Hut site, Canburrin, Co. Kerry
Co. Kerry |
Settlement Sites
On the lower northern slope of Beenduff in County Kerry, a rough circle of collapsed drystone walling marks the outline of a hut that has not been occupied for a very long time.
The structure measures roughly five metres across, and what survives is in poor condition, tumbled and spread, though the shape of it can still be read in the landscape. Along the eastern arc of the wall, there is what may be an entrance, a gap in the stone that could once have framed a low doorway.
Drystone construction, meaning walling built without mortar, was the standard technique for small structures across the Irish uplands for centuries, and circular hut sites of this kind appear throughout Kerry and the wider Atlantic fringe. They are difficult to date precisely without excavation, as the form changed little over a very long period. This particular site at Canburrin was recorded by Desmond in 1999, and its location on a sheltered, north-facing slope is typical of the kind of spot chosen for seasonal or pastoral use, close enough to higher ground to serve a farming community working the hill grazing above.