Enclosure, Derrynacaheragh, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Derrynacaheragh, Co. Kerry

On a rough, east-facing hillside in Derrynacaheragh, overlooking the quiet valley of the Feabunaun stream, a small rectangular enclosure sits in the grass almost without announcement.

It measures just 6.6 metres along its northeast to southwest axis and 4.5 metres across, roughly the footprint of a modest room. Three of its sides are formed by a low, partially eroded bank of earth and stone, now grass-covered and no more than half a metre high. The fourth side, to the northwest, is a drystone wall, the kind built without mortar, relying entirely on the careful placement of stone against stone.

What makes this place quietly unusual is that northwest wall. It is shared with a separate hut site directly adjoining the enclosure, meaning these two structures were either built together or grew into one another over time, their purposes intertwined in a way that is no longer entirely legible. A narrow entrance gap of 0.8 metres opens at the southeast corner, just wide enough to pass through single-file. Enclosures of this kind, typically associated with early medieval settlement or agricultural activity, are fairly common across Kerry's uplands, but the shared wall here suggests a small, deliberate complex of activity rather than a single isolated feature. Someone organised this space with some care, even if the hillside has long since reclaimed most of the evidence.

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Pete F
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