The Scottish Crannog Centre by Kenmore, Loch Tay will celebrate its 10th anniversary formally this month with a four day extravaganza from the 19-22 July, featuring ancient technology, survival skills, and prehistoric and wild food cooking.

Reflecting the themes of fire, food, shelter, water, clothing, and implements, the ‘Go Native: Ancient Technology Fair’ will have stalls including demonstrations by specialists from across Scotland who work or are apprenticed with well-known ‘bushcraft’ television celebrity Ray Mears.

The recreated Iron Age crannog was built by the Scottish Trust for Underwater Archaeology as an experimental project based directly on the results of their excavations of the 2,600 year old site of Oakbank Crannog in Loch Tay.

Following a steep learning curve to acquire skills such as tree felling, hauling and manoeuvring 12 metre long tree trunks, the small team of volunteer builders also had to rediscover the ancient arts of pile-driving by hand, round wood joinery techniques, thatching, and making cordage from natural fibres. The Crannog replica was completed and opened to the public in the summer of 1997 after two and a half years of intermittent building.

Accordingly, the modern day Crannog Crew deemed the anniversary celebrations should also serve as a tribute to the skills of their ancestors focusing on interaction with their environment.

A ‘wild’ food festival will launch the event on Thursday, July 19th, featuring stone pit and open fire cooking along with Iron Age ovens, showcasing some of Perthshire’s finest organic meat, drink, and seasonal produce.

An official reception will be held that evening to thank the many supporters of the project and those who have helped to develop it into the multi-award-winning Centre it is today. Following the reception there will be music in the crannog featuring Perthshire musicians as part of the Scottish Crannog Centre’s summer concert series.

The specialist skills demonstrations will run all weekend from Friday, 20 July and include ancient technology and ‘backwoods’ crafts such as how to make cordage, glues, bone and antler tools, fishing hooks, baskets and bark containers, weapons and many other items of great use in wilderness living, using only natural raw materials.

Several of the instructors run their own skills schools, and short mini-taster sessions may be booked during the weekend. Other demonstrations will include metal-working, flint-knapping, and spinning and weaving using ancient techniques.

More than just a ‘blast from the past’, the Go Native: Ancient Technology Fair promises something for all ages and interest levels. Booking is required for some of the events and taster sessions. The ‘Summer Music Sessions’ series continues every Thursday evening through to the end of August. Please contact the Scottish Crannog Centre on 01887 830583 or visit www.crannog.co.uk for further details.