Field system, Baile An Lochaigh, Co. Kerry
Co. Kerry |
Ritual/Ceremonial
On the northern slopes of Com an Lochaigh, in the Corca Dhuibhne region of the Dingle Peninsula, an old field system contains something easy to overlook: a small circular structure, just over two metres across and a little over a metre high, its walls roughly a metre thick.
The dimensions are modest, almost domestic in the most literal sense, and the structure is recorded as a possible hut foundation, the kind of low stone remains that once formed the base of a simple seasonal or permanent dwelling.
The field system itself, of which this structure forms a part, is the older frame here. Such systems on the Dingle Peninsula can be of considerable antiquity, and the landscape of Corca Dhuibhne is unusually dense with archaeological survivals, from promontory forts to early Christian enclosures. The circular outline of the possible hut foundation fits a long tradition of round structures in Irish vernacular building, though without excavation it is difficult to assign a precise period. The feature was recorded by J. Cuppage as part of the 1986 Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey, a detailed ground-level study of the area's monuments that remains a key reference for the region.
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