Enclosure, Coad, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Coad, Co. Kerry

On a natural plateau above Cove Harbour in south Kerry, a circular enclosure once existed that is now entirely invisible.

No bank, no ditch, no scatter of stone marks the ground. The only evidence that anything was ever here is a line drawn on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map, that meticulous mid-nineteenth-century effort to record the Irish landscape before so much of it changed or disappeared. The enclosure has since been absorbed into ordinary pasture, leaving a gap where an archaeological feature ought to be.

Circular enclosures of this kind are common across Ireland, ranging from prehistoric ringforts, which were typically the enclosed farmsteads of early medieval landowners, to enclosures of less certain date and function. What this one looked like, how old it was, or what it enclosed is no longer recoverable from the ground itself. The plateau setting, overlooking the harbour to the south-east, suggests a position chosen with some intention, whether for visibility, for defence, or simply for the well-drained elevated ground that such sites often favoured. By the time researchers working on the archaeological survey of the Iveragh Peninsula documented the location in the 1990s, nothing physical remained to examine.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Enclosure, Coad, Co. Kerry. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement