Hut site, Coomshanna, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Settlement Sites

Hut site, Coomshanna, Co. Kerry

On the north-facing slopes of Been Hill in County Kerry, a coniferous plantation has quietly grown up around the remnants of three ancient circular hut sites, embedding them in a landscape that now belongs equally to archaeology and forest floor.

The central of these three structures is a modest thing by any measure, just 2.3 metres in diameter, its collapsed stone wall rising only 0.4 metres above the surrounding bog and thickly upholstered in moss. Trees have seeded themselves within the interior, and the level floor is obscured by fallen wood debris. It is the kind of site that asks you to look twice before you see it at all.

The three hut sites are arranged along a rough north-south axis, spaced tightly together, with the two companions sitting approximately 2 metres to the north and 1 metre to the south of this central example. Hut sites of this kind, small dry-stone circular enclosures used as shelters or temporary dwellings, are found across upland Kerry and are associated with a range of periods, though many in the south-west are thought to relate to booleying, the seasonal practice of moving livestock to higher grazing ground during summer months. The collapsed walls here, around 0.75 metres thick, suggest solid if modest construction, and the fact that all three survive as a cluster points to a deliberate and organised use of the hillside rather than isolated, opportunistic shelter-building. The boggy ground that now surrounds them would have developed gradually over centuries, and it is partly that same bog that has preserved the wall stumps above the surface, keeping them legible even as the plantation canopy closes overhead.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Hut site, Coomshanna, Co. Kerry. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement