Enclosure, Doocarrig More, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Doocarrig More, Co. Kerry

On a south-west-facing slope in Doocarrig More, buried under a dense mat of heather, an oval enclosure sits in rough pasture with the quiet anonymity that defines so much of Kerry's upland archaeology.

It measures roughly 18 metres north to south and just over 9 metres east to west, its boundary marked by a drystone wall, a construction technique that uses no mortar, relying instead on the careful stacking of dry stones, that has long since collapsed to a low, spread ridge about half a metre high. The interior tilts down toward the west, and what were once walls are now little more than a thickening in the vegetation, detectable underfoot more than by sight.

What makes the site quietly complex is the cluster of activity around it. Two hut sites survive within the enclosure itself, and a third adjoins the southern wall on the outside, suggesting the boundary line was never quite the limit of occupation. A fourth hut sits approximately 20 metres to the south-south-west, loosely associated but separate. Hut sites of this kind, the low circular or oval footprints of small dry-built structures, are found across Kerry's uplands and are generally associated with seasonal settlement or agricultural use, though pinning down a date without excavation is rarely straightforward. The relationship between an enclosure and its attendant huts, some inside, some spilling beyond the wall, points to a settlement that grew or shifted over time rather than one laid out to a single plan.

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Pete F
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