Hut site, Killelan, Co. Kerry
Co. Kerry |
Settlement Sites
On the south-eastern slopes of Killelan mountain in Co. Kerry, two small stone structures sit above Doulus Bay and Lough Kay, quiet enough to pass unnoticed unless you know what you are looking for.
One is a circular hut, remarkably well preserved, with walls still standing to 2.3 metres and a splayed, lintelled entrance facing south-east. A splayed entrance is one that widens inward from a narrow outer opening, a design that helps funnel light while limiting exposure to the elements. Inside, almost directly across from the doorway, a small niche is set into the wall face. Its original purpose is unclear, though such recesses in early Irish structures were commonly used to store small objects or hold a light.
Seven metres to the east lie the foundations of a rectangular hut, considerably more ruinous than its circular neighbour. Within its interior, two corbelled sheepfolds have collapsed inward. Corbelling is a building technique in which stones are laid so that each course projects slightly beyond the one below, eventually meeting at the top without mortar or a keystone. The presence of sheepfolds built directly inside the hut foundations suggests the site had a long working life, with later pastoral use overlapping whatever earlier function the structures originally served. The field fences scattered around the vicinity add to this sense of accumulated occupation; one of those fences incorporates its own corbelled recess on its eastern side, a small detail that echoes the craftsmanship of the huts themselves.