Hut site, Baile An Chnocáin, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Settlement Sites

Hut site, Baile An Chnocáin, Co. Kerry

On the lower western slopes of Brandon Mountain in County Kerry, a circular cashel sits quietly above the modern field boundaries, its stone walls still tracing the outlines of lives lived here long ago.

A cashel is a type of early Irish enclosure defined by a stone wall, often surrounding domestic or agricultural structures, and this one contains the remains of at least seven stone huts along with a souterrain, an underground passage or chamber typically used for storage or refuge. What makes the site particularly arresting is not its scale but its density: multiple huts clustered within a single enclosure, some of them sharing walls, suggesting a community that organised itself with some care.

One pair of huts in the south-eastern part of the site were built conjoined, their interiors connected by a shared entrance passage. Of one of these, only the western and south-western walls remain traceable; the rest has been obscured by field clearance, stones pulled from surrounding land and piled up over the years until they buried much of what had stood. The interior measures at least 4.4 metres in diameter, and the surviving wall rises to a maximum of 0.75 metres. The entrance passage, 1.4 metres long and 1 metre wide, once led directly into the adjoining hut, though it is now blocked by collapse. The details come from J. Cuppage's 1986 archaeological survey of the Dingle Peninsula, Corca Dhuibhne, which documented this site as part of a broader effort to record the early settlement landscape of one of Ireland's most archaeologically layered peninsulas.

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 Hut site, Baile An Chnocáin, 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