mud, a canoe was found between the islet and the northern shore. It was
18-1/2 feet long, and 2 feet 7 inches wide. A block of wood cut to fill
a hole, left probably by a rotten branch, was inserted in the side, 2
feet long, 7 inches wide, and 5-1/2 inches thick, and was secured by
pegs driven through the side; across the stern was cut a deep groove
to admit a back-board; in both canoes a hole 2 inches in diameter was
bored in the bottom.
"The next islet is about 60 yards from the last, and nearer to a rocky
projection, on the south margin of the loch. It was examined by Lord
Percy and was found to be smaller; the layers were not so distinctly
marked, and some of the timbers inserted under the upper layer of
brushwood were larger, and either split or cut to a face. A stake with
two holes bored in it about the size of a finger, a thin piece of wood
in which mortises had been cut, and a box, the interior of which was
about 6 inches cube, with a ledge to receive the cover, very rudely cut
out of a block of wood, were found.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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