Construction Site

Nellie Wilson works part-time weaving together hazel branches to build The Walls and roof of a replica Iron Age roundhouse.

It is like basket weaving on a grand scale. At times Nellie has to climb six metres (18ft) up scaffolding to work on The Top of The Building .

Ms Wilson, from Ullapool, is working on the new Scottish Crannog Centre along with dozens of volunteers, after a fire destroyed the popular attraction on The Banks of Loch Tay two years ago.

The late-night blaze took just Six Minutes to rip through the centre's best-known feature - a reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse that had stood on stilts in The Loch for 25 years.

Historically, crannogs were widespread in Ireland and Scotland, where The First ones were built about 2,500 years ago.

They were typically free-standing wood structures built in lochs but could also be made of dry stone in some areas.

Because they were underwater, the archaeological sites have been well preserved and give good information about how they were built and who lived there.

The centre's museum displays objects found in excavations including a butter dish and part of a stringed musical instrument.

On The Building site, the hard hats and high-viz jackets worn by everyone constructing the new Iron Age village - on The Other side of The Loch from the original site - would be completely alien to The People who originally lived there.

But they would definitely have recognised The Building methods the 21st-century workers are using.

" I've never worked on something like that before, " says Nellie, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh Last Year after studying sustainable development and Social Anthropology .

" It made me value and understand what we were doing on a different level and appreciate that if things had to be done slower or in a different way there was a reason for it and you can imagine a bit what it would have been like.

" It's amazing to think that they would have built something similar to this with half of the modern day tools that we've been given. "

Jim Doherty is a dry stone waller based in Cumbria. He is part of the build team at the Crannog Centre responsible for all of The Stone construction.

" It's something I've never done before but I don't think many people have built a reconstruction Iron Age village, " he says.

Jim says he enjoys The Challenge of making the circular stone structure.

" I've always had an interest in history and archaeology And Then I came up to learn more about the Crannog, the things that they do, the outreach they have, it was exactly the kind of museum that I would love to go to, " he says.

Mike Benson , The Director of the Scottish Crannog Centre, is proud of The Way the busy Construction Site is progressing.

" We Are showcasing all the different skills and materials that the Crannog people would have used, " he says.

" When you look at what was achieved 2,500 years ago, it's a brilliant story. "

The original open-air museum aimed to tell The Story of Crannog dwellers 2,500 years ago and visitors could try out Iron Age crafts like weaving, pottery metalwork and cookery.

The new site at Dalerb is on The Other side of Loch Tay on land transferred from the Forestry Commission .

It means the new Crannog Centre can build a replica village of seven buildings, a new Crannog and a New Museum , at a cost of £12. 5m.

£2. 3m is coming from the Scottish Government with other funding from members of The Public and charitable trusts.

Toby Sloan, an apprentice at the Crannog Centre, says The Work happening here means traditional skills are being kept alive.

" It's very hands-on, " he says. " It's not sitting in an office behind a computer.

" It's very important to keep these ancient crafts alive because it's more of a sustainable way of working, it's more of a sustainable way of living as well.

" It's something that's been lost in Modern Life . "

The Crannog itself will be built over The Winter and the new centre is expected to open in The Spring .

Source of news: bbc.com