Mallet head, Milton Loch

An example of a wooden tool preserved in waterlogged conditions from Milton Loch, site of a Crannog which was discovered in 1989.   Crannogs are dwelling sites were built on artificial islands made of brushwood, peat, stones and logs. They were often surrounded by a timber palisade. They probably first came into use in the later Bronze Age when the metal axes needed to shape timber became available. Crannogs were easily defended and were still inhabited in medieval times, often by lesser lairds and landowners. In 1608 the Scottish parliament passed an act forbidding the erection of crannogs.