Hut site, An Bhinn Bhán, Co. Kerry
Co. Kerry |
Settlement Sites
On the slopes of An Bhinn Bhán in County Kerry, a cluster of small stone huts sits quietly in the landscape, their origins confirmed as nineteenth century rather than the more ancient past that similar structures elsewhere might suggest.
What makes this grouping quietly compelling is its scale: this is not a solitary ruin but one of at least seven huts, all of the same period, occupying the same stretch of ground.
The site was identified and inspected in 2003, when fieldwork confirmed that all seven huts dated to the nineteenth century. That period in Kerry's history was one of profound rural hardship, and small stone shelters of this kind are often associated with seasonal agricultural practices, particularly the tradition of booleying, where families or herdsmen moved livestock to upland grazing during summer months and constructed rough temporary dwellings nearby. Whether these huts served that function, or belonged to some other pattern of land use, the presence of seven in close proximity points to organised, repeated activity rather than a single isolated episode of occupation.