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Independent Instructors ~ no details |
Sea temperature 10°C to 18°C.Average visibility 12-15 metres (20-30 metres at times)
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We have not been diving in Ireland. Have you dived The Blasket Islands, Dingle Bay or wrecks such as the Kowloon Bridge and U-260 or the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse? Thank you. |
Wrecks |
.www.irishwrecksonline.net
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Other Contacts:
www.tourismireland.com
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Do you know what a Crannog is? A crannog is an iron age house, built 2,600 years ago on stilts in the shallow areas of Scottish and Irish lakes. Carbon dating puts them between 400BC - 600BC. There would have been a pier from the shore to a circular, wooden thatched home on stilts in the water. You may find the remains of the piles where the pier and house used to be. The cold waters and peaty silt of the loch preserve the old timbers well. They are often circled by large boulders which were used to help hold the pier timbers in place. Archaeology divers cannot wear fins as it disturbs too much. The houses were quite large as it would hold a family or more. The timber piles were driven into the clay. As they would have manually driven in a pile it loosens the clay allowing water between the clay particles. The poles can be 3 - 5 foot into the clay. After a day or two the clay settles and hardens and a 25 foot pole is firmly anchored. Typical finds are: Pine tapers (sticks of wood for lighting), a wooden plough, square dishes with animal and plant remains. Archaeology is not pulling bits of treasure from the earth, its learning about the people and how they lived. |
