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Lough Iohan is a possible crannog, an artificial island settlement of Early Christian date, situated in County Derry, Northern Ireland. The earthwork lies within a lough basin carved into bedrock of the Argyll Group, metamorphic rocks formed during the Neoproterozoic era and now exposed as psammite, semipelite and pelite. This geology shaped both the landscape and the construction possibilities available to those who built here.
Crannogs were platforms constructed from timber and stone, typically built in shallow water to provide defensible dwellings. They were particularly prevalent in northern Ireland during the Early Christian period, when such settlements served domestic, craft and farming purposes. The waterlogged conditions of lough sites preserve organic materials exceptionally well, though Lough Iohan's crannog status remains unconfirmed, awaiting archaeological investigation.
The monument is registered with the Historic Environment Division under reference 11509 and benefits from statutory protection. Its survival within its lough setting offers potential for understanding Early Christian settlement patterns and construction techniques in the north-west of the island, provided future investigation is undertaken.
Lough lohan. earthwork - crannog? is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 11509. View the official record →
Lough Iohan is a possible crannog, an artificial island settlement of Early Christian date, situated in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 11509.
Lough lohan. earthwork - crannog? dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a crannogpossible. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Lough lohan. earthwork - crannog? is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 11509.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing stone (5.9 km), Rath (6.1 km), Rath (6.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Lough lohan. earthwork - crannog?'s history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Lough lohan. earthwork - crannog? stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.