New Crannog display

A precious artefact dating back 2500 years discovered at the bottom of Loch Tay will go on permanent exhibition in Kenmore from tomorrow.

To mark this grand opening of a new display, the Scottish Crannog Centre will be providing extra special tours to visitors on Saturday, October 5 .

They have created a section of the museum based around the wooden ‘bridge’found by divers nearby. The 5cm long bridge comes from a lyre, a seven-stringed musical instrument, thought to have been essential to the cultural life of Iron Age loch-dwellers.

Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Scottish Crannog Centre has been able to curate a year-long project surrounding the significant artefact found on the original Oakbank Crannog site, where they also brought up a pot containing the remains of butter dating from the same era.

This ancient artefact will be put on display for the first time tomorrow for visitors to see, alongside a small wooden whistle that was also found and a replica of what the lyre may have looked like.

The centre opens at 10am and to celebrate the launch of the prehistoric music exhibition,‘deluxe’ Crannog tours will take place.

There will also be tours of the completed museum refurbishment with curator Fran Collinson, who said:“After a whirlwind year of events, activities and creating new displays, we can now showcase our very special collection of 2500-year-old artefacts, including the rare and special fragments of musical instruments which give us a glimpse into the cultural life of the crannog dwellers.”

Visitors will also be treated to spellbinding tales of Scottish folklore from storyteller Claire Hewitt, or a beautiful rendering of traditional songs by harpist Eve Watters.

There will be the regular demonstrations of technology, cooking and textile making and visitors will also get to see and play the hand-built lyres.

The Scottish Crannog Centre is open 7 days from 10am. Dogs are welcome, and there is seating to enjoy a picnic.