Blurs

Hidden among the waters of Loch Bhorgastail on Scotland's Isle of Lewis is an archaeological mystery that looks deceptively ordinary from the surface. At first glance, the site appears to be little more than a small, stone-covered island. But beneath those stones lies something far more remarkable: a vast timber structure constructed by people more than 5,000 years ago. The discovery has forced archaeologists to rethink what they know about some of Scotland's earliest artificial islands — and raises a much bigger question. Why were Neolithic people building islands in the middle of lochs? An island that isn't quite what it seems Loch Bhorgastail lies on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, an area already rich in prehistoric archaeology. The island in the loch is a type of structure known as a crannog — an artificial or substantially modified island constructed in a body of water. Crannogs are relatively common across Scotland and Ireland, although many date from considerably later...