Crannog (Cran-og)

Crannogs are a peculiar sight to behold, essentially a fortified dwelling set on wooden piles acting like long stilts upon which a roundhouse is constructed in the middle of a loch or some other body of water. These strange dwellings are to be found all over Albion, from the isles of the west on The Boundless Sea  to farthest Thule. On the mainland Crannogs are to be found everywhere there is a loch but by far the greatest concentration are corralled around the Tay, a long body of water where the river Boditra finds its source. Here the shores of the Tay are speckled with countless crannogs where the entire community has taken to the water as their abode. 
The crannogs are sometimes built on small islands in the lochs  or rocky outcrops just beneath the surface of the water. where a suitable islets cannot be found the builders bring the long stakes and drive them into the muddy sediments that make up the lake bed, they do this on rafts so that they can twist and turn the stakes into the mud. After a ring of posts has been set into the lakebed they set about securing the posts by bringing stones and brushwood to the place and casting it into the water around the piles. Once all this work has been completed the build a deck upon the piles and construct their roundhouse here in the manner typical of the rest of Albion. The walls are constructed of wattle and the conical roof is thatched with heather or turf. 
This artificial island is then connected to the land by a long raised causeway built in the same fashion as the house with stakes driven into the mud and stones dropped into the water around them. In this way the crannog is connected to the land by a single raised causeway that is easy to defend from any would be assailant. Some have even constructed a drawbridge so that they may cut off the crannog from the land making it only accessible by swimming to the place. 
It is not known why these peculiar dwellings were developed, they have been a tradition among the clans from times of yore. Although it is clear that their defensive features make them difficult to raid but also very costly and time consuming to construct. Those who dwell in the crannogs of the Tay prefer to use boats to get about, as the land around these parts is mountainous and thickly wooded so that it is easier to take to the water than it is to go on foot. They use hollowed out logs for vessels that they propel by hand instead of sail. 
The folk that dwell in the disparate crannogs of the the rest of Albion are looked upon as hermits and anchorites that live a life seperate from the communities of the area. Sometimes because they are fish eaters, unwilling to recognise the taboo of partaking in the eating of fish, otherwise they are from a family that has been banished or eschewed by the community and forced to carry on this old way of life from times of yore.

Type

House