Crannogs and Island Duns: Classification, Dating and Function

A recent paper, Islets through Time (OJA 17, 2, 227--44) , by Jon Henderson highlighted the fact that the majority of dated crannogs were occupied in the later prehistoric or early historic period, and offered a new classification of artificial islets. This paper addresses consequential issues of definition and classification and urges that artificial islets, whether classed hitherto as crannogs or island duns, should be seen as complementary elements within a spectrum of settlement types, in particular for the Early Iron Age and the early historic periods. Comparison shows that studies of crannogs and their land-based counterparts have faced similar problems of interpretation and that typological compartmentalization has acted to the detriment of a proper understanding of both.