ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Crannog

Okay kiddo, have you ever been to a lake or a river and seen a little house built on top of the water? That is called a crannog! Imagine a round house made out of wood and rocks with a thatched roof but built on top of the water!

A long time ago, people in Scotland and Ireland used to build these crannogs as a way to protect themselves from enemies. They would build them on an island in the middle of a lake or a river or even right in the water! This made it hard for their enemies to attack them because they would have to come by boat, and the people living in the crannog could see them coming from far away.

To build a crannog, people would first have to find a shallow area in the water with a firm base like sand or clay. Then, they would put wooden stakes into the ground and carefully build up layers of rocks, dirt, and branches on top of them until they had a solid platform. Finally, they would build the round house on top of the platform using more wooden beams and thatch.

People living in a crannog would be pretty busy. They would spend their time fishing, farming, and making things like clothes and tools. They would also have to be on the lookout all the time, so they would build a fence and a gate around their crannog and have people taking turns being the guard.

So, in summary, a crannog is like a wooden house built on a platform in the water. People used to build them a long time ago in Scotland and Ireland to protect themselves from enemies, and they were busy taking care of themselves and watching out for any danger!