A major feature of a visit to Craggaunowen, is a Crannog (meaning 'young tree’) which is a reconstructed lake-dwelling of a type found in Ireland during the Iron Age and early Christian periods. Though some homesteads were inhabited during the Late Bronze Age and in some cases, were still being occupied as late as the 17th century.
Crannogs were artificial islands on which people built houses, kept animals, and lived in relative security. They were constructed by placing layers of stone, brushwood, tree trunks and even, old dugout canoes, on the lakebed. These were revetted by wooden pilings and the platform was covered with a layer of earth or sand. On this the inhabitants built their thatched houses of wattles and mud and surrounded themselves with a protective timber fence.
These artificial islands were generally approached by dugout canoes or by various types of causeways or bridges.
