What is recorded here

No map has ever marked the earthwork in Cartron, though Knox found a strange stone and clay structure resting in Island Lake during the early 1900s. It defies easy belief because nearby crannogs used timber and gravel, yet this unusual creation still hides beneath the water. Perhaps Anglo-Norman hands built a temporary bridge, a hidden shrine or a forgotten boundary before the lake swallowed it. The missing location preserves the mystery, forcing every visitor to imagine what human urgency created something so different from its neighbours.

This earthwork is not shown on any edition of the OS 6-inch maps. It was noted in the early 1900’s by Knox (1911, 338) on a spit of land extending from the N shore into Island Lake. He described it as follows: ‘This earthwork seems to be 'an artificial structure of stone and clay resting in the lake bed. It differs in composition from the crannogs (of which there are at least four in the lake), as they are made in the usual way with timber and gravel. It seems as if it might have been an Anglo-Norman work. It is not the remains of an island; at least it does not look like one.’ The exact location and nature of this monument remains uncertain. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 30 June 2022

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.