Hut site, Knocknabro, Co. Kerry

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Settlement Sites

Hut site, Knocknabro, Co. Kerry

On a south-west-facing slope at Knocknabro in County Kerry, partly hidden by heather and interrupted by jutting rock outcrops, the outline of a small D-shaped hut survives in a state of quiet collapse.

It is the kind of structure that rewards a careful eye rather than a casual glance: the drystone walls, built without mortar by stacking and wedging stone against stone, have fallen and gapped in several places, particularly along the south-east side and at the north-east wall, so that what was once an enclosed space has gradually been reclaimed by the rough pasture around it.

The hut measures roughly 3.8 metres on its longest axis, running north-west to south-east, with a straight south-east side extending about 2.5 metres. Where the walls still stand, they reach around 0.8 metres in height and are approximately 0.55 metres thick, proportions consistent with a modest but deliberately constructed shelter. One detail resists easy explanation: an internal dividing wall runs from the north-east arc inward towards the south-west, suggesting that whoever built or used the structure at some point wanted to separate its interior into distinct areas. Whether that division served a domestic purpose, sheltered animals from people, or reflected some other practical need, the archaeology does not currently say.

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Pete F
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