Hut site, Erneen, Co. Kerry

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Settlement Sites

Hut site, Erneen, Co. Kerry

On a north-facing slope in the rough hill pasture of Erneen, County Kerry, a slight hollow conceals what was once a small circular dwelling, its walls long since collapsed into a low grass-covered ring.

The structure measures just 2.4 metres in diameter, barely enough space for a single person to sleep, and what remains of the drystone wall, built without mortar by laying shaped stones carefully against one another, survives to a height and thickness of roughly 0.6 metres. The interior is scattered with rubble, and the clearest section of the original wall runs along the eastern to southern arc.

Hut sites of this kind are found across the upland landscapes of Kerry and the wider west of Ireland, and their age and purpose can vary considerably. Some are associated with early medieval settlement, others with the seasonal practice of booleying, whereby people and livestock moved to higher ground during summer months, occupying temporary shelters while grazing the hill pastures. A structure as modest as this one, tucked into a hollow on a slope overlooking a river valley, fits the profile of a seasonal or occasional shelter rather than a permanent home. Notably, a second hut site adjoins this one immediately to the east, suggesting that even in this exposed and marginal landscape, people did not always come and go entirely alone.

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