Could an ancient settlement have been found beneath this loch?

Archaeologists are planning to dig up and study an ancient settlement in the Highlands of Scotland, which they believe could be a rare example of a medieval crannog.

The possible medieval settlement was found in Loch Achilty, which is located near a town called Contin, about 20 miles northwest of Inverness.

What is a crannog?

The crannog, a type of settlement, was constructed on a human-made island

A crannog is a type of house or village built on a human-made island in a loch (lake).

These islands were made by stacking stones or wooden posts in the water to create a stable platform. People would then build things like farmhouses on top of these platforms.

Crannogs have been around for a long time. The first ones were built over 6,000 years ago, back in the Neolithic period (Stone Age).

But crannogs from the Middle Ages (the period that ended about 500 years ago) are much rarer, so finding one from that time is very exciting for archaeologists.

Loch Achilty is surrounded by woods filled with birch and oak trees

Loch Achilty is surrounded by woods filled with birch and oak trees.

Recently, teams from North of Scotland Archaeological Society (NOSAS) and the Nautical Archaeology Society recovered some wooden timbers from underwater in Loch Achilty.

After testing them, they found out that some of the wood comes from oak trees that were cut down nearly 1,000 years ago – between 1046 and 1221, and another piece of wood from between 1323 and 1421.

What this suggests is that the crannog could've been modified over hundreds of years.

Richard Guest, project lead and amateur archaeologist with NOSAS, said: "Hopefully the excavation of more timbers will lead to more dates and therefore a sequence for how the crannog was used - more specific dates of sequences could help to provide the story of who built the crannog and who used it."

Dr Helen Spencer, head of research at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, said crannogs contained some of the best-preserved evidence for life in the past in Scotland.