House - indeterminate date, Tiduff, Co. Kerry
Co. Kerry |
House
On a south-facing slope in Tiduff, County Kerry, a low circular bank sits just above a cliff edge, enclosing a space roughly seven metres across.
The bank itself is three metres wide but only half a metre high on the interior side, giving it a subtle, almost apologetic presence in the pasture. The interior is scattered with loose stones, which may simply be the accumulated result of farmers clearing the surrounding fields over the generations, the detritus of agricultural life tipped into whatever hollow or enclosure was nearest to hand.
What exactly this structure was built for, and when, remains genuinely uncertain. It is classified as a house, but the classification carries no confident date. Circular stone and earthen structures of this kind appear across Ireland in periods ranging from the prehistoric to the early medieval, and without excavation it is often impossible to say more. The bank is disturbed at its northern side, which may reflect later interference or simply the slow erosion of a feature that was never especially robust. Its position close to the cliff edge on a south-facing slope would have made practical sense as a sheltered dwelling site, catching what warmth the Atlantic latitude allows, though whether anyone ever actually lived within this particular ring is a question the ground has not yet answered.