Craggan, also referred to as ‘corgans’, ‘croganans’ or ‘cragains’ come from the gallic word for jug or jar. They often take the form of globular vessels and are a great example of prehistoric technology and tradition used in Tiree, Skye and Lewis (Hebrides) up to the mid 19th C for food storage and cooking.
They are traditionally made by women from natural clay, which would have the larger rocks removed but impurities such as sand and organics were often left in the natural clay. These vessels were completely hand formed unless the neck was too narrow for the hand, in which case a curved stick was used to form the insides. After forming the vessels would be left to stand for a day of drying, then fired in a cooking fire built up with peat. As the clay was fired a pint or so of milk was slowly poured into and over the vessel to make it less porous.
Dr. A. Mitchell ‘The past in the present – What is civilisation?’ p. 26-28
Craggan from Barvas
The ancient technique meets modernity in Barvas Ware, which comes from the small town of Bravas in Lewis, Hebrides. Made in the craggan tradition from the mid 19th C till the 1930’s the vessels themselves imitate factory made china tea sets, still produced by women with the low fired white finish of a milk ‘glaze’. Given the interest of the tourist dollar from mainlanders flowing the regular ferry service of the 1850’s Bravas wear became a commodity and was available for order in Edinburgh and London by the 1890’s in a form of primitive mock ‘Staffordshire Ware’
The Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland are universally rich in ceramics, especially the Udal, which is a major settlement site, excavated by I.A Crawford. The finds suggest occupation from 400 CE-1100 CE (Dark ages 500 -1000 CE, Viking 800-1066 CE) with typological similarities through Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands which developed from Iron Age ceramics.
Chapter 1
The Hebrides are divided between the northern and southern Hebrides, which were never occupied by the Romans
Post Viking age Scandinavian influence continued in the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. Political alliance to the Norwegian crown till middle medieval period
Hebrides assemblages differ greatly from Scottish assemblages. increased quantity of pottery post bronze age. Iron Age to Medieval Period pottery in Scotland is scares aside from heavily gritted bucket forms
Hebrides are rich in pottery, decorated and plain. The decorative items are more easily dated
The ceramic rich zone stretches from Tiree to North Lewis and includes Skye
Hand made pottery continues in the Hebrides (Skye) until the mid 19th century
1st modern site report and pottery analysis under Sir Lindsey Scotti in 1948 dates assemblages to the 1st century of the Christian era. Pre 1948 all dating was done by visual motive and typology similarity.
Alison Young 1953 reaffirmed the basic sequence of occupation based on ceramics of Udall. (Young, p. 157-158). According to Young there was a wheelhouse a’Cheardach Mhor in south Udal, with an occupation sequence running from the 2nd century CE to imported wares in the 8th century CE with local ceramics ceasing in the 7th century CE
Decorated iron age ceramics, then the site was abandoned. Incised and pin stamped decoration on ‘weak’ rim and profile vessels, pre 1st/2nd century CE. Progress into raised rims and angular profiles, decorations include cordons, arcaded and fluted sections.
Simpler decorated pottery. Incised decoration declines, sparse decoration. Some vessels have flared rims and irregular cordon decoration in the iron age tradition.
Coarse plain pottery. 500 CE approx. ends before the arrival of Norse influence.
Imported pottery and Steatite
Youngs chronology challenged by her contemporary Evan Mackie, who utilised some of the early radio carbon dating technology to correct her sequence. Although most of her sequence turned out to be relatively correct, although based on stylistic similarity
Hand made pottery continued to be made there until the middle of the 19th C. Narrow mouthed, globular pots of various sizes were in general use as containers and for cooking, as well as churning during many centuries after wheel-turned glazed ware was being used in many parts of Scotland. – Callander 1921 p.129
Hand made in this context is also referred to as Craggans, which is a gallic word for earthen jug or jar
Viking age Norway is virtually a-ceramic
Breachacha Castle excavation: no wheel turned pottery till the end of the 16th C. Deposit dominated by coarse hand made craggans
Pouch or bag shapes, upright flared rims, stab mark or slash line decorations in the late medieval assemblage
Southern Hebrides and western Scottish mainland are low in dark ages pottery, despite being the heartland of early Scottish kingdom of Dalriada. Settled from the North of Ireland in 500 CE
Dates are disputed for the Souterrain wear from Ireland, potentially 6th C or Viking age, common trait of Souterrain wear is the impression of grass on the bases, most likely to prevent the vessel sticking to surfaces as they dried. These pieces are also tempered with grass.
Wooden vessels were probably preferred over ceramic. alternately a lack of evidence may indicate a genuinely sparse population in the North Hebrides during the Dark Ages pre Norse invasion
Udal is the only verifiably Viking age/Dark Ages site in North Hebrides as of 1983
Crawford describes Udal Dark Ages pottery as low quality, ring built, tongue and grove ware in the shape of ‘flower pots’
Crawford describes Udal Viking Ware as large flat grass marked platters
Other Sites of potential interest mentioned in the above text
Orkney
Balevullin site of Tiree
Dun Mor Vaul of Tiree
Breachacha Castle on Coll
Don Culer on Barra
a’Cheardach Mor on South Uist
Other scholars of potential interest mentioned in the above text
Mackie 1974
Hope-Taylor 1977
Young 1953
MacLennan 1925
Leathbridge 1950
Alcock 1971
Crawford 1974
Callender 1921
– Alan Macrae Lane, PHD, ‘Dark-Age and Viking-Age Pottery in the Hebrides, with special refferance to the Udal, North Uist’, University of London, 1983
Hit The Clay 